Eating and drinking in China



Chinese cuisine is one of the best and most famous in the World. A lot of elements have influenced its development during centuries and today, the Chinese cuisine is present worldwide.

The complex Chinese cooking represents the traditions of different regions of the country. There exist eight major regional cuisines: Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Szechuan, Zhejiang and Shandong. Besides these regional cuisines there exist the Buddhist and Muslim sub-cuisines, which complete the great Chinese gastronomy.

The Chinese people have always loved to eat good food at all levels of society - Confucius once said: “Eating is the utmost important thing in life”-. This has converted its cuisine into a very sophisticated art, and currently eating in China can easily become a highlight for visitors.

The principles of Chinese cuisine are supported on a healthy harmony between the qualities of diverse ingredients. Chinese people traditionally have cooked with the yin and yang features in their dishes. These can be perceived in the use of ingredients with paired textures and color, deliberately prepared to give pleasure to the eye as well as the palate.

The conventional recipes and ingredients are a result of their own needs and don? correspond to just fashion. The limited quantity of meat consumed by Chinese is because the high poverty in the nation. The Chinese cuisine sometimes seems to have experimented with anything edible; Chinese dishes occasionally include bear’s paw, shark’s fin, fish lips and jellyfish in their gastronomy.

Fresh ingredients are accessible in all markets and malls, so visitors can prepare its own plates when they wish and even can try to cook Chinese food, but in general, it is more convenient and attractive going to a good Chinese restaurant.

Some basic differences that distinguish the Chinese food from the Western food are:

  • Several dishes in a meal
  • Diversify and sophisticated
  • Balance diet
  • Healthier and tasteful
Ingredients and methods

Currently, most of the country has several market stalls over there which offer a wide variety of fresh produce…

Vegetarian food

Vegetarianism is not unusual in China; in fact it has been practiced during two millennia for religious and philosophical motivations…

Regional cookery

There are several regional cooking styles in China, including the four major traditions. Northern cookery is the most famous food of the country…

Breakfast, snacks and fast foods

Breakfast is not an important meal in Chinese culture. People usually take some bland in the morning waiting for midday…

Western and international food

There are several places in China which offer Western and international food with a wide range of foods and qualities. Hong Kong has the best variety…

Opening hours and places to eat

Small noodle shops and food stalls next to train and bus stations or at airports and docks have flexible hours, but restaurant opening times normally are restricted…

Ordering and eating

In China, like everywhere getting fed is not difficult. Waiters of places that sell cooked food used to call costumers saying "chi fan" which means “come and eat!..

Tea culture

China is the motherland of tea. Chinese people used to drink tea every day in the whole country. Human cultivation of tea plants started at least two thousand years ago…

Alcohol

Alcohol (pijiu) has become very popular in China, especially during the last century. In the last decades Chinese beer has been exported…

Soft drinks

Visitors won’nt have any trouble getting water in China, but they should be aware that drinking water directly of the tap is unhealthy…