It’s well-known that we have a deep passion for food, right alongside our love for travel, chocolate, and wine. And when it comes to food, China is an amazing place to be. The country’s cuisine offers everything from tofu and chicken to noodles and even frog.
While we enjoy dining at the affordable and delicious restaurants here, one of our favorite spots to eat is actually on the streets. Street food is cheap, quick, and authentic. The local vendors serve up tasty daily snacks that keep us coming back for more.
1. The Cold Noodle Lady: She operates a small, mobile noodle cart and serves cold, flat noodles loaded with garlic, chilis, peanuts, shaved cucumber, tofu, cilantro, and soy. It’s the perfect snack for a hot day.
2. The Soup Guy: He offers soup with ingredients like blood, intestines, noodles, and tofu. It might not sound appealing to everyone, but it’s absolutely delicious!
3. The Couple with the Fresh Bread: This charming couple sells freshly baked bread every day from their fire-heated kiln. It’s the perfect stop on the way home from work and keeps us satisfied until dinner.
4. The Meat Man: This vendor grills slabs of fresh mutton over hot coals. You tell him how much you want, and he’ll season and cook it to perfection. It’s a fantastic snack, either on its own or added to a stir-fry.
5. The Vegetable Lady: At the vegetable market, there are many similar stalls, but her friendly smile keeps us coming back. She knows us well and always throws in some extra plastic bags for our produce. We leave with full bags and big smiles.
6. The Woman with the Oranges (now Mangoes): As we bike past, we always hear her cheerful “Nǐ hǎo!” even if we’re not stopping. She provided us with fresh mandarin oranges in the winter and now offers ripe mangoes.
7. The Wrap Lady: We’ve been regulars here since arriving in Yangzhou. She stuffs wraps with chicken, scrambled egg, cilantro, green onion, spices, and two delicious mystery sauces, then fries them on her hot grill. She also makes round breads that Nick loves, especially when filled with extra chicken. Despite the language barrier, we’ve learned a bit about her life.
Eating in China is a true pleasure, and the more often we visit a particular stall or restaurant, the closer we get to the owners. They always greet us warmly when they see us hungry and ready to eat!
What do you think about eating street food? Is it a good idea or not so much? Let us know in the comments!