Chinese food abroad is a single cuisine. Chinese food in China is at least eight distinct ones, and the differences between them are as wide as the differences between Italian and Swedish cooking. Understanding that is the fastest way to eat well.

The Main Regional Cuisines

Sichuan (Chongqing, Chengdu)

Famous for the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorn combined with chilli. Hotpot, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles and twice-cooked pork all come from here. It is not simply “spicy” — the distinctive sensation is málà, a citrusy numbness alongside the heat.

Cantonese (Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen)

Emphasis on freshness and light cooking — steaming, poaching, stir-frying. Dim sum (yum cha) is the classic meal here, eaten in the morning or early afternoon. Roast goose and steamed seafood are the other essentials.

Northern / Beijing

Wheat rather than rice: noodles, dumplings, flatbreads and steamed buns. Peking duck is the headline dish, but the everyday food — dumplings, lamb skewers, sesame flatbreads — is arguably better value.

Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian

The remaining traditions each have their own character: Shandong favours braised and seafood dishes; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are sweeter and more delicate; Hunan is even hotter than Sichuan but sharper rather than numbing; Fujian is known for soups and seafood.

Dishes Worth Planning a Trip Around

• Peking duck (Beijing) — carved at the table, eaten with pancakes, spring onion and hoisin sauce.
• Hotpot (Chongqing and Chengdu) — you cook your own ingredients in a shared pot of broth. Chongqing style is fiercer; ask for a split or mild pot if you are unsure.
• Xiaolongbao (Shanghai) — soup dumplings. Bite a small hole first, or you will burn your mouth.
• Dim sum (Guangzhou) — a procession of small plates. Go for breakfast, not dinner.
• Biangbiang noodles (Xi’an) — wide, hand-pulled noodles with chilli and vinegar.
• Roujiamo (Xi’an) — slow-cooked pork in a flatbread, often described as a Chinese burger.
• Lamb skewers — grilled over charcoal, dusted with cumin and chilli. Everywhere, but especially good in the north and in Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter.
• Congee — rice porridge, the standard breakfast. Plain, or with pork, egg or preserved vegetables.

How to Order Without Speaking Chinese

This is easier than most visitors fear. A few approaches work reliably:

• Point at what others are eating. Entirely normal and rarely refused.
• Use a translation app with camera mode. Point it at a menu and it renders the characters in your language.
• Look for photo menus. Very common in casual restaurants — point at the picture.
• Learn a few phrases. “Zhège” (this one) and “duōshǎo qián” (how much) cover a remarkable amount of ground.
• Order family style. Chinese meals are shared. Ordering one dish per person and putting them in the middle is the norm, and it works even for two people.

Practical Eating Notes

• Tea, not cold water. Restaurants serve hot tea or hot water by default. Asking for ice water is sometimes possible but not standard.
• Tipping is not expected and can cause confusion. See our guide to what to know before visiting.
• Chopsticks and a spoon are standard. Forks are available in most tourist-facing restaurants if you ask.
• Bones go on the table, not back on your plate or into a separate bowl. This is normal etiquette, not messiness.
• Do not tap your chopsticks on the bowl — it echoes a beggar’s gesture and is considered impolite.
• Food safety: busy restaurants with high turnover are generally the safest bet, and street food cooked to order is usually fine.
• Dietary restrictions: write them out in Chinese and show the text. Vegetarian food exists but is not always understood — meat broth is common in vegetable dishes.

Where to Eat Well

The single best rule in China is to eat where locals eat, away from the main tourist streets. Prices drop sharply and quality usually rises. If a restaurant is full of families at 6pm on a weekday, it is almost certainly good.

Food courts in large shopping centres are a useful fallback — they are clean, cheap and usually have photo menus or English signage.