Tag Archives: chinese

My Passionate Home Cooked Food

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I enjoy baking and cooking different types of food at home. Normally we cook Italian and British food at home, though I could cook some indian or chinese sometimes, it take a lot of preparation and the chinese ingredients are expensive here. I always think my Mum cooks the most amazing chinese food. However, I discovered that my Mum tends to put some pork and nice real meat stock inside the food, but John doesn’t like much pork because it is too fatty and greasy he said.

As John nowadays can eat some beef and it is cold winter snow day. I decided to make some Jamie Oliver’s recipes. Beef stew is the easiest winter food. It tastes meaty with different herbs. You can eat with some garlic bread or some Jasmine rice. Superb!

I always cook Bacon Asparagus Tortelloni and it is the quick and health dish, but delicious. Asparagus needs to be careful, hot water 3 minutes, and ice water for 1 minutes, then fried with garlic and butter 1 minutes. It will be the most crunchy tasty Asparagus ever. Trust me. I think I know different herbs and meat combination since I learned so much from the chef from TV.

I made some of the scones from James Martin’s dessert book, eat with clotted cream and Jam! As the dessert expert John said it was the most moist inside, crunchy outside and delicious scone ever, and better than a lot of shops are selling. It gave me so much joy and confident about my cooking.

The pumpkin pie we normally make at the weekend. I just made some chocolate cookies yesterday. I love cooking and I think it is nothing happier than people you love eating well and enjoying the food.

Good food, good music and good accompanies, then Happy Day!

Learning Japanese

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日本文化的神秘、古怪，
日本人的单眼、娇小，
日本的名胜古迹及自然风光，
日本为背景的电影日益盛行，
国外对日本的好奇和向往，
的确日本是一个值得观光的国家，
而日语…

一直对日语比较抗拒，虽日语像潮汕话
鞠躬，大男人主义，刺生还是不适合我，
喜欢无束缚，平等，大大咧咧的我，
对日本文化和语言甚不感兴趣，
因学一个国家的语言就等于学习它的文化遗产，之后会潜移默化。

对自己说，人生苦短，
为何强逼学自己不喜欢的东西；
到最后才知道，吃亏的还是自己；
其实换个角度想想，也是一门学问；

可能自己设置太多的条条框框；
有时候机会就这样的失去的；
虽多一门学艺，但语言不练就忘，郁闷！
学，要精，学问，要广，知识要渊博

Black and White

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a-white-lady

You might think “black and white” party? No, there is an interesting topic about different about complexion in China and the West.

My western friends keep asking me “ why the Chinese always like taking the umbrella wherever sunshine is coming out?” people like be tanned or have a brown skin in the west. On the opposite, people in mainland China prefer their skin to look very white even like pale. There are several reasons for that. The big reason for white skin because Chinese men like women to look white. If women look white, it means they are week and innocent and men can protect them. The others reason is that white skin means they are rich, dark skin means they are working outdoors all the time, not an properly ladies.

However, in the west, people like to be tanned a lot and it represents healthy and fashion. It means people have more time for outdoors or on holidays and it is a rich symbol.

The same thought has appeared in most cultures. Hundreds of years ago it was a sign of beauty in Europe for a woman to be white, and this was for the exact same reasons: being white implied you were not working class, being dark implied you were a worker. At that time women used to apply all sorts of dangerous chemicals to their face to make it whiter. Queen Elizabeth I is famous for wearing lead powder, a chemical that we now know as being toxic to humans.

I’m sure the same will happen in China and over time having a tan will be a sign of wealth.

黑白主题

是否想到黑白派队呢？不是哦，是一个关于西方和中国喜欢不同肤色的主题。很多西方朋友问我，为什么中国人每当太阳出来就撑起雨伞呢？欧洲西方国家人们喜欢棕色的皮肤，而相反来说，中国人喜欢白皙的皮肤，主要的原因是中国男人喜欢白皙皮肤的女人，代表天真纯洁软弱，他们可以保护；二来白皙皮肤代表富贵的象征，假如棕色的皮肤，代表你是农民阶层，不是上流社会，白领的女人。

相反来说，西方国家喜欢棕色的皮肤，代表健康和时尚，同时也代表人们富裕的象征，有多余的钱去度假，晒太阳，享受生活，是有钱的象征！其实同样的事情发生在大多数的文化背景中。几百年前的欧洲，上流社会名媛白皙皮肤就是时尚与身份的象征。这也是同样的理由你不是工人阶级。伊丽莎白一代皇后就喜欢超级白皙的皮肤，涂上很多有毒的白皙化妆品，而这些漂白的化妆品而却是致癌的。

时代的变化，我相信不久的将来中国人也喜欢棕色的皮肤，同时也是代表富裕和健康。

Congfu Tea Culture

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gongfu-tea

Congfu Tea , talking about Congfu tea it made me have a thought about another different culture in between Chinese and Western country.

