Chinese Food V.S. Western Food 中西方饮食文化大比拼

范秋贤

First of all， the making method of Chinese food is different from western-style food. In western-style food cookbook， various ingredients1 such as the flour， sugar， butter etc. have been indicated2 several grams3， several spoons or several cups， even the size of the egg will all be explained. I think it is like a testing lab. So， making western-style food is easy， so long as you do it according to cookbook. But it is not the easy thing that you want to make fine Chinese food， even if you have bought the cookbook. Because the Chinese cookbook will not tell you several grams of ingredient， for example， salt， Chinese cookbook will just tell you appropriate4 amount of salt. Why？ The taste of people who live in different places is different in China. There is a folk adage5 in China， “south sweet， north salty， east hot and west sour”. So， a good cook depends on experience and skill when cooking in China.

首先，中西餐的烹調方法不同。西餐的烹调书中写明了面粉需要几克，糖需要几汤匙，黄油需要几杯等等，甚至连用到的鸡蛋的大小也有说明。烹调西餐就像在实验室里做实验一样。所以只要参考着烹调书，西餐是很好做的。但是要做出美味的中餐，即使你有参考书也不是一件容易的事。因为烹饪书里不会告诉你原料的用量，比如盐，只会告诉你“适量”，而不会精确到克。为什么呢？因为在中国，不同地域的人口味不同。俗话说：南甜，北咸，东辣，西酸。所以，一个好厨师靠的是丰富的经验和技巧。

Second， the atmosphere of Chinese food is different from western-style food while having a meal. The atmosphere of western-style food is particular about scenery. The good restaurant is generally built in the beautiful mountaintop， park or the dining-room of the city center high building. So western-style food is “eat the scenery” but not “eat taste”. The atmosphere of Chinese food is particular about taste and participation6. Chinese food conquers7 the world with taste. There is a folk adage in China， “If I want to conquer your heart， I will conquer your stomach first”. Everybody sits around table while eating Chinese food， and everybody is eating the dish in the same plate. The hospitable8 host will also pick the dish into your bowl， which is so friendly. The friendship between person and person is deeper after a meal.

其次，中西方的就餐氛围不同。在西方，人们看重就餐的环境。一家好的餐馆一般会建在风景如画的山顶、公园或者城市中心的高楼上。所以西餐吃的不是味道，是环境。在中国，人们看重食物的味道与分享。中餐以美味征服世界。中国有句话：欲征服人心，先征服人胃。进餐时，大家一起围坐在餐桌旁，所有人共同分享一个盘子中的食物，主人还会热情地为你夹菜来表示亲近。一顿饭后，人们之间的情谊会加深。

Third， the way that Chinese and westerns praise food is different. Chinese praising food will say， “Your dish is cooked very delicious， and it has caught up with the level of the restaurant.” But westerns to praise food， will say， “It just likes what the home makes.”

第三，中西方赞美食物的方式不同。中国人赞美食物会说：“你的菜做的真好，都赶上饭店的水平了！”西方人却会说：“你的菜和家里做的一样好！”