Early morning on Huaxing Street, a taste landmark of old Chengdu
If you want to explore the food signs with regional characteristics in Chengdu, you will find that at a coordinate point that is difficult to avoid and ignore, it is the street that exists to the north from the junction of the two streets that form an intersection relationship, namely Huaxing Street.
This old street is hidden behind the Wangfujing Department Store. It is the intersection of Chengdu’s century-old business and urban fireworks.
Here, it has witnessed the changes in the city's prosperity, and it also preserves the taste memory of the city in the most authentic way.
On Huaxing Street in the morning, the steaming heat and the aroma of the food are intertwined. This is a very vivid starting point for understanding Chengdu!
A century-old restaurant and neighborhood flavor: the breakfast matrix of Huaxing Street
When talking about Huaxing Street, the first thing that comes to mind is Huaxing Omelette Noodles .
This famous old shop has been serving a simple bowl of red oil omelette noodles for hundreds of years.
The noodles have a strong texture and are paired with special red oil chili peppers and green vegetables. Finally, they are topped with freshly fried eggs. The price is 3.5 yuan/bowl, which is friendly and affordable. Adding eggs requires an additional price.
The store has its signature omelette noodles, in addition to fermented fermented eggs, mung bean porridge, cold noodles, etc. This is a great place to experience the flavor of Chengdu’s traditional breakfast.
The stewed chicken noodle shop next to it has succeeded with a pot of clear and delicious chicken soup. The price of a small bowl is 4 yuan. The soup has a mellow taste and meaty texture. It feels warm and appropriate, which is in obvious contrast to the warm atmosphere of the omelette noodles.
Fat rice rolls beside Zitong Bridge: the skill of a bowl of old soup
The steamed rice roll shop located to the left of the omelette noodles and next to the Zitongqiao Police Station is another popular place on this street, with many people visiting it.
This traditional production process is very powerful: first put the sweet potato vermicelli in a large pot, and then continue to boil it with an old soup made from at least six kilograms of stick bones. The soup base is extremely rich and mellow, and the taste is particularly unique.
The food here, called fat rice rolls and noodles, are the signature features of the store to attract customers. What is more worthy of mentioning is the Maocai in the store, which is made from hot pot base ingredients and cooked in one pot. The various ingredients fully absorb the spicy and fragrant soup. When eaten, the taste is extremely refreshing and makes people feel happy and enjoyable. It fully demonstrates the casual and enthusiastic characteristics of Sichuan's niche snacks without reservation.
Panxiang City’s Baozi Xiang: The legend of state-owned breakfast
Continuing deeper, you can see Panxiang City, a time-honored state-owned brand.
There is a shop that is famous for its braised vegetables and Sichuan cuisine. However, the breakfast department just opposite it (now merged) hides the unique steamed buns in Chengdu.
The steamed buns here, with thin skin and thick fillings, are priced at 0.5 yuan each, which is very cost-effective; the soy milk is mellow and authentic, and only costs 0.5 yuan a bowl; the fried dough sticks are crispy and fragrant, better than those in chain stores, and only cost 1 yuan each; plus the refreshing side dishes, priced at 0.3 yuan each, this constitutes an affordable, high-quality and sumptuous breakfast, which carries the breakfast memories of generations of Chengdu people.
The taste inheritance of time-honored brands: Lai Tangyuan and Zhong Dumplings
Turning my eyes towards the main road of Zongfu Road, I saw the old landmark gourmet shop with Lai Tangyuan as its business card, and another old landmark gourmet shop with the sign of Zhong Dumplings, which are both the essence of this place, both stood there quietly.
Lai Tangyuan, who made his own story into a TV series, makes glutinous rice dumplings with soft and glutinous skin and sweet fillings; Zhong Dumplings are unique because they are stuffed with whole pork and seasoned with red oil and garlic paste.
When you arrive here in the morning, you can taste the classic snacks that have been passed down for hundreds of years and experience the profound heritage of Chengdu’s food culture.
Weird-tasting noodles in deep alleys: the taste miracle of Niuwang Temple
Walking along the Huaxing Street area, the Niuwang Temple Strange Noodles, known as the "No. 1 Noodles in Chengdu", continues to write legendary stories in the alleys near East Street.
