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As one branch of Sichuan cuisine, Chongqing cuisine is noted for its distinctive spicy and pungent flavors. Chongqing dishes are spicier and stronger in taste. Chili pepper, sesame, fermented black bean, ginger, garlic, wine, soy sauce and an array of flavorings are used in almost 40 different cooking methods, which include drying, salting, spicing, pickling, frying and smoking. Color, smell, flavor, shape, and nutrition are all carefully balanced in Chongqing dishes - no wonder people say that Chongqing food is not only attractive but nutritious.
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Chongqing hot pot
Chongqing is the birth place of the hot pot in China. Once upon a time, it was a seasonal food designed to protect against the low temperatures and frigid winds in the winter. People would sit around a table, eat hot pot, and revel in the instant warmth that would flood their bodies. Hot pot has become more and more popular today, and it is widely enjoyed by people and regardless of seasons and regions.
Eating hot pot is a joyful experience. First, you need to choose the pot - spicy, pure or a combination of two - for the soup and dipping sauce. After the spiced soup boils with a hazy steam, fish, meat, bean curds and vegetables can be added. When the soup boils again, you can eat by dipping them in a little bowl of special sauce but be careful of the burning hot soup!
Yuan Yuan Yuan teahouse
Yuan Yuan Yuan teahouse is the tip one in Chongqing and many locals go there to have a tea drink or have tea with friends, so here could be one of the best choices to have the real tea and meet the real local culture. Its business hour is 8PM-2AM, and the Address is 5 locations in Chongqing.
Where to eat
The Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace
E Zhang Men
Liu Yi Shou
The Tao Ran Ju Flavor Restaurant
The Manhattan Steakhouse
The Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace is a forerunner among the Chongqing catering service. As you enter the restaurant, you will be deeply attracted by the atmosphere. The decoration here is unique--stone walls and red poles, with winding corridors and brilliant eaves. Shows are put on every night--beautiful songs, graceful dances and some folk dramas all make the dinner special. Here, you can really taste the fervor of the spice and enjoy the flavor from a boiling hot-pot. The specialties are medicine meal hot pot and red and white composite hot pot. The location of Cygnet is on the 6th floor of New Chongqing Square, Yuzhong District.
E Zhang Men is also a well-known hot pot restaurant in Chongqing. It is noted for its sour and hot soup base. Until now it has 14 chains throughout the city, the main locations include:
Da Tong Jie Restaurant: No.28 Da Tong Street, Yu Zhong District
Sha Nan Restaurant: No.49 Sha Nan Street, Sha Ping Pa District
Long Hu Xi Yuan Restaurant: No.112 Jiu Long Lakeside, Yu Bei District
Liu Yi Shou is a famous hot pot brand in Chongqing more suitable for the taste of guests coming from other places outside of Chongqing. The soup in the hot pot is a little sweet in taste and thus not that irresistible hot. Featured dish in Liu Yi Shou Hotpot Restaurant: Hog Bowel, Duck Blood, Codfish Ball, Bean Curd, Roti Canai, Glutinous Rice Cake with fried egg
The main locations include:
Jie Fang Bei Restaurant
Average cost per person: CNY 35-60
Address: located at No.46 Cangbai Road, Yuzhong District
The Tao Ran Ju Flavor Restaurant reflects the spicy feature of Chuan cuisine and caters for most Cantonese. The restaurant serves in a cozy environment and the price is reasonable. Dishes are innovative and have received the national award every year. The signature dishes are: Spicy Winkles, Fish with Sour Chili, Crispy Toothpick Rabbit Meat, Steamed Sticky Rice Sparerib, Taoran Chili Chicken with Taro.
The Manhattan Steakhouse in Marriott Hotel, Chongqing is one of the best places in town to have western food, the classic steak of imported beef and seafood is offered at lunch buffets and dinner. The Marriott Cafe is a good place for a western breakfast, and lunch and dinner are also served.
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