Regardless of their feelings about the city, everyone I know within the foreign community of Zhengzhou seems to agree on one thing - this place is the "real China." It's a loaded statement, but the general idea is that as a mid-sized city in the center of the country, Zhengzhou provides an authentic look at China beyond mega-cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

The people who most enjoy life here do so for exactly that reason, and the same is true of those who do not care for it so much.

The capital of Henan province, Zhengzhou is hardly a teeming metropolis, but it's not exactly desolate either. Like all of China, it's currently in a state of transition.

I have been here for less than two whole years at this point, and even in that time, it has been amazing how much things have changed. The foreign community absolutely exploded in size while I was home in the United States last summer, due to the ever-expanding English teacher's market. The CBD (Central Business District) has turned from a near-empty shell into one of the most vital parts of the city. It's not here yet, but there is even a subway due over the next few years.

Of course, one of the first things a foreigner notices when it comes to the growth of cities abroad is the expansion of dining options. Zhengzhou has made considerable leaps here, too.

In addition to the standard mix of McDonalds, KFCs, and Pizza Huts, we now have a Dunkin' Donuts, a surprisingly authentic Papa John's, and multiple Dairy Queens and Baskin-Robbins.

A long-time favorite in the city has been a large Indian restaurant, but in 2010 we added a Thai restaurant as well. There's even a Paulaner Brauhaus serving easily the best draft beer in town along with a variety of German food. I know Shanghai has five, but between the high prices and distinctly non-Chinese food, I expected the one here to fail before 2011. To my surprise, it's still going strong.

All of this is great and provides expats with welcome variety in their weekend dining excursions. Yet with all of this, Zhengzhou remains frustratingly Zhengzhou in at least one very specific way. For all of its added culinary options, McDonalds inexplicably remains the sole place in the city to find a hamburger.

I don't mean a sandwich with meat in the middle - I know that in China, "hamburger" or hanbao means just that. By this definition there are no end of "chicken hamburgers" available. I'm talking about genuine burgers, and that means just one thing - a beef patty.

Now I understand that beef is nowhere near as big here as in the US (to say nothing of cheese), but one would think that a city with three foreign ice cream restaurant chains would find a place for hamburgers beyond McDonalds.

It wouldn't take much to appease this deep-rooted American hunger. A Burger King like they have in other cities would do the trick. A restaurant offering larger, handmade patties would whip the foreign community into a feeding (and spending) frenzy. If they did it right, I have a sneaking suspicion that expat numbers alone would keep the place open.

Zhengzhou is an interesting microcosm of China in the early 21st century, combining elements of the globalized aspirations of wealthier cities with the slightly stagnant old-China feel of smaller, more impoverished areas. It makes for a unique living experience for foreigners, and love it or hate it, it's hard to deny how fascinating it is to watch it push through its growing pains toward the trail blazed by its more-developed sister cities. I can appreciate all of this, but Zhengzhou, I make one small, impassioned request - please, more burgers!