Try the local dish: Chongqing hotpot

If your business takes you to Chongqing, China, and your local partner invites you to dinner, prepare yourself for an interesting night. You will almost certainly get acquainted with the city’s famous local dish: the hotpot.

In Sichuan, the region in which this 37 million megacity is located, everyone eats hotpot. It is so popular, that the city offers no less than 50,000 restaurants that are dedicated to this dish.

Beware: this dish can be hot, so be sure to keep a cold Sichuan beer near your plate. The heat comes from the red hot chilli (and) pepper that is used freely to spice the dish up. The food itself is usually a fiery mix of beef lard, chillies, cardamom and fennel. Into it goes anything you like: lotus root, bean sprouts, rare strips of beef, duck intestine and other ingredients. The local correspondent of The Guardian advises a local Chongqing beer, “served in shallow ceramic bowls. And most importantly, tuck in your napkin – hotpots are pretty splashy, too.”

Further reading on thegueardian.com