Food

A typical meal at a restaurant in China consists of meats, vegetables, main foods, soup, and fruit. Meat dishes may include pork, chicken, beef, or lamb, but also a wide variety of seafood. Many
restaurants have aquariums out front showing their fresh fish offerings. Restaurants in coastal cities offer a wide variety of shellfish and fish. In the hinterland cities, river fishes are eaten, but also expect to see frogs, river snakes, turtles, and snails.

Don’t expect giant tender cuts of meat as you’d find in the West. Chinese butchers like to hack the animal to bits, and you’ll be served the meat with plenty of bones, gristle, and fat. Remember, the Chinese have many famines in their history, and they’ve learned not to waste any edible part of the animal. Be careful. Many foreigners have broken teeth or cut their gums on
hidden bones.

Vegetable dishes are typically served after the meats, and tend to outnumber the meat dishes. The “main foods” generally follow the meats and vegetables and are served last as a filler to help those who haven’t had enough to eat yet. Main foods include rice, noodles, or breads, but only one is
typically served. Rice is favored in the south, whereas northerners favor noodles.

Just when you’ve had enough to eat, a giant bowl of soup may be presented on the table. Many meat dishes such as Beijing Duck come with a soup that you’re not charged for. You’ve purchased the whole animal and after the chefs have cut off the best sections for you to eat they make a brothy soup out of the sad duck’s carcass. It’s a bit bland, but can be refreshing on a cold
day like chicken soup.

The arrival of main dishes and soup are two signals the meal is coming to an end. The third and final finish is the arrival of a platter of fruit. The restaurant generally throws in the fruit at no charge; they’ve already made enough money from your group.

Cuisine varies greatly by region. Beijing cuisine is famous for its roast duck and noodles. In the east, Shanghainese foods are famous for being oily and sweet, and for their seafood such as the drunken shrimp. The shrimp are served still alive in a sauce of bai jiu and spices. Keep the lid on or those shrimp will jump out. Southern cuisine, especially around Guangdong is famous for its diversity of creatures on the menu, including dogs. In central China, Sichuan food is famous for its hot spices. I once had crawfish in Sichuan that was so spicy I had to have a sip of beer and wipe away tears between each bite. In western China, Muslim fare is dominated by lamb and nan bread. Those guys are good travelers and you’ll now find Muslim restaurants throughout China, and many street vendors from Xinjiang province sell lamb kebobs from the barbecues welded onto the back of their bicycles.