China Memories Over Chinese Food
This article contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you make a purchase using one of these links at no additional cost to you. See our Disclaimers and Terms of Use for more information.
There’s no better way go reminisce about China memories than while eating Chinese food. Extra points if the Chinese food is spicy!
There are so many interesting facts about China, which makes traveling in the country both rewarding and challenging. We have so many memories of the month traveling on our own in China, but these stand out the most:
Top 10 China Memories
- Arriving in Beijing with the flu during the height of the H1N1 Virus scare.
- Eating Peking duck, noodles and lots of street food in Beijing.
- Being completely underwhelmed by the terracotta warriors in Xi’an.
- Being completely overwhelmed by the Giant Buddha of Leshan.
- Strolling around the West Lake in Hangzhou.
- Enjoying a modern, comfortable high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai.
- Enduring an old-school train from Xi’an to Chengdu.
- Breathing the massive dust cloud produced by the Shanghai World Expo construction and eating xiao long bao (soup dumplings) to wash down the dust.
- Sipping high tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
- Eating hot pot in Chengdu.
Although hot pot is not trendy in Philadelphia, we can get pretty close to the Chengdu dining experience at Han Dynasty – a restaurant that understands the unique Sichuan combination of scorching chiles and numbing flower peppers. We count their dan dan noodles, wontons in chili oil, spicy crispy cucumber and mapo tofu among our favorite Philly dishes.
We look forward to making new Chinese memories in the future. For now, eating good Chinese food will have to do.
Han Dynasty has multiple locations in the Philadelphia area. We ate this meal at the Old City location.
Peter Chang, formerly a chef for the Chinese Embassy in DC just opened up a restaurant near me in Virginia Beach and I am totally addicted.
That sounds interesting. What is his specialty?
Oh my I am starting to feel hungry looking at all these food shots. I have yet to visit Beijing but if the food is as tasty as these shots I am I will enjoy the visit.
One thing I love about the US is how easy it usually is to find food from so many different countries and cultures, especially if you’re in a big city like Philadelphia. It may not be exactly the same, but at least it’s close! It sounds like you guys have some great memories from your trip to China. I have yet to visit China, but it is definitely on my list. I’m looking forward to being overwhelmed by the terra-cotta warriors myself!
Great list, both good and bad . . .! 🙂 I can’t believe number 1 – that sounds horrible. In Toronto you can also easily find delicacies from all over the world. Even though it really isn’t the same, it still can be pretty satisfactory as well 🙂
We love the dim sum in Toronto. In fact, we’ve even wrote about our meal at Rol San last year. That being said, there’s nothing like eating Chinese food in China.
Oh my the food looks so good – I have to say that is one thing I really miss about the USA the ease of finding just about any typr of food that you want – that is not so easy over in mainland Europe. This looks fantastic – your posts always make me miss my travels or my home for great food – 🙂 We have only been through the Bejing Airport – but we need to make it back to China for sure –
That looks so delicious! I haven’t been to China yet but after reading some of your highs and lows I really look forward to the experience! What would you say is your all-time favorite authentic Chinese dish?
Off the top of our heads, we’d start with soup dumplings from Shanghai, Peking duck from Beijing and hot pot from Chengdu. China is too big of a country with too varied cuisine for just one favorite dish.
Those photos makes me hungry 🙂
Excellent – our mission is accomplished.
Looks really good. We love Sichuan, but unfortunately it’s hard to find a legit place in most areas.
Will definitely need to check out this one next time we’re in Philly.
Looks delicious! We’ve eaten Chinese in so many different countries and it’s been so different each time, that we’re still not quite sure what authentic Chinese is. Can’t wait to try some in China, and have maybe SOME of your top 10 experiences!
The food looks yummy 🙂
So what happened when you arrived with the flu? Did they try to detain you at the airport?
We were so afraid of being detained, as it was all over the news. We took lots of ibuprofen and cough medicine before we landed and somehow made it through the strict airport security. It was stressful to say the least!
I’m very jealous that you have a decent restaurant nearby which can give you something that is close-ish to resembling authentic Chinese food. Getting good Chinese food round here is a nightmare! I love spicy food, so the scorching chiles and numbing flower peppers sounds right up my street 🙂
Looks lovely – you’re lucky to have such a place on your doorstep!
Wow!! You just let me miss Asia badly esp the Chinese food!! That pictures just make me so desperate to look for some oriental seasonings!!! That wonton and tofu!! Yummy! I well you deserved that good food if you arrived in the place with a flu, the soup and spices! Well glad you didnt acquire H1N1! Will definitely follow your food adventure!
You always manage to make me SO hungry! x
Mission accomplished!
Mmmm! I live in China and hot pot and mapuo dofu are my favorite foods. I should probably live in Sichuan, because the locals in my city don’t like spicy food 🙁
We liked the different foods in the different regions of China. You are surely eating well, even if the food isn’t spicy.
Oh my… how I long for Chinese food now! Not for the spicy hot pot, though 🙂 I’m jealous you can handle the spiciness!
How long did the high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai take? I always flew that route but it sounds like train can be a good idea..
It took about eight hours, which was perfect for an overnight train ride. However, there’s a faster train now.
Always progress over there.. one returns a few years later and everything’s more advanced!
