Grilled fish on a generous bed of numbing chillis and peppercorns from China's south-western metropolis, Chongqing; cumin-laced lamb skewers from Xinjiang in the far north; and fiery rice noodles flavoured with snails from the famed rivers of Guangxi in the south.
All of this on a walk down Liang Seah Street in Singapore.
Chinese food is having a moment outside China, driven by huge success and intense competition back home. And nowhere is this clearer than in Singapore, where ethnically Chinese people make up more than three-quarters of the multicultural population.
The trend is not surprising given that Chinese soft power seems to be on the rise – think viral Labubu dolls, humanoid robots and futuristic cities that are impressing travellers.
Centuries-old and sophisticated, Chinese cooking is not among Beijing's list of priorities for turning the country into "a powerhouse in culture" by 2035.
