Chongqing Restaurants

Chongqing is in a mountainous region, with distinctive winter and summer seasons. Chongqing people believe a spicy diet will help their bodies cope with the temperature extremes. The native dishes are rich in flavor and use almost 40 different cooking methods in their preparation. Chongqing food is largely a hybrid of Sichuan cuisine and local specialty dishes. The Sichuan cuisine is characterized by its heavy flavoring with spiciness and use of a diverse range of native ingredients.

Known for their spiciness, dishes from this region are flavored with red pepper, sesame, fermented black beans, scallions, ginger, garlic, wine and soy sauce. The unique feature of the Sichuan cuisine is "Ma" - the feeling of numbness in the mouth. The Sichuan red peppercorns, known as "Huajiao", give Sichuan food its distinctive taste and create a sudden numbing sensation in one's mouth. Another distinctive feature of Sichuan dishes is the use of nuts. Often cashew nuts, walnuts and peanuts are combined with chicken, mushrooms or bean curd to attain the all-important "texture" which is crucial to all Sichuan dishes. The number one specialty of Chongqing is Sichuan hotpot, in which diners cook their own sliced meat and vegetables in a bubbling pot of soup or spiced oil.

Hot Pot
Hot pot is the most famous food in Chongqing. The Chongqing people like to enjoy hotpot, which is noted for its peppery hot taste. The heavy oil and spices in the hotpot are definitely an acquired taste, but the locals love it. A hot pot is an electric or gas fired pot filled with soup base. The diner is offered thin sliced meat, various bean curd products and various vegetables which are boiled in the soup base. When cooked the food is dipped into a little bowl of special sauce. Be careful since the spicy soup base is burning hot.

Jiangtuan Fish
Since Chongqing is located along the Jialing River a large variety of fish and aquatic life is available. Among them, Jiangtuan fish, also called big-head fish, is considered to be the best. The fish is delicious when steamed.

Pork leg cooked with rock candy
Pork leg cooked with rock candy is a common household dish of the Chongqing people. The strong tasting finished dish appears red in color, and leaves a sweet after taste.

Meat with crispy rice
Sliced meat with crispy rice is a common dish in Chongqing. The meat is soft and tender while the rice is crisp, forming a sharp contrast with the former. When sampling this dish, you can hear the sizzling sound emerging from the rice.

Stuffed dumplings
Most probably you have tried stuffed dumplings made of glutinous rice, but you may still be amazed at their mini counterpart in Chongqing. It is just hard to imagine how local folks can manage to cram the sweet stuffing into such a pearl-sized dumpling.

Beef in Spicy Soup
This is a well-known Sichuan dish made of steamed beef with a variety of seasonings and spices. It tastes spicy, fresh and tender with a rich hot and peppery flavor. It has a wonderful aroma and a bright red color.

Squash with Meat Filling
The inside of a squash is hollowed out, and the squash meat is mixed with pork to make the filling. The empty squash is filled with the meat mixture and steamed. The spicy, bitter taste makes this popular summertime food unique.

"Fish-Fragrant" Pork Slices
This is a roast pork dish cooked with bamboo shoots, mushrooms and Sichuan's special seasonings and spices. The special sauce is called "Yuxiang", which means fish fragrant. There are several explanations for the name of this sauce, which contains no fish. It's said that the sauce makes the pork taste like fish, or that the sauce was used to flavor fish first and pork later. This dish is dark red in color and tastes salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Its unique flavors and the strong aroma of the meat make it very popular outside China.

Camphor and Tea-smoked Duck
This dish is salted, smoked duck. After being smoked, the meat is steamed and deep-fried. It is dark red in color, crunchy outside and tender inside. Its aroma is like that of camphor trees and flower tea.

Pan-Fried Beef Slices
This is a famous Sichuan dish. The main ingredient is beef (sirloin steak). After the moisture is drained from the meat, it is stir fried with hot peppers cut into thin strips. This traditional Chinese dish food is tender in texture and very spicy in taste.

PRICE GUIDE
$ = inexpensive
$$ = reasonable
$$$ = expensive
$$$$ = very expensive

Sichuan Hot Pot Restaurant
Add: 48 Xiaomishi, Yuzhong District
Tel: 63829252
Description: A famous chain restaurant for hot pot
Type of Cuisine: Local Cuisine
Hours: 11:00-23:00
Average Cost: $
Credit Cards: Not Accepted
Menu: Chinese
Language Spoken: Mandarin

Ling Glutinous Rice Ball
Add: 375 Xinhua Road
Tel: 63834900
Description: famous for Glutinous rice balls and other local snacks.
Type of Cuisine: Local Cuisine
Hours: 11:00-22:00
Average Cost: $
Credit Cards: Not Accepted
Menu: Chinese
Language Spoken: Mandarin

Old Sichuan Restaurant
Add: Bayi Road, Chongqing
Tel: 3841957
Description: vast choices of typical Sichuan Cuisine.
Type of Cuisine: Local Cuisine
Hours: 11:00-22:00
Average Cost: $-$$
Credit Cards: Not Accepted
Menu: Chinese
Language Spoken: Mandarin

Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace (Jiangbei Branch)
Add: #78 Jianxin Beilu, Jiangbei District, Chongqing
Tel: +86 23 6786 8139
Type of Cuisine: Chongqing Hotpot
Official Website: http://www.cqcygnet.com/
Description: The most famous hot pot restaurant in Chongqing is unquestionably the Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace. It has several branches in Chongqing. "Medicine Meal Hotpot" and "Red and White Composite Hotpot" are the specialties of the house. Live folk dances and the occasional Chinese play will make your dinner special.

Cai Xiang Yuan (Yangjiaping Branch)
Add: 2F, Guanjiangge, Zhujiang Garden, Zhigang Dadao, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing
Tel: +86 23 684 42222
Type of Cuisine: Sichuan Cuisine
Description: This popular Sichuan restaurant has it all, with dishes ranging from salty to sweet, and hot to fragrant.

Zeng's Fish Restaurant
Add:Changbin Rd., Yuzhong District, Chongqing
Tel: +86 23 6380 9315
Type of Cuisine: Chongqing Cuisinie
Description: Zeng's Fish Restaurant, also called "Dong Zi Ji Yu Restaurant", is a famous restaurant among the local young people. Youting Braised Carp is one of the specialties of the house. Youting is the name of Youting Town, which is 80 km away from Chongqing City. The city is famous for its succulent way of cooking carps leaving you wanting more.

Cloud Nine Revolving Restaurant
Add: 29F, Yudu Hote, 168 Bayi Lu, Yuzhong District, Chongqing
Tel: +86 23 6382 8888-4701
Type of Cuisine: Sichuan Cuisine & Cantonese Cuisine
Description: Located on the 29 floor of Yudu Hotel, Cloud Nine Revolving Restaurant features Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines. Diners here can enjoy panoramic views of the Yuzhong Peninsula. The restaurant exists to provide guests with an exceptional dining experience by offering a value-priced menu prepared from the freshest ingredients.