Beijing international airport gluten-free options

[bradlost]

I will visit Beijing international airport, is there any gluten free food available?

The so called customer service office did not answer my question! So I am taking it to the forum.

If you know of any restaurants inside the airport please let me know.  

[Xiao Bai]

43 minutes ago, bradlost said:

I will visit Beijing international airport, is there any gluten free food available?

The so called customer service office did not answer my question! So I am taking it to the forum.

If you know of any restaurants inside the airport please let me know.  

 

43 minutes ago, bradlost said:

I will visit Beijing international airport, is there any gluten free food available?

The so called customer service office did not answer my question! So I am taking it to the forum.

If you know of any restaurants inside the airport please let me know.  

 

[Xiao Bai]

Are you kidding?  Celiac disease (and gluten) are not very well known here in Beijing. 

 

[bradlost]

Yeah China is not well known for accommodating dietary restrictions, but I though an international airport would receive a fair share of international travelers and therefore be more accommodating.   

[Xiao Bai]

Well, you can probably get an apple or something.  You might be able to get someone to boil you some eggs.  But be careful of things like nuts that should be naturally gluten free.  They have almost always been soaked in a flavor solution that usually containes caramel coloring, "soy" (wheat) sauce and other aditives.  If I am really hungry and must eat in a Chinese restaurant, I order plain white rice and steamed vegetables.  But even so, you must monitor it carefully.  The rice sometimes has other substances added to give it a better texture, and very often the vegetables have in fact had "just a little bit" of soy sauce added. 

To be fair, celiac disease is hardly ever found in East Asians, so understandably people are not tuned it to it.  Also, culturally, with the exception of fruits, it is generally thought that the flavor of foods needs to be enhanced, so it is had to find anything natural even in the "western" gorceries.

Even in the western restaurants, be careful.  Fish and meat and often vegetables are usually pre-marinated.

I will not even attempt to address the issue of cross-comtamination, since that is a whole higher order of things.

I do know what I am talking about; I have celiac and have worked here for nearly 7 years.

 

[bradlost]

Yeah I actually live in Japan which is pretty similar, because Coeliac disease is rare over here so is the understanding and accommodating it. When I mention Gluten to some restaurants they think I am talking in English and they are unfamiliar with the word in Japanese. 

 

So it seems I can write off my chances of getting some authentic Chinese gluten-free food at the airport, but at least there is a Thai restaurant in T3 so I won't starve. Its called  'Phrik Thai' for future reference.

Open Original Shared Link