I suppose, like myself, you have visited some sort of Chinese restaurant nomatter what part of the world you hail from. There are a bewildering array ofthem, that sell a variety of dishes of varying quality.Eating the Chinese WaySome are no more than small ‘holesin the wall’ where you can get takeaway chop suey and sweet and sourpork, a sticky sweet-savoury confectionrarely ever found in the Chinese familyhome, while others are high class worksof art, with sparking fountains and subtlelighting with still not very authentic foodat a juicer price tag. Then there are thehidden gems found by word of mouth orblind luck where you can sink your teethinto mouth-watering morsels if you knowwhat to order. For Chinese speakers, thisis much easier to do, as often there is aspecial menu only in Chinese withdelicacies thought only to beenjoyed by the moreexperienced andhardier Chinesetastebuds. But ifyou are luckyenough to havea Chinesefriend, teacheror associate,then be adventurousandput yourself intheir hands andlet them order.The best is not toask what the foodis when it arrives,but just try it andenjoy. Most of thetime, if you approachit with an openmind, you will find it different but oftenvery good. There are some things thatare acquired tastes and textures. I wouldsay that some things, like cold jelly fish,sea cucumber, take a little more timeand practice to enjoy but are still verynice for the carnivore crowd. And forvegetarians, there are new kinds ofvegetables to enjoy.In the West, it is normal andexpected that the entrées be lifted offthe table and passed around to all theguests, with each person placing aportion onto their plate. However,Chinese style, dishes are placed in thecentre of the table where everyone hasa fair chance, improved by good chopstickskills. If you place the food on your plate,sometimes you will take too much andthis deprives someone on the other sideof the table of their portion.Another reason for taking onlyone thing at a time is that each dishshould have its own individual taste.When going out to eat to a Chineserestaurant, the more people the merrier.Going with a group of people lets youorder several dishes and then sharefamily style. In this way, you canexperience the five different tastes ofs a l t y ,bitter, sweet, spicy and neutral, washingit all down with hot Chinese tea. A goodorderer will try to balance the dishes, notgoing for all deep fried or heavily spicydishes. This is why in traditional Chinesestyle eating, guests will only take a smallportion or bite of one dish at a time.This allows you to experience and savourthe flavours of that dish without mixingit up with the tastes of the other dishesIf your host is being kind enoughto introduce you to the real Chinesecuisine, you can show your thanks byknowing more about how to eat properly.To be able to use chopsticks well, willdraw admiring glances and comments asit is truly a skill and shows you have putsome effort into appreciating the Chineseculture. The next step, once you havemastered the chopsticks is how to savourthe dishes themselves, rather than justknowing how to transport them to yourmouth.In China, it is traditional for riceto be eaten out of a bowl and a bite offood taken from one entree and thenbrought to the mouth with a bite of rice.This is why you see people holding therice bowl up to the mouth. Bowls aremade with a rim on the bottom so thatwhen held properly, even hotsoup or rice will not burnyour fingers while holdingit. In the West, it is moreusual to have a platethan a bowl, but youcan still use the plateto follow the sameprinciple of takingjust one thing at atime.If you are ina restaurant, youmay have one ofthe swish, twirlingcentre pieces thatallows you to spindishes around toyou, then normallythere will be spoonswith which you canthen place a smallbit of the food intoyour bowl. You should be mindful of theother guests when you size your portion.Smaller is more polite, even if it meansno second portion. Better this than beingseen as the hollow-legged Gwai Lo.If in doubt about rules ofetiquette, look at what your seniors orhost is doing. There have been manycircumstances in which I have beenunsure of the protocol, particularly whenvisiting new places. So I just wait andfollow one step behind the others andthat way I hope not to embarrass myselftoo muchBy Sihnkei.sihnkei@qimagazine.compage 30 Qi Magazine Jan/Feb 2003
Feng Shui -Flying Stars for 2003As the New Year is starting many of you wonder what effectthis will have on your Feng Shui and what you should do to tryand make life smoother for the year ahead. Here we look at thehow the energy is governed by the Nine Flying Stars of FengShui and how they relate to you.WoodIf you want to understand Feng Shui, you also need tocheck the energy of the year. This is a chart for the newChinese year according to the Chinese solar calendar,which begins 4 February. This is the beginning of springand what farmers will follow. But the new year thateveryone celebrates in China, belongs to the lunar calendarwhich is a different date.You can place this chart over a floorplan of your homeand office and find out which direction the energy comes fromfor money, relationship and even sickness and others. UsingWaterThe Five ElementsCreation CycleFireEastWoodSouthFire5 1 34 6 89 2 7WestMetalMetalEarth“If you use energy toexhaust it, then this iseasier.”MetalEarthNorthWaterFireThe Five ElementsControlling CycleWoodthe five element theory, you can use the appropriate elementcolour or representation to bring up the energy in that area.For instance, if you want to bring up the energy formoney, you look and see that this is the number eight. Thedirection this energy will come from is the West and is theelement metal. We know that earth supports metal, so youcan you use yellow colours in this area to bring up the energyfor money in that area. For energy that is not good, you canuse two ways, either try to control that energy or exhaust it.WaterEarthpage 34 Qi Magazine Jan/Feb 2003