Food for Kids

MelDane

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
My DW and I are looking at wanting to the ABD China trip with our DD(11 at the time of the trip). Our DD is a very picky eater and I know that ABD says that there is good kid option for all meals. What are these offerings for a picky eater???
 
Don't take picky kid eaters to China. One of my 60+ friends went there two years ago as part of her hike on every continent bucket list item, and she hated the food. And she is not a picky eater.
 
I agree with the OP. We had a number of children on our trip and the pickier eaters usually didn’t eat the food provided at the meals. If fried rice or chicken fingers were offered, they would eat it. I don’t have kids, but I got the impression based on comments from parents that they were ordering room service in the hotel at night. If your child is used to eating Chinese food, they should be ok. Most of the lunch and dinner meals are served family style, so vegetable and meat dishes are brought to the table and you eat what you want from each dish.
 
I agree with the above posters. We had an 8 and a 9 year old on our China trip, and I remember many nights where they ate rice for dinner.

Sayhello
 


I just did this trip in July. If you have a picky eater, the China trip is not for you.
 
LOL... a different perspective from a mom of REALLY picky vegetarian (their choice) twin girls.

We took our girls when they were 8 on this ABD and they absolutely loved it. They are 10 now and still group text with the friends they made on this ABD on a daily basis

When I say they are picky, they pretty much eat 4 or 5 things -- of which rice and plain noodles are on their approved list.

What does China have? Plenty of rice and plain noodles.

Joe (the local guide) proactively made sure at every meal they had a bowl of rice/noodles. He was so sweet and they were happy as clams.

BTW... Mom and Dad loved the food.

In all seriousness, this is an awesome adventure... we have been on 6 ABDs and this remains an all time favorite.
 


LOL... a different perspective from a mom of REALLY picky vegetarian (their choice) twin girls.

We took our girls when they were 8 on this ABD and they absolutely loved it. They are 10 now and still group text with the friends they made on this ABD on a daily basis

When I say they are picky, they pretty much eat 4 or 5 things -- of which rice and plain noodles are on their approved list.

What does China have? Plenty of rice and plain noodles.

Joe (the local guide) proactively made sure at every meal they had a bowl of rice/noodles. He was so sweet and they were happy as clams.

BTW... Mom and Dad loved the food.

In all seriousness, this is an awesome adventure... we have been on 6 ABDs and this remains an all time favorite.

I am considering taking a 6 & 8 year old on this trip this coming summer. They are good travelers, we went through 3 countries in Europe last year and had the best vacation ever! There was a lot of walking (we did have a cheap double umbrella stroller for some of it- they were 4 and 6 at the time), so they did get tired but we totally fine. I'm wondering your and other parents' opinions who have actually taken kids on this trip about taking kids. How was it? Were the kids too exhausted (people keep saying this to me)? My son will be the 6 year old and he is the energizer bunny and also really skinny and light so my husband can carry him at times. Any suggestions? Thank you!
 
I am considering taking a 6 & 8 year old on this trip this coming summer. They are good travelers, we went through 3 countries in Europe last year and had the best vacation ever! There was a lot of walking (we did have a cheap double umbrella stroller for some of it- they were 4 and 6 at the time), so they did get tired but we totally fine. I'm wondering your and other parents' opinions who have actually taken kids on this trip about taking kids. How was it? Were the kids too exhausted (people keep saying this to me)? My son will be the 6 year old and he is the energizer bunny and also really skinny and light so my husband can carry him at times. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Are they good on planes? There are 5 internal flights on the China ABD. There are some long days, too. Every kid is different, but we had an 8- and 9-year-old on our China trip, and they fell asleep at dinner more than once. But I don't know that they were seasoned travelers.

It *is* a fabulous trip!

Sayhello
 
Are they good on planes? There are 5 internal flights on the China ABD. There are some long days, too. Every kid is different, but we had an 8- and 9-year-old on our China trip, and they fell asleep at dinner more than once. But I don't know that they were seasoned travelers.

It *is* a fabulous trip!

Sayhello
Thank you for the response! My two are usually fantastic on planes (we take them all the time, our families both live in different parts of the US), although I can't say they're great in the car. Is there a lot of time spent on buses? They are also incredibly awesome eaters, although my daughter and I both have Celiac disease. I'm wondering about how they accommodate that (soy sauce has gluten in it). The only other thing is that my kids wake up typically around 6am every morning regardless of how late they stay up. Because of that, they are usually asleep between 7:30 and 8. This may vary a bit but I doubt that much. Are nights really late? Thank you again!!!
 
I am considering taking a 6 & 8 year old on this trip this coming summer. They are good travelers, we went through 3 countries in Europe last year and had the best vacation ever! There was a lot of walking (we did have a cheap double umbrella stroller for some of it- they were 4 and 6 at the time), so they did get tired but we totally fine. I'm wondering your and other parents' opinions who have actually taken kids on this trip about taking kids. How was it? Were the kids too exhausted (people keep saying this to me)? My son will be the 6 year old and he is the energizer bunny and also really skinny and light so my husband can carry him at times. Any suggestions? Thank you!
If your kids are good travelers, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. There were a ton of kids on our Adventure and they all did really well. Honestly, the kids did better on many things than the parents. You spend a lot of time on the bus -- so the kids took over the back and had a grand old time while the adults dozed in the front. The kids also dealt better with the heat /humidity which was really bad -- several adults opted out of some activities because the heat was so oppressive. The only thing I wish I would have known before taking this trip was to pack more loose fitting, moisture wicking clothing and bring an extra pair of tennis shoes. We had "pre-typhoon" wind/rain in "Hot Kong Disney" and our shoes were soaked. Because of the humidity, moving from city to city etc... they never dried out for the rest of trip (eww!)
 
