Top 10 Ways Mealtimes in Xi'an, China differ from UK

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What would you think of if i said "Chinese Food"

Perhaps...

Sitting in front of the television on a Saturday night with friends or family and a selection of many Chinese "cuisine" dishes you ordered from the local Chinese Take-Out.

This would maybe include...

Sweet and sour chicken?

Shredded crispy beef?

Peking Duck?

And of course the standard fried rice, noodles, prawn crackers and maybe a portion of chips (I mean it is the weekend eh?)

So this abundance of food arrives at your door, delivered by a smiley, British teenager who is hoping you tell them to "keep the change"

You place the many dishes (when i say "dishes" i mean "cheap, plastic containers" which ALWAYS break) on the living room table and everyone dives in like they have never seen food before. Spooning whatever they fancy onto their plate and contently indulging in their well deserved "treat meal" of the week

I reckon i that description is pretty accurate..yes?



Well spending a month in the old city of Xi'an, China made me realize that this "Chinese meal" is far from the genuine Chinese meal in the country itself

Additionally, I became aware of foods which i would eat daily in Scotland that were virtually non existent in Xian as well as trying Chinese foods that at first i didnt even think were edible!

When i returned home i began to think of the many ways in Chinese peoples breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks differed from the British. This could be in terms of types of food eaten, timing of meals, manners, utensils etc....I managed to narrow it down to 10.



1. Noodles For Breakfast? Really?

From travelling other areas of South East Asia last year I knew food items such as Crunchy Nut or Poached Egg on Toast were not on the menu for breakfast. However when in places such as Vietnam and Cambodia i was able to enjoy banana pancakes, fruit and yoghurt or small, yummy locally made pastries for breakfast in the hostels.

However, Xi'an was a different story. My Chinese Mama would typically prepare noodle dishes with a variety of vegetables, small dumplings or soup. When i encountered this on the first day i was convinced it was 7pm instead of 7am and i was about to sit down and have my evening meal.

I can confidently say that in Xi'an i did not eat or see 1 box of cereal in any shop and i never saw a loaf of bread in Mamas kitchen once.

Don't get me wrong, i was never made to eat these noodles if i didn't want to. Right outside the house local people would set up food carts, early in the morning selling numerous types of street food. It was here i discovered my aaaall time favourite Chinese breakfast

Its well..hard to describe. I would say it was a cross between a omelette and a crepe. It was then rolled up with lettuce, some sort of fried cracker, a very thin sausage cut in half and a mildly spicy sauce as the filling

Sounds incredibly weird and not very appetizing eh? I thought so too when i saw it being made. Yet..one morning i thought why not give it a go, it is only costing me 15 RNB (Just over 1 pound)

Well...that was one of the best 15 RNB i spent



2. Cheese Please

Another strange thing i discovered was that in Xi'an, cheese was pretty much non-existent. I mean you would find cheese on a pizza at a Pizza Hut (they were everywhere, Chinese people love them) but that was it.

As I am a waitress back in Scotland i can confidently say that cheese is one of the most popular things that customers have in a sandwich or pannini

Think of all the combinations






• Brie and Cranberry
• Tomato and Mozzarella
• Goats Cheese and Red Onion
• Cheddar, Ham and Tomato


Need i say more?

Yet, Xi'an did not enter the world of cheese and crackers, baby bells or Philadelphia spread.

My Chinese friend had never eaten cheese in his life (apart from in Pizza hut). I honestly thought he was joking when he said this at first!

*Note to self, next year pack as much cheese into my rucksack as possible, pray it doesn't melt and host a "Get to know Cheese" party for all my Chinese friends in Xi'an



3. Sharing is Caring

Chinese people love to share! Basically their food is your food.

I mean i know that is done in Britain too. Everyone likes going for a tapas meal at a nice restaurant every so often and picking at each others little dishes of different foods. Although in general ( I am sure you will agree) at most British restaurants you order your preferred meal and that is yours to eat. You maybe nick a chip from your friends plate or try a bit of there steak (well not if you eat with my brother...think of Joey from friends...DEREK DOESN'T SHARE FOOD) but that is really it

Well...the Chinese are the opposite. Everything ordered is shared with everyone. At most meals you are given a small bowl of mifan (rice) and eat this with the vegetables, meat or fish that are in the middle of the table.

Even street food is shared! If my Chinese friends bought some sort of street food they would offer me and everyone else a bit before they took a bite themselves!

