Atour X Hotel Chengdu Jinhua Wanda Zhonggang Plaza

Tucked away in a longstanding residential area, this noodle shop has a loyal following. The noodles are either served in spicy or white broth, or tossed in various seasoning pastes. For noodle soup, try their signature eight-treasure white broth made with chicken, bamboo shoots and dried seafood including shrimps, squids and oysters. Or have your bouncy noodles tossed in the famous mala chilli pork sauce for heady, addictive aromas.

This is the chain’s first outpost and it’s been in business for over a decade. A tank of live fish by the entrance reminds you that river and sea fish are the name of the game here. The menu revolves around novel Sichuan dishes, with a few regional offerings. For an overview of Sichuan cuisine, try the 24-flavour-profile set menu. We also recommend the preserved meat prepared in-house, or the pond loach seared with green Sichuan pepper, depicted by crisp textures and a numbing sensation.

Despite its hard-to-find entrance, this flagship of the chain has earned solid fandom among locals with its no-frills, home-style Sichuanese cooking that is frugally priced. Instead of an eye-watering kick, expect a mild heat that caters to a broader palate. Specialities from the Leshan area, like tofu pudding and marinated fatty pork intestine, are best sellers. The latter is slow cooked in spiced soy before being sautéed with garlic and celtuce.

As the chain’s flagship, this restaurant showcases live river fish such as long snout catfish, cavefish, and yellow head catfish cooked in Sichuanese style or in hot pots; the owner even acquired a fish farm to ensure their quality. The signature duo hot pot broth features a spicy base made with chicken, pork bones, chillies and pickles, and a tangy tomato base of Xinjiangese tomatoes. House-pickled bamboo shoots from Mount Tianmu are a must.

Surrounded by furniture shops, this noodle place has a retro feel to it. Wooden tables and bamboo chairs add to the overall rustic flair. The noodles are made fresh in-house, which explains their incredibly silky, bouncy texture. Zha jiang mian is the must-try here: blanched noodles are topped with a soybean-based ground pork sauce that is robust, savoury and mildly spicy. If you enjoy their noodles, you can buy some raw to take home.

A quaint mansion obscured by a big tree is home to this restaurant run by the Woos. The cosy space shows hints of nostalgia; both cold appetisers and hot mains are based on tradition, but fine-tuned and modernised. The fried wild-caught yellow croaker in a mound of fried chillies has silky, moist flesh; with its bold flavour, it goes perfectly with alcohol. The sweet sticky rice dumplings with a runny filling round off your meal nicely.

This popular eatery in the bustling Taikoo Li area started out as a stall in Weishan in 1923. Light years from its humble beginnings, this outpost of the chain in Chengdu features a vintage hipster interior and Sichuan classics on the menu. Besides their signature duck blood curd with pork offal and sliced eel, also try the crispy fen zheng rou – pork coated in seasoned rice flour, steamed and then deep-fried. Expect to see a queue from the moment it opens.