Dining on Yangtze River Cruise
Eating is very important for all people. And in order to leave you a wonderful culinary experience on your Yangtze River ships, the cruise companies make their efforts to provide large dining places, great dining environment, exquisite food of rich types, and tasteful beverages for all guests from different cities around the world. moreover, onboard the cruise, the well-trained service staff in the restaurants will take good care of you through all your dining time sincerely, so you can savor your dishes leisurely and totally get relaxed along the Yangtze River.
Dining Environment on Yangtze Cruises
Usually on a Yangtze River cruise, there are 1 to 2 dining places for guests.
The main dining hall usually on the second floor is very large and can hold about 200 people at least at once. In the main restaurant, bright lights are facilitated, cleaning staff has well kept the sanitation there, and high standard table settings as well as comfortable tables and chairs are placed in good order. On most Yangtze River cruise, there is one to two staff for every one dining table, and they will kindly provide great service for guests, so you can enjoy the delicious food happily with people with diverse nationalities together, which is really interesting.
Also, VIP restaurant, or called business restaurant, is available on most Yangtze River cruises.
If you want some quieter or relaxing atmosphere for dining, a VIP restaurant will be a good choice. In this relatively private dining place, luxury and comfortable tables and seats are arranged human friendly, good lighting is used to form better dining environment. And most professional staff can speak English and serve you well according to your demand.
Comfortable and Clean Dining Environment on Yangtze River Cruise Ships
Dining Arrangement of Each Yangtze River Cruise Company
Meals are arranged in different styles in each Yangtze River cruise company. See the details in the table below:
Cruise Company | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
---|---|---|---|
Victoria Cruises | buffet | buffet | Buffet (Captain's Farewell Banquet: Chinese Sit-down Style) |
Century Cruises | buffet | buffet | Buffet (Captain's Farewell Banquet: Chinese Sit-down Style) |
President Cruises | buffet | buffet | Chinese Sit-down Style |
Yangtze Gold Cruises | buffet | buffet | Buffet |
Changjiang Cruises | buffet | buffet | Chinese Sit-down Style |
Yangtze Explorer | buffet | buffet | Western Order Style |
Note: The above information for meals arrangement for each cruise company is only for your reference. Dining style may be adjusted according to the actual situation when you get onboard.
Delicious Food on Yangtze River Cruise Ships
Some Notes about Dining On Yangtze River Cruise
- 1. Dining time: usually, onboard the Yangtze River cruises, breakfast starts from 07:00 to 08:30, lunch 11:30 to 12:30, and dinner 18:00 to 19:00. You will have 1 to 1.5 hours, so take your time to enjoy your meal.
- 2. Meals included & excluded: the daily meals specified with “B”, “L”, and “D” are included in your dining onboard the ship. However, the dinner on your embarkation day as well as the lunch on your disembarkation day are not arranged, so you can taste some special food of the local city for the excluded meals.
- 3. Seats arrangement: usually in the main dining hall, guests eat at a big round table. Since there are many people from diverse countries and regions and they have different eating habits, so the cruise companies are so considerate to arrange seats according to the eating habits, nationalities, and cabins of guests onboard.
- 4. Drinks: in the dining halls, drinks are provided with various kinds and abundance for your likes, such as cola, sprite, tea, juice, coffee, hot water, and other soft drinks and wines, etc. and the glass can be refilled. Click to see more drinks provided on the Yangtze River cruises.
- 5. Vegetarian & special dining needs: special dishes can be arranged for your diet references, like the vegetarian, salt-free, low-carbohydrate, Kosher, or others, but you need to tell it to the desk front when you check in or order it in advance for a half to one day early.
- 6. Room service: if you want to have your meal in your own cabin, just tell the reception desk and pay the service fee, they will arrange the room service for you willingly.
Delicious Food on Yangtze River Cruises
Three Meals on Yangtze Cruise (For Reference Only)
Meals on the cruise are carefully designed and prepared by the Yangtze River companies to suit the different needs and habits of guests from the five continents. There, you can taste cuisines of Chinese, Western, Japanese, Italian, French, etc., from hot dishes, cold salads, soups, desserts, drinks, to local specialties, etc. Detailed menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner changes daily and some dishes may be changed based on each season. Let’s see the detailed dishes below for your reference.
