All you can eat and drink

"Today, there are more and more restaurants in cities like New York that serve Chinese fare that isn't Cantonese," she adds.

"Take for instance Hunan Slurp, which offers authentic Hunan food in hip and modern settings. There's also Hao Noodle, which combines great interior design with Shanghai favorites like soup dumplings and scallion oil noodles."

Another noteworthy establishment, she notes, is the ambitious China Live food emporium in San Francisco's Chinatown. Set up by chef George Chen, the $20 million-complex comprises a home-style Chinese food eatery, an upscale retail space offering premium Chinese ingredients, a cafe, a bar and a fine-dining restaurant called Eight Tables that serves sifangcai, or "private chateau cuisine", for $225 per person. Mo points out that China Live is expected to expand to other cities in the US in the near future.

It also appears that Sichuan food might just be the new darling of the global dining scene. In Macao, acclaimed Taiwan chef Andre Chiang is creating modern interpretations of this cuisine at Sichuan Moon in Wynn Palace. Over at the Shard in London, the upscale Hutong restaurant serves Shandong and Sichuan cuisine with a contemporary spin. In Paris' 9th arrondissement, Carnet de Bord offers diners authentic Sichuan fare that is not limited to tongue-numbing spicy hotpot broths.

And then there's Yu Bo, the acclaimed Chinese chef dubbed "the Ferran Adrià of Chengdu" who's been leaving diners spellbound with his immaculate knife skills and creative take on Sichuan fare in Los Angeles, California.

It is certainly fitting that Sichuan cuisine's global footprint has been growing. After all, Chengdu, the capital of the sprawling province of some 87 million people, was once named as Asia's first City of Gastronomy.

Wait, but who would have the audacity to make such a nomination?

Don't look at me. It was UNESCO.