Food in China: Cuisine by Region and What a Tourist Should Order

There is no single Chinese cuisine: Sichuan, Cantonese and northern differ more than Italian does from German. What to order in each region, how to cope with QR menus and how much it costs to eat.

The main thing to know about Chinese food: there is no such thing as “Chinese cuisine”. There are about ten regional cuisines that differ from each other more than Italian does from German. A person from Guangzhou may not eat Sichuan food at all — for them it is unbearably spicy.

So the question “is the food good in China” is meaningless. The right question is where you are and what is done best here. Let’s go region by region, with specific dishes and ordering practice.

Eight cuisines, of which four matter to a tourist

Formally China recognises eight great culinary traditions. In practice a traveller almost always meets four.

A simple rule for orientation: the farther south, the more rice and the milder the taste; the farther north, the more wheat, noodles and bread. And a separate axis is spiciness: it rises sharply in the central provinces, Sichuan and Hunan.

Sichuan: heat that doesn’t burn but numbs

Sichuan cuisine is the best known outside China and the most misunderstood. Its peculiarity is not fieriness but a combination of two sensations called ma-la.

La is the familiar heat from chilli. Ma is the effect of Sichuan pepper, which doesn’t burn but causes a slight tingling and numbness of the lips and tongue, like a weak electric discharge. For a newcomer it is a shock: it seems something is wrong with your mouth. A minute later you get used to it, and then the pleasure begins.

What to try: hotpot — a cauldron with boiling broth right in the table, into which you yourself lower meat, vegetables and mushrooms. Order the divided-pot version: half spicy, half mild. Mapo tofu — tofu in a spicy sauce with minced meat, the benchmark of the cuisine. Gongbao jiding — chicken with peanuts and chilli, the very one known around the world as “kung pao”, but at home noticeably different.

A practical tip: in Sichuan the phrase “not very spicy” means what in Russia would be considered very spicy. Ask for bu yao la — “no spice”, and they will still bring it with pepper.

Canton: China’s mildest cuisine

If you’re afraid of spice, head south. The Cantonese tradition is built on the freshness of the product and delicate cooking — here it is valued that a prawn tastes of prawn, not of sauce.

Its main phenomenon is dim sum, dozens of small steamed and deep-fried dishes served in bamboo baskets. The format is morning and lunch: people come in company, order a little of everything and sit with tea for hours. It is called yum cha, “drinking tea”, and means a whole ritual, not a snack.

What to take the first time: har gow — prawns in a translucent rice dough, siu mai — open dumplings with pork and prawn, char siu bao — steamed buns with barbecue pork, cheung fun — rice rolls in soy sauce, egg tart — an egg tart for dessert.

Separately — char siu, honey-coloured glazed pork served with rice. A simple dish, but it is the one that most often becomes a favourite for those eating in Guangzhou for the first time.

The north: duck, noodles and wheat

Beijing and northern cuisine is hearty, meaty, wintry.

Peking duck is a must, but with a caveat. A good duck requires preparation: it is ordered in advance, carved in front of you and served with thin pancakes, cucumber, leek and sweet sauce. Dinner in a decent venue costs 200–400 ¥ per person. A cheap duck for 60 ¥ will disappoint — it is better not to save precisely here.

What else: jiaozi — dumplings, which in the north are eaten as a main dish rather than a side. Lanzhou noodles — hand-pulled right in front of you, in a clear beef broth; one of the cheapest and most honest things in the country, 15–25 ¥ a bowl. Jianbing — a street pancake with egg, greens and a crispy sheet, the northerners’ main breakfast.

Xi’an is a separate story — a Muslim quarter with lamb, flatbreads and rou jia mo, sometimes called a “Chinese burger”: stewed meat in a crispy flatbread.

The east: Shanghai, Hangzhou and a sweetish taste

The cuisine of the east coast is the most unexpected for a Russian. People love sugar here, and it appears where you don’t expect it: in meat, in sauces, in stewed vegetables. Shanghai cuisine is noticeably sweeter than anything you’re used to, and the first impression can be odd. You usually get hooked by the second day.

