Chongqing is famous for hotpot, but the city eats plenty of other late-night food, and two dishes in particular are worth seeking out: grilled fish and skewer barbecue. Both are cooked over charcoal in front of you, both are eaten outdoors with beer, and both are at their best well after ten at night.
Wanzhou grilled fish
Wanzhou grilled fish - kaoyu - began in the Yangtze port district of Wanzhou and has spread across the country. A whole freshwater fish is split, scored, marinated with ginger, garlic, cooking wine and chilli, grilled over charcoal, then laid in a wide shallow pan and covered with a hot, oily braise of chilli, Sichuan peppercorn, pickled vegetables, tofu skin, potato slices, celery and peanuts. The pan sits on a burner at the table and the liquid keeps bubbling as you eat, so the vegetables cook down and the flavour concentrates. It is normally ordered by weight, and a single fish feeds three or four people. Choose between a mild and a hot version, though even the mild one has some heat.
Barbecue skewers
The other late-night standard is shaokao, roughly Sichuan-style barbecue. Stalls lay out trays of raw ingredients - lamb, beef, chicken wings and feet, pork belly, tofu, enoki mushrooms, aubergine, corn, greens, squid and fish - and you load a basket yourself, tell them how spicy you want it, and sit down with a beer while they grill. Everything is charged per skewer, so the cost is easy to control, and the chilli, cumin and sesame seasoning is the same combination used across the region.
Where and when
The stalls cluster along the riverbanks, in the older districts, on the slopes around the university areas and anywhere there is a night food street. Because Chongqing is a city of hills, the best ones are often on the terraces and stairways rather than on the main roads. Things get going after nine and run until two or three in the morning, and the busiest nights are Fridays, Saturdays and any summer evening. Order a plate of cold cucumber or cold noodles between the grilled dishes; the contrast helps.
Practical notes
Most stalls are street-level operations with plastic stools, and few have English menus - point and gesture is normal. Mobile payment is universal, cash is sometimes awkward. If you want dishes without chilli, say bu la clearly and expect a puzzled look and a slightly milder result rather than none. Because the food is cooked to order over charcoal, it is generally safe to eat. Vegetarians do well here on aubergine, corn, tofu and vegetables, but should ask whether the seasoning paste contains meat stock.
