May17,2014:ChenXiaoqingatapressconferenceinWuhan,HubeiProvince.ManybelievethatChen’swork,bothdocumentariesandwritingaboutfood,reinvigoratesprideinChinesecuisine.CFPAftershootingdocumentariesformorethantwodecades,ChenXiaoqingisnowwidelyrecognizedasafoodie.Hewouldratherbeknownasafoodloverthana“gastronomist”,however.Inearly2016,hepublishedthebookBestFoodonEarth,acollectionofstandoutarticlesfromhisfoodcolumnoverthepasttenyears.Fromthe70-plusarticles,readersgetaglimpseofChen’sgraduallydeepeningunderstandingoffoodovertheyears.Inthebook,Chentracesthecoreofhiscuisinetheory:Itispeoplethattastebest.However,accordingtoChen,thismisleadinglyappallingstatementactuallymeansthatloveandcommunicationbetweenpeoplemakesthemostdeliciousfood.ToChen,thethreeultimatequestionsare“WherewillIeat?”,“WhatwillIeat?”and“WhowillIeatwith?”
MemoriesMakeDecisions
Chenbelievesthatfooddiversityshouldbeasrespectedasbiodiversity.China’sfooddiversityexistsinordinarypeople’severydaymeals,fromgreenturnipsandpreservedeggsintheareasalongtheYangtzeandHuaiherivers,variousflour-basedfoodsinnorthernChina,toseafooddelicaciesincoastalareas.Chenlovesagreatvarietyofrestaurants.Fromcentury-oldPekingDuckrestaurantsandmodernSichuanhotpots,tosmallcateringservicessellingonlyaspecialkindofHunanricenoodles,Chen’ssolecriterionforchoosingfoodistaste.
TomostChinesetoday,“WherewillIeat?”and“WhatwillIeat?”arenolongertoughquestions.Numerousanswersarealwaysavailable.However,Chentalksabouteveryone’spersonalanduniquememoriesaboutfood,memorieswhichoftendeterminetheanswerstothosetwoquestions.
Intheearly1980s,ChenwasadmittedtoauniversityinBeijing.Notlongafterhearrivedinthecity,hislocalclassmatestookhimtoarestaurantspecializinginYanjistyleKoreancoldnoodles.YanjiistheprefecturalseatofYanbianKoreanAutonomousPrefectureinJilinProvince,andthisrestaurantbeganoperationinBeijingin1943,thefirsttosellYanji-styleKoreancoldnoodlesinthecapital.“Thefirstbitemademefeelweird,amixedtasteofsoysauce,kimchi,andwhitevinegar,”recallsChen.“Butafterseveralvisits,Igraduallygotaddicted.”Yearslater,whenChenfinallyvisitedYanjionabusinesstrip,hewasinvitedtoeatlocalKoreancoldnoodles.“Yourcoldnoodlesdon’ttasteveryauthentic,”Chencommentedwhileeating,thinkingofthecoldnoodleshehadinBeijing.Hishostsweretakenback.“Noonehasmoreauthenticcoldnoodlesthanus,”theyretorted.“WearethebirthplaceofthisinChina.”Thisphenomenon,Chenbelieves,isfooddiversitycausedbytime.Whenakindoffoodhasbeencementednexttoanimportantmemoryforpeople,thattastenolongermattersmuch,likethecoldnoodlesinBeijing.Afterdecades,thenoodles’flavorbecameauniquememoryofhisyoungerdaysforChen.Tothisday,whenChenisinbadmood,hecomfortshimselfwithalargebowlinthatsameBeijingcoldnoodlerestaurant.
ChenXiaoqing,documentaryfilmmakerandfoodcolumnist,wasborninLingbiCity,AnhuiProvince,in1965.AftergraduatingfromtheTelevisionDepartmentofBeijingBroadcastingInstitute(nowCommunicationUniversityofChina)in1989withadegreeinphotography,ChenbegantoworkforChinaCentralTelevision,whichstillemployshimtothisday.Hebegantoshootandproducedocumentariesin1991,withmajorworksincludingForestChinaandtwoseasonsofABiteofChina.
Chen’sbookBestFoodonEarth.
ThefilmABiteofChina:CelebratingtheChineseNewYear,forwhichChenXiaoqingservedasartdirector,wasshotinDecember2015.Fromancienttimestothemodernera,foodhasalwayshelpedChinesepeoplebuildstrongbondswitheachother.CFP
February11,2016:Morethan1,400villagersgatheratPotanVillage,XianjuCounty,ZhejiangProvince,fordinneronthefourthdayoftheLunarNewYear.IC
ShootingABiteofChina:CelebratingtheChineseNewYear.ManyChinesepeoplestillobservethetraditionofeatingwithextendedfamilyduringmajorfestivals.CFP
January16,2016:AMiaoethnicgroupbanquetinKaili,GuizhouProvince.Miaopeopleeatalotofriceandlovethesourandspicyflavor.CFP
DiningtogetherinBome,Tibet.Chinesepeopleviewmealsaseventstobuildrelationshipsandenjoytimetogether.Stilltoday,largegroupsofdinerstalkingandlaughingtogetheraretypicalataChineserestaurant.CFPSimilarexamplesabound.ChenalsomentionsananecdoteinvolvingsomeChinese-languagehostsfromJapan’spublicbroadcasterNHK.WhenreturningtoTokyoafterarecentbusinesstriptoBeijing,theybroughtbackeightkilogramsofpastriesfromBeijing’sDaoxiangcunStore.EvenduringtheSpringFestival,atimepeopleeatmoreinChinesetradition,somuchcouldhardlybeconsumedbyanextendedfamilyinawholeweek.TheJapaneseannouncerstoldChenthatthepastriesweremeantasgiftstoBeijingseniorswhocametoJapaninthe1980s.“Theywillallbeeatenintwodaysatmost,”theyswore.Indeed,Daoxiangcun,apastrystoreestablishedin1895andthefirsttosellsouthernstyleChinesepastriesinBeijing,resumedlarge-scaleproductioninthe1980s.WhenmostChinesestillledveryhumblelivesbackthen,aDaoxiangcuncakewasanunforgettableluxury.
