Many of my friends thought I was crazy. There were bets on when I would get dysentery or worms...Eating from street vendors is the way to go in China. It is much easier than muddling your way through a menu in Chinese, because all you have to do is point and use your fingers to tell them how many. I saved a TON of money buying meals this way and also experienced the real flavor of Beijing.

Each morning I stumbled into the street and bought three pork buns and two rice triangles for pennies on the dollar. I would munch on these throughout the day and buy fruit lychees from another vendor for dessert. In the evening I walked down the street to the satay man and bought a couple sticks of barbecue. One of my favorite things to eat was the yogurt. They sell them in glazed terracotta cups with paper on top and you just stand there at the vendors and drink it through a straw...mmmmm....yuuuummmmy! Make sure you don't walk away with the glass, they wash and reuse them.

If you make it to the Walking Street in Beijing look for the nearby Snack Street. This is near the Forbidden City and at night you will find a cornucopia of things to eat, and it will all be on a stick. Be adventurous! If you can put it on a stick and grill it you will find it here. I ate a really good green onion pancake, I highly recommend it.

On average I spend only $2to $5 per day on food. And believe me, I was not going hungry.