Hi there!

I last posted when we were taking our two wee ones to Italy (very successful trip). Now we may be off to China, and I'm trying to plan ahead. My husband will be on business and I'll be with the kids - likely HK, Guangzhou, and surrounding smaller towns. We will have the opportunity to travel together as a family as well after his work is done.

So on to the planning part - and planning for my picky eaters: are western style hotels available, with western meals? Is it possible to rent an apartment for a week or two with a kitchen, and/or to hire a cook to help with the local arrangements? Has anyone on this forum traveled in China with little children? Mine are 2 & 4, and really like their eggs and toast (and have food allergies too). Do you have any wise words of advice? I am not faint of heart when it comes to travel with kids, and I've solo-traveled through much of east/southeast/south Asia before I was married, just not in China (yet!).

Thanks!

"'ll be with the kids - likely HK, Guangzhou, and surrounding smaller towns."

That region has great food - great even for China's standard.

"are western style hotels available, with western meals?"

Yes in HK and GZ especially.
In HK you can find western food easily (but of course it would be a pity to stick to that). There are McDo's everywhere. Sigh.

In mainland China, the more reliable (I didn't say good) western food can be found in the standard international hotel chains.

"Is it possible to rent an apartment for a week or two with a kitchen, and/or to hire a cook to help with the local arrangements?"

There are serviced apartments but they do not suit your needs. How will you find a cook who speak good English and knows how to cook western food?

"Mine are 2 & 4, and really like their eggs and toast (and have food allergies too)."

It is best for you to find Chinese translation of their exact food allergy. Then you can show them to the restaurants. This is very important for any country you visit, not just China.

Not long ago I made a card for a friend that said in Chinese: "don't put MSG in my food or I will die." (He had a great trip and no MSG crises.)

Not knowing the exact "picky" nature of your children, I can't say how it will turn out. But many non-Chinese children have taken to very strange dishes in China. They like the many colors and smells and unusual texture of the dishes and seem to take a degree of "macho" delight in telling their peers later what they had eaten.
I can think of fried fish filets that non-Chinese children eagerly anticipate. Imagine, kids liking fish! Another junior crowd pleaser is - you won't believe me - jelly fish salad, which the kids gleefully call "elastic" because of the texture.
So don't write off your kids' culinary adventuresome spirit just yet.
But I agree the food allergy aspect must be taken care of any time anywhere you travel.

Bon voyage.

Forgot to tell you one encouraging element:
Restaurants in China are exceedingly child-friendly.
Those high chairs for young children are a standard feature that you can count on finding in all restaurants.
As you have travelled in southeast Asia, south Asian society loves children (especially foreign children).

quote:

are western style hotels available, with western meals? Is it possible to rent an apartment for a week or two with a kitchen, and/or to hire a cook to help with the local arrangements? Has anyone on this forum traveled in China with little children? Mine are 2 & 4, and really like their eggs and toast (and have food allergies too)

Last time my wife and I brought my boys to China they were 1.5 and 5 years old. We rented an apartment in Shanghai but we didn't cook much, although I do remember cooking some eggs. There are also plenty of western style restaurants in Shanghai. My boys didn't have a food allergy so that made it easier. We did bring their favorite cereals with us when traveling to some rural places. I had no idea if the cereals were available in those rural towns, we just thought it'd be easier to carry them with us from Shanghai.

For our upcoming trip in June to China (this time with three kids), I've so far booked apartments in both Shanghai and Beijing. The booking processes were pretty straight forward. Let me know if you need any contacts.

Steve