Morning - The spice market
Start where Sichuan cooking starts: a wholesale market stacked with dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn, star anise, cassia and fermented bean paste. Your guide explains the difference between the red peppercorn that numbs and the green variety that carries a citrus edge, and why Pixian bean paste, made west of the city and fermented for years, is the backbone of so many Sichuan dishes.
Lunch - Noodles and cold dishes
Dan dan noodles, wontons in chilli oil and a plate of cold dressed chicken, eaten the way Chengdu office workers eat them - fast, at a small table, with tea.
Afternoon - Hotpot, explained then eaten
Hotpot arrived in Chengdu from the docks of the neighbouring Yangtze port, where workers cooked cheap cuts in a shared spiced broth. The Chengdu version uses beef tallow rather than water, which is why the broth holds its heat and its flavour. You sit down to a divided pot, learn to judge the moment a slice of beef is done, and work through the standard order: tripe, beef, potato slices, tofu skin and greens. Milder and vegetarian broths are available at the same table.
Late afternoon - Teahouse at People's Park
Finish at Heming Teahouse, open in People's Park since 1923, where the tea comes in a lidded cup, the chairs are bamboo, and nobody hurries. Your guide orders jasmine and explains the local habit of a single pot lasting all afternoon.
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation
Day tour - no hotel night included.
