Plan Your Trip
Eat & Drink Like a Local
China has a broad range of eating options from street food to fine dining; if you don't speak Chinese, you'll find photo menus are common. In most areas it's possible to hunt down mouth-watering specialities from other regions.
Meals of a Lifetime
Jīngzūn Peking Duck, Běijīng
Georg, Beijing
Luk Yu Tea House, Hong Kong
António, Macau
Ultraviolet, Shànghai
Fú Hé Huì, Shànghai
Green Tea Restaurant, Hángzhou
Taste of Tibet, Kangdìng
Food Experiences
Cheap Treats
Snacking your way around China is a fine way to sample the different flavours of the land while on the move. Most towns have a street market or a night market (夜市; yèshì), a great place for good-value snacks and meals; you can either take it away or park yourself on a wobbly stool and grab a beer.
Street markets such as Kāifēng’s boisterous night market abound with choices you may not find in restaurants. Vocal vendors will be forcing their tasty creations on you but you can also see what other people are buying and what’s being cooked up; all you have to do is join the queue and point.
Dare to Try
AStinky tofu (chòu dòufu), a form of fermented tofu that has an aroma somewhere between unwashed socks and rotting vegetation.
ACantonese snake soup (shé gēng), a winter favourite trusted for its warming properties. Served at Ser Wong Fun (蛇王芬
GOOGLE MAP
; 
%852 2543 1032; 30 Cochrane St, Soho; meals HK$70; 
h11am-10.30pm; 
mCentral, exit D1) in Hong Kong.
ABowls of pigs brain (脑花; nǎohuā), served as a side dish at most shāokǎo barbeque spots in Chóngqìng.
AFried centipedes, Hángzhōu street food.
AScorpions on skewers, Wángfǔjǐng Snack Street.
ADonkey meat in a flaky bread pocket (驴肉火烧; lǘròu huǒshāo), a Héběi speciality.
Local Specialities
Běijīng & the North
Besides being the most obvious place to seek out authentic Peking duck (北京烤鸭; Běijīng kǎoyā), Běijīng is where you'll find the best Peking-duck restaurants.
For the most scrumptious jiǎozi (dumplings), head north and northeast. If you like them crispy, get them guōtiē (fried). Shànghǎi’s delicious interpretation is xiǎolóngbāo – steamed and scalding.
In the north, also fill up on a tasty dish of húntún (wontons) stuffed with juicy leeks and minced pork, or Ménggǔ huǒguō (Mongolian hotpot), a hearty brew of mutton, onions and cabbage.
Shànghǎi
In case you’re pining for something sweet, head to Shànghǎi for delicious mìzhī xūnyú (honey-smoked carp), and where you can also dine on more savoury helpings of steaming xiǎolóngbāo dumplings – which require considerable dexterity to consume without meat juices jetting to all compass points.
Look out for the characters 本帮菜 (běnbāngcài) on restaurant shopfronts and in menus, which refers to authentic Shànghǎi homestyle cooking.
Shaanxi
Stop by Xī'ān for warming servings of yángròu pàomó (mutton broth and shredded flat bread).
Look for ròujiāmó (肉夹馍; fried pork or beef in pitta bread, sometimes with green peppers and cumin), ròuchuàn (肉串; kebabs) and yummy yángròu pàomó (羊肉泡馍; lamb broth poured over breadcrumbs).
Húnán
Húnán is no province for lightweight, dainty palates. A firecracker of a cuisine, Xiāngcài (湘菜; Húnán food) is one of the most potent of Chinese cooking styles, with ample use of chilli and piquant herbs. It eschews the numbing heat of Sìchuān cooking and instead goes for a sharp, full-flavoured spiciness.
Hong Kong, Macau & Guǎngzhōu
Dim sum is steamed up across China, but like the Cantonese dialect, it’s best left to the masters of the south to get it right. Hong Kong, Macau and Guǎngzhōu should be your first stops – they set the dim sum benchmark.
While in Macau, taste the Macanese dish porco à alentejana, a mouthwatering casserole of pork and clams.
Hǎinán
Hǎinán specialties include dōngshān yáng (东山羊; mountain goat, stewed, roasted or cooked in coconut milk), chǎobīng (炒冰; blended tropical fruit that is 'fried’ on a cold plate until it turns thick like sorbet) and jiājī yā (加积鸭; steamed duck).
Yúnnán
Yúnnán specialities include qìguōjī (汽锅鸡; slow-cooked, herb-infused chicken), xuānweī huǒtuǐ (宣威火腿; Yúnnán ham), guòqiáo mǐxiàn (过桥米线; across-the-bridge noodles) and rǔbǐng (辱饼; goat’s cheese).
Téngchōng is famous for its cured ham, known as huǒtuǐ (火腿), as well as having all the great Yúnnán vegies and mushrooms, and there are many restaurants in the region to sample them at.
In Lìjiāng, make sure to try the cuisine of the local Naxi minority, while Shangri-la is a great place to sample Tibetan cooking.
Sìchuān
Some like it hot, and little comes hotter than the fiery flavours of Sìchuān. Begin with mouth-numbing mápó dòufu (spicy beancurd dish), followed by the celebrated gōngbǎo jīdīng (spicy chicken with peanuts). If the smoke isn’t now coming out of your ears, shuǐzhǔ yú (fish smothered in chilli) should have you breathing fire.
Chóngqìng
Chóngqìng hotpot is ideal for banishing the bitter cold of a northern winter, while in its home town – one of China's 'three furnaces' on the Yangzi River – old folk devour the spiciest of hotpots in summer with little regard for the sweltering weather.
