Enjoy a taste of Yangtze life

It is then fried again during the Beijing part of the preparation to stimulate the fragrance of the hotpot.

"First, we melt the beef tallow in the pot and then add peppers before lowering the heat," he explains. "As the tallow turns red, we add a thick broad-bean sauce," Qi continues, "before boiling the sauce for one hour, when we add all of the traditional Chinese ingredients, seasonings and fermented glutinous rice."

The whole process takes about three to four hours and, according to Qi, the difference between Chongqing hotpot and Chengdu hotpot is the spicy flavor. Chongqing hotpot is milder, thanks to the fermented glutinous rice softening the piquancy.

Once all that is done, adding further authenticity to the dish is the eponymous pot itself.

Traditionally, it is served in a pot divided into nine sections. The square in the middle is the hottest part of the pot and it is where ingredients such as ox tripe, duck intestines and vegetables - things that need to be boiled quickly - are cooked, while sections around are where ingredients that need a little extra time to cook are boiled, such as duck blood and pig brains.

Buffalo tripe is one of Zhensanguan's signature ingredients. So is pork shoulder, which requires longer cooking to become tender - about 20 minutes for a 1-centimeter-thick piece.

Black tofu is also a must-try. Homemade with one portion of soybeans, two portions of black beans and one portion of glutinous rice, it tastes softer and smoother than normal tofu.