Xu Jia Cai

Xu Jia Cai began as a family kitchen and grew into one of Chengdu's most respected dining rooms, known for traditional dishes executed with rare discipline: twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu made properly with hand-cut beef, and the sweet-sour fish that made the house famous.

The dining room is calm and clubby - regulars nod across the room - and the staff treat every table like a family dinner. For travelers, it is the middle path between street food and theater: serious Sichuan cooking, beautifully served, at a price that still feels like a bargain.