Street Food In Chongqing, China

At long last, here is some real Sichuan food from China. And what's the best way to get a taste of real local food? Head out to the streets after midnight and look for stalls illuminated by naked lightbulbs treacherously dangling from a wire. Spots without menus but filled with locals stting on one foot high plastic stools are a very encouraging sign.

The first guy we found was cooking just a foot above the curb, where we grabbed a couple bowls of noodles with a request for spiciness. I loved mine, being loaded up with cilantro, cubes of tender beef, and of course that spicy oil that makes Sichuan food so wonderful. I was also rather surprised at how similar it tasted to the beef noodles that Taiwan is so famous for, but I definitely liked this one a lot better with due to very tender meat and an extra "oomph" or two of flavor.

But then we spotted his neighbor with bowls of chili oil and unmelted lard lined up for what appeared to be red oil wontons. She also had some noodles handy, so we went for both the wontons and a bowl of hot and spicy noodles. And yes, they were pretty much what the doctor ordered, both brimming with that awesome red oil and even a mildly numbing dose of peppercorns too. When you've left such street places with your stomach feeling warm and your lips slightly swollen from all of the chili, you know you've had a good meal. The best thing about it too was that each bowl was only about RMB 4 (US$0.50). Rock on!