Sichuan cuisine has long been enlisted as one of China's major four categories of food, the other three being Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, and Guangdong cuisine. Sichuan cuisine quite often gives people the impression of being hot and spicy, which is true due to the cold and wet weather conditions of the province, situated in southwest China.

With the migration of Sichuan people into other places of the country, including the capital city, Beijing, they brought over the local flavors. In a conversation with a waitress at one of the best Sichuan restaurants in Beijing, I learned that she chose to stay here because her husband, an assistant chef at the restaurant, had a stable job here. The restaurant was popular. It was still 70 percent full one hour before the restaurant's closing time.

“Would the two of you make a better living here compared to back at home?”

“Not necessarily. Yes, we earn more here, but the living cost is also higher.”

For whatever reason, they chose to stay and thanks to them, we as customers, whether we are from Sichuan or not, have the opportunity to enjoy the flavors and cuisine found in Sichuan.

I did not ask them where exactly in Sichuan they came from, but it is for sure that all chefs in this restaurant are from Sichuan, to ensure a 100 percent guarantee that the flavors are authentically preserved.

As some of you might know, Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality are geographically bound to each other. Their cuisines are both tagged with the word “spicy”, but there are differences still. In terms of being spicy, Sichuan cuisine leans towards its fragrance, while Chongqing's provokes your taste buds by causing a physically numbing sensation.

If you are eager to know where this restaurant is, I promise to put out the detailed name and address. You can either scroll down to the bottom of this page now and plan your visit, or, hold your saliva just a bit, and go through the menu with me first, not from front to back, but geographically from North to South in their birth place, Sichuan.

North of Sichuan

We recommend the Chuanbei Liangfen, or to put it into English, Bean Jelly, made of green pea powder and made into the shape of noodles, accompanied by seasonings including onions, garlic, chili oil, pepper, soy bean, salt, sugar, MSG, ‎fermented soya beans, sesame oil, parsley, as you wish to choose.

West of Sichuan

Hotpot. Hotpot. Hotpot. I hear you.

As mentioned earlier, Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality share a lot in common in their cuisines. With hotpot, here are two indicators that might help you distinguish between their hotpots. One major difference is with the oil. Chongqing hotpot uses processed oxley oil, while Chengdu (the capital city of Sichuan Province) hotpot using rapeseed oil that brings out a lighter flavor of the food compared to the former. The other difference is how the pots are constructed, shown below.

South of Sichuan

This is an easy homemade dish, diced rabbit meat with fresh ginger, fresh onion, and capsicum of course. Or simply, "Spicy Diced Rabbit Meat". The best season for this dish is when gingers are first harvested in July. Note that this dish is served cold. It is said that the famous ancient Chinese poet Du Fu enjoyed newly cooked spicy diced rabbit, and asked if he could pack more of it for his road trip. Therefore, local chef extended the length of firing time during cooking to lose some of its water, and packed it till it cooled. People then discovered that the dish is more tasty when cold than when it's hot. "Spicy Diced Rabbit Meat" or "Cold Diced Rabbit Meat" are both fine.

Recommended restaurant

The Gong Yuan Shu House is located in Gong Yuan Tou Tiao No.5, Jiangguomen Inner Street and Gong Yuan West Street, Chaoyang Distrit, Beijing. Average spending per customer is 80 yuan (about 11.9 U.S. dollars). For those of you who'd like to enjoy all the above and more at one time instead of driving 249 kilometers from the city of Nanchong, hometown of the bean jelly, to the city of Zigong, hometown of the spicy diced rabbit meat, we recommend this restaurant.