Moderator's Note: Civility must be observed when posting in this thread!

I approve of this thread.

"Eat anything on four legs that's not a chair and table" count? :heh:

Being the oldest and the greatest East Asian civilization on Earth, I consider Chinese food culture to be the best in the world.

I am actually cautious about discussing this, because culture is a constantly evolving process and I might stereotype. Anyway, speaking from my personal experience, most if not all Chinese people that I grew up with love things associated with wealth and good fortune. I once got an earful from my mum, dad, uncle, grandparents, blah blah blah for sweeping the house during CNY.

I am one of those Chinese who doesn't eat everything with four legs. I am especially turned off by dishes featuring frog. My aunt once served frog legs, and I showed such a disgusted face that she felt insulted. I then got kicked out of the dining room. Oh well.

I ate snake at my Chinese friend's party once. Kinda meh

There are some aspects of Chinese food "culture" that I despise, such as the consumption of live monkey brain. It seems like the more wonky dishes tend to originate from the South, where the obsession with freshness is more acute.

On the whole though, Chinese food is good, and if authentic, quite healthy. I like how it makes use of things that other people find icky for stupid reasons like fish heads.

Wait until you try Peranakan cuisine. :heh:

During my visit to Shenyang (Mrs ES's hometown) I remember walking home from a restaurant with the family one night and we passed by the local park. In this park were literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of people, even though it was well past 10pm. There were people flying kites, playing sports, and even open-air ballroom dancing. I was quite impressed. This is something you would never see in the States, and to be frank, I think I was even a bit envious.

Endless "I can't think of a nickname" Soul

Wait, wut? This became a thread? :heh:

Okay then, to add to the Moderator's Note, please refrain from bringing up political matters except when they related to China's socio-cultural history (such as discussions about how Confucianism was shaped by political concerns of its time, for example).

The thread is meant for questions and answers about Chinese culture, and it is not just limited to that of Mainland China, but also that of the Chinese diaspora.

Topics can range the gamut, and can include things like that of the opening post, which is closely related to genealogy. We can also discuss the intricacies of the Chinese language, both its written and spoken forms.

We can also talk about the development of Chinese science and technology during China's imperial era. This alone is a massive subject that academics like Joseph Needham dedicated his whole life to.

And, yes, by all means do talk about food. That's always a popular subject, as far as the Chinese are concerned. :)

I enjoy Chinese food greatly (I'm attempting to learn). However the "westernized" Chinese food I find to be on the whole worse then the real thing, mainly because the flavours tends to get watered down (real chinese food can be just as "extreme" as any other Asian cuisine!).

However, I think it's incorrect to say "Chinese food". Different regional cuisines are very diverse. I would say there's more difference between Sichuanese and Cantonese cuisine then there is between, say, Cantonese and Vietnamese. The various chinese cuisines exist on the same continuum as the other asian cuisines from surrounding countries. I would say China alone has as much variety as Europe does, variety that unfortunately the average westerner is rarely ever exposed to.

Most of what we do get is by far Cantonese, with the occasional Sichuan or Beijing dish thrown in.

I consider exploring Chinese food will be something that will take me a lifetime.

four? please if it is organic and isn't poisonous We Chinese got a receipt for it.

*Patiently wait for scary story about children turned into Xiao Long Bao.*

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...jmAcC7Ja3iYjug

hmmm the Art of War ,Confucious and Laozi are the couple things that pop up in the mind ... But I am not quite aware of the pop culture ( But I do think Taiwan has lot more new trends than the mainland .... so I think ...)

not children but...

One thing that China does well that I hope the US picks up on is giving out cash as gifts. Seriously, there's nothing worse than getting a gift that you can't quite use, or already have one of. Now you have to go through the hassle of returning the gift or letting it rot in some storage. Worst is, if your friend comes over and asks you where you put it, you'd have to make up some excuse or just tell him that his gift sucked.

So, here's a question. I've been talking to the Chinese owner/bartender of a restaurant I frequent and she mentioned that she's happy to be having her baby in the US because Chinese traditions in this regard are very harsh. Said something along the lines of not being allowed to wash her hair for a month afterward among other things I have unfortunately forgotten. I'm curious to know more but would rather not bring it back up with her in case it's a sensitive subject, so if anyone knows anything about this, can you elaborate?


I'm in the US and myself and everyone I know have gotten and given cash as gifts our whole lives. I think this just varies from person to person whether they think cash is a "thoughtless" gift or not.

most likely the washing of the hair is something form the region she was form. The Chinese culture most westerners have contact with are form people originating form Guangdong Province. there is a tremendous amount of variation between different province and region inside the provinces as well.

Mrs. ES did that when our daughter was born. She didn't wash her hair or take a shower for a whole month. Her traditional-leaning mom insisted on it even though we lived in Southern California. I was so thankful when she started bathing again, the stench was something awful.

Endless "Noseplugs" Soul

I'd have secretly washed her hair while she slept :D

I assume you're referring to our red packets ^^ ?

I've always wanted to tried western Chinese food to see how 'wrong' they got it :nod: