| What to eat
When you come to Chongqing, you will not to be surprised to hear that the Chinese believe in the saying 'People make food their Heaven'. It would seem that people in Chongqing are never weary of eating. Thousands of restaurants are scattered throughout every corner of the city, luring customers from home and abroad with their different specialties.
As one branch of Sichuan cuisine, Chongqing cuisine is noted for its distinctive spicy and pungent flavors. Different from Chengdu cuisine, Chongqing dishes are spicier and stronger in taste. Chili pepper, sesame, fermented black beans, scallions, ginger, garlic, wine, soy sauce and an array of flavorings are used in almost 40 different cooking methods. These methods 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.
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 of 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!
In Chongqing, hot pot restaurants can be found everywhere and many have become very popular among the local people. Xiao Tian E (Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace) and Su Da Jie, E Zhang Men are the restaurants most suited for mass consumption. The hot pot restaurants in the Chongqing 5-star Harbour Plaza also serve decent food in a cozy environment.
Hai Yi Xuan, the hot pot restaurant in Chongqing Harbour Plaza, is one of the most luxurious dining places. It has a reputation for authentic food, an elegant environment and excellent service. Nine different soup bases and a menu of over 200 selections are served. You can also pick food from the buffet. Popular choices of soup base are Chongqing Spicy Hot Pot, Ham and Marrow Hot Pot and herbal hot pots.
The most famous hot pot restaurant in Chongqing must be the Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace, which 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.
Apart from the Hot Pot, you can try the authentic Sichuan dishes of Chongqing. The food at 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.
By the bank of Yangtze River, there is a famous restaurant named Wai Po Qiao (Grandma's Bridge) on Nan Bin Road. The hotpot is served on the first floor. And the second floor is only for Sichuan food. When having the Sichuan food, we would recommend that you choose a river view box where you can appreciate the spectacular night view of the Yangtze River and Chongqing City in the moonlight. The extraordinary dishes and hospitable service make it a wonderful place to hang out with friends and families.
Since the catering business is thriving in Chongqing, many food streets are forming gradually and naturally. The area around Jiefangbei (called Jiefangbei Central Business District), Nanbin Road, and Bayi Street teem with street vendors and restaurants. Many local specialities like tea-smoked duck, dry-stewed fish, chicken with spring water, Dan Dan spicy noodle, etc. are worth tasting, but only if you are adventurous with hot and spicy experiences!
When you walk on the streets in the city center, you will be attracted by some local snacks. Xiangshan Honey Cake is made of flour and honey balsam and it tastes very crisp and soft as well as sweet. In addition, Shancheng Small Glutinous Rice Balls are fairly sweet. Jiuyuan Steamed bun with stuffing is special in taste with salty stuffings of ham, winter bamboo shoots and sweet stuffings of walnut seed, honey Chinese date, and rosy sugar. Chicken Juice Fried Dumpling is made of chopped pig muscles and chicken juice seasoning, it contains many nutrients.
Where to eat
Chongqing Hotpot Restaurants
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
Guan Yin Yan Restaurant
Average cost per person: CNY 30-60
Address: located at No.168 Zhongshan Yi Road, Yuzhong District
Sha Ping Ba Restaurant
Average cost per person: CNY 35-60
Address: located at No.17 Tianchen Road, Sha Ping Ba District
Jiang Bei Restaurant
Average cost per person: CNY 35-50
Address: located at No.97 Honghuang Road, Jiangbei District
Nan Ping Restaurant
Average cost per person: CNY 30-50
Address: located at No.26-6 Taoyuan Road, Nan’an District
Local Snacks Restaurants
Shangcheng Xiao Tangyuan (Small Glutinous Rice Balls):
Address: located at No.175 Bayi Road, Chongqing City
Jiuyuan Restaurant (Steamed bun with stuffing)
Address: located at No.10 Minzu Road, Chongqing City
Western Food Restaurants
The western food in Chongqing is not as popular as the local food; therefore, it is a tough thing for you to find a decent western restaurant on the street. If your stomach is crying out for western food and your budget is available, you can go Portico's in Harbour Plaza which serves an international buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner and a lavish brunch buffet on Sundays. The dinner buffet on Saturday is especially great value. Don't forget to book a table in advance to ensure a panoramic window seat.
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.
There are many KFCs and McDonalds in Chongqing. The main locations of KFC are as follow:
No.2 Nan Ping West Road, Nan An District
No.1 MinQuan Road (Near Ba Yi Street), Yu Zhong District
First Floor of Hui Xian Building, No.186 Min Zu Road, Yu Zhong District
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