But what has made Sichuan truely world famous is its cuisine.  Known for its spice, the very word Sichuan has become synonymous with heat.  from chinatowns the world over, Sichuan cooking has made its way into the fabric of global culture.  And while Sichuanese cooking is famous, it is not known for being refined.  That is, until you have the real deal.

Beijing, as China’s capital city, is home to representatives from all of its provinces.  Chuan Ban Can Ting is the restaurant owned and run by the Sichuan Provincial Government Office in Beijing.  And it is spectacularly delicious.

Of particular note is the Kung Pao Xia, Fried Prawn Balls with Chili Sauce.  Now, for a full disclosure, I am NOT a fan of Kung Pao.  It is a staple of every bad Chinese restuarant; made everywhere, rarely well.  But this dish convinced me of why Kung Pao is so popular.  It is because the real dish is so damn good.  Perfectly cooked, succulent king prawns, crunchy, earthy peanuts, scallions and red chilis come together with to form a balanced, sweet and firey dish.  And that is what is so surprising.  It’s sweet with a strong base of heat that is left simmering by the peanuts.  Amazing.

Mixed Yong Soybeans with Vegetables
Lobber Chicken
Sauteed Pea Sprouts
Fried Prawn Balls with Chili Sauce (Kung Pao Xia)
Duck Smoked with Tea Leaves
Sichuan Cold Noodles
Young Chicken Chongqing Style
Clear Rice Noodles in Chili Sauce

Mixed Mushroom with Beancurd Sheet
Mixed Eggplant
Shredded Pork in Chili Sauce
Braised King Prawns with Chili Sauce
Braised Beancurd with Chiui Sauce (garlic, chili, pork)
Noodles with Scallion Oil
Shanghai Vegetable Rice

It’s not much to look at. And there is always a line; two actually. One to order and one to pick up. Walking up to the register counter, I point at a decaying, bright yellow menu. “Je-ga”, I say pointing, “this one”. One order dumplings, one hot and sour rice noodles.

And then there is the wait for a table, hovering like a vulture for a space to open. But its not a problem. Its worth it.

The dumplings are simply the best. Flavor bombs that literally explode when bitten into. Weapons of Mass Digestion. Fried in a cast iron pan to a crisp on one side. Sprinkled with sesame seeds on the other. The doughy outer shell like a woman, soft and hard in the all the right places.

And if highly enriched uranium has a food equivalent, then this pork filling is it. Boiled in its juice as the dumplings fry. Wanting to evaporate your mouth in a mushroom cloud of flavor.

And then there are the rice noodles, as balanced a dish as you will find. Deep ripples of rich flavor, cut with cilantro sour, spiked with green pepper heat, crunchy with peanuts, silky with the gelatinous noodles.

Get on a plane. Come to Shanghai. Eat Yang’s Fried Dumplings.  Xie xie, the quest is over.

The food was as expected, simple and amazing. Apps included (1) bean curd with black mushroom and soybean and (2) sautéed pea sprouts. The xiaolongbao included mini-soup with pork, chicken with black truffle (sublime), and mushrooms. We also got some pork and shrimp shu-mai, vegetable filled bao, and for desert, bao with red bean paste and with juju paste.

Nestled in the crevice of the mountains below the Great Wall, Xiaolumian is exactly what its name says, a friendly little hut for noodles. We ordered the sampler, which is basically everything on the menu. It included 3 types of noodles (spinach, egg and flour), many kinds of meat and vegetarian sauces (bean paste with pork, sesame & peanut, mushroom, eggplant & hot peppers, egg & peppers, chicken & ginger), two kinds of dumplings (egg & chive and pork & cabbage) and a bunch of fixings and toppings.

The weather in Xi’an was particularly mediocre; it had been raining for 20 days straight when we got there.  So the food at the Lintong outlet of Lao Sun Jia, a small Muslim Chinese chain founded in 1898 (!!!), was particularly well suited to the crisp autumn day.   

We started with some pickeled garlic and fresh greens, served with a salty red peper sauce.  These were also to be used as a garnish for what was up next, traditional muslim chinese soup (Rou Pao Mo).  We had both the beef and vegetarian version, which had egg and tomato.  The star of this dish is the bread, which are used like noodles in the stew.  Hand formed, the custom is both unique and interesting.  Traditionally, when you order the meal you are given a large bowl and a quantity of round, flat unleavened bread (nan bread).  You break the bread into small pieces so that it can absorb the flavor of the liquid.  The stew is then added to the bowl.  The resulting taste is similar to spatzle.  And the flavors were layered, robust and delicious.

The Rou Pao Mo was accompagnied by chicken with spicy peppers.  Simple ingrediants perfectly sauteed together, this soulful dish is rich in heat and delicate in flavor.