Skip to main content

Passion for Food, Passion for Life

It might not be the other way around but of all the people that I know, those who have a good taste in food would hardly be bores.

I grew up in a place where food was one of the most important things in everyday life and whether you were good at it could make or break a relationship. So it's not surprising that Sichuan or Szechuan Cuisine becomes the most popular, and ubiquitous, cuisine in China, from Beijing to Tibet. What amazed me was that not only did people in my province know how to enjoy good food, but how well everybody was in making it. In fact, from early on I knew for a fact that my parents were just about average when it came to cooking and my sister and I would even complain about it from time to time. Looking back, we took too many things for granted.

Not every kid in my town grows up to be a chef, of course. But to enjoy and to appreciate a good meal is the least I can do. If you are the same, you would probably enjoy "Ratatouille", a story about a rat who has a passion for food and eventually becomes a great chef, as I did.

The success of the movie started with great casting. Patton Oswalt was so at home for the leading role of Remy, the chef rat: he simply transplanted his character from "The King of Queens" and it worked well. Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, the food critic, whose image was reminiscent of "Les Triplettes de Belleville", another great animation film, was another brilliant casting. One of my favorite, and criminally underrated, actors, he always brings a fascinating charm wherever he goes. As the title suggested, French cuisine was the backdrop of this film. (For a dazzling display of Chinese cuisine, see "Eat Drink Man Woman" 《饮食男女》, my favorite Ang Lee movie.) The climax of the film, that the unforgiving food critic was astounded by an reinvented simple dish, was a Zen-ish theme familiar to Chinese, or Asian in general. (See "God of Cookery", or "Sik San"《食神》 by Stephen Chow for a strikingly similar plot.) For the animation, one word is enough to convince you that it's good: Pixar.

By the way, in US theaters, Pixar's latest short film, "Lifted", is shown before the feature. Another gem from this amazing studio.

Finally, a little gift from the official site:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

天国之秋

Book review: “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War" by Stephen R. Platt 秋天有两种:一种是丰收喜悦之秋,一种是伤感可悲之秋。太平天国之秋,毫无疑问是第二种。 《天国之秋》改变了很多我对于太平天国的认识和评价。作者一上来就对太平天国运动的性质作了一个中肯的评价,认为西方史学界长期以来称之为“太平叛乱”,以及中国史学界以太平天国为原始共产主义而称之为“太平革命”或“太平起义”,都失之偏颇。唯一恰当的称谓,当为“太平内战”。 ("The Taiping were indeed rebels, but to call the entire war the Taiping Rebellion is to cast the rebels forever in the wrong, and to blame on them for defying their legitimate rulers and destroying what one might surmise was otherwise a peaceful and stable empire." "...just as it is unfair to suggest that the Taiping were solely responsible for the devastation of the war, it is likewise an exaggeration to claim they were building some kind of peasant utopia.") 作为西方人写中国史,作者不可避免地更关心西方历史与这段中国历史的联系。全书令人信服地论证了,发生在十九世纪中国的太平内战,已经不再是一个孤立的事件,而是跟欧洲和美国历史有实质性的联系。简而言之,因为美国内战导致大英帝国在美国的贸易锐减,英国害怕同时因为中国内战而失去另一个巨大的贸易伙伴,而违背一贯的中立政策,干预了中国内战。虽然直接干预并不多,而且政策还有反复,却鬼使神差地影响了...

TOTC - Monaco

For those of you who *actually* followed my story, I apologize: I lied, to some extent, when I said my next stop was Nice. In fact I arrived at Nice at night after a very enjoyable, and amazingly fast TGV ride. But I took a day trip to Monaco the very next day. Les Casinos de Monte-Carlo Originally uploaded by yisu1979 In case you haven't know, the Principality of Monaco is a city state with a constitutional monarchy. There are two ways to get there from Nice: a €1,5(!), 40-minute bus or a €5, 15-minute train. I took the bus not because it was cheaper but because I thought the bus ride would have much better views en route given it went along the coast line. I was *so* right. The first thing you saw after arrival was the world famous black tie required casino. Did I remember to wear black tie to get in for the allegedly exquisite interior? Are you kidding me? Symbol of Monte-Carlo Originally uploaded by yisu1979 The whole state of Monaco is built on a mountai...

Jacky Cheung Rocked Atlantic City, Again: Photos

As promised, I gave you some photos from my concert-going Atlantic City trip. Jacky Cheung Concert Poster Originally uploaded by yisu1979 This was the official poster for this encore show. I got it from the organizer's website . In case you don't speak Chinese, the words above read, "By popular demand, the King of Cantonpop returns with honor." Sounds a little cheesy in English, huh? Well, there's always something lost in translation. Trump Taj Mahal Originally uploaded by yisu1979 The concert was held in the Arena in the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort , a decent place for this kind of concerts. Taj Mahal Casino Originally uploaded by yisu1979 If you haven't seen a casino before, here it is. (And you've seen all of them.) Chandelier Originally uploaded by yisu1979 Taj Mahal is richly decorated. It tries to pitch itself as a better or higher-end casino than others. (So they can charge you more.) T-shirts Orig...