Understanding Wok Hei and Other Wok Matters 

Howard Cai’s New Chinese Regional Recipes to Cook at Home

FEBRUARY 2016

DO CHENGDU

A 2,000-year-old city with one of the fast-growing economies in China and

a UNESCO Capital of Gastronomy, Sichuan’s laid-back metropolis

is getting a shiny facelift.

Text by Johannes Pong

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C lose to Tibet in western China, the Chengdu Basin of Sichuan province seems like a far-off mystical land to those who are only

familiar with the mainland’s wealthy coastal cities. Enveloped by treacherous mountains, Sichuan used to be notoriously difficult to reach. As the Chinese saying goes: “The Land of Shu [Chengdu’s old name] is difficult to go to.”

Yet for 2,300 years of recorded history, Chengdu has been a sophisticated urban centre famous for brocade and other luxury goods. It was here that engraved typography was invented during the Tang dynasty, the world’s first paper currency was issued in the Southern Song, and that tea culture originated. Green tea packed with umami has been harvested from ancient trees on the peaks of Mount Meng and sacred Emei since long before longjing in Hangzhou or oolong in Fujian.

For foodies all over the globe, this is Fuchsia Dunlop’s China, famed for its spicy yet complex cuisine. Sichuanese food has taken the world by storm, prompting UNESCO to name Chengdu its third “City of Gastronomy” in 2010, joining Colombia’s Popayan and Sweden’s Östersund.

Despite being a major metropolis for 23 centuries – and now one of the fastest-growing economies in China, producing half of the world’s iPads – Chengdu is inordinately more relaxed than Hong Kong or Shanghai. Locals hang out at tea houses, play mahjong and philosophise. There’s gossip, but no mention of money. Natives of Chengdu are refreshingly gentle and soft-spoken, despite their fiery, mouth-numbing cuisine.

Chengdu’s laid-back lifestyle is on full display at Kuanzhai Xiangzi – the Wide and Narrow Alleys – a marvellous mosaic of Sichuanese and northern Chinese architecture from the Qing period. In 1718, Beijing sent 3,000 troops west to quell a Tibetan aprising. The

Manchu generals who stayed behind in Chengdu were prohibited from mingling with the locals, so a luxurious little enclave of Beijing-style siheyuan was built with intricate 300-year-old brick façades and alleyways lined with wooden manor gates. It’s remarkably better preserved than Beijing’s hutongs and feels more authentic than Shanghai’s Xintiandi. Locals sip green tea in its rustic salons or minimalist modern tea rooms, or join the weekly ritual of mala huoguo – a bubbling, fire-engine-red hotpot of Sichuan peppercorn, crimson chilli oil, black cardamom and other spices – while listening to live guzheng (Chinese zither) in elegant courtyards.

The Diaoyutai Boutique Chengdu is in a heritage mansion complex in a corner of Kuan Alley. Redesigned by Bruno Moinard, the designer responsible for Cartier boutiques worldwide and the Hermès headquarters in Paris’ 8th Arrondissement, the 45-room hotel is the first in the Diaoyutai MGM Hospitality portfolio (a diaoyutai is a Chinese state-owned guesthouse) and boasts the most expensive rooms in Chengdu.

Elsewhere, the city exudes a spiritual calm from grand sanctuaries such as Wuhou Shrine from the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280) and the giant Wenshu Monastery. A pilgrimage spot for foodies, Wenshu has a tea garden and a massive restaurant offering a delicious vegetarian buffet. Among the stalls near its gates, Zhang’s chilled noodle shop is the best joint for local street-food classic tianshuimian, “sweet water noodles”.

Another urban monastery, 1,000-year-old Daci Temple, is famous for ordaining the 13-year-old Xuanzang, the master of the (fictional) Monkey King. During the Tang dynasty, the real-life Xuanzang left Daci on his famed journey to the West, bringing back Buddhist scriptures from India. The monastery now sits within Taikoo Li, a gleaming retail complex built by Swire Properties and Chengdu’s Sino-Ocean Land. Well-preserved heritage buildings (including a massive guild hall for Cantonese merchants) rub shoulders with cool cafés and stores such as Muji and Givenchy.

Nearby, The Temple House is the city’s newest and most stylish boutique hotel and the third property in Swire’s House Collective (along with Beijing’s Opposite House and Hong Kong’s The Upper House). Behind the ornate Qing brick façade, the lobby features a cosy library and a gallery displaying contemporary local art, a nod to the building’s past as a Qing government translation office for bitieshi (Manchurian scholars).

Forty-five minutes away, the Qingcheng (“Green Citadel”) mountain range is the birthplace of Taoism, attracting hikers and religious seekers to its ancient temples and caves. The footpaths and tram up the mountain are well kept, and picturesque pavilions provide rest along the way. Hike up with Olaf Kotzke, the affable guest experience manager of the nearby Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain. The Sichuanese-speaking Berliner is an expert on the area and something of a local celeb. Afterwards, sate your appetite at the resort’s Farm2Fork and 28Zodiac restaurant, supplied by the resort’s idyllic organic farm.

