Editor's note: Food is one of the most important purposes for people to travel, and the best place to find food is on the street. The best experience is to eat high-quality and cheap street food with the locals. In the same way, when foreigners come to China, their taste buds will be triggered by the various Chinese street snacks. Here are ten kinds of delicacies that can attract foreigners to stop on the road.
1. Malatang (numb, spicy soup）
A humble version of hotpot, you pick your own skewered vegetables and meat from the shelf (from RMB 1), and get staff to boil them together in chicken or pork broth.
2. Sheng jian (fried bun)
It’s hard to resist succulent pork buns, especially when they are fried and garnished with fresh spring onion and toasted sesame. They taste best just out of the pan -- totally worth the blisters on your tongue.
3. Xiaolongbao (soup dumpling)
RMB 4 usually gets you eight of these velvety and delicate Shanghai classics. The cure for any hunger pang, these are seriously good.
4. Cong You Bing (green onion pancake)
The best green onion pancakes are cooked up by little old grannies who get up at 6 a.m. to cook, knead and slap these petite bing in the city’s many longtangs.
5. Tofu flower soup
Made by curdling soy milk, this smooth tofu soup contains the subtle flavor of soybeans beneath a colorful mixed dressing of dried shrimps, pickled radish, seaweed, scallion, soy sauce and chili oil.
6. Stinky tofu
You know you are becoming a true Chinese when you start craving stinky tofu. Once we got over the initial shock of the stench of the snack we found the tofu clean and silky. And four for just RMB 1 -- we’d be crazy not to love these.
7. Hong shan yu (baked sweet potato)
Sweet, fluffy, and fibrous, these baked sweet potatoes are a nice contrast to most cheap eats in China. Usually sold out of a pushcart, they are one of the healthiest snacks in town.
8. Kebabs
Few things taste better at four in the morning than a few grilled kebabs. Our favorite is of course the yang rou chuan -- lamb kebabs.
9. Liang pi (cold jelly noodles)
Having grown in popularity across the Middle Kingdom, Shaanxi liang pi has established itself as the perfect summer lunch or a snack. Dress the chunky, chewy jelly noodles and fresh vegetables with sesame sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, and then sprinkle some toasted peanuts and sesame for the final touch. Voila.
10. Xun yu (smoked fish)
Deep-fried then boiled in soy sauce, this fish dish can be eaten as a starter in traditional festival banquets or simply as a snack when you’re out and about.