That looks amazing! Next time I am in Philly I would love to try that Hot Pot!
Mmmmmmm Chinese food! Love it! Peking duck in Beijing has got to be one of the most delicious things ever, and Sichuan food… I think I need to get back there! Or maybe I should plan a trip to Philly?
Let us know if you plan a trip to Philly – we’ll give you lots of great tips!
Yum I love Szechuan food! It can get a bit too oily for me sometimes though but is delicious. Especially Ma Po Tofu!
Real sichuan food absolutely ruined it for me everywhere else! I’ve never been able to get that same taste. I’ve never been to Philadelphia but in the UK there are tons of chinese restaurants, takeaways etc and a lot of them are unbelievably good, but you just can’t beat the real thing!
We’ll be curious for your thoughts if your travels ever bring you to Philadelphia.
I still haven’t made it to China proper, only Taiwan and Hong Kong. That is a pretty epic list of things you miss about China, I am surprised that you didn’t like the Terracotta Warriors, can you tell me why? Can’t wait to try one of the old school trains you mentioned, I love slow travel!
We found the Terracotta Warriors to be overrated based on the hype. We expected more warriors. Plus, the site felt staged and commercial. However, we were totally impressed by the Giant Buddha of Leshan, which was underhyped and, to us, felt more authentic.
Looks like we went to different places in China, I mainly stuck to Yunnan. Didn’t like the food so much – it’s the one Asia cuisine I’m not a fan of!
For many years, I wasn’t a fan of Chinese food, but I blame that on the fact that not everywhere do you get authentic food or something that’s even close. I’ve begun to like it now & I hope that I can find a place that serves the real deal in Dubai. Your pictures are great by the way & have made me incredibly hungry! 🙂
Should not have read this on an empty stomach! Even more excited for my trip to China now!
Would you not recommend visiting the terracotta warriors then? I have heard from a few people that they are underwhelming now…
Even though they underwhelmed us, we still recommend a visit to the terracotta warriors if you’re in the area. They are still very cool to see, just not as impressive as we expected. You will probably be more satisfied since your expectations are not so high.
I went to China for the first time this year. Would someone please explain the fascination with chicken’s feet? As far as I can tell, they are just completely inedible!
“Or as the Chinese call it, ‘food'” (sorry quoting Friends) Ughh that food looks amazing. Can’t believe you arrived in China at the height of H1N1 how did you not get quarantined?
On the plane, Mindi took lots of ibuprofen to keep the temperature down as well as mucinex pills to calm the coughing. Between that and good luck, we made it past the infrared screeners. It was extremely stressful!
I just went to china, and to tell you the truth, Chinese food was ok… Like the flavors were nice but I never felt good after eating it! I think it was just all the oil saturation inside dumplings or on the noodles. I always left with a belly ache which was unfortunate because they did taste quite nice most of the time!
We loved the food in China, though we did have some stomach issues too. The food we ate wasn’t particularly greasy. We attribute our stomach issues to the water quality. We tried to be careful with water and ice, but things happen when you’re there for a month. Let’s just say that we were glad to have immodium with us.
As usual feeling hungry after reading this post. The food looks quite authentic.
Love Sichuan cuisine, and have known Han for several years. His food and enthusiasm are addictive.
Fortunately we have several other restaurants offering this cuisine in the Philly area(other than Han’s empire) as of now. I thought you might like to know of these just in case you haven’t heard of them:
1) Bamboo in East Norriton(chef and family from Chengdu)
2) R&Z Ping Pong in the Gateway Shopping Center, Wayne
3) Red King and Red King 2 on Race Street, Philly
4) E Mei(not exactly the same, but adjacent and similar cuisine ) on Arch Street, Philly
There are others, but so far we have loved all these!
We’ve been to Red King 2 and E Mei, but we’ll have to check out the spots you recommend in the suburbs. Thanks for the tips!
I haven’t been to China specifically, but I can agree that eating a certain area’s food is a great way to reminisce about a vacation. Different cultures have such unique tastes that just eating the food can remind you of being there. I feel like Asian food are especially potent in that regard, since their taste is so different from American cuisine. Thanks for sharing!
Hi,
I am so glad to see your post.
Great list of recipes! I love trying new dishes. The food looks delicious, and I love the atmosphere. Very cool! Restaurants always have their own secrets for dishes. Thanks so much for all the info and for your honest input!
Only have delicious food, very good, the post, thank you
I can not wait to visit China and experience the culture and of course the amazing food!
You will love China! Let us know if you have any questions when you plan your trip.
I love these dishes! I can’t wait to go to China, it has been on my list for a long time. If you had to choose one city to visit, what would it be? I travel in search of the best food I can find. It is good to know to be careful with the water. Thanks!
It would be a shame to visit China and only visit one city. If we had to pick just one, maybe Beijing for its food and sites. Though we really enjoyed exploring Chengdu. Then again, Hong Kong is quite amazing. Tough call!
Thanks for great information.Really this post is interesting.follow that and be happy!
Wow….these foods are looking so yummy. Can’t wait to taste it. Thanks a lot for sharing such a post.
The food color looks so yummy! I can’t wait for a single minute to taste the food. I just love it. I should visit China very soon. Thanks for the head up and keep up the great work.