More people enjoying good food
Although mainland Chinese are avid restaurant-goers, "what we have right now are a lot of people who regularly eat out, and are big eaters, but this doesn't mean they are gourmets. If we have any gourmets it's because people feel a need for such a thing and they just 'fake it,'" says Liu Yiwei.
"Being a gourmet not only requires money, it requires a refined taste. This is all related to a person's overall qualities. It is not just a question of eating food," adds editor-in-chief Zhu Wei. There is no lack of outstanding novelists on the mainland but to date they haven't been able to produce a good food critic. The specialized books on food found in bookstores, whether we're talking about the older or the younger generation, all come from Taiwan.
"During my father's generation the Cultural Revolution obliterated all distinctions and made everything the same, so there aren't any standards any more. It is our generation that must begin the slow accumulation of knowledge about food," says Liu Yiwei.
But Liu, the son of a famous Shanghai artist and a man who considers himself a "dinosaur" on the verge of extinction, is pessimistic. He says nowadays everything on the mainland is driven by money. Anything expensive is considered good. "Heaven knows, quality and the ability to pay have no relationship to each other. Today's cuisine is in no way better than that of the past," the dinosaur says.
"As for basic ingredients, production used to follow certain natural cycles. Today, if there is a demand from the public, production has to be increased. In the old days you could only eat Dazha crabs in the autumn. You had a few then and the rest of the year you depended on your imagination. How different now when you can eat them every day-and completely ruin your taste buds."
"Everything is richer, bigger, brighter, more exciting-but it's monotonous, really, there isn't any taste. Good things are neglected, bad things are overvalued," laments the dinosaur. For example, in publishing, it's all show and no substance. The technology of the printing has outstripped the content of the books. Restaurants are the same: the emphasis is on form rather than substance. "I'm afraid to say that some of these bad habits have come from Taiwan."
As for the restaurant business on the mainland, where the economy is booming and business rules all, there is a great opportunity to break new ground. Nevertheless, amidst all the hubbub, "has a real hero been created, or have we just been presented with a bunch of flashy stars?" Is it all smoke and mirrors, or are we really eating fine cuisine? As consumers spend large sums of money for an evening of dining pleasure, they may well ask themselves these questions.