Variety is the spice of life

Xie brings with him to the capital his knowledge of Sichuan cuisine, together with his creations.

The one specialty dish at Xu's Creative Dishes is the steamed wild fish with special pepper sauce, which Xu created a couple of years ago.

The fish are shipped in from Heilongtan reservoir in Sichuan province. They inhabit the waters 20 meters below the lake's surface. Xie's family used to live there before moving dozens of kilometers away to make way for the construction of the reservoir in 1970.

According to Xie, this fish can only gain around 500 grams in weight per year, and the chefs select fish that weigh between 2.3 kilograms and 2.8 kilograms to serve at the restaurant.