80 Travel | Chengdu
It ’ s a teeming tangle of streets and alleys – especially when evening arrives and people clock off from work or sightseers roll up , hungry and thirsty .
That ’ s when the air is filled with the growls of snarled-up traffic , the honk of horns and tinkling bicycle bells , an occasional whiff of incense and the haze of savoury smoke from grilling meats .
But , above all , the evening air carries the recurrent hint of something spicy , zesty , fragrant .
This is Wenshuyuan district , one of Chengdu ’ s leisure-and-culture hubs . Focused on Manjushri Monastery ( also known as the Wenshu Monastery ), it ’ s a bustling mishmash of trinket stalls , eateries , booksellers , snack shops , teahouses and street hawkers . There ’ s been a temple here since the 7 th century ( today ’ s structures date from the late 17 th ), and it lends an authenticity to this neighbourhood that has in reality only looked like this for a decade or two .
And that spicy , zesty fragrance ? It ’ s from the unique fusion of chilli and Sichuan peppercorn that underscores both the aroma and above all the taste of much of the regional cuisine . That taste is known as mala , or ‘ numbing heat ’, and it comes from the chilli ’ s fire and a curious effect of the huajiao ( as the Chinese know the Sichuan peppercorn ). It ’ s a unique lip- and tongue-numbing tingle . When the two ingredients hit a hot wok , the fragrance – a blend of the chilli ’ s fruity pungency and the peppercorn ’ s floral notes – is unmistakeable .
But when you eat a mala dish – as you might want to at Dongzikou Zhang Lao ’ er Liangfen , opposite Manjushri Monastery – the taste , that unique sensation , is both surprising and intriguing . Dongzikou Zhang Lao ’ er Liangfen is a classic Chengdu ‘ fly restaurant ’ as locals call a hole-in-the-wall , as-cosy-as-a-closet eatery . They dish out little bowls of satisfying cu mian
A sugarcane juice hawker prepares for business on Wenshuyuan Street .
People ' s Park .