Cong Fu tea, which is popular in Chaoshan area of Guangdong and the south of Fujian, is integrated with many aspects of tea such as spirit, ceremony, tea-making technique, and quality commentary. Regulations are made for the tea sets, tea-leaves and water, and its making, teaing and serving. It’s wonderful beyond words to sip and taste tea slowly and carefully with the small pot and cups. The fragrant of tea is divide several like green tea Tieguanyin, brown tea Oolong tea etc. As a chaoshanese from Shantou we are not only proud of our Congfu tea culture, every one also know how to make Congfu tea. but today we aren’t talking about how to make the Congfu tea; we are going to talk about the core of Congfu tea spirit.

Western people normally there have four dairy drinking cultures. One is coffee culture or British brown tea with milk and sugar one, the Coke drinking and the sparking water. In west, people drinking or eating are very individual way because people are more emphasis on what you own like and respect the other people’s choice. Western people are prefer to their own characteristics and specialties.

In Chaoshan or even the China, we are more emphasis on the group. My foreign friends always say Chinese like to follow the leader; Like if a shop has many people on the line waiting; other people might think it’s the nice shop, then follow the group. We like have a big drink or big meal like Hot-pot and everyone share with the same pot. Like Congfu tea, congfu tea always have 3 cups or more than 3 cups; it means all the people are sitting around the tea-set and talk in a group. It’s like a small party with serving a Congfu tea. That’s why people in China always say Chaoshaneses have the coherence of all the Chanshan people; I think it’s naturally form from our dairy life eating & living and become a culture.

It’s just funny that when I had a congfu tea with friends and talked about Congfu tea spirit and I realized it’s true that the different living style form in different culture, and I suggest sometimes these two opposite culture should exchange. Let Chinese experience more individual more; let westerners enjoy more group spirit.

说起功夫茶，它令我想到了中西饮食文化的差异，做为地道汕头人的我，不但个个都要会冲一壶好茶，也要懂得茶的文化精神。流行于广东潮汕、闽南等地的工夫茶，融精神、礼仪、沏泡技艺、巡茶艺术、品评质量为一体。无论是对茶具、茶叶、水质还是冲泡、饮法、礼节都中规中矩，大有讲究。茶具小壶小杯，品茶需慢慢吸啜细细品尝，妙不可言。内涵丰富的工夫茶习俗可谓中国茶文化一绝，但今天我想讲的是中西文化的饮食文化的不同而带来不同思维方式。

西方国家的人通常有四种是他们日常会喝的东西，像多数是咖啡，英式红茶，可乐和有汽的矿泉水。在西方，大家都很强调个性与独立，他们尊重别人的选择，不会把他们的思想强加在别人身上，这让每个人都很体现个性和独特性的追求。你喝你的咖啡，我喝我的饮料。

在潮汕地区，甚至其他中国地方，大家喜欢跟群，跟大伙；总之大伙说的一定是好的，像一家店前面很多人排队，那家人一定好吃；我们的个性宣传不是很大，中国人喜欢谦逊，喜欢照顾大众牺牲自己，可以说集体思想偏多一点，这是我们的一种美德，。潮汕地区的团结力就象我们大家围在一起品尝功夫茶一样，客人喝茶先，永远照顾大众，像一个陌生的人在藤下遮荫时，你要你看见有人在冲功夫茶，只要你停留片刻，大家都会热情叫你喝上几口功夫茶然后跟你闲话几句，体现照顾大众的文化。

在跟朋友品尝功夫茶同时启发我其实中西文化的不同来源与饮食习惯。中国人喜欢大伙一起分享；西方国家的人喜欢个性的美；其实我觉得这两种文化应该交换和综合，让中国人学习更有个性的美，多点享受自己的空间，自己争取想要的东西；让西方国家的人学习更有集体主义的美。