In Urumqi, China we were walking around and trying to find a place to eat. One place that we saw had a ton of people dining in it and they were all eating the same dish - perfect for our current level of Mandarin comprehension! Plus, the dish looked like a delicious pile of chicken meat in some sort of chili sauce.
A very, very Hot Chicken
When the platter of chicken came out, we dug in and had a few surprises. First, it was cold. The chicken had been cooked and then chilled. Second, it was tingly. The dish was a different kind of spicy. They made our tongues tingle, almost in a numbing way. It turns out what we were eating was the Sichuan peppercorn called hua jiao and it’s a pretty common element in many Sichuan dishes. It was entirely different than the ’spicy’ we are used to.
Super-spicy Restaurant near the Urumqi Train Station
Overall, this was an awesome culinary experience. If you find yourself at this restaurant, make sure to buy a huge slice of cantaloupe if ‘the guy’ comes around. The restaurant only provides beer to cool down, which can also do the trick.
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