In Sichuan, foreigners' enthusiasm heated up by hot pot

By Shan Bingjie

(ECNS) -- When you come to Sichuan,what might be the first thing that comes to mind? "The people here love spicy food." Despite being her first time in Sichuan, Jolene Grace S. Lacuarta, a girl from the Philippines, talks about many keywords related to Sichuan: pandas, hotpot... As for Erlck Yendri Gonzalez Rulz, a Cuban who has never tried hot pot before, he embarks on a journey to explore the magic behind this unique Chinese cuisine, with fear and curiosity, starting from making the dipping sauce.

Since boarding the plane to Chengdu, young people from "Generation Z" from Cuba, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Malaysia have been constantly talking about wanting to experience Sichuan hot pot. Erlck Yendri Gonzalez Rulz has heard many friends talk about how spicy Sichuan hot pot is, and he is both "nervous" and eager to try it.

"I think Sichuan hot pot is a very unique Chinese cuisine, which allows you to experience the unique culture, so I really want to try it." MOHAMMED SHAWAL IAN FITRI BIN AZUAN, a young man from Malaysia, has long heard about the famous Chengdu cuisine and naturally includes hotpot on his bucket list.

"It's so delicious!" Grace praised with excitement as she tasted the first bite of beef, swaying her body. MOHAMMED SHAWAL IAN FITRI BIN AZUAN, who has had many experiences with hotpot, slowly picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth, chewing and commenting, "The meat here is different from what I've had in other cities, it has more flavor."

"Do you really start eating spicy food from the age of three?" ERICK YENDRI GONZALEZ RUIZ curiously asked his Sichuan friends, and at this moment, he seemed to have joined the Sichuan flavor chat group. "I feel that spicy food tastes better, non-spicy food has no flavor." The spiciness didn't discourage this Cuban young man; instead, it sparked his interest in finding new excitement in the red broth.

If food is the starting point to understand a city, then Sichuan hot pot is undoubtedly one of the keys to decoding Sichuan. Different culinary habits from various countries blend harmoniously in the unified cooking process.There's probably nothing that a hot pot meal can't solve—if there is, then just have a second or third round...