You could spend months experimenting with food in Chengdu. Downtown is packed with restaurants, most looking like greasy-spoon canteens, but hung with dark brown, crispy fried ducks and aromatic local dishes. Out in the streets , Muslims grill chilli- and coriander-coated kebabs over open coals, peddlers trundle around selling steamed buns, noodles and spicy tofu and, at night, the kerbsides are thick with alfresco hotpot stalls . You'll find the best of these setting up around dusk in a side-street east off Kehua Bei Lu, near Xinnanmen bus station; ingredients are largely vegetarian - lotus root, potato slices, white radish, "pressed" tofu, boiled quail's eggs - check the price per skewer beforehand (from ¥0.1 each), and count on a small service charge. All Sichuanese food tastes especially good with beer - try locally brewed Blue Sword. Most proper restaurants open around 10am and shut by 9pm.

Chengdu has several cafés aimed at expats and backpackers, where you can restock on Western-style food and drink, use the Internet , browse through book exchanges, and catch up with the latest travellers' news - particularly with regard to getting to Tibet. You'll also find KFC outlets throughout the centre.

Carol's Diner , Linjiang Lu (along the river west of the Jiaotong and Xinnanmen). Part of a smart chain serving good Mexican and Italian fare (fine pizzas), burgers and coffee in comfortable surroundings.

Chen Mapo Dofu , Xi Yu Long Jie, north of the stadium; also Yihuan Lu, opposite Qingyang Gong. The Xi Yu Long Jie branch is said to be the original home of Grandma Chen's bean curd, and, though local opinion is divided as to whether it still serves Chengdu's best Mapo dofu, it's pretty good. ¥10 buys a bowl of tofu glowing with minced meat, chilli oil and wild pepper sauce, plus rice, tea and a thin soup to wash it down.

Chengdu , 134 Shandong Dajie, a westerly extension of Dong Dajie. Reasonably priced and one of the best places to try classic Sichuanese dishes, or a filling ¥15-30 sampler of local snacks: sweet and savoury dumplings, small crispy-fried fish, shredded dry-fried beef, shaved rice-jelly noodles, and much more. Try the outside tables, livened up by caged parakeets and set around a goldfish pool, and get in early, before debris from other diners litters the floor.

Guotang Yuan , Beida Lu. Traditional pillar-and-beam decor sets the scene for this ancient, inexpensive dumpling house, specializing in peanut dishes.

Highfly Cafe , Renmin Nan Lu. Variable Western food and toned-down Chinese fare; generally sound and friendly service.

Long Chaoshou , Chunxi Lu. A renowned dumpling house, this chaotic, canteen-style place is jammed full at lunchtime with a face-stuffing clientele making the most of the selection of local snacks for ¥5-20 a plateful.

Paul's Oasis , opposite the Jiaotong on Binjiang Lu. Welcoming backpacker and foreign-student favourite, with a well-deserved late-night party reputation and meltingly good chocolate brownies.

Shufeng Yuan , 153 Dong Dajie, on the northeast corner of the crossroads with Hongxing Lu. Expensive Sichuan cuisine, but well worth it, with traditional-style rooms arranged around a courtyard - sadly, this area is due for demolition, however.

Tianfang Lou , at the mosque, Jinhe Lu. Inexpensive Muslim restaurant with plenty of roast meats, breads, pulled noodles, and very spicy soups.

Xiangzhai Tang (Wenshu Si restaurant). Superb, inexpensive restaurant, not to be missed; all vegetarian fare in spite of some of the dishes' names - "bear paw", "chicken with chilli and prickly ash", "crackling rice with sea slug" and the like are all made from gluten, bean curd, aubergine and potato. Circle your choices on a tear-off menu (in Chinese - match the characters with the English shown on a board), pay at the kiosk, then collect food from the kitchen.

Xiaocheng Xiaocan , corner of Renmin Xi Lu and Dongcheng Gen Lu. Good, mid-range restaurant upstairs, and a selection of dumplings and small snacks to eat with tea or beer downstairs. Their smoked duck is particularly good. Staff are a bit offhand, but should be able to track down the one English menu.

Yaohua Canting , Dong Dajie. One of Chengdu's formerly famous restaurants re-emerging from the rubble of reconstruction; usual first-floor canteen with formal arrangements upstairs. Look for an English sign for "Western Meals" (Western Chinese, that is).