Middle Kingdom wanderings

I'm French. In my family, food is more than important, it is sacred. So it's safe to say I thought I knew all about being obsessed with food. That was until I moved to China. China, where the most common greeting is not "Hello", but "Have you eaten yet?". Where you find street food vendors at every corner. Where no business deal can be settled without a gigantic banquet. Time and time again, when I meet Chinese people they're always curious about whether I like the food here, if I can eat spicy dishes, what my favorite local delicacy is, and what the food is like in my country. And there's only one thing the Chinese love more than talking about food, it's treating you to a good meal. That's when their generosity reveals itself. Five people going out for dinner? You're likely to be served more than ten dishes. Fish, pork, beef, chicken, greens, starchy foods, tofu, and of course a soup to end the meal: nothing is left to chance. And if you dare say it's too much, they'll act offended beyond reason. In China, pretty much everything is about face, and they don't want to be looked upon as cheap. If they're inviting, they will go over the top. Waste of food and money, you say? But they wouldn't like it any other way! The days when people had barely enough to eat are still on their minds.

Food is also the easiest way to make friends with strangers in the Middle Kingdom. Last year, I lived in an old communist-style apartment complex, where most tenants spent their time peeling vegetables in the courtyard, spreading chillies in wicker baskets to dry them in the sun, or hanging cabbages on clothes strings to pickle them later. My favourite neighbour was by far an auntie who lived on the ground floor of our building. She only spoke the local dialect, which made communication more than difficult. The few times we connected were over food. She would see me coming home from work and ran after me with a bag full of potato strips, jasmine flowers or local wild vegetables. We would manage to exchange cooking tips -jasmine flowers are to be stir-fried with eggs and garlic, apparently- and I cherished those moments that reminded me so much of my crazy family and our disproportionate love of food. People often say the first thing you start missing about your country is food. But as much as I love French cuisine, I'm too busy exploring the absolute amazingness of Chinese dishes to even think about cheese and baguette. So, what do you say? Have you eaten yet?