Everybody always says Sichuan food is the best food in the world. Well, Sichuan people are always saying that, and a lot of others agree that Sichuan food is pretty damn good. Personally, although I’ve never been to Sichuan itself, I was never that impressed with Sichuan food- it’s good, yes, but I think Hunan food is better, and there’s plenty of food around the world that at least matches Sichuan in its goodness.
And now Mr Bamboo, who has just finished his first week in Chengdu, has spoken:
“I’m still waiting to be awed by the food which is as stodgy as anything I’ve ever had anywhere else in China. The local attempts at gong bao ji ding are nowhere near as good as the version at XXKX. The restaurant behind the school where we went for lunch before James and Katie left does some nice dishes, though. Provided it’s not too expensive, it should be worth repeated visits. Zoe’s and the Bookworm are worth visits on special occasions, but otherwise too expensive for dining on a regular basis. I must try Red Brick Pizza some time.“
Ouch. Chengdu’s gongbao jiding compares unfavourbaly to that cooked at a restaurant in Fuzhou? Chengdu food stodgy? Well, John, I hope you make it through your time in Chengdu without the locals forming a posse and burning you at the stake for blasphemy.
For what it’s worth, the best GBJD I’ve ever eaten is at a Sichuan place here in Kunming, though the owner also throws in a lot of typical Yunnan dishes. She’s a Chongqing native and given that city’s reputation for hotpot, it might be the best eating city in China.
Actually, I was quite impressed with Yunnan’s food. As for Sichuan and Chongqing, I guess I’m just going to have to go and find out for myself.
That’s not to say that they don’t have some decent gong bao ji ding somewhere here, but I’ve yet to find it. XXKX served both Sichuan and Min cuisine, so there may be some cross-over.
There’s some tasty food in this country, but I don’t think it should, blind anyone to the stodge that’s produced in your average å°?å?ƒåº— no matter where it is.
I did find last night that the place over the other side of the bridge seems to produce better quality nosh than the other places I’ve tried.
But given Chengdu’s reputation I would’ve thought it would take much less than a week to find top quality nosh. Or were all the good Sichuan cooks exported a long time ago?
I think they ended up in the places where you’re paying Â¥70 or more for a single dish.
Not places I’d bother going to, then.