The Cultural Foods Values Of The US And China Reflected in The Two Capitals - Essay Example

Dishes are displayed as well as consumed in a particular way. The Chinese food culture denotes that those properties that are inherent in the dishes are more significant than the nutrients they contain. Food in Beijing is also used as delineation of the Chinese cultural identity from all other cultural identities. It also remains a ritual, medicine, means of interaction and curiously an overture as well as finale to the act of coitus (Shek, 2005). To the Chinese, food also has sexual connotations.

According to Gaozi, the venerable ancient Chinese philosopher, the appetite for food as also sex is fundamental to all too human nature. More than all other forms of life, consumption of food and sexual activity remain the twin basic activities of human beings. On a higher level, the quest for food and sex often transcends man’s mere survival or even sustenance, but seek artistic satisfaction and unadulterated sensual delight. As Richard Shek of California State University, Sacramento and an authority on Chinese culture, aptly puts it “In fact, one may be tempted to conclude that the more variations and creativity in food preparation and consumption, as well as in sexual gratification, the more sophisticated and advanced the humans are” (Shek, 2005). . So, at the time of preparing their meals, they might seek to find a balance through many ways.

Chinese food should have five qualities viz., se or colour, Xing or appearance, xiang or aroma, wei or taste and chu or touch. The finished food should be a harmonious blend of natural/transformed colours of all seasonings, garnishing and ingredients and must have an attractive appearance as seen in the way the meat/vegetables are cut as well as arranged in the utensils. The food should have an aroma and should be not only appetizing but have a pleasing look as well. Finally, the touch-sensation as such food makes its entry into the eager mouth ought to conform to the level of crispness, tenderness and chewiness.

Washington The Washington food culture is wholly at variance with that of the Chinese. Being the capital of the U.S and the famed centre of international power, Washington shares the food culture of not USA alone. Instead the food culture in this capital city is indeed a curious potpourri of numerous culinary styles due to the presence of its diverse ethnical groups from all around the world and as such boast a multitude of eateries and restaurants as well as many other food avenues. This is partly owing to the city’s various foreign embassies and so is counted as an international city.

This is a boon for connoisseurs of cooking, as they can find an astonishingly wide choice of ethnic cuisine without much effort. In fact people from, all parts of the planet have made Washington and its suburbs their home, bringing along with them all their vast culinary styles and tastes (Guide, 2012). According to Professor Emeritus John Ikerd of the Missouri University, “Eating makes a social statement – we eat with our family and our