Friday, September 04, 2020

Trying Chongqing Jigongbao at Chicken Pot Again

Chongqing Jigongbao

It's literally been more than a decade since I last ate at Shanghai's Chicken Pot, which has since spread to several outlets in Singapore. The reason why I came tonight though was because it was only recently that I realized that this dish is called jigongbao, and there are several other shops around the island selling it too. Before I get into the food itself, I should point out a few things.

First off, it's not to be confused with gongbao jiding, or Kung Pao chicken. Secondly, the concept of adding broth later may sound similar to sanzhi menguo (or even how my first mala xiangguo was served to me also more than a decade ago), but this is different too. Thirdly, the full name of this dish is chongqing jigongbao, but it's not from Chongqing; apparently "chongqing" is in reference to the guy who started this dish. Lastly, I'm not sure if this chain is still very popular in China anymore; my limited research could hardly find a mention of it, even though I do remember seeing one in Shanghai, also more than a decade ago. Geez, I'm getting old.

Oh, and the food: I liked it more than I remember last time, maybe because this time I was mentally prepared to gnaw off little bits of chicken meat from the bone (like crab, don't eat it when you're hungry). The sauce was thinner and more abundant than I recall, but was also pleasantly salty and would've gone great with beer had they sold some. I ate it all, and am now curious to see how other shops do it.

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