We spent last weekend in Chengdu, China which is in the Sichuan province. When most people hear Sichuan they first think of spicy food and that is just what I had in mind! We took a discount airlines there so of course you expect less comforts in-flight, but it seems that the schedule is what we should have been worried about. A few weeks before the flight, we received an e-mail about an arrival time change from just before midnight arrival to about 1 am, which I was already not happy about (though I've come to accept as the HK discount airlines have less than ideal landing and departure time slots in order to keep the ticket prices so low). After finally boarding the bus to the plane (no jet bridge - another discount carrier staple) we sat there, and sat there and just as we started to lose hope of ever leaving HK and fell asleep, we finally pushed back for take off. We didn't get to the hotel in Chengdu until after 2:30 am and we were ready to get straight to bed!
Our first stop was Chengdu Yongling Museum. This area was more of an outdoor museum with a huge garden, numerous buildings with Japanese style architecture, koi (fish) ponds, bonsai trees, and a temple in the center. We spent a while walking through the gardens admiring all the different type of plants, especially the bonsai trees. I had a few back in college and it was a challenge to keep them alive for more than 6 months, but these guys were huge.. and old! After exploring the pagodas, we had worked up an appetite and started looking for Jinli street.
Luckily we saw some people walking around with street food so we knew we were close. After taking the side exit, we were right in the middle of Jinli street and all it had to offer. It was crowded with people snacking on everything from cups of noodles to spiced rabbit heads. We stuck with the roast pacific saury (fish) and potatoes on a stick. Surprisingly Melissa liked the fish which was quite tasty - and cheap - less than US$2.
After our snack, we stopped by one of the bars lining the narrow street for a beer. Melissa ordered some popcorn but when after one bite, she didn't have another piece, I passed...guess she was thinking it was going to be like the movies back home.
The concierge recommended a restaurant to have some of the famous Sichuan hot pot. After finishing up our beers, we did some shopping while looking for the exit and disappointingly there was not much worth buying though Melissa did pick up a few cheap bracelets.
The restaurant the concierge recommended must have been famous because the taxi driver knew it by name, even without the address.
It was mid afternoon when we arrived which means the restaurant was empty except for a few Chinese tourists who must have been on their way out as they had their suitcases with them... good - less people to make a fool in front of. After being seated a a table with a burner in the center of the table, the waitress came over and started speaking Chinese. Luckily one of the other waitresses had more patience and knew about 5 words in English.
After a few minutes, the plates of sliced meats, vegetables and catfish started to arrive and the waitress showed us what to do. After we cooked the meat and veggies, we scooped out what we were looking for with our chopsticks. We used the dividers in the hot pot to separate everything. Surprisingly it was not as spicy as it looked, it was only the oil and the chilies that were spicy. As long as you just pick out the meat you were okay. But we hit the roof when we had some of the mushrooms as they had soaked in the oil and as soon as you started to chew, it released that spicy oil just like a sponge...we had to quickly order another round of bottled waters after that. It was a good meal, but it was more just about the experience - in other words, I don't think I will be looking for a hot pot restaurant in HK anytime soon.
When we arrived back to the room, the hotel left me a cheesecake birthday cake and candles. The candles were a bit problematic as the first ones were half melted down by the time I got to lighting the last one, oh well.. I can't remember the last time I blew out candles! I won't say how old I am...you can just count the candles..
Today was a good day!
Luckily we saw some people walking around with street food so we knew we were close. After taking the side exit, we were right in the middle of Jinli street and all it had to offer. It was crowded with people snacking on everything from cups of noodles to spiced rabbit heads. We stuck with the roast pacific saury (fish) and potatoes on a stick. Surprisingly Melissa liked the fish which was quite tasty - and cheap - less than US$2.
The concierge recommended a restaurant to have some of the famous Sichuan hot pot. After finishing up our beers, we did some shopping while looking for the exit and disappointingly there was not much worth buying though Melissa did pick up a few cheap bracelets.
The restaurant the concierge recommended must have been famous because the taxi driver knew it by name, even without the address.
It was mid afternoon when we arrived which means the restaurant was empty except for a few Chinese tourists who must have been on their way out as they had their suitcases with them... good - less people to make a fool in front of. After being seated a a table with a burner in the center of the table, the waitress came over and started speaking Chinese. Luckily one of the other waitresses had more patience and knew about 5 words in English.
The basic concept of the hot pot is you choose which meats, fish, noodles, and vegetables you want to add to the boiling pot of spicy chili oil sitting in the center of the table. The problem was that the order sheet was all in chinese, so we had to point to the pictures and then the waitress would show me which line on the order form, the item was...Man we really had to work order our meal! Then she asked us about drinks...unfortunately there were no photos and all the other tables were drinking tea. Luckily, Melissa had a bottled water in her bag to show the lady.
After a few minutes, the plates of sliced meats, vegetables and catfish started to arrive and the waitress showed us what to do. After we cooked the meat and veggies, we scooped out what we were looking for with our chopsticks. We used the dividers in the hot pot to separate everything. Surprisingly it was not as spicy as it looked, it was only the oil and the chilies that were spicy. As long as you just pick out the meat you were okay. But we hit the roof when we had some of the mushrooms as they had soaked in the oil and as soon as you started to chew, it released that spicy oil just like a sponge...we had to quickly order another round of bottled waters after that. It was a good meal, but it was more just about the experience - in other words, I don't think I will be looking for a hot pot restaurant in HK anytime soon.
When we arrived back to the room, the hotel left me a cheesecake birthday cake and candles. The candles were a bit problematic as the first ones were half melted down by the time I got to lighting the last one, oh well.. I can't remember the last time I blew out candles! I won't say how old I am...you can just count the candles..Today was a good day!
Happy birthday Philip! I have a friend who taught English at a school in Chengdu for a couple of years...I must say, you take better pictures :D
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