Chinese Food, in China.

It's family style here in China - dig in!

One of the great things about traveling is trying the local food. But we all have had Chinese food, right? What you may not realize is that you probably have only eaten American Chinese food. I don’t think i have had a single Chinese dish here that looks anything like the Chinese food found in Western countries. In China, there is no such thing as “Chinese food.” Instead, you can choose from cuisines derived from various regions of the country. A few examples include Guangdong, Guangxi, Hakka, Hunan, Imperial, Jiang-Zhe, Shaanxi, and last but not least, the often mouth numbing Sichuan.

A sampling of hot and spicy Sichuan dishes.

A highly stylized dessert.

Sharing a meal in China is a bonding experience. Nearly every business meeting i’ve attended finished in us sharing a meal together. This is not a bad thing at all. One thing that surprised me is that a giant lazy susan is usually found at the center of every table, while each dish is served in succession family style. It’s fun catching your food as it slowly spins by.

Some friends and i share an awesome meal.

A typical street food stall.

Street food is also quite popular in China. You can find everything from dog to scorpion grilled up and served on a stick. I prefer to stick to the more conventional lamb and chicken. After a night out drinking with some friends, i asked where we could get something in eat. In Arizona and California the late night food is Mexican, in DC it’s jumbo slice pizza or empanadas, and in Beijing its grilled kebabs of meat. The kebabs are grilled over an open flame and served up piping hot. They also are super cheap.. about 13 cents for each one. So we ordered up twenty!

Grilling up our order of kebabs.

Preparing to dominate a lamb kebab fresh off the grill.