Breakfast Onboard
Buffet Breakfast on Yangtze River Cruises
- Cereal: cornmeal, all bran, rice crispy, corn flakes, coco pops, oatmeal, etc.
- Congee: oatmeal porridge, rice porridge, vegetable porridge, sweet potato porridge with milk, etc.
- Milk/Yogurt: cold milk, degrease milk, hot soybean milk; yogurt (flavors: plain, aloe, strawberry, etc.), etc.
- Butter: fresh butter, margarine, etc.
- Jam: strawberry jam, marmalade jam, honey jam, blueberry jam, apple jam, condensed milk, etc.
- Dried fruit: candied date, raisin, banana chip, preserved apricot, etc.
- Juice: orange, apple, royal fizz, black gallon, grapefruit, etc.
- Egg station: fried egg, scramble egg, omelette, ham, parsley, boiled egg, etc.
- Pancake station: French fry toast, battercake, (with blueberry jam, syrup, etc.), etc.
- Chinese noodles station: wonton, dumpling, noodles, green vegetables, etc.
- Chinese dim sum: steamed bun stuffed with pork, milk steamed bun, steamed twisted roll with jam, steamed bun stuffed with barbecued roast pork, steamed creamy custard bun, steamed corn bread, deep-fried twisted dough sticks, fried stuffed bun, etc.
- Bread: bake toast, English muffin, blueberry muffin, banana bread, croissant, Danish, French bread, rye bread, Doughnuts (sugar, chocolate), waffle, cinnamon roll with raisin, etc.
- Appetizer: salami, mushroom sausage, dried turnip, peanuts, Sichuan pickles, salted duck egg, cheese plate, etc.
- Salad: 4 Kinds of Salad & 3 Kinds of Dressing, assorted lettuce, etc.
- Fruit: pineapple, banana, apple, watermelon, pitaya, sliced seasonal fruit, assorted fresh fruit in basket, etc.
- Hot dish: breakfast sausage, bacon, baked bean, baked potato with butter, fried green vegetable, stir-fried bean, egg dumpling with mushroom & meat, fried spaghetti with barbecued roast pork, fried noodles, etc.
- Drinks: cola, sprite, juice, coffee, tea, hot water, etc.
Lunch Onboard
Buffet Lunch on Yangtze River Cruises
- Salad: cabbage salad, green bean salad, farfalle paste salad, cauliflower and herbs, Carrot Vichy Salad, German potato salad, sweet corn & bell peppers, chicken salad, cucumber salad, tuna salad, etc.
- Dressings: thousand island dressing, vinaigrette, French dressing, Italian dressing, feta cheese dressing, etc.
- Condiments: garlic bread croutons, bacon bits, chopped egg, etc.
- Appetizers: poached rabbit, sweet and sour fish stick, cucumber cubes with mashed garlic, with bean curd with chives, green peas with leek, sushi with pickled ginger and wasabi, sliced port with garlic sauce, boiled salted duck, marinated celery, chilled aloe, stuffed duck breast, deep fried marinated drumstick, mixed vegetable with sausages and wasabi, asparagus with chives dressing, etc.
- Bread: pizza, hard bagel, whole-wheat, and other assorted bread.
- Soup: creamy pumpkin soup, creamy potato soup, duck soup with pickles, corn & chicken soup, borsch, creamy assorted mushroom soup with vanilla, Italian vegetable soup, etc.
- Rice: steamed white rice, fried rice with vegetable, Yangzhou fried rice, fried rice with curry, etc.
- Main courses: grilled chicken with paprika and garlic, beef braised with carrot, German deep fried pork chop, steamed egg with minced meat, black pepper beef, fish balls with vegetables, stir-fried fish fillet, grilled duck breast with orange sauce, braised chicken with wild mushroom, flavored pork ribs, Kung Pao Chicken, shredded pork with garlic sauce, braised duck with beer, etc.
- Vegetable: mixed stir-fried vegetables, assorted vegetable with curry, leek in creamy sauce, etc.
- Pasta station: spaghetti, penne, tomato sauce, sauce bolognaise, farfalle, etc.
- Dessert: strawberry mousse, chocolate mousse, jelly, chocolate cheese cake, American cheese cake, tiramisu, pumpkin pie, apple pie, Napoleon cake, black forest cake, banana bread, butter pudding, banana pudding, caramel pudding, chocolate puff, etc.
