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A taste of Chengdu

Long Chao Shou (Chunxi Road flagship)

龙抄手

A state-era institution in the Chunxi Road / Taikoo Li shopping district and the one-stop version of Chengdu xiaochi - the small-eats tradition of ordering a dozen tiny plates rather than one dish. The move is the sampler set: a tray of miniature portions covering most of the city's classic snacks at once. It is unapologetically touristy, service is canteen-brisk and purists will tell you individual snacks are better elsewhere, but for a visitor with one afternoon it solves the whole xiaochi problem in a single sitting.

¥25-50 per person≈ US$3.72Jinjiang, Chunxi Road / Taikoo Li commercial district; Chunxi Road metro station (春熙路, Lines 2 and 3)
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Long Chao Shou (Chunxi Road flagship) (龙抄手), Chengdu
Photo: Alpha from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0

Why come here

A place worth making time for

No MICHELIN or Black Pearl listing. It is known as the long-established Chengdu xiaochi house for a one-sitting survey of the city's classic snacks

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Hot and sour chao shou (酸辣龙抄手)
  • Dan dan noodles (担担面)
  • Sweet-water noodles (甜水面)
  • Zhong dumplings (钟水饺)
  • San da pao glutinous rice balls (三大炮)

What it actually tastes like

Mostly medium rather than brutal, but the individual snacks are strange in different directions. Dan dan noodles are a dry toss of minced pork, preserved vegetable, chilli oil, sesame paste and crushed peanut - you stir them yourself. Sweet-water noodles are thick chewy ropes in a sweetened chilli-soy sauce. Zhong dumplings arrive in sweet garlic soy. San da pao are glutinous rice balls thrown hard at a drum-like board by the cook - the three bangs of the name - then rolled in soybean flour and brown sugar syrup, and are purely sweet.

Allergens in this kitchen

peanutsesamesoygluten/wheategg

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Dandan noodles 担担面Nutty, salty, numbing and chilli-hot, with a sour note from the pickled greensSweet water noodles 甜水面Sweet first, then garlicky and chilli-hot, with a dense chewy biteZhong dumplings 钟水饺Sweet-savoury, garlicky, gently chilli-hot