Most of the nicer hotels I have stayed in China have a breakfast buffet, and today I want to mention some of the breads that can be found at the buffets. Usually you can find the traditional manto, which is a solid white steamed bread or multi-grain bread, but I don’t think I have ever seen a bagel. The manto is usually served warm and in small serving sizes for breakfast. Much larger sizes of manto are found for the other meals.
In the picture to the left, you can see a couple of breads that are common on the breakfast buffets. The one furthest away is a fried bread, sometimes it is hollow. The item closet to the camera is a pastry which has a very flaky exterior. Inside is a sweet paste and I will say it tastes like figs. The pastries are reasonably filling, but the fried bread isn’t filling at all.
It is common in hotels that have foreigners staying there to have toast of various shapes and flavors. On my last trip, a friend with me wanted toast and butter. I must admit that I got a good laugh watching them try to spread their butter with chopsticks!