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Q: Food poisoning - always more likely from hole in the wall restaurants?
Before I come to China, people warned me (and the media warned me) to stay away from back alley restaurants or very small noodle places, and to preferably go to larger restaurants.
From your experience, has it really been the case that 'big restaurants' are typically safer?
12 years 1 week ago in Health & Safety - China
I haven't found that, to be honest.
The rule of thumb that works for me is to eat where there's a decent crowd of locals.
big restaurants are not all safe,,but better than those small ones. food in china is not safe .
one time i ate ma la tang in a small restaurant. i ended up vomiting whole night and next day i started having a bad fever...it was terrible, i could barely walk, then i took a taxi to a hospital and there were thousands of people waiting...... 
I don't agree.
Some small places have the best food compared with big fancy restaurants.
Agree with MissA, where's there's a crowd there's quality.
nevermind:
I used to believe that until my Chinese friend told me that's not true. People just go for value.
MissA:
You have a good point re value-hunting nevermind, but I still think looking for a crowd can be useful. If there are three restaurants all together (and that's usually how it seems to be) with similar prices (and that's how it usually seems to be) then I'll go for the busy looking one. That system has done me well so far; no major stomach issues in my six months here.
As I said the other day, I've only had BAD food poisoning twice in China. Once was my fault, the other was likely a Subway sandwich
The sickest I got in China was after eating at one of those big fancy type restaurants filled with private rooms with the big round tables for sitting a dozen folks or more. This was during the spring festival, so the hosts surely invited everyone to the most expensive place they could afford. All I remember was projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea that whole night, and then spending 6 hours at the hospital the next day getting a series of IV drips.
So no...not always more likely to get sick at the smaller restaurants.
I eat in small places, big restaurants and street vendors even tho my GF says don't,, haven't gotten sick, but I love to eat a small loaf of bread with almonds and I love the yogart, don't know if that makes a dif
