Travelling to China, Please recommend some dishes!

[wavestation]

Hi, i'm travelling to china starting in September and know nothing about Chinese dishes. I'll be in Beijing, Shanghai, NE china, Sichuan, Yunnan, Xian and Lanzhou (Gansu).

Can someone recommend about 10-15 dishes for each major cuisine? (northern, Beijing style, sichuan, Muslim-style, southern chinese)

My preferences are meat with vegetable dishes, nothing too crazy like brains, intestines,etc, unless you really recommend trying them. Would be willing to try some different meats like yak, etc. Also like street treats, like kebabs, noodles, dumplings, etc.

If you know of a good website, link or thread that summarizes all of this, i'd appreciate that too.

Only preference is that i prefer less greasy/oil dishes if possible. If possible also write it pinyin, English & simplified. My Mandarin is low-intermediate, but only in pinyin (although i do know about 200 or so characters) Thanks!!

[歐博思]

kǎoròu 烤肉 idontknowtheenglishname it's some meat on a "tower" where the seller cuts of some bits and puts it in a steamed roll/biscuit. I ate it religiously but couldn't tell you waht it's name is. How sad. Someone knows what I'm talking about here I'm sure...

Also,

jiānbǐng 煎饼 it's like a pancake, its like an omelet, they sell it everywhere, its awesome!

Beijing Duck - really greasy / really worth it

宫保鸡丁 gōngbǎojīdīng Kong Pao Chicken

yángròu 羊肉 mutton/lamb dishes are pretty good

sorry I don't know from where most of these originated...

[jkhsu]

For Shanghai, you should check out the Xiao Long Bao 小笼包. Here is a well known local one.

Nanxiang Mantou (Yu Garden)

Address 85 Yuyuan Lu, near Jiuqu Qiao

豫园路85号, 近九曲桥

Phone 6355 4206

This is a good site for info on Shanghai

http://www.smartshanghai.com/dining/

After you determine the dishes you want to try, find out which local restaurants in the cities you are visiting are known for those dishes. For dishes that are left you can probably find them in Shanghai or Beijing.

[imron]

Something like this might come in useful.

[WestTexas]

小笼包 are pretty common everywhere, not just in Shanghai. They are extremely cheap and are what I eat when I am trying to save money. These places are also generally open for breakfast.

Some other dishes common throughout China:

羊肉串 = lamb skewers, quite popular in many parts of China

鱼香肉丝 = this dish is cooked differently depending on what region you are in but I know at least Beijing, Jilin, and Shenyang have it, each are a little bit different

麻辣豆腐/麻婆豆腐 = spicy tofu in a red sauce. Usually very cheap

牛肉拉面 = beef noodles, often marketed as originating in 兰州 or NW China, but available seemingly everywhere

饺子/水饺/蒸饺 = dumplings, steamed or boiled - available with a wide variety of fillings. Personally I like 羊肉尖椒 but these don't seem to be available outside Inner Mongolia and the NE. Recently tried 茴香猪肉, fennel and pork, in Beijing. Those were very good. The classic NE one is 猪肉酸菜, pork and sauerkraut, also quite good.

烧芸豆 = Green beans cooked with some kind of sauce, pretty good

肯德基 = Traditional Chinese restaurant specializing in Chicken. The logo is a red and white picture of an elderly Chinese chef. Has such delicious foods as crispy skin chicken, thick potato strips, corn salad, and chicken on steam bun. Ubiquitous in many Chinese cities.

Also, don't order 牛鞭 or 驴鞭 unless you want to try something a bit groovier...

[imron]

Also, don't order 牛鞭 or 驴鞭 unless you want to try something a bit groovier...

Hehe, indeed.

[jasoninchina]

I would recommend the following:

煎饼 jian bing: I would describe it as a savory crepe. So yummy

拉面 la mian: Handmade noodle. You must try

I really wouldn't worry too much though. Most of the time you'll be pointing at something(whether on the street or in a restaurant) and saying "我要这个"

By the way, you'll be going to the two places I really want to go but haven't: lanzhou and sichuan.

[jkhsu]

小笼包 are pretty common everywhere, not just in Shanghai.

WestTexas, I am not sure how much you know this but the place I suggested is probably one of the best known Xiao Long Bao places in China. You can ask any native Chinese about the Nanxiang Mantou store in the Yu Garden in Shanghai. Anyways, I am not saying they are the best because everyone's tastes are different. I actually like Ding Tai Fung better sometimes but if someone visits Shanghai for the first time and wants to try out Xiao Long Bao, they ought to check that place out, it's got a long history. That's all I'm saying.