Safe to say i feel like i tried every form of street food in Xi'an and half of it I probably didn't even buy!



4. Tip? What tip?

In Xi'an tipping was just not a thing. Nobody tips.

At my first meal when i asked my Chinese friends how much money we should leave for the waiter, they responded with puzzled looks

I found this strange..and I almost felt rude

Being a waitress myself I know how much one appreciates when a customer leaves a tip showing that they have been satisfied with their meal and quality of customer service provided

I inquired to my friends why this was not routine when dining out. It was basically due the fact that Chinese people believe that the waiter/waitress is paid for their job by their wages and this is sufficient

It is not out of rudeness or dislike. It is purely just a common understanding within China. The waiters/waitresses never seem bothered that they were left no tip and I began to realize that this was just normal

However, my American friends took a lot longer getting used to this than myself, as where they come from tipping is pretty much compulsory!

But hey..it meant we saved a bit of money and could buy more yummy crepe/omelettes!



6. You are Having Lunch Now?

When do you have lunch? Maybe between 12.30-1.30. I would say that is pretty standard for those in School, University or a Job. Yes?

Well on my first day helping in the special needs school the teachers got ready for lunch by pushing the tables together and seating the children round the tables so they were ready to eat

I looked at the clock..

11.15...11.15!

Now I don't know about you, but i never usually get ready to eat my lunch at 11.15. Most of the time I am trying to get through my final morning lecture at this time!

However, in Xi'an the children would start eating just before 11.30 and all would usually finish just before or at 12. The teachers did this too.

I found this a little strange at first. But i guess it stopped them having that naughty mid-morning chocolate bar (which by the way...all had security tags on them at the supermarket!)

That i found hilarious.



7. Chop is with Chopsticks

Yep you guessed it. Every meal eaten out was eaten with chop sticks!

Well..exclude Pizza Hut

I am not going to lie, this was a trial at the start. I took about two weeks until i could eat a full meal without asking for a spoon (how embarrassing).

But i mean i eventually got the hang of it and i resisted buying a plastic fork from the supermarket. None of the restaurants even had forks and the spoons were often small handled, china spoons. I felt very cultured once i got the hang of using them (however rice was still a struggle). However, now i would certainly not eat a Chinese take-out without them!





8. Is that Warm Water?

Xi'an is known for spicy food! And what is the first thing you need when eating spicy food...a glass of ice cold water.

Yeah...that didn't happen

All the water in China was served to you in a small tea pot and warm.

This was weird for me. Warm water should be when you are taking a shower or washing the dishes not as a drink, especially when you are eating spicy food!

It also wasn't particularly helpful when the outside temperature was around 25-30 degrees.

Therefore I made sure to bring a large bottle of cold water that i had bought from the supermarket! It was very much a necessity!



9. All At Once Please

If you have a meal out in Britain you may commonly have a starter (perhaps soup or pate) a main course (maybe chicken or fish) and a dessert (ALWAYS A CHOCOLATE BROWNIE).

Well the Chinese people cannot be bothered with this eating and clearing plates and waiting and eating and clearing plates and waiting. They simply say

"When the food is ready...get it out" (well obviously a bit more polite than that)

It was very common for the table to be full with appetizers and various different main dishes that everyone shared

But what if you ran out of food? (this wasn't very common) well...the Chinese people just order more.

Easy as that?

Who wants to dilly dally about with several different courses anyway?



10. Zzzzzzzzzz

Finally, it is very common in China to take a nap after the mid (or 11.30)-day meal. In the special needs centre the teachers would sleep every day from 12-2.

My Chinese friends would often tell me how they would feel sleepy after lunch

I don't think i have ever napped for 2 hours after lunch in my life

Even though this was strange to me, I was quite happy to adjust and I would often nap with the children. The Chinese people would insist you had a rest mid-day to re-energize yourself for the afternoon lessons and activities

If only University here had that rule...



So there it is!

That is the 10 main ways in which i felt Chinese food culture differed from Britians.

I found every one of them weird and wonderful.

Oh actually..speaking of weird and wonderful there is a number 11



11. I am not Eating That!

Yes...in China they pretty much eat anything...I mean anything...




• Ducks Neck
• Pigs Trotters
• Chickens Head


The list goes on. I managed 1 out of these 3 (the pigs trotters). It was...well lets just say different.But it will be a while before i stick a chickens head in my mouth A very long while...

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