Hotpot in Sichuan

Sichuan is famous for it's women and also hotpot. Contrary to its reputation, not all Sichuan food is mala (aka spicy). But Chengdu’s most well-known hotpot (huoguo) does indeed pile on the ma (numbing) and la (chili pepper) and as a result packs a powerful hot-and-numbing punch. I will never forget my first hotpot experience, as bewilderment (How do you eat this?) turned to fear to addiction (I can’t stop eating this!). For those who do not know, there is a broth (in this picture there are two sides, the mala side and the non-spicy side). Then there are many dishes that are uncooked which are thrown into the broth and then eaten once cooked. 

I find that many places in the United States, either the flavor of the broth is unbearably spicy and lacks the different flavors to make the food wonderful or there is not enough flavor or it is too salty. 

The hotpot was so addicting that when my wife and I had a 3 hour layover in Chengdu, we took a cab to the closest huoguo restaurant. Unfortunately, the cab driver refused to take us because he had waited in line for quite a long time and found it not worthwhile for him to take us. I think the fare would have been roughly 10-15 RMB (which equates to about 2 - 3 USD as of 2013's exchange rate) . He got his comeuppance though because the airport officer took away his license and forced him to take us wherever we wanted to go. When he returned, he would get it back with a nice 200 RMB penalty gift. It's always a funny story that we reminisce about. We feel bad for the taxi driver but then we get over it quickly since that's the nature of being a taxi driver. You can't pick and choose where your passengers ask you to go. We got our huoguo fix and boy was it wonderful.