Written by Sheiran Phu, (Yale University) Student Correspondent for CET Harbin, Fall 2018
“Oily and a little saltier. But also large portions to share with friends.” This is is how one roommate described Northeast Chinese cuisine to me.
As someone who likes her food on the less greasy and, I admit, blander side…me ordering something typically goes like this:
Me: “I’ll take one of those. 我不吃辣 I don’t eat spicy.”
Them: “Ok. That’ll be [insert price here].”
Me: “Yep. Also 少盐可以吗？Less salt please? 我喜欢更清淡一点 I like my food just lightly seasoned. My base-level saltiness is already pretty high you see.
Them: “Yea sure.”
Me: “而且别放味精 and no MSG please!”
Them: thinking internally 天啊 oh jeez
Ah, ordering food. All in Chinese of course! Hi, language pledge. Good times haha.
On that note, HIT has several student cafeterias you can eat at. Try them all out; see what you like. Sometimes when I’m looking for something with more vegetables in it, I go to the second floor of 饺子院 Dumpling Hall. It’s self-serve buffet-style, with lots of different veggies and meat dishes, as well as fruit and some dessert. After you choose everything you want, they weigh your dish to determine price. My total typically comes out to around 14RMB.
Pro-tip: If you’re looking for a coffee shop, Café BuBu is just a 5 minute walk from our dorms (this year we’re in dorm 6 by the way). It’s a good place to study. Lots of awesome drinks like “mocha banana milkshake” and “sweet potato red bean milk tea.” Their chocolate cake is also SO DELICIOUS.
