One of the unanswerable questions when traveling with small children, especially toddlers, is the question of food.
You don't have to go as far as China to discover that kids can be quite a handful when it comes to eating in new places. When we went to Lofoten, Norway Hanna refused to eat almost all foods that we usually buy (except for peppers maybe) so we always ended up buying tripple of what we needed 'just in case' she wants something or she eats more than usual.
While going so far as China might seem like an even more difficult endevour due to different spices used and access to the usuals, it might be easier than a remote village in Norway to cater for kids.
Why is China an easy travel destination for picky eaters?
While being famous for different exotic food options (like insects) or spicy foods (think Sichuan pepper), it is not at all bad place to cater to children's need, for 3 main reasons:
- There are many staples that are easily available
- Food is super cheap so you don't have to overthink how much you order
- Playing with chopsticks is a delight and makes kids more eager to try new foods
And for those 3 reasons, you don't ever have to worry about what your child will eat on the go.
Simple and healthy food options for toddlers
As I mentioned, there are many food options to choose from, simply because China's cuisine, as any cuisine in the world really, stems from basic foods that are by themselves plain and tend to go down well with kids.
Here are some basic foods that can always be your backup.
- Cooked rice a.k.a. 米饭 (mĭfàn)
- Wheat noodles simmilar to European pasta 面 (miàn)
- Rice noodles 米粉 (mífěn)
- Steamed buns 包子 (baozi)
- Freshly cut fruit and fresh fruit juices
The staples vary a lot by region - with rice being more popular in the south, while noodles dominating the north - but you can be sure that one of those will be available.
Naturally, those are very plain and you shouldn't expect to rely solely on those, but treat them as a backup. Varying by region as well you can expect to find some kind of dumplings almost everywhere.
For me, some of the best food options that our daughters enjoyed are:
- Street BBQ
- 烧卖 (shāomài)
- Beijing yoghurts
- 煎饼 (Jian Bing) - crispy crepes
- Peking duck
- Chongqing hotpot
- Chongqing crispy spicy potatoes - don't even know if they have a name or if they are unique to Chongqing but they are delicious
- Russian sausage in Harbin
- Watermelon juice
Obviously this is a random list but as you can see there are plenty of options - even Chongqing Hot Pot is a dish you can enjoy with kids, and I wrote a separate article on that:
Ordering plain noodles
One thing we struggled with was ordering plain noodles without broth - somehow even with translation they just nodded along and brought us noodles in a broth without a failure every single time.
So as a preparation for our next trip, I asked my Chinese teacher to tell me what I need to say, so here it is:
我要一份面给我的女儿，不要汤，不要别的东西，只要干净的面.
Wǒ yào yī fèn miàn gěi wǒ de nǚ'ér, bùyào tāng, bùyào bié de dōngxī, zhǐyào gānjìng de miàn.
I want a bowl of noodles for my daughter, no soup, no other things, just clean noodles.
I intend to try it next time and report back if it actually worked 😉
Enjoy street food
In China, big street food halls with variety of stands and options and lots of seating space are very common. Those places are perfect for families with kids as they offer a casual atmosphere and plenty of options for everyone - you don't have to decide on one type of food and everyone may enjoy what they please.
Yoghurt drinks
In recent years, probably with the increase of international trade and food imports, the Chinese fell in love with milky drinks. While being predominantly a fashion and a trendy new drink beloved by adults and teenagers, it is also a great option for Western travellers with kids.
There are number of food chains (e.g. Yoghurt Cow) that sell fresh yoghurt drinks with fruit and other additions - those are also a great semi-healthy snack option.
If you feel like you ran out of options...
If your child is used to fast food chains at home or you simply feel homesick and want to treat your child with a portion of fries, fear not. All larger Chinese cities and tourist destinations have a variety of fast-food chains like McDonalds, Burger King and Starbucks, and plenty of Western style food in hotels. In big cities there are also plenty of international restaurants and foods in the supermarket.
I would encourage you however to keep it as a last resort and let them rather eat plain rice and noodles until they are ready to experiment than to just give in and eat Western food during the trip.
Take advantage of the low prices and experiment
The good news is that in China food can be really really cheap - it is very easy to have a feast for the whole family for 10-15$ (with plenty of leftovers) so just enjoy yourselves and order a variety of foods that include something you think your children can enjoy.
There are very few foods that you should consider off-limits (as mentioned before, even hot pot is something you can try with kids.
Let them play with chopsticks
We were surprised how well Hanna was doing with chopsticks during our first trip to China - and she was only 2.5 at the time. She really enjoyed it and I encourage you to let your kids try to eat by themselves, even if it means a total mess.
If your child is not yet handy, you can bring a pair of toddler chopsticks with you - there are versions for 3-fingers and 2-fingers support. You can most likely find them in China as well, but who has time for chopsticks-hunting during holiday.
Final thoughts
China is an excellent destination when it comes to food and it is one thing you should not worry before your trip. Make them excited about the new things they will be able to try but never try to force them to eat anything.
Just enjoy the experience and make sure you take plenty of photos of them trying new foods to showed them how adventurous they were before the next trip!
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