擁爐而坐，話人間煙火。
食趣，是吃飯的魂。中國飯菜五味調和，妙在一個食材的變通。即使受到烹調用具和調料的限制，如果將烹飪環節稍加變化，也能做出不同面貌又好味的菜。會吃的人不僅僅看菜品的姿色，不是姿色不重要，而是食材本身更重要。至於好不好看，中餐不說擺盤，用了好的食材，自然地塑造過後形成了別樣的景色，恰到好處時，一止，就是風景了，是盤中景。
光有色還不行，聞起來的感覺更要微妙。食物的香也分撲面襲來的香氣和幽香種種。聞得多了也知道哪種更沁人心脾。可如果飯桌上來條臭鱖魚，整間屋子便是這散不去的「不可思議」的味道。不過這種是「假臭」，慢慢地由反感，到接受，最後習以為常，聞著臭心裡知道香就好了，也不會心生反感，倒是大家又笑又鬧地恨不得早點吞到肚子里，然後開窗放味。偶爾吃一下，這種矛盾的食物倒也成了生活的一劑調味精。
至於味道，酸甜苦辣咸。哪一樣多了舌頭都會麻木，好的廚師不需要看菜譜就能把握好那個度。做了一輩子菜，譜都在心裡了。就像唱歌，照著詞譜唱出來容易，難的是唱出味道。
Mr.Shan ‘s Kitchen in the Eyes of His Daughter
By Liu Lingzi
Sit by the fire, and share the flavors of life.
The soul of eating is to chew the delight in food. Chinese food harmonizes the five flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty) and the art of Chinese food lies in the choosing and changing of ingredients. Even with limited cook wares and seasonings, you can still cook different dishes that are pleasant both to the eye and the tongue as long as you slightly alter cooking procedures. Those who knows the essence of eating value the good look of a dish, but compared with good look, they value more of the ingredient itself. As to the look of dishes, Chinese are not very particular about plate presentation. Proper ingredients crush in a natural way, and when the crash is suddenly intercepted at the right time, they evolve into special sceneries, sceneries in the plate.
Compared with colors, smells are even more delicate. The aroma of food sometimes greets you directly and thickly, and sometimes presents itself subtly and softly. You will know which kind is more pleasant. But if a stinky mandarin fish (marinate mandarin fish which is smelly but tasty) is served onto the table, the whole room will stink of that 「incredible」 smell. But that smell is not real stink. Although it’s as if offensive at first, you will gradually come to terms with it and accept it, because you know it tastes good. Therefore, it doesn’t actually disgust you, and instead, brings laughs and jokes to the table. Everyone targets it as the first dish, wanting to finish it as quickly as possible, and then open the window and let out the smell. A paradoxical dish like this occasionally can be the spice of life.
As for the tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty, each can numb the tongue when it is too much. A good cook knows how much is the proper amount without need to refer to a recipe. Having cooked for long, he has already had a recipe of his own in the mind. Cooking is just like singing, it is easy to sing with the lyrics and music, but it’s always hard as to the flavor.
