Every family has their favorite local Chinese food restaurant. While these restaurants are delicious, the food is much different than what you’ll eat in China. Even if a dish has the same name, the taste and preparations won’t be. For thousands of years the Chinese have worked to perfect their cuisine. Thanks to their dedication, visitors to China get to indulge in some of the tastiest food in the world!
Wondering what to eat in China? Here are eight foods and snacks that every family should try during their family vacation in China.
Peking Duck
This is the most famous dish to come out of Beijing. The duck is artfully roasted. The skin gets thin and crispy while the meat stays nice and succulent. The chef will then thinly slice up to 120 pieces of duck, all the same size, thickness and each with skin and meat. It is nothing short of delectable and a must-eat when visiting Beijing.
Rice Noodles
Guilin takes immense pride in its rice noodles. It is the most popular snack, breakfast, lunch and dinner item in the city. The reason rice noodles are so popular is because they are cheap to make and serve as a delicious base to any meal. You can have them with chopped onions, peanuts, vegetables and slices of meat. They are generally served pan-fried or as part of a soup.
Soup Buns
This is one of our favorite treats in China: the soup bun in Shanghai. Soup buns are a type of dumpling. Now you may have had dumplings before, but these are a whole different game. These dumplings hold both a filling and broth inside of them. They are served with a wide spoon and chopsticks. The best way to eat them is to use your chopsticks to place one on the spoon and then take a small bite. Broth will fill the spoon for the next bite. The broth will be hot, so be careful!
Hotpot
There is no meal more fun, filling and great to have as a family. Perfected in Chengdu, hotpot is delicious and interactive. A pot of broth is brought to your table, which will have a burner on it. You will heat it up and add any number of ingredients to it after it reaches a boil. The vegetables, fish and thin slices of meat will cook in the broth and then be served. Kids always have fun dropping things in the broth and fishing them out to eat when they’re ready! A “must try” when your family is trying to decide on what to eat while on your family vacation to China.
Dumplings
When someone asks us what they should eat when in China, dumplings always come to mind. Dumplings are a traditional food in Northern China. What makes dumplings different in China is the wide variety of types you can get. You can find anything from a standard pork dumpling to a scrambled egg and cucumber dumpling. One of the best places to explore different kinds of dumplings is in the northern city of Xi’an.
Pomelo
This large fruit, similar to a grapefruit, is hard to finish on your own. We suggest finding one at a local grocer and digging in as a family. The citrus is sweet and tangy and wonderful on a hot day.
Mantou
Mantou is classic Chinese steamed bread. Although a bit plain and doughy, mantou is great for soaking up soup or sauces at the end of a meal. In some places you can find mantou stuffed with meat or vegetables.
Bubble Tea
When trying to figure out what to eat in China, tea probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, but bubble tea is a fun treat that your kids will love. This snack is made from a tea base that is mixed with fruit or milk. Tapioca balls mixed with fruit jelly, the “bubbles,” are then added. You can slurp the bubbles up with a large straw and bite into the fun. It’s always great to have a fun local snack in mind when traveling with kids!
