China Memories over Chinese Food

We are feeling sentimental as we approach the five-year anniversary of our first trip to China. So what better way to reminisce about our China memories than with spicy Sichuan food!

Spicy Sichuan Food at Han Dynasty in Philadelphia. Cina Memories — Spicy Sichuan Food

There are so many interesting facts about China, which makes traveling in the country both rewarding and challenging. We have so many memories of the month traveling on our own in China, but these stand out the most:

Top 10 China Memories:

Arriving in Beijing with the flu during the height of the H1N1 Virus scare.
Eating Peking duck, noodles and lots of street food in Beijing.
Being completely underwhelmed by the terracotta warriors in Xi’an.
Being completely overwhelmed by the Giant Buddha of Leshan.
Strolling around the West Lake in Hangzhou.
Enjoying a modern, comfortable high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai.
Enduring an old-school train from Xi’an to Chengdu.
Breathing the massive dust cloud produced by the Shanghai World Expo construction and eating xiao long bao (soup dumplings) to wash down the dust.
Sipping high tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
Eating hot pot in Chengdu.

Although hot pot is not trendy in Philadelphia, we can get pretty close to the Chengdu dining experience at Han Dynasty – a restaurant that understands the unique Sichuan combination of scorching chiles and numbing flower peppers. We count their dan dan noodles, wontons in chili oil, spicy crispy cucumber and mapo tofu among our favorite Philly dishes.

Dan Dan Noodles at Han Dynasty in Philadelphia. China Memories — Dan Dan Noodles

Won Tons in Chili Oil at Han Dynasty in Philadelphia. China Memories — Won Tons in Chili Oil

Mapo Tofu with Minced Pork at Han Dynasty in Philadelphia. China Memories — Mapo Tofu with Minced Pork

We look forward to making new Chinese memories in the future. For now, eating good Chinese food will have to do.

Han Dynasty has multiple locations in the Philadelphia area. We ate this meal at the Old City location.

About the Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We self-funded both our Chinese meal and Chinese trip.

Original Publication Date: August 26, 2014

Dave Charles

Monday 4th of September 2017

The food color looks so yummy! I can't wait for a single minute to taste the food. I just love it. I should visit China very soon. Thanks for the head up and keep up the great work.

Evana

Friday 23rd of June 2017

Wow....these foods are looking so yummy. Can't wait to taste it. Thanks a lot for sharing such a post.

jonny Lee

Monday 12th of June 2017

Thanks for great information.Really this post is interesting.follow that and be happy!

Danielle

Tuesday 28th of February 2017

I love these dishes! I can't wait to go to China, it has been on my list for a long time. If you had to choose one city to visit, what would it be? I travel in search of the best food I can find. It is good to know to be careful with the water. Thanks!

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

It would be a shame to visit China and only visit one city. If we had to pick just one, maybe Beijing for its food and sites. Though we really enjoyed exploring Chengdu. Then again, Hong Kong is quite amazing. Tough call!

Aodhan

Thursday 12th of January 2017

I can not wait to visit China and experience the culture and of course the amazing food!

You will love China! Let us know if you have any questions when you plan your trip.