Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles

The dish comes in three parts: a large bowl of scalding chicken broth, an array of raw fresh ingredients, and the rice noodles; a film of oil on the soup traps the heat so diners cook everything themselves.

Legend traces it to Mengzi in southern Yunnan, where a scholar's wife crossing a bridge with his meals discovered that the oily chicken broth kept food hot - a tale now over three centuries old.

Add thin slices of raw meat first, then fresh vegetables and the noodles, swirl them into the boiling broth for a moment, and eat soup and noodles together while piping hot.

Its signature is the theatrical 'jade ribbon crossing the bridge' ritual of cooking raw ingredients in broth - Yunnan's most ceremonious bowl for honored guests.