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Food and Chinese Cultureby: Xu Ruqi, editor
South Sanfrancisco CA:
Long River Press and the Shanghai Press and Publishing Developme 2005, $20.95, Paperback
ISBN: 1-59265-049-X
Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Spring Volume: 2008 Issue: 15(1) page(s): 20 and 21
 Twenty-six short essays about Chinese food and culture by some of China's well-known writers and cultural critics are great reads in this volume. There are roadside snacks, delicious delicacies, the meanings of some foods, and their role as the essence of life.
The date the essays are written is not provided, nor is if they appeared elsewhere. Beginning with one by Lin Yutang and ending with another by Zhou Zouren and all the others in between make for lots of seasoning on any reader's plate. The Preface by Chen Zishan sets the stage to marvel at food and drink served. It demonstrates the zeal for China's culinary art. All essays showcase greatness and uniqueness that is Chinese cuisine, to say nothing of all their deliciousness. There are items about man's sense of taste, and tasting Sichuan foods. There are others about Fujian, Hangzhou, or Shaanxi foods . There is one about Spring Festival cuisine, others about Peking duck, pig's feet, and porridge. Savor the ones of sesame seed cake, spring rolls, lotus root, and water shield. And do bite into the final chapter titled: Snacks of South and North China. Then head for the nearest nifty Chinese restaurant and taste the fantastic foods and great delicacies you read about.
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