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The Cooks of Sun Tak Yuen

 

Appears in
top 1000Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking
Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking

By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Published 2009

  • About

In the Chinese cooking universe, there are many practices, adages, habits, and even sayings regarded as truisms. They range from beliefs and practices derived from the Analects of Confucius, which not only dictate precisely how to cut foods before cooking and in which order to serve the foods for maximum enjoyment, but also the unchanging culinary beliefs and techniques of chefs. Two of the more famous of these beliefs concern Guangzhou.

First, it is said that a happy life in China is assured if you live in Hangzhou, a beautiful city of lakes and pavilions; marry in Suzhou, the city with the most beautiful people; dine in Guangzhou, home to the country’s best food; and die in Liuzhou, where the wood used for coffins is the most fragrant. It is also said that if you are born in Sun Tak Yuen, which lies just outside of Guangzhou, you are born to cook. You need only mention—one cook to another, one gastronome to another—that you are from Sun Tak Yuen, and a knowing smile appears, quickly followed by the words “you must be a cook.” I was born in Sun Tak Yuen, and I know I was born to cook.

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