Food in China Part 3, Part B:

Continued from Part A:

4. Know your palette. Most westerners(especially North Americans) are used to westernized Chinese food. I recently heard from an Athlete in an interview saying how sucky Chinese food is in China and how she has eaten better Chinese food at home. Let me put this to you straight, whatever you are eating in the Chinese restaurant back home is most likely not “real” Chinese food. There has been a book published recently by a Chinese American addressing this issue. Chinese food in the US has sort of become a comfort food that is as American as the apple pie. There is nothing wrong with that and I am not going to snub your palette/taste just because it wasn’t ethnically authentic. If you like, you could try some “real” Chinese food in China. Don’t give up too early and learn to have an open mind. Chinese spent 5000 years developing their cuisine, I think there is bound to be something you like. If you need that fix from home, try some Cantonese food, because that is what a lot of American style Chinese food is based on.

5. The parts. Yes, the parts. The parts that most North Americans find “disagreeable” to their palette. Nothing is wasted in China, and you can just bet that some parts have became a delicacy some where in China. Don’t make a disgusting face about it, and don’t snub it. Quite a few cultures have been poor for long periods in history, and it has been survival of the fittest for those times. I don’t snub my American friends for eating “fake” and “overly westernized” Chinese food, and people shouldn’t do it here either.

Don’t knock something until you have tried it at least 3 times. That is my motto concerning food. I have tried all the crazy food they have here. I like some, and I dislike some. It’s just my taste. Food safety has Absolutely nothing to do with eating perfectly cooked meats or veggies. It’s very impolite to refuse to eat things the host has ordered in a Chinese banquet. If you have a business deal, kiss that deal good bye.

6. If you have allergies or a health issue, let them know. Surprisingly, almost all waiters or waitresses in a half decent restaurant in China will ask you if you have allergies or not after you order. Make sure you are specific.

7. Expect Carbs. If you are watching your carbs, be careful in China. The main stay of the Chinese foods to provide the necessary calories and energy has always been noodles and rice. Go bonkers on those cheap, good and plenty comfort foods can have your weight exploding. Typical Chinese fare actually have less calories/portions and fat compared to the North American fare. So if you go too chopstick happy on those awesome dim sums, get ready to buy some new jeans. Whether you eat balanced meal or not is up to you, but this is just a heads up.

8. If you follow a very particular diet, you need to know if you are really suitable for China. It’s very tough to follow vegan or kosher in China. The stress of using up so much time on a daily necessity can be really difficult. Be prepared.

9. When all else fails, MacDs, Pizza Hut, KFC, Sizzler and etc, all have a large presence in China.

10. Be adventurous, have fun and enjoy it. Food is one of the most profound pleasures in life. If you are staying here long term and you don’t enjoy the food here, you really should reconsider. As for visitors, try the local fare, because no “western” food they can make in China can be as good as your grandmas’. The fun part is finding that special something that you have never tried but love it at first bite. Bring an open mind. This is one area where you won’t get in trouble for being adventurous.

Food in China Part 3, part A:

Ok, besides all the scary pictures and disgusting stories, how about some realistic expectation what’s good to eat and what’s bad to eat?

I am the bad news first person, so I’d like to prepare you for the worst before presenting any of the good stuff. But, I don’t really think people need help spotting something they like, and recommendations are hard to give due to personal palettes can be so different.

Anyway, here goes:

1. Avoid the Street Stall foods like a plague. Fruit on a stick, fruits, sausage, egg rolls, spring rolls, Chinese pancakes, grilled meat on a stick, roasted yams in drums, meat and veggies dipped in hot broth and etc. You will see this all over the place in China. They are cheap and plentiful, so, good eats, right? WRONG! Chinese news reports (whenever it’s not political, they have no problem reporting idiots) have found people spray painting (industrial paint) their fruits to make it look better and shinier. The tin/steel drums they roast yams with are usually pilfered off industrial waste sites that were used to contain industrial solvents, glues and really nasty chemicals. What about stuff made on the spot? Have you ever paid any attention why something is so cheap, how they make a profit and where they get their ingredients? Home made sausages made using meat scraps recycled from farms and butchers. Recycle the sticks they cook BBQ meats or Mai La Ton with.

Some might argue that millions of Chinese eat/buy this without problems. But you as a new comer don’t really have the skills and literally don’t have the stomach to actually deal with problems should they arise. I don’t know how skilled you are at picking grocery at home, but you ain’t prepare for what’s here. And should you fail in your choosing, your body will not be ready to deal with the disaster.

2. You will get sick/stomach pains at the beginning. Deal with it. I go through this almost every year. No matter how careful you are, you are bound to find that one rotten apple and eat it without realizing until it’s too late. Just remember to keep hydrated and plenty of rest. As a new comer, you will eventually get bowel pains. That means your body is adjusting to the food here. A doctor once told me that most westerners just don’t have the enough E Coli in their bodies to digest the food in China, therefore, they need to go through that first 2 weeks to get more.

