Restaurant Cooking

Appears in

Published 1990

About

If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvellous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, not all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea, or sky are of any avail.

Notes on His Cook, Yuan Mei

Restaurants appeared relatively late in Chinese history, having been in existence for a mere one thousand years. Monasteries probably began the custom of providing food to travelers and pilgrims, but secular establishments soon followed. Among them, wine shops generally offered food so customers would drink more and food stalls became commonplace in every urban setting. By the Tang Dynasty (618-907), they could be found throughout most of China but especially in cities, seaports, and larger towns along trade routes and the routes of religious pilgrims.