I am going to China this summer and I am wondering what kind of food they eat there.?

Question

Is it like nasty, or is it kinda like the chinese food you eat at an american/chinese resturante? Also what is Tibet like? What do u think the best city to visit in China is?

Answer 1

chinese food. lol jp but alot of fish and raw meats its hard to get used to so hit up a mcdonalds its not like the food we eat here its a lot different not so much sauce or american tastes

Answer 2

The food isn't nasty, and some of it is a lot like what you have in American Chinese restaurants. It depends on where you're going in China. Hong Kong and Shanghai, for example, are so cosmopolitan now that the restaurants there have every kind of food that you can get here, but cheaper and better.

Avoid the American fast food chains over there at all costs! I thought the McDonald's in Beijing was totally nasty, and the KFC there freaked me out (was it really chicken??) - all the local food I had was great!

The one thing to watch out for is menus with no prices listed - restaurants that give you a menu like that tend to try to rip you off. If you flip through the menu, you can find the same dishes with the prices listed...in Chinese, unfortunately. But if you learn some basic Chinese characters for different kinds of meat (they usually have the characters listed in guidebooks) at least you'll know what you're eating.

Two things in case you're going off the beaten path - red lanterns hanging hear the door of a building means its a restaurant. And the rip-off restaurants are all located near tourist sites like the Great Wall. Some of the worst Chinese food I ever had anywhere was at one of those places, and it was mega-expensive!

I didn't get to Tibet, but I did get to the Shaolin Temple (the real one, in the mountains - there's 2 and one's more of a tourist place). It was incredible, and I'm completely not interested in kung-fu or any of that stuff. Xian was a little funky for me - it was urban in a third-world kind of way, but it has the terracotta warriors. The history in Beijing just blew me away. But the shopping in Shanghai made my vacation. I bought the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned there, and incredible clothes.

The "best" city just depends on what you're looking for, I guess. You'll definitely have a blast though, lucky you!! Have fun!

Answer 3

someone answered my question with this: "Okay. Do not brush your teeth in tap water until you have been there for a few weeks and then, don't swallow the water. Water is the real problem everywhere, so if you want ice in a drink, ask if it's from bottled water. If not, say no. Don't eat salads washed in tap water.
Go and walk on the Great Wall of China; there are 2 places to do that in Beijing, either is good.
Go to the pearl market by the Temple of Heaven and buy lots of silk stuff and pearls to bring home. Everything is so very cheap.
Take a trip to Xi'an to see the terracotta army. If you have the money, do a trip on the Yangze from Wuhan to Chongqing, but not on a boat for natives...that will be horrible.
Try not to need a public loo.
Be prepared to have people stand VERY close and to have no idea of personal space. And take a camera to record the most wonderful signs you will find, like, 'Please ensure your car is licked.'
But go with an open mind and you will have the most wonderful time of your life. It is a fabulous country and you can make wonderful friends."

Figured it would be helpful :D

Answer 4

I went to China and Tibet this past June. It was amazing! The food in China is good, but not exactly filling. It's different from the Americanized Chinese restaurants here... not sure what it is, but you can taste the difference. A lot of vegetables and rice.

In Tibet, the food is more of the meat-and-potatoes type. I got to eat Yak for the first time; it was delicious!

I went to Beijing, Kunming, and Hong Kong, and all of them are awesome places to visit. Hope you have fun on your trip!

Answer 5

There is a very dramatic difference between places that sell food. More expensive restaurants will serve the same things as the chinese restaurants outside of china, while the 'shabbier' places might consist of a table at the side of the road, with a metal barrel coal burner and a giant pot. I remember there was one alley in beijing where EVERYONE sold live scorpions from their little stalls; and if you wanted one they'd fry it on the spot for you.

The food at even the expensive restaurants are generally cheap (in price) compared to american chinese restaurants, so you should have no problem affording good food :) Depending on where you go, they will serve slightly different things, though most restaurants now have dishes from all over china.

and make sure you get a hepatitis A shot before you go, just in case :)

As for places, Tibet is pretty high altitude; if you're going to take the train up there make sure you don't have any blood pressure problems ;) In the summer I will suggest you go to Beijing. It will be the least excruciatingly hot out of the more tourist-friendly cities, as it's the farthest north. It will still get up to 40 in the summer though! But don't worry because good air-conditioned hotels aren't expensive (about US $30 for a very normal room with private bath and TV) unless you go for international name brands :D

