Sichuan Province enjoys a high reputation for its spicy cuisine which gives top priority to flavor. Almost every dish has its own unique taste due to the flexible use of many flavorings and seasonings.
Sichuan cuisine is the most famous among China's four major styles of cooking. The unique colour, aroma, shape and taste of local dishes and snacks have always dazzled visitors' eyes and stomachs.
If one were to talk about Sichuanese food, many people, even foreigners would be familiar with many of the dishes' names like double cooked pork slices, Bangbang chicken, Beef in Chili Sauce (Fuqi feipian), Mapo Tofu (Mapo beancurd), Boiled beef and fish flavored fried pork-slices.
Don't make the mistake that only star-rated restaurants offer the best dishes there are to be had, many ordinary or small restaurants provide tasty Sichuan cuisine. Not only are these locations less expensive, but they also are a delightful variety of snacks.
Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, is one of the only two cities in the world that have been recognized as a "City of Gastronomy." To enable the delicious snacks to go even further, the city has joined the "Creative Cities Network", which is a UNESCO project set up in 2004. Renowned snacks like Fuqi feipian, Lai Tangyuan and Long Chaoshou contribute as an indispensable part of the city's food and drink culture.