Domenico CicchettiChef de cuisine of TivanoTemple House Hotel, Chengdu

Why do you live here?

What did you have for dinner last night?

What is your favourite part of the city?

What is your opinion of the dining scene in Chengdu?

What is your favourite time of year in Chengdu?

I had a local dinner of Chinese dumplings, noodles with pork and nuts, and Tsingtao beer. My favourite dish prepared by my wife is a Portuguese dish called feijoada – slow-cooked pork stew with black beans.

Chengdu is a growing city. In the past year, at least six new foreign restaurants opened. Sichuan cuisine is indisputably delicious. Topping my list are dandan noodles, hotpot and barbecued street food.

I would say autumn is the best season of the year. During October, the leaves on the Ginkgo trees turn a beautiful shade of yellow.

Walking has become a routine for me. I especially enjoy the route from Lan Kwai Fong to Tianfu Square, which parallels Jinjiang River. The uplifting feeling draws me back on a regular basis. But if you ask my daughter, she will definitely say the Panda Base.

Having been settled in Chengdu for a year, I feel its high living standards make this the perfect city for my family. The weather is rarely cold, and there’s plenty of greenery. The friendly faces are very welcoming and the food is delicious, especially at Tivano. On weekends, we stroll through People’s Park, Tianfu Square and Floraland Park.

A Chat with

The wood-lined rooms connected to the lush courtyard of The Temple House’s Mi Xun spa were once the Daci

Monastery’s mulberry gardens, where silkworms were raised. The Teahouse serves light, contemporary Sichuanese vegetarian dishes, with its own signature tea blend featuring dried mulberries in a nod to its history.

81 Bitieshi Street, Jinjiang District Tel: +86 28 6297 4161

The Teahouse1

Huangcheng Laoma is a Chengdu hotpot institution, but instead of the usual boisterous crowds at round tables,

its new Yishaoguan outlets are hushed conveyor belt hotpot bars swathed in cool mint green and soft jazz. This updated version of mala huoguo is perfect for solo diners or intimate dates.

2/F Taiko Li, 19 Daci Temple Road, Jinjiang DistrictTel: +86 28 8676 5437

Yishaoguan by Huangcheng Laoma 2

56 DESTINATION

HIGHLIGHTSDINING

chongqing

myanmar

mongolia

chinaxi’an

nanyang

chengdu

Clockwise from top left: the entrance to Tivano at The Temple House; one of the rustic pavilions on Qing Cheng Mountain; and organic garden at Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain

Interview by Ellie Furuya and Cherrie Yu

58 DESTINATION

This 100-year-old chain has extensive but easily navigable iPad menus with clear images of the

dishes, which change daily. Chose rustic baked buckwheat cakes and an exhilaratingly piquant stir-fry of cow innards, well-executed Sichuan classics such as mayi shangshu (wok-fried mung bean vermicelli with mincemeat) and spicy dumplings, or more modern Chengdu creations such as chilled okra in tangy dressing or a minimalist huiguorou (twice-cooked pork).

2/F 243 Wuhou Temple Main Street, Wuhouci DistrictTel: +86 28 8509 8822

Sip premium teas inside a glittering white glass box in the lobby of Niccolo Chengdu, overlooking

Taikoo Li. The selection includes teas rarely encountered outside Sichuan, such as the famous Zhuyeqing “Green Bamboo” tea brewed by monks on Mount Emei, and sweet Mengding ganlu with intense nutty umami. There’s also an organic tea harvested exclusively for Niccolo.

Tower 3, Hotel Niccolo Chengdu IFS, 1 Hongxing Road Section 3, Jinjiang DistrictTel: +86 28 8220 8888

Laofangzi “The Old House”

The Tea Lounge

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This high-end restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton Chengdu offers sophisticated interpretations of

Cantonese and Sichuanese classics. Choose the fine-dining Chengdu specialities such as double-boiled soups “kung fu” style, served in a clay teapot, and tender Sichuan tea marinated boneless wagyu short ribs cooked inside charcoal bamboo.

The Ritz-Carlton Chengdu, 269 Shuncheng Avenue Qingyang DistrictTel: +86 28 8358 888

Li Xuan4

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Zhang’s “chilled noodle” shop serves all varieties of Sichuanese pasta, but go for the classic Chengdu

street snack, tianshuimian, “sweet water noodles”. Thick, finger-sized al dente noodles are coated with sandy, sweet, spicy and smoky chilli paste with sugar, sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorn powder. The zingy muscular sauce clings to every crook and cranny of the chewy strands.

39 Wenshuyuan Road, Qingyang District

Zhang Liangfen 5

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