Spice and intolerances

If you’ve a sensitive belly, avoid eating food that is too spicy – this often upsets the foreign digestive system. The people of Sichuan proudly boast that their cuisine is the only type in China that you can eat and loose wait at the same time!

During the summer, especially at outdoor eating areas, they cake everything in dark spice. Kebabs are delightful with some spice but again you may have to ensure they do not completely paint them in dark, stomach-churning spice …unless that’s your thing. The combination of heavy spice and several beers, the next morning, can be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

You can ensure a dish has only a ‘little spice’ with ‘ee dien-dien latza’ or ask for ‘no spice’ using ‘bu-yao latza’ (‘very spicy’ being ‘fay chang la’). In the West, there is a growing awareness of certain food intolerances (gluten and lactose problems, diabetes, etc) which is very much not an issue or consideration in Mainland China. So, be careful what you get when ordering. Also, on a serious note, if you have a food allergy or intolerance, while the food you order may be OK, the sauce it's cooked in could be unsuitable for you. There's a fair bit of mixing in the sauces and oils. This is also a consideration if you need halal or pork-free food.

Outside of large five-star hotels, don’t expect this to be given much thought at all. Food caked in spice, ‘MSG substitute’ to enhance the taste, salt used in excess, are all quite common in some provinces (they seem to enjoy extreme tastes). As a general note, Shanghai has some of the least spicy food.

If you seek vegetarian food, good luck. While veggie and even some vegan restaurants exist in large cities, they are few and far between. But they do exist. Some of them are Buddhist run and themed in keeping with vegetarian diets. The best way would be to access some of the phone apps, such as Meituan and EleMa, which mainly focus on food delivery. If you don't have access to this, ask at your hotel or a Chinese friend for help. Then a short taxi ride should get you to the place.

Those with delicate constitutions should consult their doctor before doing the trip or at least find out which Chinese foods are a no-go (otherwise, check out the web).

(See Food for more).