Travelers ask two questions as if they were one: “Will the street food make me sick?” and “Can I drink the tap?” The replies, and the CDC Yellow Book note on China, do not give the same answer to both.
The stall
Threads about eating safely keep landing on the same practical test. Food that is cooked hot, in front of you, with a queue, is what people actually eat. Food that has been sitting, and ice you did not see made from bottled water, is what they tell you to skip. That is not a guarantee. It is the filter visitors use when they want noodles, dumplings, or grilled skewers without turning the meal into a dare.
The tap
Do not drink tap water. Use boiled water, a sealed bottle, or the hotel kettle. Brushing teeth with tap water is a personal call some long-stay visitors make; drinking a glass of it is the one this guide says no to. Ice in a cheap drink is often the tap in another form.
How to order without a speech
- Point at the wok, or at the picture, or at what the person ahead of you is holding.
- Carry tissues. Many stalls do not hand you a napkin.
- If a place looks closed and dark at noon, it may be a night stall. Chengdu’s snack streets wake up later than a hotel breakfast.
