Chengdu is unhurried; Chongqing hits harder. The nine-grid pot is Chongqing geometry; the split pot is Chengdu's compromise. The real difference is the ratio of beef tallow, chilli and pepper, and the seconds tripe spends in the boil. Visitors fear heat. Locals fear a thin flavour.
Beyond the pot, Sichuan cooking is an empire: the pale of boiled cabbage in broth, the numbness of mapo, the crunch of garlic pork. Use hotpot as the door and the lanes as the text. Kuanzhai Alleys are the cover; Yulin, Jianshe Road and Chongqing's hillside lanes are the contents page.
Do not believe in a mild hotpot. You can order a split pot, but give the red oil one chance. Heat is not a punishment. It is how pores and memory open. Breakfast the next day should be dan dan noodles or a Chongqing xiaomian, to send the tongue home.
What to do
- Sesame paste sauce in the north, oil and garlic in Sichuan. Mixing your own is expected.
- Order the tripe and the frozen tofu even if you would not normally. They are what the format is for.
Eat — Lamb in Beijing, beef tallow and tripe in Chongqing, and whatever is swimming in Guangzhou.
