I ate breakfast at a Chinese street stall for ¥8. It was better than my $20 hotel buffet.

ChinaTravelMemo

My friend from Australia stayed at a 4-star hotel in Shanghai. Breakfast buffet: $20. Western options. Boring.

Day 3, she walked outside and found a street stall.

The order:
• Soy milk (豆浆): ¥2
• Fried dough stick (油条): ¥3
• Steamed buns (包子): ¥3 for 2
• Total: ¥8 ($1.10)

She sat on a plastic stool on the sidewalk. Ate with chopsticks. Watched the city wake up.

"It was the best breakfast I've had in China. The hotel had 50 options. The stall had 4. And the stall won."

Common Chinese breakfast items:
• Jianbing (煎饼): Savory crepe with egg, crispy cracker, sauce. ¥6-10
• Baozi (包子): Steamed buns with meat or veg filling. ¥1.5-3 each
• Congee (粥): Rice porridge with toppings. ¥5-12
• Youtiao (油条): Fried dough sticks. ¥2-4
• Doujiang (豆浆): Sweet or savory soy milk. ¥2-4
• Wheat noodles (面条): Soup or dry. ¥8-15

Tips:
• Street stalls are safe if they're busy. High turnover = fresh food.
• Look for stalls with a queue of locals.
• Point at what you want. Smile.
• Breakfast is usually 6 AM - 10 AM. After that, they switch to lunch items.

Anyone else skip the hotel breakfast for street food?