Baozi, or bread dumplings, are a common food in China and come in a ton of varieties. These sold at a stand near campus come in pork, beef, and vegetarian versions. I love them, mostly because I really love bread - but they're also really tasty. 4 kuai, or 64 cents, for 5.
Street meat pie type thing. I'm not sure what to call it but it's super good. Comes in pork and chicken, really spicy or barely. 3 kuai, or 48 cents for one.
Sold at the same stand as the baozi, this is rice covered in a dumpling wrap. It's chewy and tasteless and I kind of hated it. But there's a girl in my class who eats them almost every morning and loves them. So to each their own. They were the same price as the baozi, I think.
There are lots of times in China that even after I was halfway finished with something I still couldn't tell you what I was eating. This was one of those times. I got this in Shanghai, and it's a super sweet popsicle of sorts. Maybe hardened molasses? It had bits of raisins in it too I think. Not bad, but it was so sweet the entire thing was a bit much.
One thing I've been craving like mad has been an honest-to-goodness raw vegetable with dressing SALAD. So I tried this out. You can chose from lots of different raw foods on a cart. Vegetables, sausages (hotdog type things), noodles, tofu, and even some bugs (I know, ew. I couldn't bring myself to try it). Pick what you want, they weigh it and then you can choose the mixture of your dressing. Garlic, peanut sauce, oil, vinegar, and other things are the options. It was alright, but the flavors in mine the first go-around weren't anything spectacular. Overall, it doesn't quite satisfy my salad craving.
The original wrap. The only thing that makes it 'original' is the fact that it's the first street food I ever tried. You can have all the following - wrapped up in an egg and grain pancake/tortilla thing: potato, tofu, this green seaweedish stuff that's not seaweed, brown paste, pepper paste, ginger, green onions, lettuce, and a fried crunchy carb-based something. The first and second time I had it I really liked it. The most recent time I couldn't finish. The taste just wasn't for me anymore. 4.5 kuai for one.
As you can see, I've tried my fair share of street food. I've only been sick once from it. That's a pretty great ratio, in my opinion. However, I do typically have an iron stomach and I wasn't completely crazy. I stayed far away from anything like uncooked meat for one. If you venture to a foreign country you should definitely be wary, wash the fruit, and don't drink the water if these things are what knowledgeable sources tell you to do. Be cautious, but don't miss out on some really great flavors!