What to try: xiaolongbao — the famous dumplings with broth inside. They must be eaten carefully: bite the edge, drink the broth, then eat the rest; if you send one whole into your mouth, you’ll burn your palate. Dongpo pork — a piece of pork belly stewed in wine and soy sauce to a jelly-like state. Prawns with Longjing tea — Hangzhou’s signature dish. Shengjian — dumplings fried from below with a crispy bottom.

Suzhou and Nanjing add delicate soups and river fish dishes. The cuisine here is considered the most refined in China — and the most underrated by tourists, who usually go for duck and hotpot.

Breakfast in China

A Chinese breakfast is hearty, hot and nothing like a European one. Nothing sweet or milky — in the morning people eat practically the same as during the day.

What locals take: baozi — steamed buns with pork or vegetables, jianbing — a thin pancake with egg and a crispy sheet, fried right in the street, youtiao — a long fried strip of dough dipped in soy milk, congee — rice porridge with additions, noodles in broth.

Where to look: near the metro, at morning markets and in small places without signs — they work from six in the morning and close by ten. Breakfast costs 8–20 ¥, that is, less than 250 ₽.

A practical detail: if the hotel breakfast is “international”, it often turns out to be a weak compromise between Chinese and European. Going out into the street is almost always tastier and a third of the price.

What is easy to order by mistake

A few situations that almost everyone falls into.

“Chicken soup” with a whole chicken. In the Chinese understanding a chicken soup means a whole chicken, including the head and feet. It is normal food, but unexpected.

The thousand-year egg. Dark green, jelly-like, with a sharp smell. It often turns up in cold appetisers. It isn’t spoiled — just aged; but it is better to try it consciously.

Tripe and offal. There is a lot of it in hotpot and snacks, and it is hard to identify from a translation. If you don’t want it, ask about the composition.

Bones in the meat. Chinese butchery leaves small bones right in pieces of chicken and fish. This is not carelessness but the norm — you have to eat attentively.

A steamed “fish” with the head. It is served whole, and that is a sign of freshness, not economy.

Ordering too much. Portions are big and the waiter usually doesn’t warn you. Start with two dishes for two and add if it’s not enough.

What to order if you’re lost

Universal dishes found almost everywhere and almost always turning out well:

• Gongbao jiding — chicken with peanuts, moderately spicy.
• Hongshao rou — pork stewed to caramel softness.
• Di san xian — potato, aubergine and pepper fried together; the best vegetable dish in the country.
• Xihu cuyu and other steamed fish — mild and risk-free.
• Chaofan — fried rice, a no-lose option for children.
• Baozi — steamed filled buns, the ideal breakfast.

The logic of ordering in China differs from what you’re used to: dishes are taken for the table, not each one their own. For two people they usually order two or three dishes plus rice. Portions are large, and ordering “as in Europe” one dish per person is a sure way to leave half uneaten.

How to order in practice

The language barrier in China is more tangible than in Japan or Thailand: there is almost no English in venues outside tourist zones.

QR menus. More and more often the menu opens only by scanning a code from the table, inside a WeChat mini-app. The order and payment are also made there. Without a set-up WeChat you simply won’t be able to order in such a place — this is worth preparing at home. How it works we covered separately: Alipay and WeChat for a foreigner.

A translator with a camera. Point it at the menu and get the text in Russian. It doesn’t work perfectly (dish names are often poetic and translate oddly), but it gives a general understanding.

Menus with pictures. In tourist districts they are common, and this is the simplest path: you point with a finger.

Look at neighbouring tables. A fully working method: if you see something appetising, show the waiter with a gesture at that table. It embarrasses no one.

And keep in mind: the internet in China is arranged so that familiar apps won’t open without preparation. We have a separate breakdown on this — a translator and maps are worth setting up before departure.

Street food and markets

Street food in China is excellent, and there is no need to fear it — but sensible caution saves the trip.

Good signs: a queue of locals, cooking in front of you, a high processing temperature — boiling water, wok, grill. Bad signs: food lying ready in the open air, raw salads and cut fruit in the heat, a sparsely visited point in a tourist spot.

