Our China Travel · 23 September 2026 · Original planning worksheet
Lists of dishes are easy to read and hard to use, because the same dish changes name, shape and flavour between regions. Use the three tables below to turn a list into a card you can carry, and to sort dishes by the ones you can actually eat rather than by how famous they are.
| City or province you will visit | The regional style to expect | Dominant flavours to plan around | One dish to try, written down | Where you confirmed the name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dish | Region it belongs to | Main ingredient | Can I eat it? (yes / no / ask) | What to ask instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you want to order | Local-script name | Restriction to state | Confirmed how | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No meat | ||||
| No pork | ||||
| No beef | ||||
| No chilli | ||||
| No nuts | ||||
| No seafood | ||||
| Gluten | ||||
| Other |
1. Write the rate you are using and the date you read it. One source checked for this page uses about five units of local currency to one of its own, and reduces every price by dividing by five.
2. A price listed in local currency divides by the rate to give your own currency. At a rate of 5 to 1, a price of 15 is 15 ÷ 5 = 3 in your own money.
3. A price listed in your own currency multiplies by the rate to give local currency, which is the figure you check against a menu rather than against a guide.
4. Street food is usually sold by the piece rather than by the portion, so multiply the unit price by the number you actually intend to eat instead of comparing a unit price with a restaurant dish.
5. A dish described as a snack is often priced and portioned as a snack, so build a meal from two or three rows rather than expecting one row to be a meal.
1. Check whether the list is counting recipes or categories. A count of a handful of regional traditions, a count in the dozens and a count in the thousands are measuring different things, and none of them is wrong.
2. Check the region. A dish name that appears on a national list may be prepared in a completely different style in the city you are actually visiting.
3. Check the name you will use. Many dishes are written differently on a menu than in a guide, so carry the local script as well as the English name.
4. Check the flavour direction. A cuisine that is described as numbing is not the same as one described as hot, and treating the two as interchangeable is the usual reason a first meal goes wrong.
5. Check the season. A dish that a guide describes as a winter dish may not be what you want to order in heat, so read the season notes before you build the meal.
Personal planning worksheet; blank cells contain no destination data and no dish claims. Every dish name, ingredient and price must be confirmed locally, and any dietary or medical requirement should be checked with the venue and, where relevant, with a qualified professional.