A good place in Beijing to sample authentic Chongqing cuisine is the Jinshancheng Chongqing Restaurant. The Chaoyang branch is located conveniently across the road from the Kempinski Hotel. Chinese characters mounted on the roof to identify the restaurant. You know you re in the right place if you see a large room with rattan on the walls and enough Chinese yuppies to make a Motorola salesman drool. It s a popular spot and unless you reserve a table, you will probably have to wait.
Most people also drink tea.
Jinshancheng s most popular beverage is Eight Treasure Tea, a concoction of tea leaves, berries and rock candy to which water is added from a pot with a meter-long spout. Man and Wife With a Lobe of Lung is the unappetizing name of a surprisingly delicious cold dish made of slices of pig lung and heart. The restaurant serves other small snacks like boiled peanuts free of charge, so you don t need to order many starters, especially since the main dishes are served in very generous portions. Jinshancheng cooks up a mean dish with the superb Chinglish name 'mutton chafing-dish in chili oil. It consists of a mini-hotpot full of an extremely spicy sauce.