The first is a stall. These restaurants are usually brought by some electric tricycle and set up complete with tables and stools to eat at during the evening. They range from Baozi (meat/filling wrapped in rice bun), steamed dumplings that are served about 5-10 in a tray, noodles, choose-your own soup, and other things, like pita bread or skewers of meat. Most of the Chinese, I think, eat here for two reasons. It is cheap, and it is convenient. Food is quick, right there, and you can sit down. You have to bring your own drink, but for a cheap meal, it's plenty filling and there's enough budget that you can afford to buy one somewhere else(or you brought one ahead of time).
It's fair to say that these aren't legitimate businesses. They don't deal in reciepts, and they probably don't pay taxes. If you aren't careful, you'll end up at a stall with a lesser reputation and you might find your stomach angry at you in the next morning. A safe way to eat would be to see if other people eat there. But like most things in China, as Tamir points out, you must have NO FEAR and eat there anyway. (NO FEAR includes things like crossing the street, trying new, strange food, and talking to people or buying things).
I have found these cheap stalls to be filling and tasty. At a choose your own soup, I can even get some vegetables!
Picture, if you will, a hole-in-the wall establishment that if you laid down, your body length would fit half the restaurant. Those are the low end of the second type of restaurant. Some of the higher end include private rooms, upper floors, and drinks! These establishments are well varied, but are everywhere (China has a lot of people to feed). They may have really big advertising, or they may have just a few ads for Cola outside the shop- these mystery restaurants show up everywhere. They're cleaner than stalls, at least, and the food comes quickly- at most 5 minutes. We timed it today. You have fast food if you ordered individual dishes, and you'll have at least a dish out if you ordered for a group of people. Individual dish options, though, are usually a sign that the restaurant is one of these restuarants second-type (not always, like if the restuarant specializes in Western food which is individual anyway).
These restaurants also have tasty food, but much more varied. In fact, one we visit has 178 menu options! What they do is they list rice dishes, noodle dishes, hot pot dishes, ect., and then they name the things in the dish. So instead of "Maggie's famous soup" they'll have "Potato, carrot, onion soup" next to "Potato, celery, and carrot soup". Often you can ask for something off the menu, so long as you see the ingredients somewhere! Well, at least for individual dishes.
The bigger ones are more Chinese traditional eating, and thus treated less like fast food (but all food in China is fast, I've found). You'll have a dish early, but the others will arrive like courses in a meal. You spin the dishes around so that everyone can have some of what you have ordered. (You can tell a "everyone" dish from an "individual" dish at these restaurants by the price. Individual dishes, at least in Kaifeng, have all been single digit Kuai (really, really cheap). Group dishes are in the double-digits, but the price really depends on where you go. Always go cheap, I think, because all the food here is delicious and once you've had cheap, good food, if you find food of the same quality but more expensive you'll think to yourself "NEVER AGAIN THIS MEAL WAS SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE!! BY ONE AMERICAN DOLLAR!" and then you'll feel bad but justified. You adjust to kuai pretty quickly.
And in traditional Chinese dining style, you shouldn't eat everything. The Chinese will think you were foolish and opted to be still hungry instead of understanding that you are full. At some higher-tier restaurants, the servers will tell you your choices are not nearly enough and then recommend other things to eat as well- they want you to be happy and not even your own stupidity is going to get in the way of them making you happy. If you're one of those people who will eat everything on their plate, you'd better order giant dishes for the group so you can at least rationalize "that's not mine to eat".
Needless to say, there is a lot of waste in China.
The third type of restaurant. Usually found near hotels, nice hotels, these are known because of two things: 1) they have expensive food and 2) your meal comes in courses. Most of the time I eat here because I've been told to visit or there has been a Very Important Meeting. Most of the time a business will call in and say "There is a meeting, we want duck" and then the restaurant takes care of what other things will go with the duck, all 20 dishes and 13 courses. I think I'm underestimating that amount, by the way. In super-nice places, you eat in a private room and even get your own bathroom and wait staff. Just waiting. In case you should need anything, like tea. Or ponies.
Nah, they just wait and refill your glass, take your plates and bring out new ones. And are more expensive than I would like to think about. I'm sure, here, I could afford it. But why eat nice when I can eat good food for cheap?
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