Ever wondered what Chinese food is really like?? Well if you are planning to travel there soon, have a quick peek below to get some idea of what you may find and what to order!
First of all Chinese don't really eat curry! It was one of the most frequently asked questions when I first moved there..."do you eat chicken curry every night?" Well the answer to that is, certainly NO!!
The favorites I've come across have been chickens head, pigs trotters, pigs intestines, turtle soup, ducks tongue and thats just to name a few. However there are some really delicious foods that you can get out there, but you just need to search out there. So heres a few tips and ideas when dining out there.
Noodles - Now can I just set everyone straight, we are saying Chow Mein as Chow Main......its wrong!! We should pronounce this as Mee- en; so why not suprise your local take-away or restaurant next time you order! Also noodles should always be eaten on your birthday, this is said to extend your life span!!!
So forget the cake, try noodles!!
Factory Dinners: now its always nice to treat the factory workers after a hard season of pushing lots of new samples out and believe me they will really appreciate you for the gesture! The men love to drink beer in their small cups and like to include you in this, they think its hilarious because its noted that most average Chinese women will traditionally not drink - its not very good for their image! So do cheers with them for nearly every mouthful with the term " Gam bei" and down the whole lot!
Whilst your in China you can also get lots of good Korean cuisine - so do try the soup noodles, they really are delicious! .....and dont be afraid to slurp and have noodle dribbling from your face, it what they do over there and wouldn't expect any less!! hehe!
Ah Chilli. If you love it, then great, if not you might be stuck, a lot of restaurants do tend to pop lots into the dishes, but it's great with the fish dish below if you do want to try it, the fish is braised in lots of oil with bean sprouts and mounds of chilli; just watch out for the bones, as you can usually find plenty in there.
Last one and one of my favs!! If you're lucky enough to be in one of the major cities, you will find a chain store named Din Tai Fung, which sells gorgeous steamed buns and delicate dumplings. Do try it, but beware taking Chinese friends as they are confused by this whole set up! Steamed buns are not something which is traditionally eaten in the evening, so you will have Chinese friends looking puzzled and moaning that this is what they have already eaten for breakfast! To add injury to insult, its slightly expensive to the norm. So perhaps if you're in Shanghai try the Family Marts (local shop on every st) Nai Huang Bao (sweet) and Cai Bao (savoury Mushrooms & Veg) and will only set you back about 20p per bun! Try them with warm Soy milk also - great for breakfast!!
