n 2010, Chengdu was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. It's not hard to see why, when there are restaurants and street vendors serving mouth-wateringly delicious dishes and snacks on pretty much every street. It really is a place where food is taken seriously and done well. Chengdu food falls under the banner of Sichuan Cuisine, which is one of the Eight Regional Cuisines of China. Below are some of the more popular dishes on offer in Chengdu. Most Popular Sichuan Dishes In most Sichuan restaurants in Chengdu, you'll find the full range of Sichuan classics on offer. The most famous Sichuanese dishes that you really must try while in Chengdu are: tofu Mapo ('pockmarked granny') tofu Pockmarked grandma's tofu: soft bean curd served with a spicy topping of minced beef in a bean-based sauce Dry-fried green beans: fried with chili and preserved vegetables, these green beans are blistering on the outside but tender within Boiled fish in a spicy, chili-oil sauce Twice-cooked pork: the meat is first boiled before it's stir-fried in a salty and hot sauce and served with scallions Kung pao chicken: spicy chicken pieces stir-fried with peanuts and cubes of the local asparagus lettuce Fish fragrant pork: shredded pork fried in a sweet, salty 'fish flavored' sauce that really doesn't taste of fish at all

Cantonese or Yue cuisine originates from Guangdong Province (SE China around Hong Kong), and it is the most widely served style of Chinese cuisine in the world. This is because most of the Chinese who immigrated and set up restaurants overseas were from Guangdong. Though what's served abroad now has departed from authentic Yue cuisine. What distinguishes Cantonese food is lightly cooked fresh vegetables and meat, and sweet sauces. Names: Cantonese food, Guangdong cuisine, Yue cuisine (粤菜 Yuècài /ywair-tseye/) Location: Southeast China — Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau... Distinctives: sweeter, favoring braising and stewing, adding various sauces

Shandong Province has a long coast, so fresh river fish and seafood were always the local delicacies. Shandong was one of the first civilized regions in China and an early cultural center, so its cooking tradition set the style for the regions around it, especially to the north in Beijing and northeastern China. Now Shandong cuisine is relished for the many kinds of different seafood and vegetable dishes and their style of frying in high heat that locks in the flavors and isn't oily. Names: Shandong food, Lu cuisine (鲁菜 /loo-tseye/) Location: northern east-coast China — Qingdao, Jinan, Qufu, Mount Tai Distinctives: salty and crispy, favoring braising and seafood.

Most tourists who visit China get to know the spicy red hot flavors of Sichuan cuisine since it is a tourist favorite. But in Hunan Province, the food is maybe even hotter. Their food tastes less numbing and sourer. Names: Hunan food, Xiang cuisine (湘菜 Xiāngcài /sshyang-tseye/) Location: Hunan Province (southern central China) — Changsha, Zhangjiajie Distinctives: spicy, favoring sautéing, stir-frying, steaming, and smoking

Fujian Cuisine originates from the southeastern province of Fujian on the Pacific. The history of the cuisine dates back 5,000 years. Great seafood soups and the precise use of scintillating, but not tongue numbing, spices are the highlights. Names: Fujian food, Min cuisine (闽菜 Mǐncài /min-tseye/) Location: Southeast China, Fujian Province, Xiamen, Quanzhou Distinctives: lighter, with a sweet and sour taste, using ingredients from the sea and the mountains.