Joanna James
Home to some of China's most sought after snacks and breakfast dishes the sheer variety of food options in Chongqing can be overwhelming. Here are some of the staples that are revered among locals and seasoned visitors.
Also known as Hot Dry Noodles Re Gan Mian is no ordinary noodle dish in Chongqing. As one of China's famed noodle varieties, the dry noodles have been a firm choice for breakfast among Chongqing residents for a long time. Prepared by boiling the freshly made noodles in sesame oil popular dressings for the Re Gan Mian include various sauces and spring onion. Affordable and available through a variety of vendors and eateries including the Cai Lin Ji Noodle Restaurant, a bowl of Re Gan Mian is the perfect way to kick-start your day in the city. The dish is so popular that most restaurants sell thousands of bowls of the piping hot noodle variety each day.
Connected with the restaurant of the same name Si Ji Mei Dumplings are also known as the Season's Dumplings in Chongqing. The delicacy is not only one of the city's culinary treasures but the dumplings are often described as exuding the taste of the city and its culinary heritage. The best place to sample the steamed snack variety is at the restaurant after which it's named, the Si Ji Mei Restaurant, located close to the Hanjiang Lu crossing.
The fried bean sheets known as San Xian Dou Pi are another Chongqing specialty that is made using bean curd sheets and crushed shrimps. Other ingredients used in this mouthwatering dish include eggs and meat which are used in the filling along with the shrimp before being rolled up and fried inside rice flour and bean curd sheets. The most popular vendor of this particular crispy delight is the Tong Cheng Restaurant which is situated in Hankou's Zhongshan Dadao Dazhi Crossing.
Known for its salty flavour the fried pie known as Mian Wo is another must-sample delicacy that is accompanied with porridge or soy milk in Chongqing. Another staple breakfast dish the fried pie is also freely available all around the city in street stalls and restaurants. Most of these dishes can be quite a shock to the ones used to plain cuisines with not a lot of spices added to them, thus, be careful when trying out new food, and you can always ask the chef what level of spice they are going to be adding and request a lower heat spice if you feel like it would upset your tummy.
Those who are in search of lesser-known but equally mouth-watering snack options while staying at apartments in Chongqing China the likes of Somerset JieFangBei Chongqing should not forget to dig into Zha Ou Yuan or Fried Lotus-Root Balls or Spicy Rice Noodle. Fried bean curd is another delicious albeit smelly snack favourite to experience in Chongqing.
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