Changsha's signature noodle dish is the mala beef noodle — a bowl of smooth rice-flour noodles in a fiery red broth made with dried chilli, Sichuan peppercorn, fermented black beans, and a rich beef stock simmered for hours. The dish is served with thin-sliced poached beef, spring onion, preserved vegetables, and usually a splash of chilli oil added at the table. A bowl costs ¥18–30 depending on the venue; the differences between a ¥20 and ¥60 version are real but not enormous.
The best mala noodle shops are working-class restaurants with folding tables and handwritten menus, open from seven in the morning until mid-afternoon. The tourist streets around Pozi Street have reasonable versions but the most serious shops are in the residential neighbourhoods away from the old city. Ask hotel or hostel staff for their recommendation — locals have strong opinions about this. The noodles are properly spicy: warning to those unused to Hunanese heat levels.