Friday, April 17, 2009

But what will I EAT?


This is a question almost every (Western) visitor to China asks with trepidation. But really, you have nothing to worry about. Chinese people love food, they love feeding foreigners their food, and Chinese food almost universally kicks a massive amount of ass. Huzzah.


A few quick tips:
  • Chinese people don't really understand dietary preferences. I was discussing the Hui Zhu (non-Uyghur ethnic Muslims) with an extremely intelligent friend who said, "Yeah, they don't eat meat. I think they think pigs are gods." Ummmyeah. So if you keep strictly kosher or halal or are allergic to anything, you may have some issues, depending on what the food item is. But that by no means precludes your enjoying Chinese food. Just make sure you learn how to say what you can't eat, and watch out. "Bu yao ____" means "Don't want___," but if you're deathly allergic it's probably better to say "Wo bu hui chi..." which means "I can't eat...," OR "Ruguo wo chi ___, wo si." That means, "If I eat ___, I'll die." No messing with you.
  • If you have a super sensitive stomach, it might be wise to avoid street food and spicy dishes. To be honest, however, I spent my entire time in China eating absolutely everything, and I was all right. Not sure how good it was for my health, ultimately, but no serious effects as of yet.
  • Don't expect this stuff to resemble the Chinese food you're used to: In Canada, "Chinese food" is really Cantonese food--Mainland Chinese food is entirely different. I would highly recommend you to push your boundaries with everything you eat. Try new things, try spicy dishes, try meats you might have turned your nose up otherwise. You're in a new country and of course you can stick to familiar foods if you really want to--especially in Shanghai, where MacDonald's outlets are a dime a dozen. But why bother? Try the street food, especially malatang--a delicious, spicy soup whose ingredients you get to choose. Try hotpot. Try frog and pigs' ears, if you want (note: I don't really recommend pigs' feet. But some people love them). Try everything once, and if you don't like it, learn what it's called so you never have to eat it again.
  • Oh, and MSG: Again, I'm a bad person to talk to about this because I never had any problems with MSG. But there's probably MSG in most restaurant dishes. You can ask for dishes without, especially when getting street food. The phrase here is "Bu yao wei jin."
  • **IMPORTANT**: Don't drink the tap water. You can brush your teeth and of course wash with tap water, but no one in China drinks straight tap water. You're supposed to boil it first. And almost everyone drinks hot water, even without tea.


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