Answer 6

I love Chinese food! I live in Northern China and there are many dishes I have never seen in restaurants back home. When you come be sure to try some Beijing Duck. It's wonderful when it's done right. Also, try Hot Pot. You get to pick your meats and veggies and boil them in a spicey or non-spicey broth. Many places have a choice of sauces for dipping the finished product in. My friends favor the peanut sauce, while I prefer straight from the pot. Muslim BBQ is also tasty, yet simple. As it is Muslim you will not find any pork here, but the shao bing (bread), zhi zhong (chicken wings), and yang rou (mutton) are tasty. If you get a chance try to find a Buddhist restaurant. It's all vegetarian, but the fake meat is amazingly good...so good my heavily carnivorous friends enjoy it. You should also try some baozi (steamed stuffed buns). If you like sweets try ba si di gua (glazed sweet potato pieces) or ba si ping guo (glazed apple pieces) for dessert one night. One thing you should be aware of is that many foods are cooked with peanut oil and/or MSG. If you are sensitive to either of these things make sure to have someone write it down in Chinese so you can show the wait staff. I also recommend drinking soft drinks with your meals. Since we are not used to the bacteria normally present in Chinese food it can cause painful gas build-up in your stomach. A Coke or Sprite can keep this at bay.

I've never been to Tibet. However, I hear that you have to be very careful about getting altitude sickness, so you must get plenty of rest and stay hydrated.

Everyone has a different favorite city. Personally, I don't like Beijing nor Shanghai, but then I live in a small, yet extremely friendly city, so I find these 2 cities too busy and rude with people trying to charge me way too much for things because I'm a foreigner. Sometimes it's better to get away from the super touristy places to see the real China. That being said the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an and the Great Wall at Mo Tian Yu (sp?) are a must. Do not do the "Ba Da Ling Blink and You Missed It" Tour of the Great Wall. It's too touristy and if you go with a group they don't give you much time after taking you to places not mentioned when you signed up for the tour. It's better to hire a driver to take you to Mo Tian Yu. If you want pandas, check out the reserve near Chengdu. It was featured in National Geographic's "Panda Nursery."

Answer 7

I don't know what chinese food like in America. But the real Chinese Food is truly delicious. If you like eating, you come back to China just for the food. Check this site http://knows.jongo.com/res/category/1377? You'll find everything about Chinese food, Tibet, and the Great Wall.....just everything.

Answer 8

one, they eat chinese food majority of the time. i've been there like 6 times and the past few times have been great. it's somewhat like the american resturaunt's chinese food, but somethings could be different (i.e., name is the same, food looks different). another thing is to be careful where you eat. some places like on the side of the road with a small shabby shack for a cooking and eating area is somewhere you'd find something weird in your food (no offense to anyone), but sometimes it's like that and sometimes it's not. also, i advise not to drink their tap or bottled water b/c they don't purify the water very well. so if you like caffeine, this is the time to drink lots of it. lol =]

two, it depends what you eat to think something is nasty. it also depends on where you are. if you like spicy food, then go to szechuan where chili peppers are something that people eat with almost everything. somethings are truly nasty though. but some things are truly different from the U.S. in my opinion, i don't have a thing for sea cucumbers. it's just, EWWWW. lol =]

i dunno what tibet's like, but during the summer i'd say that one of the place i'd like to go to is dalian. it's near korea and it's near the ocean. not once have i heard that it's been over 100 degrees there. (well, maybe once or twice.) but the weather is decent there, like somewhere in the 90's. if you want to go somewhere hot, like really hot, then go to guangzhou, beijing, shanghai or xi'an. guangzhou, beijing are big cities and they have pretty good shopping districts. problem is that all 3 don't have beaches.

i can't name anymore things from the top of my head, but i hope you'll have a good summer. =]

Answer 9

Chinese pasta (noodles), chicken, fish, egg in Chinese style. It is like the chinese food you eat at American Chinese restaurant and taste better.

The best city is Beijing. Long history with great wall of china, Ming tomb, forbidden city......etc.

Answer 10

Yeah, chinese food is REALLY popular over there! :)
No, I am just kidding with you!
I haven't made it to China yet but I hear that the food is alot different from "americanized" chinese food. they say it is really good over there.
It sounds like you are excited about your trip! Dig into local culture so you can make the most of the experience- try new things and meet new people! :)

Answer 11

Chinese food has many many flavors.

People in different places eat different food.

Generally, northern food is salty, and southern food is sweet.

But it depends. I highly recommend you to try some Sichuan food, which is spicy and tasty, but a little bit oily to Americans. If you get used to it, you'll find a lot of delicious stuff!