The food at Testbed 2 was arguably as memorable as its streets and unique visuals. During my visit, I decided to eat hotpot (you can read more about my hotpot experiences here in Chongqing on Zhoushixiong in Ciqikou Ancient Town, Guanyin Bridge Food Street, and at the Chongqing Banquet in Ba Kingdom) at one of the numerous food establishments there and was actually impressed by what I got. Now, the food was okay (great even) but I think it does get kind of drowned out by everything else that you’ll see and hear.
Erchang Lao Hougou : A Hotpot Restaurant at Testbed 2, Erchang Culture and Creative Park
So the establishment I decided to visit was called, according to my translation app, “Erchang Lao Hougou” or 2nd Factory Old Hot Pot. Now, I’ve probably eaten hotpot more times than I can remember while here in Chongqing and I think this was one of the most chill places that serve this dish that I’ve ever been to.
Not only is the place well-lit, it also has this sort of timeless vibe and ambiance to it. Since it was raining when I got here, there also weren’t that many people making the dining experience a little more solemn. That said, hotpot is best enjoyed with many people so you might want to bring a group with you if you do decide to eat here (or in any hotpot establishment for that matter).
So this is what the hotpot that I ordered looked like. Now you might be tempted to just get the Red Pot broth and call it a day but I think going with the White broth might be a more prudent choice. This is especially true if you’re not that used to the spice levels of Chongqing and/or Sichuan cuisine. Believe me, the Red broth can get really spicy.
For meat, I decided on getting these rather thin slices of pork belly. What I liked about these was that not only were they cut thinly, they also had plenty of fat on them. Aside from absorbing the broth’s flavor they also impart their own rich flavor to it that then elevates the umami of the hotpot.
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Of course, just having meat for hotpot really isn’t ideal. To pair with the pork, I decided to get these slices of Wo Sun or Celtuce. If you’re not familiar with these then don’t worry. It’s kind of like a mix between celery, cucumber, and lettuce and they’re popularly included in hotpot thanks to its flavor and texture.
Aside from the Celtuce, I also decided to get these Oyster Mushrooms. These were relatively fresh and added even more umami to the broth. In terms of texture, I liked their chewiness and how slightly spongy they were when I ate them. The ones I dipped in the Red broth were definitely tastier though those dipped in the White broth really weren’t far off in terms of flavor.
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Another great source of umami for the broth was this small bowl of shrimp paste. Now I like shrimp and this shrimp paste added another layer of flavor to the broth. I understand though that some people might not be too keen on eating this particular crustacean and I’d say that you probably won’t be missing much flavor-wise if you didn’t get this. It’s great to have but the hotpot is already flavorful even without it.
Chinese cabbage is also another ingredient that I think doesn’t elevate the hotpot broth but is still nice to have nonetheless. It has a very neutral flavor making it a nice counterpoint to the broth and meats. On top of its flavor, it also has a crunchy texture that pairs well with all the other ingredients.
If you’ve been following my travels, you’d know that I enjoy eating all kinds of meat. Aside from the pork belly earlier, I also got some really thin slices of beef flank that had this really nice marbling to them. While the pork tasted really nice, it really didn’t hold a candle to this beef. It easily melted in my mouth with an explosion of flavors after dipping it for just a couple of seconds in the hotpot.
Another hotpot ingredient I’d recommend anyone try is this Chinese-style luncheon meat. While I’m not sure if this was made in-house (highly unlikely), I will say that it was delicious. Unlike most luncheon meat that I tasted, this wasn’t starchy and you could actually taste the globs of lean meat as you’re chewing on it.
So I did like the dining experience here at Erchang Lao Hougou. With that said, there are so many establishments at Testbed 2 that you might want to prioritize. It’s not that the food here is bad but rather, it’s probably something that you’ll probably eat over the course of your stay in Chongqing. There’s just too many hotpot restaurants in Chongqing that I wouldn’t really worry about not being able to experience what this place has to offer. Anyway, what do you think about this establishment offering hotpot at Testbed 2? If you’ve already tried it then please share your experience/s in the comments section of this post.
