The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

"...... cooking is similar to matrimony. "Two things served together should match. Clear should go with clear, thick with thick, hard with hard, soft with soft." It is the correct pairing on which things depend."

"There is always a tension between imagination and reality, between what we wish for and what it is the Gods have granted us. Civilized man finds appeasement through the system of gesture and symbols used to meditate between the two - the careful grooming of appearances, the maintenance of face, the funeral feasts and wedding banquets we put on even as we know they will ruin us. Rich or poor, people feel the same. During my childhood in the alleys of Peking, we were always hungry. If we ate at all it was cu cha dan fan (粗茶淡饭), crude tea and bland rice. Yet on this we never failed to congratulate ourselves, as if this were our choice, our philosophy. We would proclaim simple but nutritious fare the best, and our lives, for a moment, would satisfy us."

One of the books that I've just finished reading... "The Last Chinese Chef". It's really interesting, in my opinion, reading it in the trams, during lunch breaks, and before bed. Digested all 450 pages long in less than 2 weeks (that's pretty impressive for me! I usually take longer!). Somehow I am more attracted to books with Chinese adapting to American culture (e.g. Chinese immigrants in the States - think of "The Joy Luck Club" and other Amy Tan books), as well as in this case, Americans adapting to Chinese food and culture. Or Chinese as from the eye of an American and vice versa. Don't ask me why!

The story:
When a widowed American food writer, Maggie, learns about a Chinese paternity claim against her late husband's estate, she has to go immediately to Beijing to see the child as well as to settle any legal procedures. She tried taking time off her magazine, but her editor gave her an assignment instead - to profile the rising culinary star Sam Liang - who is a half American, half Chinese, living in China at the moment.

In China, Maggie unties the knots of her husband's past, finding out more than she expected about him, as well as herself. With Sam as her guide, she is also drawn deep into a world of food rooted in centuries of history and philosophy. To her surprise, she begins to be transformed by the cuisine, and by Sam's family, who are all a loving pack of cooks and diners. And especially being healed and possibly loved by Sam himself, and his cooking, which healed her soul.

I recommend this book - it's a good read.