Here's to great eating

I have to credit my trip to China a couple summers ago for both reinforcing and expanding my appreciation for food.

Chinese people approach eating seriously. When you eat a real meal, you commit time to it - sometimes a few hours. You sit down with your family or friends or both, and share each dish at the center of the table. You encourage each other to eat some more, and to have another drink. Most Westerners get the feeling after the fifth 'gan bei' or their third bowl of rice that they're part of an intimate celebration.

For those who love cooking, the passion, creativity, and respect for the history and natural character of an ingredient is easily apparent in Chinese food - but this also goes hand in hand with the daring to totally manipulate ingredients and make them taste like something that could never be found in nature. Artwork is created atop every plate served - from the simplest long-life noodles to very intricate phoenix nests.

I've created this blog for a few reasons. One is to make sure that when I eat out - the experience stays with me for longer than however long it takes to digest. I'm doing this for the sake of culinary inspiration, and for the sake of forcing myself to use my digital camera. I also want to share my food and ideas with others, and most importantly - bring my friends and whoever else wanders upon this blog to my proverbial table...in a celebration of food!