- Fresh fruit: seasonal fruit
- Sandwich & pizza: ham and cheese sandwich, tomato and cheese sandwich pizza with salami and mushroom, etc.
- Drinks: cola, sprite, juice, coffee, tea, hot water, etc.
Buffet Dinner Onboard
Buffet Dinner on Yangtze River Cruises
Dinner on some Yangtze River cruise on served in buffet style. Check the detail dishes for your reference.
- Salad: lettuce, red cabbage, onion, tomato, fruit salad, potato salad, etc.
- Dressing: French dressing, Italian dressing, vinaigrette, etc. Condiments: garlic slice, mashed smoked meat, etc.
- Sushi: 3 kinds of sushi, etc.
- Cold dishes: mixed beef, vegetable with sesame oil, fish with black bean, etc.
- Hot dishes: shrimp hamburger, roasted drumstick with syrup, black pepper beef, charcoal-grilled pork, multi-colored meat balls, flavored steamed river fish, steamed egg custard in seafood flavor, steamed yam, roasted sweet potato, boiled vegetable with soy sauce, etc.
- Soup: tomato soup with beef, sweet and sour soup, flavored red bean paste, etc.
- Rice & Porridge: steamed white rice, 2 kinds of porridge, etc.
- Dessert: tiramisu, chiffon cake, mousse, vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce, and other over 10 kinds of desserts, etc.
- Bread: French bread, rye bread, bagel, muffin, etc.
- Dim sum: pumpkin pancake, etc.
- Fruit: seasonal fruits and fruit platter, etc.
- Drinks: cola, sprite, juice, coffee, tea, hot water, etc.
Chinese Sit-down Dinner Onboard
Chinese Sit-down Dinner on Yangtze River Cruises
On some Yangtze River cruises, dinners are arranged in Chinese sit-down style, especially for the Captain’s Farewell Banquet Dinner. Let’s see the referential menu for a Chinese sit-down dinner as below.
- Appetizers: marinated cucumber with garlic, sliced pork with orange sauce, boiled pork dumpling, Swiss cheese stuffed with cream cheese and fresh herbs, dotted pineapple with mint, pickle, etc.
- Condiments & Dressings: vinaigrette, French or blue cheese, black bean paste, etc.
- Salads: Greek salad with tomato, cucumber, onion, olive and feta, etc.
- Soups: clear fresh vegetable soup, nutritious black bone chicken soup, tomato soup with beef, etc.
- Rice: steamed white rice, Yangzhou fried rice, etc.
- Main courses: Kung Pao chicken, black pepper beef, diced fish filet with corn and carrot, stir-fried vegetables, medium baked New Zealand prime lamb with rosemary jus, Cantonese style honey garlic sparerib, fish balls with three fresh delicacies, kidney bean in tomato sauce, Dongpo pork leg, sweet and sour pork with fruit, Victoria walnut shrimp, etc.
- Desserts & Dim Sum: sliced fresh fruits, decorative cake, tiramisu, American cheese cake, international cheese plate, steamed bun stuffed with fresh pork meat, rice cake with coconut flakes, strawberry ice cream with chocolate sauce, apple pie, etc.
- Drinks: house wine, soft drinks, coffee, tea, suggested white wine, suggested red wine, etc.
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Questions & Discussions
Following are latest questions and answers from our webusers and customers. You can learn many useful information from the discussion and cases. You can also join in the discussions or ask your own question. Our experts will help you ASAP.
I will be travelling on Oct 28, 2017, upstream.
Thank you for the question. Happy to know you are going to enjoy the Yangtze River cruise on October 28, 2017. However, there is at present only one restaurant onboard Century Sun and this cruise ship does not have upstream on your cruising day. And you could choose one ideal ship from the Victoria Katarina with one VIP restaurant, Yangtze Gold 6 with a business restaurant and a VIP restaurant, and the President No.7 with one VIP restaurant, which provide upstream cruise on that day. Also, those ships are from reputed cruise companies and have good reviews and feedbacks from many guests, so you could enjoy good services, high quality facilities and amenities, and a lot of fun onboard. You could tell us about your choice, nationality, group size, E-mail, and other needs, and our travel consultant will contact you soon and help you sincerely plan a trip with nice quotation.
Wish you a nice trip in October!