Fili’s world

I'm still a rookie when it comes to Chinese cuisine, but the few steps that I've taken in the road to Chinese food enlightenment have been a real treat. I believe the closest that I got to having a full Chinese meal was last year's Chinese new years with Vanina's family and that was a glorious meal. Trying out a different thing dish everyday in Taipei has brought a few interesting experiences, but was mostly an extraordinary delight.

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What is the Chinese cuisine?

Hmmm… I can't really lay out the characteristics, but it's pretty simple for me to make it out when I see it, and it's quite distinguishable from Korean and Japanese cuisines.

A meal in Chinese culture is typically seen as consisting of two or more general components: (1) a carbohydrate source or starch, known as 主食 in the Chinese language, (zhǔshí Pinyin , lit. "main food", staple) - typically rice (with rice vinegar for consistency), noodles, or mantou (steamed buns), and (2) accompanying dishes of vegetables, fish, meat, or other items, known as 菜 (càiPinyin , lit. "vegetable") in the Chinese language. (This cultural conceptualization is in some ways in contrast to Western meals where meat or animal protein is often considered the main dish.) (Wikipedia )

What does it look like?

Here's the opening scene from one of my all-times favorite movies - The Taiwanese Eat-Drink-Man-Woman (yummi!):

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How do I eat?

Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are enjoyed [1] with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally made of ceramic). [...] In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, doufu), ready for direct picking up and eating. 

In a Chinese meal, each individual diner is given his or her own bowl of rice while the accompanying dishes are served in communal plates (or bowls) that are shared by everyone sitting at the table, a communal service known as "family style" in Western nations. In the Chinese meal, each diner picks food out of the communal plates on a bite-by-bite basis with their chopsticks. [...] Besides soup, if any other beverages are served, they would most likely be hot tea or hot water.

What does a meal look like? Here a fast-forward version :

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Will I like it? 

Well, I'm quite sure you'll like the easy basic stuff, though I've met a few foreigners in Asia that would eat nothing but McDonalds and KFC. It's the more hardcore stuff that's interesting and some of it could prove a real challenge even for the most adventurous foreigners. 

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(Written in response to a few requests from friends and readers to write a bit on Chinese food)