Xie Xiangbing brings with him to the capital his knowledge of Sichuan cuisine, together with his creations, which can be tasted at the new Beijing branch of Xu's Creative Dishes.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Braised crab with sesame and pickled vegetables is another creation and signature dish of the eatery.

The soup base is made with many seasonings, including pickled ginger and pepper, fresh ginger and shallot, glutinous rice, sugar and vinegar.

All the seasonings are fried in a mix of lard and canola oil before the vegetables and crab are added. The final step is to pour the fried sesame seeds onto the dish to cover the entire plate before serving.

The crab sucks up all the flavors of the soup, while the pickle dilutes the spiciness to make the dish mellow in the mouth.

Sichuan cuisine is not all about spicy food. The stewed minced chicken pudding in broth is one example of this-it looks like a bowl of tofu pudding, but it's actually made from chicken.