Restaurants in Chengdu
IF YOU KNOW | JAN 14, 2021
Jing Gao
WHO
Restaurants
WHAT
Chengdu
WHERE
About
Jing Gao, the founder and CEO of Fly By Jing is a chef and renowned expert on Chinese cuisine on a mission to bring uncensored Chinese flavors to the table. She was born in Chengdu, but grew up everywhere, and uses her experience as a trained chef to share meaningful flavors that open people up to new ideas and conversations. Jing was the founder of an award-winning restaurant in Shanghai and her work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Fortune and more.
PHOTO BY SARAH ELLEFSON
ZHANG LAO
ER LIANGFEN
39 Wenshuyuan Street
Chengdu
$$
A 70-year-old no-nonsense noodle shop full of communal tables and consistently excellent noodles. The best thing to get here is tianshuiman or “sweet water noodles.” Assembled to order, these thick, juicy noodles are expertly seasoned with the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and numbing flavors.
WANGJI GUOKUI
Desheng Rd and Gulou North 3rd St
CHENGDU
$
Here they specialize in one of the most iconic Chengdu bites: Guokui, a classic flatbread. It comes in many forms in Chengdu, typically baked or fried and stuffed with a variety of savory or sweet options. My favorite here is the pork guokui, which is hand-kneaded to order with lard, scallions and minced pork or beef laced throughout the dough, then fried to a golden, flaky crisp.
BROTHER QIU GUOKUI
45 Jinsi Street Main Gate
CHENGDU
$
These sweet guokui have been made by Brother Qiu in this residential compound for decades. Neighbors stock up on dozens of these at a time, patiently waiting for the oven-baked brown sugar and lard filled guokui, which are baked inside a tandoori-style oven.
GONG TING BAKERY
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
CHENGDU
$
Don’t overlook this humble bakery, which has over a hundred years of history and a cult following. My favorite is their famous ‘salt and Sichuan pepper’ cookies. An addictive balance of sweet and salty, these cookies melt in your mouth with a refreshing tingle of Sichuan pepper.
MR. DENG'S
TANGYOU GUOZI
Jixiang Street
CHENGDU
$
Before I tried Mr. Deng’s tangyou guozi, an old-school street snack of fried glutinous rice balls coated in caramelized sugar and sesame seeds served on a bamboo skewer, I was not a fan. Mr. Deng’s have an ethereally light texture and a just slightly burnt caramel coating, which are delicious and impossible to resist.
MOTHER WANG'S
ROAST RABBIT
26 Yulin Cross Street North Alley
CHENGDU
$$
Rabbit is one of the most popular meats in Sichuan, so you can find all kinds of prepared rabbit meat for sale throughout the city. At Mother Wang’s, whole rabbits are perfectly roasted in either mala or five spice flavor, shrink wrapped for travel and best enjoyed with a couple of street beers. It’s a must-visit and the Yulin location is open 24 hours.
DRY CHILI WONTONS
71 Jianshe Road, Block 1
Building 21, Unit 3
CHENGDU
$$
Hard to find but well worth the search, this fly restaurant (soulful hole-in-the-wall eateries so good they attract diners like flies) draws crowds for it’s handmade wontons made in a tiny apartment kitchen. Definitely arrive early, as they often sell out before the end of service. My go-to order is dry chili wontons and shrimp and crab roe wontons in chicken soup.
Please note, this restaurant is closed in August.
DONGZIKO CHENSHI
LIANGFEN
42 Dongziko Fude Street
CHENGDU
$$
Take a drive from the city centre to find this fly restaurant which appears frozen in time. In place of a menu, every few minutes dishes are loaded onto a cart and wheeled into the dining room, where it’s first come, first serve. Don’t miss the cold chicken, spicy mung bean noodle, stir fried kidney or steamed fish with fava bean paste
CHENGDU CHIKE
8 KUIXINGLOU STREET
CHENGDU
$$
A new-school “fly restaurant,” this is a great example of modern Sichuan street food. Addictive and inventive shrimp skewers are dunked in sizzling oil, fried chicken palms with quail eggs and cold marinated frog legs in a hot and sour broth might not be traditional but it’s delicious.
WENSHU TEMPLE VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT
66 Wenshuyan Street
CHENGDU
$$$
A quiet refuge within the city, this is a popular vegetarian restaurant within Wenshu Temple. Head to the first floor for the self-serve buffet (my choice) and to the second floor for a more upscale table-service experience.
YU ZHI LAN
No. 24 CHANGFA STREET
CHENGDU
$$$$
Yu Zhi Lan comes from the well-known chef Lan Guijan, who is determined to elevate the aesthetics and presentation of Sichuan food to match the most progressive cuisines of the world. Located in an intimate, four-room house on a quiet, tree-lined street, it’s a memorable dining experience full of plays on Chengdu street food like “golden thread noodles.”
MING TING
26 Outer Caojia Alley No. 6
CHENGDU
$$
Chengdu’s most famous fly restaurant, Ming Ting lives up to the hype. Packed with locals and tourists alike, it’s known for inventive and homestyle food. Don’t miss the lotus leaf wrapped steamed pork belly, pigs brain tofu, smoky fragrant fish, vermicelli and cabbage, and fragrant pork ribs.
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