The China ABD was our first and DD was 5. We found the flights kind of a blessing - easier to have down time/nap with a young kid on a plane than on a bus. She is an early riser too, so missed a couple of things - I think the after dinner activity on the first night and she slept through the evening in Sichuan .....but we kind of expected that. We all loved the trip and have done 8 more with ABD!
 
The China ABD was our first and DD was 5. We found the flights kind of a blessing - easier to have down time/nap with a young kid on a plane than on a bus. She is an early riser too, so missed a couple of things - I think the after dinner activity on the first night and she slept through the evening in Sichuan .....but we kind of expected that. We all loved the trip and have done 8 more with ABD!

Thank you for the response!! I have had such a hard time finding parents that brought their kids on the China trip! Was your child ok with the amount of walking? Another question that I keep thinking about is whether there are a lot of 'group sightseeing' that might be boring for kids. Did you feel like they were entertained or able to walk around and stay busy if they are needing to do that? OH and did your family have to have 2 rooms- one parent and one child? How was that? Thank you!!
 
I've taken an 8 yo to China and 6, 9, and 14yo to Japan. As far as eating, my 6yo in Japan was the toughest. She had a good attitude towards the meals, but was very picky. In both China and Japan kids options varied depending on the restaurant. Some options were more acceptable to my 6yo than others. LOL. But she made it. I never felt the need to order any room service. If your kids are well travelled, and you're ok with not every meal being a winner for your pickier eaters, I wouldn't hesitate. China was an awesome itinerary and great for kids.
 
Beyond the food, how was Japan with 6, 9 and 12 year olds? We’re doing Japan ABD next spring with 7, 10 and 12 year olds (experienced travelers)
 
Beyond the food, how was Japan with 6, 9 and 12 year olds? We’re doing Japan ABD next spring with 7, 10 and 12 year olds (experienced travelers)

Fantastic. One of our favorite trips as a family. It's well balance between the traditional Japan and the glitz and high tech Tokyo. My kids of course loved finishing the trip at TDR. All the kids really enjoyed the entire trip. It's busy, and there's a lot of traveling on buses and trains. But for well travelled kids, I think they'll love it.
 
I would say don't skip China just because of the food. Just prepare. :) We travel with a jar of peanutbutter in our checked bags and a box (or more) of peanut butter crackers. We were on a family China ABD and honestly we didn't care for most of the food. And we LOVE Chinese food. But AMERICAN Chinese food apparently. Which is very different :)

In general (and what many, many other China ABD guides have told us) they have good options and ways to get simple foods like rice or noodles. For whatever reason, our China guide left my husband and son (who can't eat onions or cilantro) without food options many meals (there were also others in the group with the same issues that didn't eat either) We were told we couldn't get plain rice. Well, OK. And I mean, we did the SE Asia itenerary where onions and cilantro are in EVERYTHING and the guides did a fabulous job of making sure my boys had appropriate food!

So... many meals we ended up getting McDonalds, Burger King, or KFC after group meals because my boys just didn't eat anything. As I said, I've had multiple guides who are familiar with the itenerary say that there are plenty of things this particular guide COULD have done but chose not to for whatever reason. Neither here nor there... we are SO glad we went to China and it was such an outstanding itenerary (we were there 2 years ago today!).

My advice to everyone is really just don't go to China for the food...hahaha
 
I agree, you should not skip the China trip *just* because there may be food difficulties. It's an amazing trip, and besides, ABD is not necessarily known for fine dining. :) It's about the adventure!

HOWEVER, the China trip is one of the exceptions. There is some really fabulous food on the China ABD. The soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai are absolutely magnificent!! Most of the meals are done family style, and there were always wonderful options to try. (Unfortunately, the Hot Pot lunch, which was excellent, is no longer a part of the itinerary). There are a couple of meals that are a miss, but most everything is quite delicious!

Sayhello
 
I agree, you should not skip the China trip *just* because there may be food difficulties. It's an amazing trip, and besides, ABD is not necessarily known for fine dining. :) It's about the adventure!

HOWEVER, the China trip is one of the exceptions. There is some really fabulous food on the China ABD. The soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai are absolutely magnificent!! Most of the meals are done family style, and there were always wonderful options to try. (Unfortunately, the Hot Pot lunch, which was excellent, is no longer a part of the itinerary). There are a couple of meals that are a miss, but most everything is quite delicious!

Sayhello
Meh. We've done a lot of adventures and China is probably our least favorite food of any. If China had been our first Adventire experience we wouldn't have done another one, thinking it really just wasn't something that worked for us. Luckily it wasn't our first and I'm glad we haven't missed out on amazing adventures!

Wonder why they took out Hot Pot?
 

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