3. Picking restaurants is an Art. China has 8 big regional cuisine influences. i won’t go into what they are. The Chinese idea of “western” food usually leaves a lot to be desired. Combine this with the difficulty of finding good staff and lack of decent local produce, you have an extremely competitive industry running in its hamster wheels. A lot of media sources would like you to believe that there are a lot of hip and happening restaurants that are just like home in Beijing or Shanghai. Take that with the same attitude that you take everything that comes out of this country, with a salt lake. So how do you find a good restaurant that suits your delicate taste buds? Make some expat friends that speaks fluent Chinese. There are very few decent media sources that are trust worthy (most of them start with good intentions but usually ends up being a advertising platform). Quite a few expats have gone through what you are experiencing, and most of them usually have an unpublished mental list of decent restaurants, Western or Chinese.

Outside of that, here are some ground rules:

A. Is it busy? MOST of the time, this rule, well…, rules! The Chinese logic is thus: If a place is busy, that means some of the food is decent, and since they are churning out lots of dishes, most of the stuff is fresh. I’ll be frank, this rule HAS failed me before, and a touristy place with lots of tourists usually doesn’t a great restaurant make. You might want to watch the demographic that walks in, and judge for yourself.

B. Is it a Chain? Chain style restaurants, despite the bad press they get at home, are usually held to a higher standard in China. After all, they are trying to make or sustain a brand in a very competitive industry. They usually face greater scrutiny in terms of food safety and health inspections. My black Chinese joke goes like this: If there is something wrong, I can scream murder and claim in western media that they are trying to poison a westerner. Then I’ll sue them. *wink* By the way, a lot of Chains that you are used to may not be the same as back home due to Chinese ownership laws. Starbucks is an notorious example of not holding up their image and service in Beijing compared to home. Pizza Hut is a interesting example of turning a humble pie into an high class restaurant and succeeding.

C. Is it brightly lit, clean, and do the waiters waitresses look like they will have a job tomorrow? This is self explanatory.

D. How long has it been in business? Longer doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better . (ouch, I made a funny) But if the place has survived for at least 1-2 years, that means it has something going for it.

4. Know your palette. Most westerners(especially North Americans) are used to westernized Chinese food.

Sorry to cut this short, but there are more fires to put out, so I’ll be back to finish this.

I am going to update this section with a new post to avoid confusion.

Chinese Food/Street Stall Pictures:

Courtesy of my man Jack, if you are weak of constitution, do NOT click on link.

BBQ!

Sheep Head!

Scorpions!

Silkworm Cocoons!

Are you a leg man/woman?

Giddy UP!

And last but not least, the Itsy Bitsy!

Food in China, Part 2:

Since my pal Jack has given his consent, these are his direct quotes for the question that was posted in the part 1 post:

Cook it till it’s crispy! HAHAHAHAHA…that’ll teach ‘em…
Yeah, well, even the veggies the folks here say don’t make a salad
‘cuz the farmers s#*t on them for fertilizer, or lack of another place to properly dump…
and i guess just washing them doesn’t quite cut it, gotta cook them a bit…

or the one I like… la du zi, roughly translated means bowel pains, the like of which I’ve never had before but can come from eating bad meat, poorly cooked meat or dirty food… but medicine for it is common and you can hear people talking about it all the time, especially in the summer…
but try to talk to a local chinese about health and sanitary issues…?
That’s some more of that Western devil talk…

I wouldn’t read that if you are the queasy type, you’ve been warned.

Food in China Part 1:

Trust me when I say that the food will have its own section. First, for the bad and the ugly, don’t read it with a full stomach if you are the queasy type.

A board mate Bluecat asked this question on OE last year during the Chinese product crisis in US, “How safe is Chinese food produced in China?”

This is my reply (I skipped the first 2 because it’s irrelevant to food) -

3. The only thing I drink in China are usually in bottles or cans, pop, juice, tea, coffee. When I go out, if we are having tea or coffee, it better be boiled and freshly made. Bottled waters are for green horns, because I never buy them unless it’s from a reputable store. As for home use, get the tankers or a really good filtering system.

4. Never eat street stall food. Never eat anything wrapped unless you know for sure what’s in it. If you can cook, that would be great. Instant Ramen are probably safer than a lot of pre-packaged food. Stay the F*ck away from Ma La Ton(s#*t on sticks dipped in spicy boiling broth). Meat on a stick is also a hit and a miss, so if you find a good restaurant, more power to you. Muslim restaurants run by real Muslims probably have decent lamb. Seafood is toilet heaven. Eat it at your own risk. Beijing was hit with a brain worm disease with a type of shell fish last year. Ebola also kicked around for a bit.

5. Wash your hands, wash your hands, and wash your hands!!! And don’t touch anything that you aren’t suppose to.

6. The only vegetable that you can make salad with are western style green housed organic farms or the much better version, Natural farms. Natural farms have no pesticides nor fertilizers. They wait until the soil retains enough nutrients on its own before growing stuff, and they use natural methods like sugar water traps, birds or other bugs eating bugs to contain the bug population.

As soon as Jack gives permission, I’ll also post some gems of his wisdom on food safety.