Edit: Adding some links for more info:

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

http://www.gastronomicsblog.com/2008/02/06/nanxiang-mantou-dian-shanghai-china/

[imron]

You can ask any native Chinese about....

You can ask many native Chinese about 苏州 and 杭州 and you'll be told that these are two of the most beautiful cities in the world (and many will say this despite never having been to either of them).

[jkhsu]

That's why there's a saying "上有天堂，下有苏杭"

[roddy]

Jkhsu, when did you go there, and what was it like? Imron's point is, I believe, that neither of those cities are actually beautiful any more.

馅老满 for dumplings in Beijing is a must for me - very much on the guidebook circuit now, but delicious and great fun.

[jkhsu]

Yeah, I got imron's point. That's why I put the smiley face. I've gone to 杭州 and 苏州 several times and enjoyed both places actually. I've heard "丽江" and "九寨沟" are nice but haven't gone.

Anyways, I have provided the links for the OP to decide for himself.

[wavestation]

great help so far, just one favor, please add PINYIN!!!! Remember i can't read!!!

The Iphone app sound great, except my phone is android. Perhaps if that OCR chinese character recognition software runs well without too many bugs, AND i can get reasonably priced good wireless internet access via my phone, i'd consider buying a used older iphone just for this purpose.

by the way, how cheap and reliable is wireless internet access in China, (not refering to wifi hotspots, but everywhere with a smart phone)

Oh and about how much to meals run? And is it worth it to splurge and more expensive restaurants? And in what cities would you splurge? The main cities i will visit are:

Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Xian, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Kunming, Dali, Pingyao, but will spend more time in Beijing, and maybe either Qingdao or Dalian. Also if people can include the characters for like "Sichuan-style hotpot restaurant", "Muslim style specialties, etc or whatever signs are most useful.

[jkhsu]

"Sichuan-style hotpot restaurant" = "四川麻辣火锅"

"Muslim Restaurant" = "清真饭店"

(You would need to be at a Muslim style restaurant for people to know "Muslim style specialties...". You might want to find out what they are first in English and then get the translation. For example, if you don't to use pork in your dishes, etc.)

To find the Pinyin, you can use an online dictionary such as MDBG

http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php

Good luck.

[imron]

Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Xian, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Kunming, Dali, Pingyao, but will spend more time in Beijing, and maybe either Qingdao or Dalian. Also if people can include the characters for like "Sichuan-style hotpot restaurant", "Muslim style specialties, etc or whatever signs are most useful.

Off-topic, but I would recommend to skip Dali and go to Lijiang instead, it's much nicer (and if you've got time and like hiking, make sure you don't miss the nearby Tiger Leaping Gorge hike with a stay in a village guesthouse at the top).

[StMatthias]

新疆 food. It's brilliant and definitely something you have to eat whilst in China.

[abcdefg]

I'll be in Beijing, Shanghai, NE china, Sichuan, Yunnan, Xian and Lanzhou (Gansu).

Lots of good eats on your trail.

In Lanzhou you need to try Lanzhou la mian 兰州拉面。 It is the signature dish for the region. Cheap and readily available most everywhere you turn. Usually made with lamb. If you want a more substantial version, ask them to "jia yi dian rou" 加一点肉 and they will add extra lamb for a couple kuai more. When I was in Lanzhou last summer, a large bowl usually cost 8 to 10 kuai.

great help so far, just one favor, please add PINYIN!!!! Remember i can't read!!!

I was in your shoes not too long ago, and would suggest that you also print out the names of the things you want to try (using Hanzi characters) so you won't be stuck if they cannot understand your pronunciation.

Here is a link for the hand pulled noodles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamian

...Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Xian, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Kunming, Dali, Pingyao, but will spend more time in Beijing, and maybe either Qingdao or Dalian.

And in Kunming, try 米线 (mi xian = rice noodles.) Large bowl still usually 8 or 10 kuai. May as well try 过乔米线 (guo qiao mi xian) at least once as well, since it's famous Yunnan food and everyone will ask if you have had it yet when you are in Yunnan. (Cross bridge rice noodles.)

Link for the cross bridge noodles: http://en.wikipedia...._bridge_noodles

BTW, your itenerary looks suitable for a 4 or 5 month trip and you are really going to have to eat fast unless you pare it down quite a bit.