FoodPrint: Pipa Yuan
- zhaoyili1
- May 19, 2024
- 3 min read
This April, I traveled to my homeland for the first time since the summer of 2019. I was supposed to visit family after graduating from college in 2021. This plan was interrupted by the COVID situation - restricted flights, expensive tickets, and the quarantine policies in China. Besides, I had to study for the MCAT and prepare my medical school application. After three years, I finally received an offer from a medical school. With an offer in hand, I figured it was time to step on the soil of my homeland again.
I was visiting two cities in China - Beijing (my dad's side) and Chongqing (my mom's side). Since I was born and raised in Beijing, I was more used to the culinary scene in Beijing. However, many agree that Beijing is a food desert. This nickname indicates that this city does not have tasty dishes. On the other hand, Chongqing is known for its spicy flavor. As a branch of Sichuan Cuisine, Chongqing dishes use garlic, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorn, bean source, and mustard sesame paste to create its unique spicy flavor [1]. Tourists travel thousands of miles to taste the famous Chongqing hotpot.
The view from on the hill.
As a kid, I didn't like Chongqing hotpot much because I couldn't handle its spiciness. Before coming to Chongqing, I hypothesized that I could tolerate spiciness more as a grown adult. To test this hypothesis, I decided to go to the most famous hotpot place in Chongqing - Pipa Yuan.
A fountain inside Pipa Yuan. You can hear water flowing while eating the hotpot.
Pipa Yuan (枇杷园) is the largest hotpot restaurant in the world. This massive eatery covers an entire hillside with nearly 900 tables that can seat around 5,800 people at a time [2]. The restaurant is located in the Nan'an district, on the outskirts of Chongqing. I was impressed by the layout of Pipa Yuan. It felt more like a village instead of a restaurant. Pipa Yuan has tables layered at different levels on the hill.
The view from our little pavilion.
After we parked the car, we still needed to climb some steps to get to our table. The table was in a pavilion with a great view of the entire eatery. After sitting down, I felt the spring breeze on my face while others looked through the menu. Our servers were welcoming and attentive. She was eager to help us decide what to order. We ordered a mildly spicy broth and several famous ingredients for Chongqing hotpot, such as slices of beef and pork, Chinese sausages, pid blood, duck intestine, and beef strips. After all the orders arrived, we started boiling the broth served in a large iron pot. Once the broth was boiling, we began to cook the ingredients - starting with all the meat products. I was excited to have my first bite, but I underestimated the level of spiciness. It tasted nothing like mildly spicy to me. Although I wanted to enjoy the hotpot, I had to wash everything in water before putting it into my mouth.
The broth before we cooked anything. Does it look like mildly spicy to you?
I thoroughly enjoyed this hotpot experience even though I almost lost the feeling of my tongue. However, eating hotpot is more about getting family members together than eating food. I felt grateful to sit down with and talk to my family. I hope we can gather surrounding the hotpot again.
Pipa Yuan
Hours: 9:00 AM - 12:00 AM, seven days a week.
Location: Wenfeng Main Street Laochang Jinzhu Cun, Nan'an District
Contact: +86-23-62483138
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