Unit2 Universally recognized as one of the greatest cuisines of the world, Chinese food in all its variety and complexity is unquestionably one of the finest pleasures a visitor can experience in China. Culinary Delights in China 1. Chinese cuisine is a brilliant facet of Chinese culture, which is proven by the fact that Chinese restaurants are found scattered everywhere throughout the world. Today, the culinary industry is developing even more rapidly than before. A decade ago, Beijing had a few thousand restaurants, while today there are over 100,000 restaurants of different sizes in the city. 2. Regional Chinese Cuisines It is widely acknowledged that from the Ming dynasty onwards, there are eight major schools of cuisine based on regional cooking. They came from Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Anhui provinces. In addition to these traditional cuisines, the culinary industry in china has undergone great changes, as almost every place has its own local specialties, and as the different cuisines gather together in big cities, such as Beijing. 3. Sichuan, known as Nature's Storehouse, is also a storehouse of cuisine. Here, each and every restaurant provides delicious yet economical culinary fare. The ingredients for Sichuan cuisine are simple but the spices used are quite different. Sichuan cuisine is famous for its spicy and hot food, yet just being hot and spicy does not necessarily distinguish it from other hot and spicy cuisines such as Hunan or Guizhou cuisines. What is really special about Sichuan cuisine is the use of Chinese prickly ash seeds, the taste of which leaves a feeling of numbness on one’s tongue and mouth. Besides this unique spice, Sichua...
