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Q: Should I Just Grit My Teeth And Cook My Own Food While Here?
While eating out is nice and convenient, it still doesn't negate the fact that what you see isn't always what you get here with food?
Shaokou is nice, but where did they get the meat? Eating out in restaurants is cool too but what happens behind closed doors, what kind of substances are added to the food served? Food here can be so shady, not necessarily the most unhealthy (on the face of it) but shady nonetheless.
Should I just try and minimise the damage and do my own cooking while living here in a Chinese second tier city?
cooking at home is great, both healthy and fun if u have someone helping u out. U basically need to stock ur freezer with beef & chicken from the local supermarket. Then u can make anything u can think of. its not that complicated or difficult. Also u can google whatever recipe u wanna cook but dont know how. or even better call ur mom,aunt, grandma or whoever ur used to their food back home and ask for their recipes.
That's what I do. I've seen chefs in fancy restaurants come back from the toilet without washing their hands, cockroaches in food etc.
I cook as much as I can. It's hard with the temptation of cheap, quick and, easy food on the doorstep. But I've seen and heard enough horror stories to encourage me to cook at home.
kasuka91:
Yeah, sometimes the cumulative effects of eating all types of dodgy food in all types of places can be bleak, and worst of all, fatal.
I was told today that even eating shaokou (where the cooking environment is open and easy for you to see) is sometimes a no go, and how grilled food exposes more carcinogens?!
It's just scary, because some people out there truly couldn't give a f about whether what they're putting in your food is safe or not. Fake rice, fake alcohol, fake meat, one always has to think twice about eating in a place where the food market isn't properly regulated and food gradings aren't worth the paper they're printed on!
We cook a lot . It's better than eating out all the time .
I cook at home most nights and I do find it to be the cheaper,healthier option but to be honest it's mostly just because I prefer my own cooking, and like to cook.
I know that restaurant food is dodgy. The cooks and kitchen are probably filthy, the oil they use could be recycled gutter oil and the meat you order could well be waaay past its expiry date and maybe not even from the animal you would expect it to be from, but I still eat out once or twice a week and love it, and mostly have no problems.
Living here I think it's just something you just have to either accept, or resign yourself to never going out and who wants to do that.
You can try eating at places that have an open kitchen. There you can see all that goes on and if you don't like, you can stop going there.
Another way is to only eat at a a very few places that you know and that know you. Here in Urumqi I only eat at two at three places. I know the workers, and the workers know that I don't eat M.S.G. nor do I care for crappy food.
The last alternative is to cook everything at home.
It’s not exclusive to China; it’s the same issue in each part of the world!
If you are looking for a healthy diet, eat homemade food!
Shining_brow:
That's not exactly true... If it were, then we wouldn't be having a bitch about such things.
Where most of us on this forum come from our governments have imposed strict hygiene laws for restaurants, and strict punishments will be meted out. Thus, only occasionally will something bad happen, and 99.99% of the time, when you go to a restaurant (expensive or cheap), you will not have any serious health issues to worry about!
Granted, sometimes someone or something will happen.. but that's literally in the .01% of occasions! In China, we're looking at much higher percentages!
j89:
@Shining-brow! you need to read more , before giving an opinion you can start with this one http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3473728/ns/dateline_nbc-consumer_alert/t/dirty-dining/#.VjWfSNyUcXo Good luck!
Shining_brow:
@J89 - you need to think more, and sharpen your debating skills. Ever heard of the (layman's term) "Hasty Generalisation" logical fallacy (AKA - "cherry picking" data)? It's when you take a specific example, and apply the 'data' obtained to all representatives (in this case, the 'data' is some fast food restaurants in a link, and all representatives are ALL restaurants around the rest of the world).
The FACT is, we don't worry half so much back home as we do here in China, and the hygiene standards here are SIGNIFICANTLY lower than back home.
j89:
@Shining-brow!
Why?!! too many “Royal we”!
I'm afraid you missed the point!
The FACT is “Eating at home is healthier than dining out, no matter where you live!
And then we haven't even mentioned gutter oil!
I like cooking and it is becoming a social event and gastronomic adventure for my GF, who doesn't know western food,. So much more fun and healthier too if you cook yourself
That's true . When I started cooking for my husband I'd cook food from six different countries . I still love looking up new recipes .
cooking at home is great, both healthy and fun if u have someone helping u out. U basically need to stock ur freezer with beef & chicken from the local supermarket. Then u can make anything u can think of. its not that complicated or difficult. Also u can google whatever recipe u wanna cook but dont know how. or even better call ur mom,aunt, grandma or whoever ur used to their food back home and ask for their recipes.
Very good restaurant and hotel with expensive buffet in Xiamen. 1 set of tongs for the meat and seafood sitting out in the open on the slightly chilled platters...
Where do those fingers go when you ask for a new set of kuaizi or a spoon or fork??
Who clean were the chef's hands who is pulling the bit of shell out of the fried egg?
All these would instantly fail H&S standards back home, but aren't likely to kill us, nor really to make us sick... so that's hwy they don't really care!
However, I suspect it will just take 1 case of the wrong person at the wrong time...
Well, one way to know what you're getting is to cook at home. I for one love cooking and now after a couple months of living here I've realized that instead of missing home and the food is to cook myself. It helps with not always getting what you want. Plus, if you do it with friends it's a good bonding and social event. You also don't need to stock the fridge, I've learnt the hard way that stocking seems to waste more as you don't always cook as fast or frequently as you might think. Enjoy the cook-offs! :)
Well, one way to know what you're getting is to cook at home. I for one love cooking and now after a couple months of living here I've realized that instead of missing home and the food is to cook myself. It helps with not always getting what you want. Plus, if you do it with friends it's a good bonding and social event. You also don't need to stock the fridge, I've learnt the hard way that stocking seems to waste more as you don't always cook as fast or frequently as you might think. Enjoy the cook-offs! :)
Why not?
As long as you enjoy doing it and not out of compulsion or a self imposed decision.
For me, Sundays, Tuesday and Thursdays are cooking days.
I keep my menu simple.... fruits, salads, soups and some simple food to cleanse my system of outside food.
And while eating out ... don't think of too many questions - what is this, how it was cooked, who cooked it, where it came from ..... be easy on yourself.
As someone who has had the shits for the past five years I can say, with confidence, YES.
