After embarking on ten trips to China in 2012, we thought we would share some tips on why we both look forward to these trips to build strong personal relationships with our factory clients and partners and enjoy some really great food. We have worked with a few too many who dread China travel, complain the entire time and won’t eat anything that isn’t from McDonald’s or their own suitcase, but with the right attitude, your next trip can be rewarding too.

Eating Well

Bird’s Nest Soup is delicacy just for women, supposed to enhance your skin and hair. Men usually eat Sea Cucumber which, no surprise, enhances virility.

Especially on your first trip, just try the food, no matter what. Meals are as important, if not more, to the success of your business relationships. Their intention is to impress you with their local cuisine, not try to scare you off. A business meal in China is like a symphony, each dish is meant to complement the next, so if you skip everything that isn’t rice, you are missing the entire experience. But if you really must decline on some dishes, here are some gracious ways to handle it:

• Take at least one taste as soon as it is offered – everything is typically served family-style on a giant Lazy Susan, so after the initial presentation, no one will really notice you skipped the very rubbery, cold, pig’s ear after the first round.
• If you don’t like something, don’t keep eating it. You won’t starve. There will be rice typically toward the end of the meal and you can always request it as well.
• It is perfectly acceptable for you to decline drinking alcohol at any meal. It is very common for the Chinese to host pregnant women, people of all faiths and those who are still jet lagged and who may not want to partake, so this is not unusual. If you decide to join them, be fair warned that this type of entertainment rivals college hazing.
• You can ask for a knife or fork if you need to, however learning to use chopsticks is the respectful course of action and will be come second nature in no time. Plus you can impress your nieces and nephews with your ability to pick up a single peanut at your next family meal.
• It may seem unsanitary to you to reach into the dishes in the center with chopsticks that were in someone’s mouth, but even if you request serving spoons, the Chinese will still reach in out of habit. We recommend dosing up on Ola Loa, Vitamin C or Airborne and try not to obsess about it. Also another reason why we pack antibiotics and antivirals, just in case!
• Bones in fish and meat are never removed so it is an ordeal to try to extract them without years of practice. The Chinese are adept at doing this without using their hands. It is okay to use your hands as needed though. On a side note, when they excitedly tell you they are taking you out for “game” do not think elk or deer. It will be snake or rabbit. Eat cautiously because there will be buckshot.
• Table manners are different in China, so be prepared to hear burps and experience the use of toothpicks at the table. They also seem to typically use tissues as napkins, so bringing wipes is always a good idea, especially if you have to use your hands to extract bones or shells.
• Some of the Chinese are very happy to choose to go to McDonald’s, KFC or Burger King for lunch. If this appeals to you, by all means go ahead. In our experience, it is usually this kind of fast food that causes serious stomach issues later and tastes very different anyway.
• If given a choice of where to go as an alternative to Chinese food, we always recommend asking for Korean BBQ or sushi.

Make it known to your initial contact or host any serious dietary concerns before you visit. They will be sure to inform any of those hosting dinner for you and will do their best to accommodate those who don’t eat pork, vegetarians, etc. If you have a very a severe allergy of any kind, proceed with caution and be sure to have medication with you. It is very difficult to be absolutely sure that a dish doesn’t have cross-contamination with nuts, wheat or other items. Vegetarians/Vegans – while a dish may appear to be safe and not have meat, fish or dairy in it, it is very hard to be sure that the sauces are not originally meat or fish-based.

In our experience after the first couple of trips to China visiting the same people and factory, they are very good at identifying your favorites or asking what you are interested in eating for the evening. John Chen, one of our hosts in China always knows to order lots of meat and mushroom dishes with Tom and lots of vegetable with less rice dishes for Tracy. We both look forward to these meals and trying new restaurants because he will always find the best new dishes with our favorite ingredients. Being game and eliminating attitudes towards eating in China makes it easier to get to know your clients and suppliers and build a strong working relationship.