Of all the provincial government restaurants in town, one of the most popular is Chuan Ban, a lively restaurant inside the Sichuan representative office in Jianguomen, with big flavours and even bigger queues. Lesser known, though, is its cousin Shudu Binguan at the Chengdu municipal office, offering an alternative to the crowds but just as much spice. A short walk from the east gate of Jingshan Park, Shudu is much smaller than most provincial restaurants, with only ten tables, but makes up for any coziness with the government atmosphere; its unadorned fluorescent lighting washes the subzero environs with as little character as possible. The food is mainly classic dishes, as well as a complete repertoire of xiaochi ( 小吃), Chengdu’s famous street snacks, and a rotation of seasonal greens. On our visit, we started with a standard piaoxiang shuizhuyu ( 飘香水煮鱼; 32RMB per half kilo), a type of fish-based hot pot. This particular version had tender slices of carp cooked in a hot bath of chilli oil, topped with fresh Sichuan peppercorns that pack heat, but need salt. But the kou shui ji ( 口水鸡; 28RMB), or ‘mouth-watering’ chicken, was uninteresting, swimming in thin watery chilli paste for a bland result.
The roumo suandou (肉末酸豆; 18RMB) is a welcoming appetiser, featuring fried ground pork with the crunch of perfectly pickled string beans. The twice-cooked pigs’ ears known as huiguo xiangxiangzui (回锅香香嘴; 20RMB) are crunchy and deliciously smoky, accompanied by onions and green peppers. The aforementioned Chengdu street snacks are not a strong point at Shudu, though, as both the red chilli wontons (红油抄手; 4RMB) and dandan mian (担担面; 4RMB) were lacking flavour. Yet it was the mapo doufu ( 麻婆豆腐; 18RMB) that shined as the best dish of the night: silky cubes of tofu coated in a glistening red sauce, balanced with soybean paste, more chilli and fermented black beans, are dusted with just the right amount of freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns for a fragrant dimension.
After this, a zhe’ergen roots salad (折耳根; 20RMB), a wild herb native to Guizhou that has been widely adopted in Sichuanese dishes, is a refreshing palate cleanser. The root has a pungent, fishy taste offset by a tangy sesame oil and vinegar sauce. Take a break from the heat and order the laozao tangyuan ( 醪糟汤圆; 4RMB), glutinous rice balls in fermented rice-wine soup, to end the meal on a sweet note.
Shudu’s dishes are comparable to those at Chuanban, but a low-key environment offers a quiet-- if uninspiring -- alternative to the frenzy of its popular counterpart. Jenny Gao