BestFoodsatTheirBirthplaces
Chenbelievesthatsimpleanswersalreadyexistforquestionspertainingto“where”and“what”toeat.Thebestfoodsordishesarealwaysattheirbirthplaces.Onceacertaindishorfoodleavesitshomeland,authenticingredientsandrawmaterialsrequiredbytheirrecipesmaynotbeavailable.Chineserestaurants,seekingtocatertonewcustomersinanewenvironment,usuallycompromiseontastetoadapttothelocalmarket.Tastesoftenchangewhentheycometoanewplace.
ChensharesanotherstoryofaSichuannativefriend.ThefriendvisitsthemountainousareasofSichuanProvinceandChongqingMunicipalityeveryspring.Whenhediscoversadeliciouslocalrestaurantorafamilycookingnicefood,hehasahomestaywiththem.Oncehegainstheirtrust,theylethimstandinthekitchenandwatchthemcooking.WhenhereturnedtoBeijingafteronetrip,thefriendinvitedChentohishomeandcookeddisheshelearnedinthemountainousareas.“Butmostdishesarenotthatgood,oratleastnotasgoodashedescribedwhenhefirsthaditinSichuan,”remarksChen.“That’swhatImeanwhenIsayoncedishestraveltoanotherplace,theyarenotasgoodasthoseintheiroriginalplaces.”
However,forpeoplewhocannotvisitaspecificplacejustforaspecificfood,Chenhashisownexperiencedeciding“whereandwhattoeat.”“ForthoselivinginmajorChinesecities,ifyoufindarestaurantinyourofficebuildingwithfancydecorations,especiallysellingfoodfromeverymajorChinesecuisinestyle,avoidit,”advisesChen.“Thefoodisprobablynotthatgood.Ifyouwanttofindagoodrestaurant,trytodiscoverhiddengems.Imean‘lonely’restaurantswithnonearbypeers,buttonsofcustomers.Ortrytherestaurantinanareawithfiercecompetition,andithasinconceivablygreatnumbersofcustomers.Ifyoureallyloveeating,youcanalwaysdetectsomethingfromarestaurant’sname.Ifthenamementionsaspecificplace,that’sagoodsign.Forexample,arestaurantwiththename“Yang’sRiceNoodlefromGaoshuiinMianyang,SichuanProvince”probablyservesdecentfood.TheplaceispossiblyoperatedbyaMianyanglocalorthechefcomesfromthatarea.Youknow,Chinesepeopledon’twanttobringshameontheirhometowns.”
PeopleIstheBesttoEat
InChen’seyes,“WithwhomwillIeat?”isthecoreofhisthreeultimatequestions.Theconnectionbetweenpeopleandfoodisofgreatimportance.ToChen,gooddiningpartnersarehardtofind.“Peoplewhocaneatatthesametableshouldalsobeabletocommunicateaboutawidevarietyoftopics,”saysChen.Hechucklesthathehasdiningpartnerswithwhomhehassomuchchemistrythattheymeetfordinnerafteronlyatextmessage.“That’swhyIthinkpeoplearethebesttoeat.Ifyoueatwithsomeoneyoucan’ttalkwith,eventhebestfoodtastesbad.Thinkaboutthebestfoodyoueverhad.Itmustbeeatenwithpeopleyoulove.”
Chenbelievesthatfoodcookedbyfamilyoreatenwithfamilyisthebest.Herecalledhisexperienceofvisitingaformalrestaurantforthefirsttimeat16withhisfather.“Themuttonsoupwashotandthelambwasslicedintothinpieces.Iateoneslice.Itwasfulloftextureandsogood.Thesouplookedlikemilkandtastedabsolutelydelicious.Ohmygod!Howcouldsuchtastystuffexistonearth?”Healsomentionedhismother.“Eventoday,whenIvisitmyparents,mymomstillsitsnexttomeafterplacingalldishesontable,likeshealwayshas.‘Myson,lookathowmuchgreyhairyouhavenow!’shealwayssays.”So,whenpeopleaskhimtorecommendrestaurantsforLunarNewYearEve’sdinner,themostimportantdinnerofayearinChineseculture,Chen’sanswerisalwaysthesame:“Eatathomewithyourfamily.”