[An Song Tao]

I thought it might be interesting to poll those of you who have been to China about your personal culinary experiences. More specifically, what was your favorite Chinese food dish while on your trip?

Also, what was your most adventurous food experience while you were there?

Personally, I cannot wait to get there to try as many new things as I can. I tend to be a culinary tourist, first and foremost, no matter where I am visiting!

[Teekay74]

I would like to hear about these experiences also. Though I am far from adventous eater. Toilets and food- the 2 things I am most worried about in China, get posts on both of them in one day! I look forward to hearing and learning about all of this.

[SofiasMom]

Dumplings in Xi'an. Yummy. My favorite dumpling (I love sweets) was made out of walnuts and the dumpling was shaped like a walnut.

[odi]

I loved the soups. Some had meatballs but most were just a great broth with cilantro, bok choy and tofu. I also loved the fish dishes. Actually I had very little I didn't like.
The most adventurous was the hot dishes. One meal was so hot the chicken pieces were down in red chiles that you had to dig through. I couldn't eat most of that meal.
Diana

[Ernabel]

I love dumplings! What kind of dumplings were they - pork, shrimp, veggie? Do they even have all those types? Thanks!

[Trace7]

I have only been to Hong Kong and not mainland China, but dim sum was officially my favorite food that we ate there. YUM! I just had some at a restaurant in Minneapolis this weekend, and it was very good - but it's SO GOOD in Hong Kong!

I do love Asian soups, so I am excited to try them in China. I am quite adventurous with food, so I am game for anything - as long as it won't make me sick!

[foxl]

Dim Sum, YEAH! And noodles!

And winter melon soup, served in a melon!

[jetgirl]

I was last in China 10 yrs ago (not for adoption, but to discover my roots because I am Chinese American). My favorite dish there was vegetable dumplings - I am not a vegetarian, but somehow these dumplings were SO juicy and tasty. Most adventurous eating experience was when we went to a small town in Shandong province, and in the evening, all these food carts came out into the street - it looked like a flea market, except it was all food! There were live bugs among the choices - it was a bragging right that they were live, means they were fresh! Yum! And no, I never ate dog, nor did I ever see anyone eating it. But when I was young, my aunts used to try to scare me by telling me Chinese people ate dogs - they thought it was so funny that I looked horrified by the idea!

Oh and btw, I ate everything when I was in China and never once got sick!

[AmoyGirl]

I loved almost everything we ate in China! I am a fairly adventurous eater as well. Some of my very favorite dishes were (in no particular order--and I apologize if some of the pinyin is rusty):

-jiao zi (dumplings--especially made with lamb and cilantro)
-tie ban niu rou (sizzling beef and peppers on a hot skillet)
-gong bao ji din (chicken and chiles with peanuts)
-bo cai (Chinese spinach)
-Mongolian hot pot (dou fu pi--tofu skin--is awesome in this soup!)
-ma po dou fu (Sichuan tofu--very spicy and so yummy)
-dim sum
-tang cu yu (sweet and sour fish)

The most adventurous thing I ever ate was probably chicken heads and feet in a soup--we had to eat this on several occasions as the school we worked at served whole chicken soup weekly. I also shared dinner with some friends who were eating a dog dish; I didn't eat any of it, though. The city we lived in was on the ocean, so we also ate interesting dishes like sand worms and jellyfish and shark skin--none of which I really cared for, but they were delicacies, so we didn't have to eat them often.

Morgan

[venam71]

Originally Posted by AmoyGirl

I loved almost everything we ate in China! I am a fairly adventurous eater as well. Some of my very favorite dishes were (in no particular order--and I apologize if some of the pinyin is rusty):

-jiao zi (dumplings--especially made with lamb and cilantro)
-tie ban niu rou (sizzling beef and peppers on a hot skillet)
-gong bao ji din (chicken and chiles with peanuts)
-bo cai (Chinese spinach)
-Mongolian hot pot (dou fu pi--tofu skin--is awesome in this soup!)
-ma po dou fu (Sichuan tofu--very spicy and so yummy)
-dim sum
-tang cu yu (sweet and sour fish)

The most adventurous thing I ever ate was probably chicken heads and feet in a soup--we had to eat this on several occasions as the school we worked at served whole chicken soup weekly. I also shared dinner with some friends who were eating a dog dish; I didn't eat any of it, though. The city we lived in was on the ocean, so we also ate interesting dishes like sand worms and jellyfish and shark skin--none of which I really cared for, but they were delicacies, so we didn't have to eat them often.

Morgan

Dim Sum, YEAH! And noodles!



What is Din Sum?

[Trace7]

Here is a link about dim sum:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_Sum

(I hope it's ok to post links)

[sak9645]

Frankly, I don't remember any specific dish I ate in China. I think I was a little distracted, being a new Mom and all!

I will say, though, that I ate very well. The fact that I lost weight was due only to the extra exercise I got, carrying my 17 lb., 18.5 month old daughter all over the place.

The most interesting dining experience I had was when our group had a special luncheon at a Buddhist temple -- the Nan Putuo Temple in Xiamen -- that, supposedly, has been operating for 1,000 years. Many Buddhist temples in China run strictly vegetarian restaurants, and use the profits to support their operations.

While I found some of the spicing unfamiliar, the food was utterly gorgeous. Vegetarian products like yams, tofu, and beets were made into foods that were shaped like meat, fish, flowers, and so on.

I also liked a banquet that our group organized in Hong Kong, where we spent a few days resting up from jet lag before going to meet our children. Because Hong Kong is such a prosperous place, compared with many other parts of China, the food in good restaurants consists of the freshest and finest items, prepared beautifully. We were served so many courses that we couldn't eat everything, and every single course was good!

Of course, I didn't eat as many Chinese meals as I expected, because my daughter seemed to have taken a vow, upon adoption, never to eat Chinese food again!

When we would go to the hotel breakfast buffets, I would take her to see the hot soy milk, the rice congee, and so on on the Chinese side of the buffet. She would turn her head away in disgust and point to the Rice Krispies and cold cows' milk on the Western side. She also liked scrambled egg, yogurt, bread (a piece in each hand), etc.

In Chinese restaurants, she would not eat a thing on the menu, no matter what it was. She would stick with animal crackers, bananas, and juice boxes that I had in my diaper bag. I guess she was born to be an American girl!

Sharon

[WaitingMom22]

I have not adopted but I have been to Hong Kong We went for 10 days and had dim sum 9 of the 10 days. My favorite place was was in Sha Tin (spelling ?), next to Ikea believe it or not.

[An Song Tao]

Thanks for sharing everyone. I too am a big fan of dim sum and enjoy making a bunch of different kinds for Chinese New Year! I have been to a place in Boston called The Pearl that puts out a fantastic spread, complete with the little carts speeding around the room. It is a lot of fun, I have to say!

[roseofchina]

On our last night in Bejing, we had Peking Duck. It was delicious since I had never had it before. I wasn't too thrilled with the food while in Changsha....lots of tofu and bean curd, I think. But the turnip soup was soothing. While in Guangzhou, we had shrimp (or maybe crab) cakes and they were very good (we just didn't get enough). I'm not a big experimenter when it comes to different foods. I like my "meat and potatoes" so I did lose weight while in China (didn't mind that at all). The breakfast buffets were super! More western-style...with croissants and pastries...YUM!!!

Sharon
dh - David
dd - Whitley Rose Hui