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Grilled Fish (& How I Find Good Restaurants in China) // Chengdu: City of Gastronomy 52

4,167 views · Published 16 August 2018 · 12:38 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: Itchy Feet · 2018 · Travel & Events

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This might be the best fish dish in Sichuan. We are eating Wanzhou Grilled Fish - a grilled over coal whole fish covered in pickled peppers and an assortment of flavors. All served on a platter placed on an open flame. The sizzle, the smells, the steam they all combine to make a great Chengdu dining experience. 

Wanzhou is a city in Chongqing district. It used to be apart of Sichuan, but now only its cooking is apart of it. The city lies on the Yangtze River, so fresh river fish is, or at least was, a very important source of protein. Many in western China believe that they perfected the cooking of river fish from the area. Kao Yu, or grilled fish, is a very popular group meal in Chengdu. You’ll know it by the large tray placed over a burner with many hungry people tearing off bits of fish flesh. It also comes with some vegetables - usually of your choice. We went with potatoes, lotus root, and cauliflower.

When ordering this dish, you usually pick out the type of fish you want - we went with luo ban, a scaleless catfish with white meat - and then you pick out your flavors. You can find the most common translations in the notes below.

In the video, I also visit the hotel and restaurant supply market, where business owners go to buy their… well, their hotel and restaurant supplies. It’s filled with cool stuff and worth a look if you are in Chengdu.
Check the notes below for the details.

I also show you how I choose a restaurant in China. My strategy is used to make this series and to find good food even when I’m just looking for a bowl of noodles. I use the site http://dianping.com which is China’s version of Yelp. It’s full of photos, reviews, ratings, and more. It’s all in Chinese, but I find it pretty intuitive and the photos don’t need any translations.

HOW TO VISIT THE CHENGDU HOTEL AND RESTAURANT SUPPLY MARKET
Name in Chinese: 成都陶玻酒店用品城 - Chéngdū táo bō jiǔdiàn yòngpǐn chéng
Map: https://ditu.amap.com/place/B001C8NO50
Now that the Metro line 7 is open, a visit is easy. Just go to the station Erxianqiao and take exit A. The market is right there on the left.

WHERE TO EAT GRILLED FISH IN CHENGDU
If you’re looking to authentic Wanzhou Grilled Fish, here’s what you need to know:
Chinese name: 万州烤鱼 - Wànzhōu kǎo yú

Ordering:
First choose your fish (they might not have all of these, and they might have some not on the list):
草鱼 (Cǎoyú) - grass carp
花鲢 (Huā lián) - bighead carp
钳鱼 (qián yú) - channel catfish
鲫鱼 (jìyú) - crucian carp
鲤鱼 (lǐyú) - carp
裸斑 - (luǒ bān) - scaleless carp

Then choose the style or flavor that you want it to have:
香辣烤鱼 (Xiāng là) - Spicy
泡椒烤鱼 (pào jiāo) - Pickled Pepper
麻辣烤鱼 (málà) - Mala (numbing spicy)
豆豉烤鱼 (dòuchǐ) - Cardamom
鱼香烤鱼 (yú xiāng) - fish fragrant sauce
蒜泥烤鱼 (suànní) - mashed garlic

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANT
For a great atmosphere and great food, try this place out:
万州烤鱼(狮子巷店)
Address: 狮子巷66号(近列五中学) - 66 Shīzi xiàng (66 Lion Lane)
Map: https://ditu.amap.com/place/B001C7U9GI

In this series, I am eating my way through a deck of cards. I bought a deck of food themed playing cards that feature a different Sichuan dish on every card. Every week I'll shuffle the deck and pick one random card to hunt down and sample. Chengdu was the first Asian city to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. It's full of incredible food - a lot of which you probably don't know about.

Subscribe below to follow along. Better yet, after subscribing hit the bell icon to get notified whenever I post a new video.

The weekly video will be posted every Thursday at 3PM EST until all 54 cards have been tried.

👤 ABOUT ME
I live in China and am constantly exploring and traveling the country and other parts of Asia. Subscribe to my channel to watch more adventures... and to learn a bit about food, cultures, and more. 

🎥 MORE CHENGDU CITY OF GASTRONOMY
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKDIXWmwq80g81wV15r-xczVRRD5rrqhN

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