Cinese Sichuan
山城小灶Shancheng
Shancheng, Via Vigevano 8, Milan.
The name
山城小灶
山城 (shān chéng) means “mountain city”.
小灶 (xiǎo zào) is the small stove: in everyday use, the dish cooked separately, on purpose, for someone.
That is what the characters mean. Why the restaurant carries this name is a story we will tell once it has been told to us.
麻辣 · Málà
Two sensations, not one.
The tingle
Not heat. This is Sichuan pepper (花椒, huājiāo): a light buzz that numbs the lips and opens up the palate.
The heat
This one is spice: chilli, dried or in oil. It warms rather than burns — and here it can be turned up or down.
Together they make 麻辣, málà: the signature of Sichuan cooking.
Printed on our menu:
“On request it is possible both to make the dish in a non-spicy way or lower the level of spiciness. Notify us if you prefer dishes without garlic.”
The room
A dining room under the mountains.
One wall of the room is a mountain landscape, painted top to bottom. The rest is plain: plastered arches, pale wood tables, tan leather, a black ceiling crossed by lines of light.
There are round tables with a turning centre, for when there are many of you and you order everything.
