- This topic has 11 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
In spite of my time in China, nothing had prepared me for Chengdu. Not only was the air a little cleaner that other parts of China, I was way too wet behind the ears for the great Sichuan culinary experience!
Although I was prepared to see every dish made in chilly oil, I was unprepared to see the hotpot make oil the main dish! To my untrained eye, there seemed to be enough fat in a hotpot to choke a bull elephant. But the locals assure me that the hua jiao renders the fat harmless. I am given anecdotal evidence that people who ate hotpot twice a day, were thinner, healthier, had better mental faculty, beat Alzheimer’s and lived to be 98!
Still, I am hooked. The aroma is too tantalizing – even after seeing the spicy, chilly oil at laoma turn to a lard like consistency when it cools! I believe I ended up developing a hotpot belly!
The hotpot aside, the technology industry is mature, the people of Chendu were generally nice, businesses were receptive to new ideas and many doors at government offices opened without prior appointments!
This forum had been an amazing source of information! Even my local contacts found it incredible that I could get such detailed information on the specific hotpots to go to or the best place to get a foot massage! I had met with some, but missed out on the opportunity to meet more people from this forum.
I am smitten by Chendu. I will most certainly be back. Very likely open shop. Maybe, just maybe, call it a second home!
I love hotpot. Although I have to say over the past half year or so my stomach started to get less and less capable of digesting all that crap. The next day I often feel horrible for like half a day. Nasty toilet runs included.
This never used to happen the two years before. 🙁
I would say welcome to the forum but it sounds like you’ve already come and gone! Out of curiosity, which hot pot restaurant did you visit? Hot pot is one of those things that you want to take all visitors to, to experience at least once. Truly a staple of Sichuan culture.
@Charlie, thanks!
I had been to a few, the most memorable being the laoma tou, another one very close to the European city and one more near the hi-tech zone.
In spite of the Fèngcì, I am now addicted to that stuff!
Prior to coming to Chengdu I hated “hotpot” or at least what non-Sichuan areas claim to be “hotpot.” Boiling stuff in flavorless broth? Get that shit out of here. Sichuan hotpot was a revelation!
I’m always excited to eat it, but I’m usually regretting it the next day when my ass feels like a volcano.
I had a great (real, not hand mashed pulp) beef hotpot last night, my first hotpot in Chengdu for a while. This morning I paid.
On a recent trip to HK I went to a favourite Japanese restaurant in Causeway Bay that does a ‘Soy Milk’ hotpot, with unlimited beef of various (price) cuts. So good. No ass burn included. Has anyone seen this in Chengdu?
I believe you are looking for this: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/black-cod-and-soy-milk-hot-pot-recipe.html
I recommend “Mala Kongjian” 麻辣空间 near the rainbow bridge/Jinli area, if you are a fan of the numb taste. They use fresh, green pepper corns instead of the red ones that other hotpot places commonly use. You also have the option of getting your own individual small pot right in front of you.
I believe you are looking for this:
That recipe looks seriously good. I will have to give that a whirl sometime soon.
That recipe looks seriously good. I will have to give that a whirl sometime soon.
Watch your estrogen levels!!!
- The forum ‘General Discussion’ is closed to new topics and replies.