Surviving in Beijing with Dietary Restrictions

For many foreigners, exploring Chinese cuisine is an exciting adventure. For those who have to avoid certain foods, however, it can be a frustrating maze. To address any concerns about living in Beijing with dietary restrictions, we've put together this guide to navigating the local culinary landscape with allergies and sensitivities in mind. 

Know how to say your problem foods in Chinese

This one may seem straightforward, but it’s a little more complicated than just learning the Chinese word for your problem food. In the West, where food sensitivities are more common, a waiter would be able to understand that a person who is allergic to soy can’t eat tofu, soy sauce, or soy milk. In China, because people seldom have cause to think about allergens in this way, they may not make the link between a soybean and all these products made with it. If you have an issue with a certain type of food, learn how to say all of the possible variations of that food that you might come across. If you don’t speak Chinese at all, ask a Chinese-speaking friend to help you write out a note saying what you can’t eat, and list out different related foods. Save a copy of this note on your phone, or print it off on a card and keep it in your wallet. 

Get wait staff to check with the chef about your problem foods

Waiters and waitresses in Beijing are often not well-versed in the ingredients of each dish, as very few Chinese diners request this information. If you go to a Chinese-oriented restaurant and ask for advice about your allergies, you may get a vague or unhelpful answer. Instead of asking the wait staff about ingredients, get them show your Chinese-language allergy note to the chef, who will know exactly what's in the food. 

Talk about it

If you’re new to Beijing, try to search out people who may have the same food sensitivities as you. You can ask around on WeChat or chat to new acquaintances. By finding others in your situation, you may acquire useful Beijing-specific advice about your issues. For example, people with peanut allergies should be aware that some restaurants here may use peanut butter instead of tahini paste in their hummus recipes. If you have issues with gluten, you may be able to eat rice noodles, which are often used in southern Chinese dishes. These are just some of the many hacks that are best learned from someone who has been through it all before you. 

Be your own chef

Eating out with allergies can be a challenge. Unlike many restaurants in the West, restaurants in Beijing seldom provide allergy information on their menus. Your safest bet is to eat home-cooked food made with ingredients that you know are allergen-free. If you are allergic or sensitive to hard-to-avoid foods like soy or gluten, it may be easiest to procure snacks and important ingredients back home – or to have friends who are traveling to the West bring these back with them. For the rest of your meals, cook with foods that have been processed as little as possible. Use fresh meats and vegetables and make your own sauces. The more you stick to unprocessed foods, the better your chances of avoiding allergens hiding in unlikely places.

Get your ayi to help

If you don’t have time to do all of your own cooking and are lucky enough to have domestic help, brief your ayi about your problem foods and ask her to help you prepare dishes that are safe for you to eat. If you can make time, spend a few hours with her and show her about the different foods and cooking methods that work best for you. If you have a part-time ayi who doesn’t have time to cook all your meals, you can buy produce yourself and get her to chop and prepare it for you. This can save you time when you start cooking. If you don’t have an ayi at all, you should consider hiring one just for the purpose of coming to your home once a week to prepare a few dishes for you. This can make life with dietary restrictions infinitely easier!

Learn how to order groceries online

Another way to save time while sticking to a strict diet is by taking the legwork out of procuring ingredients. Make friends at your favorite wet market and use a delivery app like Shansong to get veggies and fresh meat delivered to your home. If that sounds too daunting for your Chinese level, you can order groceries from Jenny Lou's, April Gourmet, or JD. You can also become a member at one of Beijing’s many organic farms, and get fresh organic produce, eggs, and meat delivered to your home on a regular basis.

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