This small shop is said to sell three thousand kilograms of noodles every day.
It's called Weiwei Noodles. The reason why it has this name is because the soup base is carefully made with many seasonings. The taste is spicy and fragrant, and the taste is rich and wonderful.
At the price of 1.5 yuan/tael, you can order more flavors to try.
A bowl of soup with snow-white soup and nutritious snow peas is paired with it. It costs 5 yuan a portion and is dipped in red oil for dipping. Especially at night, this snow peas is a perfect match when paired with a glass of warm rice wine.
The warmth of neighborhood restaurants: East Street and Cha Cha Noodles
In the small street behind Long Chaoshou on Dongjie Street, opposite Du Guazi, there is a noodle shop, run by a young couple.
Although the store is small in size, it has a relatively rich variety of noodles. The beef crispy Shao noodles are exquisitely made and flavorful, the strange-flavor noodles are exquisitely made and flavorful, the Chacha noodles are exquisitely made and flavorful, and the seafood noodles are exquisitely made and flavorful.
Hearing the shouts of the boss as he ordered the waiters to come down, and experiencing the vitality and enthusiasm of the market, this is a unique scene here.
There is a noodle shop called Chongzhou Yangma Chacha Noodles. It is located on Shaanxi Street, and Shaanxi Street is near Tianfu Square. This noodle shop shows a different side of Chengdu noodles, showing the toughness of machine-made noodles. The noodles are topped with crispy and fragrant "Cha Cha" made from fried pork, and paired with a plate of diving pickles. Whether it is the taste or even the color, everything is extremely memorable and unforgettable.
Under normal circumstances, people will also order a dish called snow bean hoof flower, or the Tianzhutang chicken slices, a famous dish in Western Sichuan, in order to experience a richer and more diverse taste level.
Husband and wife beef slices: from dock coolie to famous banquet dish
When it comes to the regional food labels of Husband and Wife Fei Pian, the most famous one is located next to Lu Lai Tangyuan in the main office and downstairs from KFC. It costs 10 yuan a serving. It is a combination of red oil, celery and chili oil. It is spicy and fragrant and can arouse people's appetite.
A historical origin can be traced back to before liberation. A couple would clean up the offal of cows, mix it with condiments and sell it along the street. Now it has become a top product in Sichuan cuisine.
In fact, as long as you are in a halal restaurant in Chengdu, the flavor and texture of husband and wife's lung slices are guaranteed. The price is about 16 to 20 yuan per catty. After eating, the remaining ingredients can be mixed with jelly or noodles, which is also extremely delicious.
Rabbit head and bluestone bridge: symbols of Chengdu late at night
There are rabbit heads in Chengdu. There are two types of rabbit heads: red flavor, which is spicy flavor, and white flavor, which is five-spice flavor. It is a late-night snack with strong regional characteristics.
Tasting it requires some skill, otherwise it's difficult to nibble clean.
When talking about the snacks that combine many characteristics, we must definitely mention the three specialties of Qingshiqiao, which include fat rice rolls, buckwheat noodles, and sugar-oiled fruits.
Qingshiqiao's fat rice rolls, a time-honored brand, use old soup made from stick bones to boil the sweet potato powder, and then sprinkle with white fat rice noodles; the buckwheat noodles are pressed on site, and their taste is very unique; as for the sugar-oiled fruit, you can buy three for 1 yuan, and they taste sweet, glutinous and delicious.
These three combinations are classic combinations that countless Chengdu people have enjoyed since childhood.
Nowadays, steamed rice rolls have become the most important snack in Chengdu after noodles, and can be found everywhere in the streets and alleys. Although Gaoji rice rolls originated from Shuangliu Baijia, although it has developed into a large restaurant, it still provides rice rolls for 2.5 yuan per bowl, continuing its authentic taste.
If you want a one-stop experience, you can order a set meal at the Chengdu Snack City diagonally opposite Qingshi Bridge. However, to explore the most vivid and authentic flavors, you still have to walk into these small streets and alleys filled with the smell of fireworks to touch the soul of Chengdu cuisine.
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