What do you miss the most while in China?

[BuffaloPaul]

Defintely miss an American breakfast, baked goods (especially chocolate ones)

[tonado]

Pizza and apple pie

[markndannie]

While in China i miss:

diet soda, butter, cheese, english muffins

back home i miss my wifes dumplings

Thats the problem with a small city in China with no foreigners there!

[johnxiaoying]

I miss a good American style breakfast the most, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes, etc. I also miss seeing soap in the WC at the restaurants. I took Jasons advice and began the series of hepatitus shots.

[tonyontherock]

Pizza: What is so hard about making some decent pizza? I lived mostly in Italian neighborhoods while in the States. We had a departure party yesterday and they ordered pizza. Man, even the ones they sell at Cosco tastes better. This is Hong Kong. I have not tried it in China yet.

[lele]

Coffee

Right on! I crave coffee even more when I travel.

The coffee in Vietnam is far better than any in the states (I think that they still use a french recipe, combined with the better water and sunshine of growing the beans locally). My guess is that you can also get this in any Dong (ethnic vietnamese) area of SW China too.

[awch]

I thought I liked Chinese food too, but that was before I had to have it and only it, three meals a day, every day! The oil alone will drive you crazy. Nowadays I only get that when I visit the in-laws, at home I try to vary the Chinese food with enough Western food to keep me sane.

 

But hands down the thing I miss the most is BAGELS! I mean real jewish new york ones, not just the bread made in a circle that some people call bagels. with cream cheese and lox, oh man i've been dying for one for a year and a half now. luckily i'm visiting home in a few weeks, i plan on living on only bagels!

Louisa- Don't complain! At least the food in Beijing is much more "international" than in other parts of China- YOU HAVE A DUNKIN DONUTS! I am so jealous about this

 

And because of your post, I had a dream about bagels last night... I dreamed they opened a bagel shop next to my house... it gave me an idea... do you think Chinese would go for bagels and cream cheese?

[beijingjenny]

Oh yes, Mexican food, donuts ... I could write a long list. And these cravings are much worse when pregnant - I just can't stomach a lot of Chinese food anymore.

 

Yes, you can find just about any kind of food somewhere in China, but it's not exactly easily available or very affordable... I'm lucky where I am but stll it's a treat.

[sylinchinastill]

Mexican food- I missed that a lot- and my mom's home cooking- biscuits- you cannot find them anywhere in China- I had an oven and would bake them myself though. But now that I'm here with my husband I wish he could eat good Chinese food again. Is it strange to take a trip to New York just to eat?

[Robert S.]

Steak. Well really any kind of meat that is still all together and not cut into a thousand little pieces.

[LouRose]

Waaaaait a minute, we have a dunkin donuts?? Do they have real donuts? How did I manage to miss that? Who can tell me where it is??

 

Anyways, you're right Amber, I can't complain too much, but the food options are the main reason why I chose to live in Beijing instead of going back to Harbin. As for the bagel idea, I've thought about that too but I have a feeling that to Chinese people even a good bagel would seem the same as bread, and cream cheese would probably weird them out. Might be worth a try though!

[Guest blsqueaky]

I have to admit, when I was in GZ. I really did not miss anything about the states, except T.V, but about food, I know that when I travel over, I am going to be eathing great. I have gotten used to the coffee that we can buy in the stores, ( I like the instant that they have there better then here), the dim sum, (I hardly ever eat breakfast)

 

Amber, you said 3 meals a day, then I am lucky, Ling knows that I only eat 1 meal a day here in the states, so that is all that I get there, except for the dim sum in the morning, if I am awake, and if not, she takes off with the family, just leave me alone with my coffee

[MoonCarolCafe]

I miss a good American style breakfast the most, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, pancakes, etc.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

 

Broccoli-- It's what's for breakfast!

[awch]

Louisa:

I swear I saw a dunkin donuts when I was in Beijing last Spring. We were in a taxi going somewhere... I'll check out their website to make sure. But I also saw an Outback on Wangfujing... Have you tried the food there? I bet it's super expensive but I know where I'd be going on my birthday!

 

As far as breakfast, I'm so happy that about a year ago a limited selection of cheap cereals became available- Trix, Cocopuffs, Corn flakes and some kind of marshellow thing. But you can only buy them in the big supermarkets- in Beijing I saw them also in some smaller places. I thought that was nice! I don't think the cereals will catch on in China though- they don't drink cold milk in the mornings. When I have time I like to make omlettes, but that's like one day a month.

[Chinese Wife!!!]

While in China I miss:

 

-Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies

--And speaking of holes-in-the-wall... Mexican food!

 

which my wife thinks is the donkeys danglies for a quick lunchtime meal, has food that while not bad, is just bland.

There is a Mrs. Fields here in Shanghai in the Centre right next to Tony Romas'. Not REALLY Mexican but there is a Taco Bell Grande on Nanjing Xi. Also Shanghai expats site (there is a Beijing version also) has several food related comments- i.e., best Mexican, pizza etc. in Shanghai. Between this site and the internet I was amazed at what IS HERE.

 

I will pass on the stir fried donkey danglies for now. Is this a Southern Ca. thing???? or south of Southern Ca?