China Food Tours
Recipient of TripAdvisor's Travelers Choice Award for Best Foodie Experience in the World.
China's #1 Food Tour.
“You will hear it for yourself, and surely it will fill you with wonder,” wrote Marco Polo of his travels along with the Silk Road into the heart of a four-thousand-year-old culture. Often regarded as one of the first European explorers to bring back tales (and noodles) from the far-east, the Silk Road connected Cleopatra’s Egypt to China a thousand years before Polo was even born.
One in seven people on earth call China home, many of whom can tell and trace hundreds of stories about their community’s food heritage. That history runs deep here. Come and see the flavors merchants like Polo risked lives and years over and the stories they’ve left behind.
China's #1 Food Tour.
“You will hear it for yourself, and surely it will fill you with wonder,” wrote Marco Polo of his travels along with the Silk Road into the heart of a four-thousand-year-old culture. Often regarded as one of the first European explorers to bring back tales (and noodles) from the far-east, the Silk Road connected Cleopatra’s Egypt to China a thousand years before Polo was even born.
One in seven people on earth call China home, many of whom can tell and trace hundreds of stories about their community’s food heritage. That history runs deep here. Come and see the flavors merchants like Polo risked lives and years over and the stories they’ve left behind.
Our Locations:
Our Locations:
Introducing China's Only Food Focused Multi-Day Trips in Yunnan, Chengdu & Xian.
We’ve spent years searching for the best things to eat and do in China, everywhere from our favorite cities to the far corners of China’s wild west, and now we’re sharing our secrets with you.
We’ve personally explored, curated, and designed each of these trips. If you’re ready to truly experience China like a local, see the best sights, and of course eat the best food – you came to the right place.
Why People Choose Us:
By sharing the living history of cuisine by the hands that make it, we're changing the way people think about food and its role in the universe.
Experiences Led by Locals.
Only guides from each city can give you a true taste of the area in food and culture, all trained by our founders to ensure a perfect experience. We also work with the community through local producers and partners to ensure you’re getting a real local taste of what each community can do.
Get Fed, Leave Full.
We are not a tasting tour, if you leave hungry or thirsty, we aren’t doing our jobs. Most of our tours feature unlimited food and drinks (beer too!) The best part? You won’t have to worry about what to order or how to communicate with the owners at each stop. Everything we eat is tried and tested, plus you’ll see how it’s made and learn about the families who make it.
Craft Beer & Beverages Included.
The local culinary scene in every city is defined by food and drinks, so we make sure you experience it all! Our evening tours include (unlimited) alcoholic beverages along the way, and at least one stop to sink a glass (or few) of locally produced craft beer. All your bases are covered with us.
Off the Beaten Path.
We visit local neighborhoods where real locals live and eat. You aren’t going to find any other tourists here, or run into other tour groups. Our restaurants are local legends, family-owned and often specialize in only one dish, which means the quality is high and the flavor is even better. These places wouldn’t survive without regulars, that’s how you know it’s good.
#1 Food Experience in the World
TripAdvisor's Travelers Choice Awards ranked our Xian Evening Food Tour as the best food experience in the World!
"The Best Dumplings I've Had"
Our guide started us off at a Buddhist temple with an adjacent vegetarian restaurant, then walked us through the former Jewish Ghetto, where 20,000 refugees lived during World War II. Winding our way through the nongtangs (old-fashioned alleyways) passing humble apartment blocks with European-style balconies, where I found the sheng jian bao of my dreams in a small storefront. They were fluffy on top, crunchy on the bottom and filled with savory, fatty juice.
"One of the Best Things to do in Xian"
In addition to trying some of the best eats in the neighborhood, you'll also have the chance to learn about the history of this community and get to meet some of the people who make the best biang biang noodles (so named for the loud way they slam onto the table) and Eight Treasures congee, which was a staple of travelers along the Silk Road thanks to its easy-to-haul ingredients like nuts, spices and seeds.
Get Hungry for Adventure.
A third of our customers were referred by a previous guest. Were you one of them?!
“Zipping through the tight alleyways of Beijing on a Tuk Tuk with a cold beer in hand. Stopping at small restaurants to try the most amazing food! Couldn’t recommend this more. We stopped at four family owned places and tried different food in each one. The last was my favorite but the first was the most spectacular. If your beer ran low, there would be another waiting for you. The tour finishes in a local brewery with an excellent selection of beer on tap! Our guide Murong was brilliant. So friendly and couldn’t do more for the group. Great night!”
