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Braised Pork Belly (& Cafeterias in China) // Chengdu: City of Gastronomy 45

3,252 views · Published 28 June 2018 · 11:46 · Indexed 25 October 2026

Channel: Itchy Feet · 2018 · Travel & Events

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In Sichuanese they call it Han Shao Bai, in Mandarin it's Xian Shao Bai (咸烧白), in English I like to call it braised pork belly. This dish is made up of slices of pork belly and ya cai, the magical ingredient that takes any dish to the promise land. It's pickled mustard green stems and they provide a savoury, umami flavor that goes great with pork fat. The pork belly is layered on the bottom of the dish, then ya cai is piled onto that. It's steamed for a couple hours, which almost melts the pork and infuses it with the ya cai. Then they flip it over into a plate and you have yourself a beautiful and delicious meal. I really do love this dish, and in Sichuan I can get in for cheap almost anywhere. 

In this episode I take you into a Chinese cafeteria. I live in an area surrounded by software parks. When these hungry programmers finally step away from their computers, they head to the nearest cafeteria for a generous helping of delicious food that is quick and cheap. I eat in one of these cafeterias usually twice a week. At lunch time they're packed and a bit chaotic, but the sometimes long lines are worth it. The various dishes available and the reasonable prices make it one of the best places to grab a quick meal in the city. 

If you want to check out the cafeteria scene in Chengdu, why not go to the place I did. It's a bit far south, but on the metro line. 
Just take line 1 south to 3rd Tianfu St and take exit A. Walk straight (west) until you see the McDonald's across the road from you. Head into the little square there and the restaurant (which I'm unable to get the name for) is on the right a few stores past the McDonalds.

You'll also find these type of restaurants in malls. One popular chain is called SWJ or Shùn wàng jī (顺旺基).
They have a ton of locations around the city, a ton of food at each location, and I find that a lot of it is quite tasty.
Map of their locations: https://ditu.amap.com/search?query=%E9%A1%BA%E6%97%BA%E5%9F%BA&city=510000&geoobj=103.132724%7C30.237409%7C105.049859%7C31.268868&zoom=9

WHERE TO GET XIAN SHAO BAI IN CHENGDU
Now if you want some serious shao bai with a more Chengdu fly restaurant feel...
Name: 雨田饭店 - Yǔtián fàndiàn - Yutian Hotel
Address: 红星路二段20号1层附9号 - Hóngxīng lù èr duàn 20 hào 1 céng fù 9 hào - Hongxing Road No. 20
Dishes to try:
Braised pork belly - 咸烧白 (Xián shāo bái)
Steamed egg and pork - 蒸蛋 (Zhēng dàn)
Lotus Root Soup - 素藕汤 (Sù ǒu tāng)

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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