"Chili is just one of the thousands of spices and condiments. Be it seasoning or decoration, it is an extra flavor and should not be exaggerated."

The degree of spiciness is not just the quality and quantities of peppercorns and chilies, but also the chefs' skills in manipulating temperature and timing to let out the raw ingredients' flavors. Stir-frying the chilies to let out their full flavors calls for good technique, using low heat and calculated timing.

As some people's appetite for chilies build up, some may also go away. For Zhu, his personal taste for spicy food has waned after moving from Sichuan to Beijing.

"I grew up eating spicy food when I was young in my hometown, Meizhou. But after having been based in Beijing for almost 20 years, my taste for spiciness is not as strong as before," he says.

Zhu says eating spicy food has becoming a dining experience with a tint of chic, so some restaurateurs are developing spicier menus to cater to young people with vim.

Meizhou Dongpo also does that. What's more, their target customers involve a much wider general mass including the seniors, children, and some heat-adverse dinners. So some dishes including DongPo Sea Cucumber offer two flavors to choose, original or spicy flavor.

Three recommended signature spicy dishes at Meizhou Dongpo represent the traditions of classic Sichuan mala heat - all available at any of its restaurants in China.