Breakfast in China's most unique city | Chongqing

Hello everyone, I'm JJ. In our last episode, we explored Chongqing's love affair with spice and the fiery breakfasts that come with it. This time, we're looking at a different side of the city. Right now, standing here surrounded by skyscrapers, you'd probably assume we're on the ground level. And that's a perfectly reasonable guess. After all, most of us grow up in cities built on a single layer, where streets, buildings, and daily life all exist on the same level. But Chongqing doesn't work that way. Here, the city is built in layers. For visitors, Chongqing's 3D landscape is part of the city's charm. But for the people who live here, this unusual layout is more than just a tourist attraction. It shapes everyday life in ways that most outsiders rarely think about. Getting around isn't always as simple as it looks. A destination that seems just a few hundred meters away can involve countless stairs, steep slopes, and multiple elevation changes. Today, we'll experience that side of Chongqing through some of its most traditional breakfasts. And along the way, we'll get a glimpse of what everyday life is really like in this extraordinary city. 这个是什么馅的? 这是牛肚馅 哦 看它浇的那么新鲜 来试一下 哈 哪个味道? 这个比较浓稠的 嗯 你试试看 味道是很浓稠的 可以 你再来一个四分其一 你吃一下就清楚了 这哪个味道? 我肯定原味的要一个黄豆面再来一个 然后再来一个 红豆沙 好的 就是这个 就像刚才那老板说的 这东西吃了就是七八十年的老味道 嗯 这东西你不会 就像老板说的 他不会吃得太惊艳 但是嘛 这种老味道 越来越少 吃的就是回忆 对 吃这东西得有一种情怀嘛 嗯 这种东西做法很简单 它就是白米面 加鸡蛋 加糖 外面人在刷菜的油 但是这东西它不像那老板说的 那么简单 东西材料是很简单的 其实这东西它最大的一个技术软件在 就是发酵 哦 这个发酵的 像这家为啥比较有名 它就是给你爱吃的 就是因为它家发酵的方法特别好 它虽然只是这种白米跟糖鸡蛋做的 但吃着呢 是发酵的原因是吧 对 它这种 因为下面我要开的那几个是带馅的 馅应该会就得到这种清淡的酒香味 酒香味是发酵产生的 其实中国最传统的酒是什么 是米酒 米酒就是拿这种大米发酵而成的 这也行 这是那个豆粉馅的 这种那个烘焙之后的黄豆粉 它这种坚果味特别好 中国人是吧 千万不要放 好 都很经典 继续寻找这边还有什么老味道 In Chongqing, even something as ordinary as moving goods can become a real challenge. That's why this city gave rise to a unique profession. The man you see carrying a bamboo pole is a bang-bang porter. They transport heavy loads through streets, stairways and alleyways that are difficult for vehicles to access. Today, only a little over a thousand bang-bang porters remain. As the city continues to modernize, fewer people choose this line of work. Are you going down? Yes Wow, this is so heavy Be careful This is glutinous rice That's glutinous rice Special Delicious The specialty of Linjiangmen Isn't Linjiangmen just a subway station? This is still an area There are special snacks here Decades old 30 years What is this Fried dough sticks Wow, it's so thick It's been 30 years since I've been a bang-bang porter It's the same old taste Yes It's good The soybean powder on the outside is very fragrant And there's a layer of white sugar on the outside It has a nutty flavor And there's a layer of white sugar I haven't eaten the fried dough sticks yet I think it's crispy on the inside Take another bite I ate it It's not just fried dough sticks There should be something else There's salt in it The metro station is built into the seventh And eighth floors of this building The first six floors are home to shops and businesses While the floors above are residential apartments What is this? A snack bar A place for you to eat Oh, a snack bar Yes 3.2 yuan 3.1 yuan This is a kind of snack in the middle of the street It's a kind of snack It's very sticky There's actually a layer of brown sugar on the outside And then the brown sugar is the one behind it The fried soybean powder I haven't eaten that It's not open yet The next breakfast is another taste of old Chongqing Sanjiaoba To find the real thing We rode the subway for nearly two hours To a neighborhood market on the outskirts of the city Vendors downtown are no longer allowed to cook with open flames Making this old-fashioned method increasingly rare And that's important Because this isn't just about nostalgia The cast iron mold heated directly over the flame Is what gives Sanjiaoba its crisp shell and deep toasted flavor Some traditional foods can be copied But they can never truly be replicated without the traditional method It's different from what we ate in Japan It's a little tasty Some of the city's oldest flavors are slowly disappearing As tastes change Simple foods like these have become less popular Especially with younger people Who tend to prefer bolder flavors But for the locals who grew up with them They're more than just food They are a familiar part of everyday life. That's why you'll usually only find them in older neighborhoods. This is also a breakfast made with rice. Look, this is a big piece of rice. Every piece of rice is steamed with a small iron pot. And what's in here? There's also the quail that's been stewed in here. The quail is very thickly stewed. It's in a quail soup. And then there's all kinds of nuts in it. Very nutritious. Before you eat it, you have to blanch the rice first. Turn it upside down. There's also peanuts and goji berries. Yes, this is goji berries. Goji berries and dates are considered to be very nutritious in China. So this bowl of porridge is also considered to be very nutritious to drink in the morning. It's such a quiet neighborhood. That's why I talk so quietly. Oh, there's lotus seeds. This spoonful is really very rich. Wow, it's very good. The moment you take a bite, you can smell the sesame seeds. And when you bite into the peanuts, you can smell the peanuts. This bowl of porridge is very comfortable. Making porridge this rich, I feel like it's still quite rare. You have to use all kinds of nuts to make this bowl of porridge. It's really comfortable. Yes, yes. When we went looking for Sanjiao, we unexpectedly discovered a local market on the outskirts of Chongqing. The atmosphere was incredible and there were so many interesting local snacks that we knew it deserved an episode of its own. So next time, we'll take you along to explore the market. Thank you for watching. See you in the next one.