Food and eating play a very important role in Chinese culture. Almost every time when family or friends get together, there will for sure be some food involved.For Chinese people, eating, cooking and discussing what and where to eat are spirit-lifting and always great subjects to start a conversation with. For instance, in Taiwan, instead of asking ‘how are you?’, sometimes we will greet people by asking ‘Are you full?’ Personally, I like this greeting a lot because it provides a sense that there is nothing left to worry about once you eat well and are full.Since food and eating are the common passion for most Chinese people, if you want to make friends with Chinese people, inviting them for a dinner or going out to eat something tasty is always a great start. Many foreign friends of mine have told me they have an impression of Chinese people that we don’t like to go out for partying and prefer staying at home with a group of friends. Well, that’s basically the truth since for most Chinese people, a yummy hotpot at home is way better than a bottle of cold beer at the bar.So now you have a general picture about how important food is in the Chinese culture. So next time, if you are invited to eat with your Chinese friends, don’t get too surprised if you see a rich feast on the dinner table. Just enjoy the food together and share the food passion with them.
