Chopsticks and Check-ins: Navigating China Through Food and Travel
- Food Blogger Journey
- Oct 14
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 17
By Dirk Ebener - October 14, 2025
Traveling across China for work has given me the opportunity to explore its diverse regional cuisines, each offering unique flavors and cultural insights. By balancing business responsibilities with intentional culinary exploration, I’ve discovered that food is one of the most powerful ways to connect with people and places. Enjoy reading "Chopsticks and Check-ins: Navigating China Through Food and Travel."
From fiery Sichuan dishes to delicate Cantonese dim sum, each meal tells a story—and those stories have become the heart of my travel experiences in China.
There’s something transformative about traveling in China, something that extends far beyond its iconic Great Wall or the futuristic skyline of Shanghai. It is in the aroma of sizzling woks echoing through narrow alleys, in the early morning buzz of dim sum carts in Cantonese teahouses, and in the warm hospitality offered over a steaming hotpot in Sichuan. For someone like me, who balances a life of international business travel with a deep passion for local food exploration, China offers a canvas as vast and flavorful as its geography.
Over the years, I’ve traveled across more than 60 countries, often for work, coordinating global events, managing international teams, and overseeing large-scale trade show and conference projects. But no country has shaped my sense of taste and cultural appreciation quite like China.
My journeys through its sprawling cities and rural provinces have taught me more than any meeting room ever could. With every project I manage China, I carve out time to dive fork-first (or more accurately, chopstick-first) into the colorful, diverse, and deeply rooted world of Chinese cuisine.
Business in the East, Flavor in the Streets
Work often brings me to urban giants like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, places pulsing with economic dynamism and relentless energy. My days begin in hotel business centers or co-working spaces, where I handle emails and global timelines, then shift into high gear at trade show facilities, event walk-throughs, or supplier meetings. But when the sun begins to set, that is when my real exploration begins.
One of the first lessons I learned while traveling through China was how deeply food is intertwined with the local identity. You cannot understand China without understanding its food. More than sustenance, it is a language. A form of storytelling that expresses geography, climate, migration, and memory. So I eat my way through every work trip, from the street stalls to the family-run restaurants tucked behind skyscrapers, letting the flavors guide me into China’s soul.
The Eight Culinary Traditions of China
China’s culinary landscape stretches as wide as its land, mapped into eight celebrated regions, each boasting its own signature flavors, cooking styles, and stories. Over the years, I have set out to taste my way through them all, with every journey adding a new brushstroke to my portrait of Chinese culture.
1. Sichuan: Spice, Heat, and Harmony
My first encounter with Sichuan cuisine was in Chengdu, during a brief break between managing logistics for a manufacturing trade show. Sichuan cuisine is renowned for its bold flavors, particularly the distinctive numbing sensation of the Sichuan peppercorn. I still remember the first bite of mapo tofu, soft curds of tofu drenched in a fiery red sauce with ground pork and a mountain of chili oil. My mouth tingled, my eyes watered, and yet, I could not stop eating.
Chengdu’s food scene taught me something important: complexity does not have to mean complication. A dish can be layered, balanced, and expressive without being fussy. The people of Sichuan live life with a laid-back ease, reflected in their love for mahjong, tea houses, and two-hour lunches. A rhythm I learned to admire and, when possible, embrace between work sessions.
2. Cantonese (Guangdong): Elegance in Simplicity
In contrast, my business trips to Guangzhou opened the door to the delicate artistry of Cantonese cuisine. Here, restraint reigns supreme. Dishes celebrate the pure freshness of their ingredients, enhanced by gentle seasoning and swift cooking. I still remember my hosts inviting me to an early morning dim sum feast before a product launch, an experience I now eagerly seek out with every return.
The rolling carts, bamboo steamers, and gentle clatter of teacups set the tone for both conversation and nourishment. Har gow (shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), and silky rice noodle rolls glided to our table one by one. The quiet sophistication of Cantonese food reminded me that sometimes, refinement speaks louder than extravagance.
3. Shandong: The Art of Braising and Seafood Mastery
Business led me to Qingdao, the sparkling jewel of Shandong’s coast, where the sea’s bounty takes center stage. Renowned for its expert braising and crisp, fragrant dishes, Shandong cuisine is robust and disciplined, echoing the region’s Confucian heritage.
At a client dinner overlooking the Yellow Sea, I was served braised sea cucumber with scallions, a dish prized for both its texture and supposed health benefits. It was not love at first bite, but it was a revelation in flavor depth and technique. Shandong cuisine celebrates the umami-rich potential of the sea, and meals are often accompanied by the region’s iconic Tsingtao beer—an ideal companion for late-night strategy talks with clients.
4. Jiangsu: A Symphony of Balance
While working on a consumer product event in Suzhou, I experienced my first true immersion in Jiangsu cuisine—sometimes referred to as “Huaiyang cuisine.” Known for its balance, harmony, and refined presentation, Jiangsu dishes are elegant and subtle. Sweet and savory dance together here, especially in dishes like sweet-and-sour Mandarin fish or gently simmered lion’s head meatballs.
