Chengdu China – Best Places to Eat and Dishes to Try

The food in Chengdu has developed over several centuries using the distinctive flavours of Sichuan Cuisine, the food here can be very spicy.

Food that is Unique to Chengdu

Chengdu has some great tasting local foods and one of its most famous local dishes is called Ma Po Tofu. It is bean curd with mince and chili oil and is regarded as one of the most influential flavours of Sichuan Cuisine. You will find this dish available in just about every restaurant selling Sichuan cuisine.

Our favourite dish in China is Kung Pao Chicken, another specialty of Sichuan Cuisine. It is spicy pieces of diced chicken served with peanuts and hot peppers. It is available all over China in various styles but for the best you should try it in Sichuan.

Another popular local dish is Fish Flavoured Shredded Pork. It is pieces of shredded pork fried together with carrots and bamboo shoots. It contains the flavour of fish but no fish is actually used in this dish.

Twice Cooked Spicy Pork Slices is another traditional dish you will find in Chengdu, the meat is cooked then the second time of cooking is in hot oil until it is crisp and free of any oil.

Sichuan cooking involves Sichuan pepper in its dishes, this peppercorn is left whole and should you eat one it will leave your mouth feeling numb as well as hot.

Street Food in Chengdu

There are lots of places in Chengdu to find cheap snacks and street food. Some of these snacks may not be palatable to western tastes but you should try them even if just one time. Fu Qi Fei Pian is translated as Braised Cow Lungs, it is actually the heart and tongue used and tastes delicious when cooked with a variety of spices. Chuan Chuan Xiang or Ma La Tang is just about anything from meat, fish or vegetables that is skewered onto a stick and cooked in a spicy hot pot. Five or six skewers will cost CNY4-5. Glutinous Rice Balls are another popular local snack; they are soft when eaten and very sweet.

Other strange looking or weird tasting snacks include spicy dragon prawns, spicy snails, duck neck, bangbang chicken and spicy rabbit meat. If you want to try any of these it is best if you take a local with you as they will know the best places. There are also non spicy steamed bread rolls available particularly during the morning breakfast rush. These snacks are very cheap and you can find a filling meal for CNY5-10. In the centre of Chengdu in the area close to Chunxi Road and Tianfu Square you will find lots of snack food available. Another place you will find them is further out in the suburbs at major bus stops or outside metro stations.

The Best Restaurants for Sichuan Food

For reasonably priced Sichuan food in Chengdu some of the best cheaper food can be found at Piaoxue Sichuan Cuisine Restaurants on Qintai Road, Shizilou. Shuanglin Road, Bagou Biyi, or alternatively at their restaurant located on the 4th section of Renmin South Road. Expect to pay CNY20-30 per dish.

Chen Mapo on Shuanglin Road has been in existence since 1862 and is ‘the place’ to eat Ma Po Tofu in Chengdu. Be warned it is spicy, if you do not like spicy food it might be a good idea to skip this one.

The Veranda Bridge Restaurant is a historic bridge sitting across the Funan River. It has a very good reputation for its Sichuan food and is set in a great location.

Hotpot

Hotpot is more famous in the nearby city of Chongqing, but Chengdu has developed its own style of this popular dish from mildly spicy to very spicy (What the Chinese describe as mild, to me is very spicy). The hotpot in Chengdu is a big pot of spicy soup which you then proceed to add skewered meat, fish and vegetables to and when they are cooked fish them out and eat. Most restaurants can offer a split pot where one side is spicy the other non spicy. The options of what to eat includes lamb, beef and chicken, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, tofu, quail eggs, potatoes, fish, meatballs and offal. The soup is not for drinking, it is far too spicy for that. You order food by the plate and each plate costs CNY5-10, you can have a good meal for CNY25-50 per person.

One slightly unusual hotpot restaurant is the Tanyutou restaurant close to the Qingyang Palace; it has fish heads in the soup to assist with its unique flavour.

At the Huangcheng Laoma, an old fashioned style hotpot restaurant on Qintai Road you can be entertained as you eat with performances of Sichuan opera. The entertainment means you should expect to pay in excess of CNY100 per person.

Sichuan Noodles

A bowl of noodles costs from CNY5 or 6 up to around CNY12 depending on the size of the bowl and the ingredients. Lanzhou Lamian (spicy noodles) includes egg, beef or lamb. Da Pan Ji is great to eat in a group of three or four people. It is chicken potatoes, onions and vegetables in a slightly spicy sauce and costs from CNY40-60 per dish, ideal for 3 or 4 people and is best eaten with a bowl of noodles.

Vegetarian

In Wenshu Monastery there is a vegetarian restaurant operated by the serving monks. They have a huge selection of dishes from their buffet or hotpot. The buffet costs around CNY35 per person while the hotpot is CNY50 each.

Chengdu’s Options for Western and International Food

There are plenty of options for international food in Chengdu as it has quite a sizable foreign community. Namaste/Afila on Renmin Road is a restaurant that specializes in Indian and Nepalese cooking, they sell some great curries and tandooris as well as some good vegetarian options. Close to the Wuhou Temple you will find A’re Tibetan Restaurant, it was one of the first Tibetan restaurants in Chengdu and is certainly the most famous. The Tibetan staff make this a friendly place with the dishes made from yak meat and yak cheese, they also have Tibetan yogurt and butter. The owner speaks good English and he likes to practice his English with his customers.

Chengdu Bookworm on Renmin Road South has an English lending library, a bar and some great western food. They have morning story hours for younger children, local singing competitions and it is a great place to meet with others or just relax and read. Grandma’s Kitchen is a western restaurant in 4 locations around the city.

Peter’s Tex-Mex is an American Food restaurant with the addition of some Mexican dishes. They serve homemade ice cream; some people say it is the best ice cream in Chengdu. You can pay anything from CNY12-150 for a meal here.

All the expensive western style hotels in Chengdu have western restaurants, many with buffet style meals; expect to pay anything from CNY150 per person.

Cafes and Coffee Houses

The Feeling4Seasons Café is located close to the Dongmen Bridge and is one of the best places in Chengdu for its varieties of coffees; they also have pasta and pizza. There is a good internet service and you can even borrow a PC, it is owned by a famous Chinese blogger.

The High Connections Coffee House is close to the Southwest Financial University on Shuangqing Road. They have smoking and non smoking sections and good easy listening music. There is a good Wi-Fi to go with the coffee and cakes.

Bars, Pubs and Drinking Venues

Dave’s Oasis is across the river from the Xinnanmen Bus Station, it was the first western style bar in Chengdu when it opened in 1999. It is a good place for ex-pats to hang out; they have weekly poker games, show movies and sport. There is draft beer and some good food.

Along the southern bank of the Jinjiang River next to Anshun Bridge there is an area known as bar street, there is a good selection of pubs and clubs with beers costing anything from CNY10-30. There is a second area emerging as a bar street between Renmin South Road and Xin South Road, it is currently smaller than the area closer to the river but new bars are adding to the popularity of this second bar street.