Xīnjiāng
To sample the full range of Uighur food, make your way to Kashgar, where you'll have your pick of street food and night markets.
Fruit is a big deal in Xīnjiāng, from Hāmì's tawuz (watermelon) to Turpan's uzum (grapes) and yimish (raisins). Market heave with fruit from July to September.
Gānsù
The province's most famous export is Lánzhōu beef noodles (牛肉拉面; niúròu lāmiàn) – hand-pulled noodles in spicy soup – which are available in small restaurants and shops all over Gānsù.
How to Eat & Drink
When to Eat
The Chinese eat early. Lunch usually commences from around 11.30am, either self-cooked or a takeaway at home, or in a streetside restaurant. Dinner kicks off from around 6pm. Reflecting these dining times, some restaurants open at around 11am, close for an afternoon break at about 2.30pm, open again around 5pm and then close in the late evening. Street-food vendors then take over the duty of feeding the late-night hungry folk.
Where to Eat
Chinese eateries come in every conceivable shape, size and type: from shabby, hole-in-the-wall noodle outfits with flimsy PVC furniture, blaring TV sets and well-worn plastic menus to gilded, banquet-style restaurants where elegant cheongsam-clad waitresses show you to your seat, straighten your chopsticks and bring you a warm hand towel and a gold-embossed wine list. In between are legions of very serviceable midrange restaurants serving cuisine from across China.
As dining in China is such a big, sociable and often ostentatious affair, many Chinese banqueting-style restaurants have huge round tables, thousand-candle-power electric lights and precious little sense of intimacy or romance. Overattentive and ever-present staff can add to the discomfort for foreigners.
Eating with Kids
Similar to travelling with children in China, dining out with kids can be a challenge. Budget eateries won’t have kids’ menus; nor will they have booster seats. Smarter restaurants may supply these but it can be touch-and-go. In large cities you will be able to find more restaurants switched on to the needs of families; Western restaurants especially may have a play area, kids’ menu, activities, booster seats and other paraphernalia.
Menus
In Běijīng, Shànghǎi and other large cities, you may be proudly presented with an English menu (英文菜谱; Yīngwén càipǔ). In smaller towns and out in the sticks, don’t expect anything other than a Chinese-language menu and a hovering waitress with no English-language skills. The best is undoubtedly the ever-handy photo menu. If you like the look of what other diners are eating, just point at it and say 'wǒ yào nèi gè' (我要那个; 'I want that') – a very handy phrase. Alternatively, pop into the kitchen and point out the meats and vegetables you would like to eat.
Vegetarian Travellers
If you’d rather chew on a legume than a leg of lamb, it can be hard to find truly vegetarian dishes. China’s history of famine and poverty means the consumption of meat has always been a sign of status, and is symbolic of health and wealth. Eating meat is also considered to enhance male virility, so vegetarian men raise eyebrows. Partly because of this, there is virtually no vegetarian movement in China, although Chinese people may forgo meat for Buddhist reasons. For the same reasons, they may avoid meat on certain days of the month but remain carnivorous at other times.
You will find that vegetables are often fried in animal-based oils; vegetable soups are often made with chicken or beef stock, so simply choosing 'vegetable' items on the menu is ineffective. A dish that you are told does not contain meat may still mean it is riddled with tiny pieces of meat. In Běijīng and Shànghǎi you will, however, find a generous crop of vegetarian restaurants to choose from, alongside outfits such as Element Fresh, which has a decent range of healthy vegetarian options.
Out of the large cities, your best bet may be to head to a sizeable active Buddhist temple or monastery, where Buddhist vegetarian restaurants are often open to the public. Buddhist vegetarian food typically consists of ‘mock meat’ dishes created from tofu, wheat gluten, potato and other vegetables. Some of the dishes are almost works of art, with vegetarian ingredients sculpted to look like spare ribs or fried chicken. Sometimes the chefs go to great lengths to create ‘bones’ from carrots and lotus roots.
If you want to say ‘I am a vegetarian’ in Chinese, the phrase to use is 'wǒ chī sù' (我吃素).
COOKING COURSES
Want to learn how to make Chinese cuisine while on your travels? Popular cooking classes can be found at The Hutong and Black Sesame Kitchen in Běijīng and the Kitchen At... in Shànghǎi.
More options include:
Chinese Cooking Workshop (
GOOGLE MAP
; www.chinesecookingworkshop.com; 108-109, 2 Dongping Rd; 东平路2号 courses from ¥150-200; mHengshan Rd, Shanghai Library) Learn different Chinese cooking styles from dim sum to Sichuanese. It also offers market tours and courses for kids. In Shànghǎi.
Home's Cooking (www.homescookingstudio.com; classes HK$600) This highly rated cooking class, run out of the owner's home, offers three-hour morning or afternoon sessions. Students cook a three-course Chinese meal: think spring rolls, lotus-leaf chicken and ginger pudding. Classes include a trip to a local wet market and lunch or dinner. In Hong Kong.
Martha Sherpa (
GOOGLE MAP
; %852 2381 0132; www.marthasherpa.com; Flat F, 14th fl, Wah Lai Mansion, 62-76 Marble Rd, North Point; courses HK$1680; mNorth Point, exit A2) Expert Cantonese home-cook Martha Sherpa (her last name comes from her Nepali husband) has taught the likes of former Australian PM Julia Gillard how to cook dim sum and Hong Kong favourites. Small group classes cover topics like wok cookery, dim sum and vegetarian Chinese. Half-day, full-day and evening classes are available. In Hong Kong.