Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is a city worth visiting for many reasons, one of them being food. Typical Sichuan dishes, known for its spiciness and high content of chili, are eaten, enjoyed and loved all over China. Even though pretty much every single Chinese city has at least one Sichuan restaurant, the food obviously tastes the best when made locally.

When it comes to local Chengdu snacks, most of them are made up of rice, flour and grains. They are characterized by a delicate appearance, high quality and low price. Many famous snacks originate from street peddlers in old times. Here, we tell you about four of the munchies that you can find on the streets of Chengdu.

Fu Qi Fei Pian (Husband and Wife Lung Slices)

This snack can be enjoyed on the streets of Chengdu, as well as be ordered as a cold starter at a restaurant. It's made of thinly sliced beef, bovine lung or tongue, that has been seasoned with chili oil, pepper, sesame and peanut.

The name of the dish comes from a fairly romantic story. There used to be a man called Guo Zhaohua who, together with his wife, cooked beef slices that had been soaked in vinegar and a special spice mix. The couple sold the slices from a small cart along the street, and because the beef slices were delicious no one could resist them. The dish soon became so popular that locals decided to name it after the couple.

Where to eat it: Jingcheng Yuan Restaurant, 23, Zongfu Road, (in the center of Chengdu).

Chuan Chuan Xiang (Ma La Tang)

This Chengdu delicacy can be found in most parts of the city. To make this dish, all kinds of food, including sausages, shrimps, vegetables and pork are put on a bamboo stick and then cooked in a spicy hot pot before being served. There's another version of the dish too, called Leng Guo Chuan Chuan Xiang. For this dish, which is enjoyed cold, the food on the sticks is prepared and cooked by steaming and then served in a spicy soup where it slowly cools down.

Where to eat it: This Sichuan classic can be found all over the city. Look for pots with food sticks in them and you know you're on the right track. Sometimes it is also served in a small, drinking cup, as an ”on the go” snack.

Lai Tang Yuan (Lai's Glutinous Rice Ball)

Yet another snack that's been named after its founder. Lai Tang Yuan was first made by a man named Lai Yuanxin who, in 1894, traveled from his native town to Chengdu, where he borrowed money from a cousin, bought a bamboo shoulder pole and a few cooking utensils, and started selling glutinous rice dumplings on the streets. Eventually he was able to open a shop on Zongfu road in the center of Chengdu.

Lai's tang yuan are nowadays celebrated all over China. They are often eaten as part of the Lunar New Year festivities.

Even though the rice balls are widely available from the shops, many Sichuan households still make it according to the time-honored traditional method, which involves soaking glutinous and long-grained rice for several days (changing the water at regular intervals), then stone-grinding them to a paste and squeezing this in a muslin cloth to make the dough. This ‘damp flour’ is regarded as far superior to the dried flour used as a convenience in the cities. The nutritious glutinous rice balls are soft and taste a bit sweet.

Where to eat it: This vendor has got more outlets than McDonald's in Chengdu and is easy to find.

Jisi Liang Mian (Cold noodles)

There's nothing like a cup of noodles, right? In China, noodles are mainly eaten in the north, while as people in south of China prefer rice. In Sichuan however, Jisi Liang Mien, or cold noodles, is a traditional and popular snack. The noodles are first cooked and then left to cool, before they are served cold together with bean sprouts and a (often spicy) sauce, or eaten with shreds of chicken meat, pork and ham. This noodle snack is nowadays also popular in northern China.

Eat it at: Any Sichuan restaurant or ask a noodle vendor for a cup of ”liang mian” (which literally means ”cold noodles”). This is one of the most common snacks around town.