What to try on the street: chuanr skewers with cumin, jianbing for breakfast, steamed buns from bamboo baskets, tanghulu — candied hawthorn on a stick, chou doufu — “stinky tofu”, which you’ll know by the smell from a block away; the taste is much more pleasant than it seems.

About water: tap water is not drunk anywhere in China. Bottled water costs 2–3 ¥, and hotels and stations everywhere have boiling-water taps — the Chinese carry thermoses and drink hot water all day.

Tea and drinks

Tea in China is free and served by default in almost any venue. Just ask, and they will top it up throughout dinner.

What is worth trying separately: oolong from Fujian, pu-erh from Yunnan, green Longjing from Hangzhou. A tea ceremony in a specialist tea house is an inexpensive and pleasant activity, 50–150 ¥.

Be careful with one common scam: in tourist places in Beijing and Shanghai friendly “students” approach foreigners and invite them to a tea ceremony, after which they bring a bill for several thousand yuan. The rule is simple — don’t go to tea or a bar with people who approached you in the street themselves.

Cold drinks: bubble tea — tea with milk and tapioca, sold on every corner. Beer is light and cheap. Baijiu is a local strong spirit, 40–55°, with a specific taste; it is worth trying, but carefully.

Table rules

There are few rules, and they are softer than Japanese ones.

Chopsticks are not stuck vertically into rice — an association with a funeral rite. Lay them on a rest or the edge of the plate.

Shared dishes are taken with your own chopsticks — this is the norm, although in decent places separate serving utensils are provided.

Tea is poured for your neighbours, not for yourself. If you’ve been poured some, tap the table with two fingers — a silent “thank you”.

Noise is normal. A Chinese restaurant is loud, and this is a sign of a good evening, not of bad manners.

Tipping is not customary in mainland China. In Hong Kong a service charge is sometimes added to the bill.

You ask for the bill with a gesture — “maidan”. Payment is usually through the app, scanning a code.

How much it costs to eat

An average day on food at an ordinary pace is 100–150 ¥ per person, that is roughly 1,200–1,800 ₽. China remains one of the best-value countries in Asia in terms of the price and quality of food.

How to find a good place

International ratings work poorly in China: half of the best venues are simply not represented in them. Orient yourself differently.

Look at the locals. A full room at lunchtime is more reliable than any rating. An empty restaurant with an English-speaking tout at the entrance in a tourist district is, on the contrary, an alarming sign.

Use Dianping. It is a Chinese review service for venues, built into the ecosystem of local apps. The interface is Chinese, but ratings and photographs are understandable without the language, and its coverage is incomparably fuller than Western services.

Look for specialisation. In China venues that have made one dish for decades are valued: only noodles, only dumplings, only duck. A huge menu of a hundred items is more often a sign of mediocrity.

Don’t be afraid of simplicity. Plastic stools, tiles and bright light are the typical setting of an excellent Chinese eatery. Appearance here is almost unrelated to quality.

In short: frequently asked questions

Is it true that everything is very spicy everywhere? No. It is spicy in Sichuan and Hunan. In Guangzhou, Shanghai and the east the cuisine is mild, and in Beijing moderate.

What should a vegetarian do? It is easier than it seems: tofu, vegetables, mushrooms and noodles are everywhere. The difficulty is broths — they are often meat-based. Look for Buddhist vegetarian restaurants, there are many and they are good.

Can I eat salads and fruit? Fruit — yes, if you wash it yourself or buy it whole. There are few raw salads in Chinese cuisine, and that is for the better.

Do I need to know how to eat with chopsticks? Desirable but not critical — a spoon will be brought on request. A couple of practice sessions at home make the first days much easier.

Is there familiar European food? In big cities — yes, right up to international chains. But going to China for that is odd: local food here is both cheaper and noticeably better.

Do they give takeaway? Yes, and it is very common: almost any dish will be packed to take away without a markup. It is enough to say “dabao” — and the remains of dinner will be put into a container for you.

What about allergies? Peanuts, soy and sesame are found everywhere. Prepare a phrase in Chinese in your notes and show it before ordering — orally you are unlikely to be understood.