Yuanqi Tang

Yuanqi Tang is a collection of food essays by food columnist and restaurant critic Shu Qiao, published by Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House in January 2011. The title was proposed by Shu Qiao herself; she wanted the book to feel as soft and lovely to readers as a piece of candy. The design was handled by Zhu Yingchun, who spent a year and a half sourcing materials and finally used medical sponge for the front and back covers, with rounded edges on the type, giving the book a distinctive feel both on the shelf and in the hand. The book gathers short pieces of food writing, most one or two pages long, some running to several pages. Each begins with a meal, a home-style dish, or a food hunt during travel: Tokyo's markets, small Spanish eateries and tapas, Korean food in winter, Hong Kong teahouses and dai pai dong, Arab restaurants all appear in her prose. Sea urchin, spring bamboo shoots, roast meat, tangyuan, roast duck, and foie gras recur—humble ingredients that reveal the character of the eater. She writes about food with wit, playfulness, and humor, never nostalgia, and often moves from eating to human relations: teahouse dim sum needs gossip, hot pot belongs to summer nights and late nights, a father's palate teaches a child the world's imperfections, and a good long-simmered soup costs time. What she really writes about is love in its many forms—to love food is to love life. The Thai edition, translated by Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand, is a charming chapter in the book's reception abroad.