Dī Shuǐ Dòng

It’s hard to imagine Mao as a restaurateur, but he may have liked this place with its unpretentious, down-home atmosphere and red-faced diners chatting it up over an increasingly raucous dinner. Along with Guyi Hunan Restaurant, Dī Shuǐ Dòng (named after a cave in the Chairman’s home village) is the discerning local’s choice for spicy Hunanese cooking. The claim to fame is the zīrán (cumin) ribs, but there’s no excuse not to sample the chicken-and-chilli clay pot or even the classic boiled frog (all Y48). Cool down with plenty of beers (Y12 a bottle) and the crowd-pleasing caramelised bananas for dessert.