Dish #9: 伤心凉粉 shangxin liangfen ("heartbreak cold noodles")

Know what it feels like to have your heart broken? Tears stinging the eyes, the numbness, and so much pain it’s like you can’t breathe? Whoever named this dish obviously had a few rocky romances.

A bowl of thick, translucent noodles mixed with cilantro and Sichuan peppercorn powder, it’s topped with enough fresh chillis to incapacitate a horny rhinoceros. Often lightly pickled in vinegar, the peppers are simply smashed and served in all their brilliant, raging glory. Staggeringly hot, and certainly not for the weak of stomach – but like the brokenhearted, you’ll heal in time.

Try it: See Dining Directory under “Sichuan.”

Dish #61: 苍蝇头 cangying tou (“fly heads”)

Spotted dick, sloppy joe, knackwurst – having a thoroughly unpalatable name doesn’t necessarily impede your rise to fame.

Take “fly heads” as a case in point. This toothsome Taiwanese staple, originally from Hunan, is a stir-fried fusion of green garlic chives, red pepper, fermented black beans and sautéed pork, diced to diminutive dimensions. The rubbery bite of the chives lends a suitably macabre mouthfeel – you can almost picture the Robespierre of the insect world going nuts with his mini-guillotine and leaving a mountain of beheaded beasties in his wake. Enjoy.

Try it: Golden Spoons Taiwanese Food. Daily 11am-11pm. 5/F, South Bldg, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6587 1472) 朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶南街5层

Dish #25: 毛血旺 mao xue wang (tripe and pig’s blood stew)

A witch’s brew of bubbling blood (mao xue), straight out of the fiery pits of … Chongqing.

Purportedly knocked up by a Sichuanese butcher (named Mao, perhaps?) some 70 years ago, who, keen to add value to the worthless entrails he was left with at closing time, cooked up a soupy stew with said offal, dried chillies, wood ear mushrooms and ginger. He threw cubes of congealed pig’s blood (xue wang) into the pot for good measure. Why the devil not?

A marriage made in hell, heavy in beneficial calcium and iron, big on bragging rights and popular to this day.

Try it: See Dining Directory under “Sichuan.”