Sweet Water Noodles: Chengdu's Sweetest Lie

Three chopstick-thick strands of noodle under dark sweet soy, chilli oil and raw garlic — the Chengdu snack whose name promises dessert and delivers something else entirely.

By Zhouyang · Shanghai

Hong Shao Rou — The Pork Belly That Tastes Like Home

The smell hits you before the door opens. Soy sauce and caramelized sugar, star anise and ginger, pork fat rendering slow. You’re six years old …