Ben Xiao Bo 笨小钵 @ Changsha

It was raining during the evenings I was in Changsha so I had to dine in the mall next to my hotel. And when in Changsha, one have to eat Hunanese cuisine.

Ben Xiao Bo 笨小钵 is a chain restaurant specialising in Changde casserole dishes. Changde cuisine 常德菜 is a flavourful part of Hunanese cuisine 湘菜, known for spicy, savoury dishes using local freshwater ingredients from Dongting Lake and specialties like hearty rice noodles (especially beef noodles) and stewed casseroles , aka “bowl dishes” 钵子菜 (bōzi cài), featuring braised meats and rich sauces with unique local twists.

Interestingly, the restaurant itself was largely empty, but the patrons were all sitting along the corridors of the mall. All the casseroles came with a small stove fuelled by a highly flammable fuel pouch. Forget about fire safety codes, this is Changsha. I placed my order with the waitress (a wonderful thing these days as more and more shops want you to order through an app), ate complimentary popcorns and drank ice cold Tsingtao while I waited.

Claypot Freshwater Turtle 砂锅甲鱼（猛火现炒）

The turtle is one of the most common and inexpensive ingredients in Hunanese cuisine, and the cooking methods are varied, such as braised, stewed, stir-fried, steamed, etc. Those that have been following my blog will know that I love to eat turtle, regardless it is cooked in double-boiled soup, braised in red sauce in a casserole or stir-fried with lots of chilli. So I could not resist but to order this instead of their famous chilli beef casserole with rice noodles.

Claypot Freshwater Turtle 砂锅甲鱼 used a whole turtle sautéed with green pepper, garlic in a savoury and slightly spicy sauce. They kept a small flame under the casserole so the sauce simmered away, keeping the dish warm in a cold and wet early winter evening. The more you eat, the more delicious it is, especially if you mix the sauce with rice.

Steamed Hunanese Chopped Pickled Chilli Fish Head 湖南老坛剁椒鱼头（现蒸现卖）

Steamed fish head with chopped chilli 剁椒鱼头 is a well-known dish from Hunan, one of the eight major Chinese cuisines. It used a “reservoir fish head” 水库鱼头, which is usually freshwater snakehead or bighead carp that can grow to enormous size. Very simple to make, but the essence is the chopped chilli. Here they used pickled chilli mixed with fresh chilli as the toppings for the steaming.

These days some restaurants serve the fish head with some of the body still available. They do this because the head is not fleshy enough for most, but the head is where the focus should be. The meat around the gills is the most delicious part, but according to Chinese table manners, when a whole fish is served, the fish head is always left to the most honoured guest. So, when the fish head is served separately, take your chance and dig your chopsticks into the best part, the gratifying gill meat.

Although initially I didn’t want any rice, but in the end I could not resist as both dishes were so savoury that you want to have some neutral taste to keep going. I was dining along and I was surprised I could finish both the fish head and the turtle, thanks to the rice. Ironic, but that’s how addictive the flavours of these dishes were.

Very simple and nice franchised restaurant. In recent time, franchises in China have been under a lot of scrutiny for selling precooked food. That’s why you can see the they emphasise on cooking it only when ordered and you can taste it in the freshly steamed fish head and hearty sautéed turtle. Service was good, and it’s all good value-for-money.

Ben Xiao Bo 笨小钵（CFC富兴时代店）
长沙市开福区芙蓉中路一段303号CFC富兴时代F5

Visited Oct 2025