This is my favorite little green here in China.  They are herbaceous and hearty, have a nice refreshing crunch to them, and cool you down after spicy food.  Very important here in Chengdu, where everything is swimming in chili oil! Supposedly they are called Qing Chao, but I’m not exactly sure.  If you see this green purplely leaf, eat some.  They are delicious!

Not every day a gringo gets ahold of a Chinese flag!  I look like a fricken’ pirate.

Ding Coffee.  This coffee is killer, plain and simple.  There was a Starbucks next to this place, and we almost went there.  Luckily there was a huge line in Starbucks, so I suggested we give this place a go.  They had these small burners with a glass bottle, and a double ended tube that pops on the top with the coffee grinds. It was pretty cool, and it produced a damn good cup of joe.  I guess this method is a Chinese one.  It takes forever, but its well worth the wait.

When in Chengdu, check it out.  http://www.lonelyding.com/  Kuanzhai alley, Chengdu, China.

The Chinese New Years is basically done, although the festive air continues with most people in most places.  With a much needed break, we (a good portion of Osteria staff) are in Chengdu!

Now I’ve only missed three flights in my life (I thought two, but I was reminded of one that we missed in Beijing) out of I’m thinking around 600+ flights.

Two of the times its been trying to fly to Chengdu.  (and all three times are in China).  I’m not sure why this is, but I’m thinking that it has to do with the fact that Chengdu is much more relaxed than other places in China, and I’ve taken a deeply rooted agreement to this state of mind by taking my time getting to Chengdu.

Its alright, and I finally meet up with the crew, got situated at the hotel and headed straight out for some spicy food!

First stop; real deal Ma La Tang!  Delicious spicy skewers with spicy dipping oil and chili powder.  Complemented with a Peanut Milk, and you are on the right track here in Szechuan.  After the Ma La Tang, we found a little food stall style place serving up lots of noodles including Dan Dan Mian.  Its just so unbelievably good here in Chengdu (its replicated all over, but this is the true home). Peanuts, chili, some other unknown ground stuff (I’m supposedly finally getting a recipe for this dish after looking for over a year!!!) with fantastic fresh noodles.  We also ate all these little dishes of cold noodles, some made of sweet potato, and some rice, I think.  All super spicy, numbing with the Szechuan peppercorn, and served cold, giving you all kinds of tantalizing elements.

May have missed my flight, but happy to be late, relaxed, and super spicy!