Suzhou, with its timeless gardens and tranquil canals, embodies the spirit of its cuisine: serene, balanced, and refined. Even in the midst of event-week chaos, I found moments of calm in the afternoon, savoring bowls of soup and tender, slow-cooked dishes. Jiangsu showed me that beauty is something you can savor.
5. Zhejiang: Freshness from the Waterways
Hangzhou, a frequent destination for tech conferences I have helped coordinate, is the heart of Zhejiang cuisine. This is a region where ingredients are treated gently, steamed, simmered, or lightly stir-fried to preserve their natural essence. Dishes like beggar’s chicken (a marinated bird wrapped in lotus leaves and baked in clay) and West Lake fish in vinegar sauce reflect the calm of the region’s misty hills and serene lakes.
One evening, after a whirlwind of presentations and client debriefs, I strolled beside West Lake with a local colleague. We paused at a peaceful lakeside eatery, where a humble bowl of bamboo shoots and tofu soup moved me nearly to tears. Often, it is the gentlest flavors that echo the longest.
6. Hunan: Bold, Spicy, and Proud
If Sichuan cuisine is playful, Hunan cuisine is assertive. My trips to Changsha, often tied to factory site visits, are always laced with anticipation for the cuisine’s dry, smoky heat. Hunan chefs don’t rely on the numbing peppercorn but instead use heaps of fresh chili peppers, garlic, and shallots to achieve their powerful flavor.
Chairman Mao’s Red-Braised Pork, a dish named in his honor, is the crown jewel here. Fatty pork belly, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine combine to create a caramelized dream. As I sat surrounded by local engineers and plant managers, clinking glasses of baijiu, I realized how food serves not only as sustenance but as a symbol of pride and tradition.
7. Fujian: Soups, Broths, and Coastal Bounty
In the coastal city of Fuzhou, where I once collaborated with local tourism boards, the love for broths and soups in Fujian cuisine became evident. The region’s famed Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a luxurious soup of abalone, sea cucumber, and other delicacies, is emblematic of its seafood-rich, umami-forward character.
Here, I discovered, soup is not a supporting act but the star of the table. Each dish arrives layered with textures and steeped in the slow-cooked patience of Fujian’s coastal villages. This is a cuisine that speaks in gentle tones, yet its memory lingers long after the last spoonful.
8. Anhui: From the Mountains to the Plate
My first experience with Anhui cuisine came unexpectedly during a trip to the scenic Huangshan mountains. Known for its use of wild herbs and mountain delicacies, Anhui food is earthy, rustic, and often slow-cooked in oil-rich broths. There is a comforting, almost medicinal quality to its dishes.
At a countryside inn, my guide arranged for a homemade dinner of stewed turtle, bamboo shoots, and tea-smoked duck. It was hearty and grounding, a far cry from the modern conference rooms of my work life. In Anhui, the lines between food, medicine, and storytelling blur, offering nourishment for both body and spirit.
Blending Business with Culinary Curiosity
Juggling a full-time international project schedule rarely allows for leisurely lunches or spur-of-the-moment road trips, but I make the most of moments whenever I can. My approach is straightforward: mornings belong to work, meetings, site visits, and troubleshooting. Evenings and weekends become my sanctuary for discovery. I wander food streets, chat with locals, collect their food stories, and, whenever possible, watch the magic unfold in the kitchen.
China welcomes this spirit of curiosity. From the neon-lit tech hubs of Shenzhen to the timeworn alleys of Xi’an, every corner offers a new flavor, a fresh aroma, a hidden tale. Sharing meals with business partners transforms formal dinners into moments of genuine connection. Trading ideas, business cards, and dumplings forges bonds that outlast any email thread.
Final Reflections: Food as My Compass
Food in China isn’t just a reflection of taste, it is a reflection of values. It reveals family structures, spiritual beliefs, agricultural traditions, and even political history. For someone like me, juggling boardrooms and boarding passes, it provides a grounding sense of place. I may arrive in a city for a product launch or stakeholder meeting, but I stay up late in local eateries, scribbling notes in my journal with chili oil-stained fingers, grateful for the privilege to learn from a culture so rich and ancient.
Each region’s cuisine has expanded my palate and, more importantly, my worldview. Whether it’s the first slurp of hand-pulled noodles in Lanzhou or the final sip of Pu-erh tea in Yunnan, China has taught me to listen to the stories served on every plate.
And so, I journey onward, moving from project to project and city to city, with my laptop in one hand and chopsticks in the other, always eager for the next taste of China.
Dirk Ebener is the founder and creator behind the Food Blogger Journey website, drawing on over 40 years of international travel across more than 60 countries. His global adventures have deepened his understanding of regional cuisines, local customs, and the powerful connection between food and culture. From bustling street markets in Asia to quiet vineyard dinners in Europe, Dirk captures authentic culinary experiences through immersive storytelling. Through Food Blogger Journey, he invites readers to explore the world one dish at a time.
© 2025 Food Blogger Journey. All rights reserved. The experiences, opinions, and photos this blog shares are based on personal travel and culinary exploration. Reproduction or distribution of content without written permission is prohibited.
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