Originally Posted by iahphx

I'm planning on taking a couple overnight soft sleeper trains on the major routes (like Beijing-Shanghai). I understand they all have dining cars, but the Frommers guide says the food is bad. That would be a shame, since having a nice meal on a train is a rare pleasure, and would of course give us something to do.

Has the food improved, or is it really best to avoid the dining car?

Thanks.