Nǐ hǎo! 你好 (Hello!)

Huān yíng, huān yíng! 欢迎, 欢迎! (Welcome, welcome!) 😀

Can you read or speak Mandarin Chinese? You’ll need to if you want to visit China. Check out the Chinese instructions on my washing machine:

First, let me introduce myself…

Once upon a time, a family of three moved to China (and later, we had ‘made in China’ baby).

As it was my first visit to China, I was shocked to find that almost ALL food labels, road signs, restaurant menus, and instructions are in Mandarin Chinese.

Some bus stops/road/train station signs may have hanyu pinyin (Chinese sounds), if you’re lucky.

English or bilingual signs? You’ll end up more confused and frustrated LOL

If you intend to visit China, I strongly suggest that you read up on Chinese culture and learn some Mandarin Chinese a month BEFORE your trip.

Here are some of the best learning materials I recommend:

Living Language Mandarin Chinese: Beginner through Advanced course, including 3 coursebooks, 9 audio CDs, Chinese character guide, and free online learning Fodor’s Essential China (Full-color Travel Guide)

At the beginning, I created this blog to store my food photos, Chinese recipes and travel photos online…

What will you find here?

You will find our journey towards a healthy diet!

When we first moved to China, we ate like we always did i.e. bread, pasta, cookies and of course, fast food like KFC and McDonald’s.

As the days passed, we realized that Western-style foods were expensive!

Besides, the mainland Chinese were tucking into platefuls of leafy green vegetables, snacking on fresh fruit and looking young and healthy ^_^

That’s when I decided to go on the Real Food Challenge.

We discovered the joy of eating and cooking real whole foods i.e. freshly cooked beef, chicken, fish and pork.

No processed meats. No artificial sweeteners.

You will also find posts on bilingual education: learning Chinese and English with my kids!

I hope that you’ll find something useful. If you have something to ask me, just contact me here. I’d love to hear from you! ^_^

Zài jiàn 再见 (Goodbye)!

Kit