David
April 2021
“We had a great hutong breakfast tour with our guide Evon. She was very knowledgeable about Beijing hutong history and the various food stops. All of the food stops were delicious and filling! All were unique. This tour is a MUST if you’re visiting Beijing as a tourist or even if you live here and want to try something new.”
moniquecover
March 2021
“Abby provided a well curated food trip of Shanghai incorporating pieces of ‘Old Shanghai’ (yummy noodles in a shop that has been around for something like 30 years and crossing generations) with new (delicious lotus root and pork wonton soup!). She was very knowledgeable and kind, and a pleasure to stroll the streets of the French Concession with. I have done a number of Lost Plate tours and always highly rate my experience. Thank you!”
BHBeijing
May 2021
“We recently went on the Shanghai Food tour. Our guide Abby was very knowledgable, giving us lots of insights into the making of traditional food. One of our group was vegetarian and was given alternatives at all venues. We would highly recommend this tour!”
traveller123WA
February 2021
“Great tour, professionally organized, and well worth it. Even as a resident, some local foods are a little harder to discover and try, so the guided tour, explanations, and background made a huge difference to being able to experience local Chinese cuisine and some of its culture and history. Lost Plate is super professional, from initial contact, to confirmation, and follow-up; they truly want to help out. Food was great, varied, and there was more than enough to eat, beverages are included if/when you want them, and we were stuffed at the end. If you don’t discover and learn to eat Chinese food, you are missing a major part of the history, culture, and experience of living in / visiting China. We are currently signed on for the Hutong Dinner Tour and are planning the Four Corners of China Restaurant Tour with Lost Plate as well. Highly Recommend, would eat again!’
Le Moustache
March 2021
“We had a brilliant night doing the tuktuk food tour. Our guide was Hong, and he was so informative and had so many interesting things to tell us about Beijing and the food we were tasting. Although it was a cold December night, the tuktuk ride was a lot of fun and allowed us to see lots of Beijing. This tour is definitely a must do as these are the restaurants you would never find alone and all the food was delicious. Thank you Hong and Lost Plate!”
Claire F
December 2020
“The knowledge of the guide, the chatty and fun atmosphere in the group and of course the memorable dishes made this a one of a kind experience. I liked it so much that I ended up booking the Beijing Breakfast Tour and Flavors of China tour as well. You can tell the stops are selected with care and are definitely not commercial or touristy. Some of the best places were located in the deepest corners of the hutongs and are impossible to find on your own. We had amazing noodles, very tasty bbq dishes, pancakes of dreams a fried bun that was so good I still talk about it.”
Claudia
April 2020
“Lost Plate never disappoints! I made sure to book the Shanghai tours (I did both the breakfast and the dinner tours) after having such a great experience with Lost Plate in Beijing. Hard to cover this much food on your own especially when traveling solo. It’s also a great way to connect with a local and other travelers. Wen was our guide and was wonderful! Knowledgeable, fun and engaging. Wen went above and beyond to give us a great tour and even sent me restaurant recommendations for the rest of my stay.”
Rde88
January 2020
“We absolutely loved our food tour led be the amazing Jessie! THE highlight of our China trip. Before meeting her, we had walked down the main “strip” of the Muslim quarter and it felt very geared towards tourism which Jessie confirmed upon meeting. Instead of spending time there, we visited four out of the way spots that were each gems in their own right. The trip was managed so effectively that each stop was a perfect length with multiple (plentiful) food choices. The tuk tuks are branded and were a fun way to easily get around between the stops. We took our young children and loved experiencing the best Xi’an has to offer with the best tour guide.”
Erin C
December 2019
“First of all – take this tour, you won’t be sorry. The food we had on this tour was my favorite of our entire trip. Although there are foods you may have tried before, like soup dumplings, the flavors on the past foods you may have tried are no where near the flavors that you’ll find on this tour. The foods are unique and delicious. The tuktuk and unlimited beer was a fun addition to the out of this world food. I also can’t rave enough about our tour guide Jessie. She was my favorite tour guide from our trip. So knowledgeable, so insightful, and she had an amazing spirit/energy. She also pointed out spots in Xian that connected to her upbringing there which really added an amazing personal touch to our tour. Wish I could do another tour with Jessie! And seriously, I’m still dreaming of the amazing food we tried.”
Jill
December 2019