Just for fun: Food culture in China

1. Name 3 best well-known Chinese street foods according to you.
Noodles
BBQ
Dumplings

2. Which are some unusual dishes that you have discovered ?
Shunde food has a great tender beef and bitter mellon dish.
Hunan food has this hot and spicy poached egg dish that is awesome.
Sichuang food has this fantastic chicken, peanut dish in a sweet-sour sauce.

3. What makes up the typical breakfast in China?
Doujung (bean milk)
Hard boiled egg
Mantou - steamed bun

4. Name 3 of your favourite festive dishes.
Ma po Dou fu
Dongbei salad
Eggs and tomatos

5. According to you, which essential ingredient defines Chinese cuisine?
Vinegar

Food in China is a mixed bag.  Sure, it tastes good because the Chinese are the best cooks in the world for sauces, but the ingredients in the sauces are, at best, subpar.  The meat is usually grisly or fatty.  The chicken is usually bony, the vegetables are usually tasteless because they are picked too early by farmers looking to make a few more RMB by getting the next crop planted and harvested early.  This unfortunate combination, combined with poor storage practices, food controls, and an understaffed food inspection corps, makes for very dangerous eating for street foods.  When cooked in old oil, the street foods are even unhealthier.  I still grab a scallion pancake occasionally, but I prepare my own three meals a day with premium foods bought at Metro.  Tyson chicken is much better than Chinese chicken, Metro beef and pork is much safer than Chinese beef and pork as well.  About the only meat one can eat safely in China is lamb from Mongolia, because it is close by, fresh, and is cooked by expert Chinese chefs.  Outside of lamb and pork, you are taking your chances.  the noodles and rice are fine, but how many times can you eat that before getting bored to death.

If you want to eat the most authentic and delicious food, then you should go to third-tier cities or towns and villages. Not a restaurant in a big city. Although the restaurants in third-tier cities or towns are not very hygienic and not very beautiful, their taste is absolutely the best. They are the soul of Chinese food. I recommend you to watch TV programs (舌尖上的中国)