Everyone always says that one of the best things you will experience when you travel to China is their amazing food and different take on what they eat. After 4 months of living and working there I can confirm that this is a lie on most fronts. When you think of Chinese food, you think of cool things such as hot pots, spring rolls and Chinese take away from your local Chinese restaurants.
My first and most frequent exposure to Chinese food was at the canteen of the school of where I was teaching English. My normal meals consisted of huge lumps of rice with no sauce, giant leaves for the vegetables, sharp bones with a little bit of meat on them and maybe some nuts or beans thrown in there… that was true Chinese cuisine at its finest.
Restaurants were a different animal completely. When I say restaurant it’s because I wouldn’t know what else to call them. What you will see across all of China are the little places of the side of the road or down an alley, they will have tiny kitchens, a grubby restaurant with plastic tables and chairs. But don’t let the appearance fool you, these guys will often make great meals… mostly noodles though.
Compare those poor rundown places to the high end restaurants ive experiences in China and its actually quite amazing. The food is pretty much on the same level for up to 10x the price. Some Chinese places are trying their hardest to be western. We went to a restaurant called HBBJ… not a clue what it stood for. They did their best impression of steak. It was just plastic with some sauce thrown over it, accompanied by an egg and spaghetti. My best advice for going to China, especially if you’re going there for the food experience… is to not get your hopes too high up and try your best to experience the true Chinese food.
