It’s a difficult balance: be cautious about what you eat and enjoy your trip to China. For one thing, you don’t want to clean every utensil with hand sanitizer every time you sit down. On the other hand, you shouldn’t throw caution to the wind and end up curled up in a fetal position in your hotel room wishing you remembered to bring some Pepto-Bismol.
Don’t worry, read these helpful tips and you should be well prepared to enjoy both your visual and culinary trip to China.
Drinking Water – Hotels
Hotels will provide guests with free bottled water for drinking and brushing their teeth. In larger hotels, there may be a small sign in the bathroom that says something like “undrinkable tap water,” but don’t take the absence of this notice as an indication that the tap water is safe to drink. Nowhere in China is it advisable to drink tap water without boiling it first.
Drinking Water – Restaurants
Most restaurants will have some bottled water on the menu. In some cases it can be quite expensive like Evian or San Pellegrino, and these types of imported mineral waters are considerably expensive even outside of restaurants. There are several ways to request free water at the property. See next article.
How to order drinking water in a restaurant
You don’t need to worry, in most cases, the water comes from bottled Chinese drinking water. In Mandarin:
- bing shui , pronounced “bing shway,” is ice water;
- kai shui , pronounced “kye shway,” is boiled water and will be served hot;
- Shui , pronounced “huh shway,” is drinking water and will likely be served hot or warm, as the Chinese believe that it is unhealthy to drink cold water.
Drinking Water – Outside and Above
You won’t have to look far to find bottled water that is safe to drink. In China, there are convenience stores everywhere and if you can’t find one, there are drink stands on many corners, no matter how small the city is. At convenience stores, you can find Evian or imported brands, but the cheapest options are Chinese bottled waters. Even some of these will seem familiar, as Coca-Cola and other international companies have bottling water operations in China. Make sure the lid seal is intact if you are buying from a suspicious supplier.
Meals: general precautions
I have to admit that here I am mistaken on the side of the somewhat reckless (in the eyes of some) and it may be due to the fact that while I have had several episodes of terrible food poisoning since moving to China, I can point out the instances again. to 1) airline food (United), 2) luxurious hotel buffet and 3) fine dining in a restaurant, not suspicious street food.
The general rule of thumb is that if your food has stood out for a while, was undercooked, is not fresh, or could have been washed in contaminated water, try to avoid it. Of course, you don’t always know the circumstances of your food preparation, so see below for more tips.
Dining room: street food
Street food in China is really something to try and it would be a shame if you went through it for fear of getting sick. Street food is usually one of the freshest available. Vendors make it quickly, while you wait, so you don’t have to worry about it being left out in the heat. On many food streets you will see lines of people queuing for snacks and this is generally a very good sign that the stall has a good reputation. You may want to avoid meat snacks in the height of summer and snacks that include something raw.
But meatballs, pancakes, and anything fried are fair game.
Dining room – Restaurants
The Chinese believe that fresh is best, so you will often find the waiter approaching you with a plastic bag containing the fish you ordered so you can see the specimen before it reaches your table poached in black bean sauce. .
This does not happen in all restaurants or with all orders. (I’d hate to have to give a nod to the Sichuan beef I just ordered.) The general rule of thumb with restaurants is to try recommendations, or without them, places that seem busy.
The bottom line
Even if you are the most careful of vigilant diners, you will still enjoy eating and drinking in China. Even the most foreign-friendly Chinese restaurants have delicious food and you will experience dishes and flavors that you have never encountered at home before. But hopefully, you will be safe and a little adventurous and have a culinary adventure during your visit to China.
