First of all, I’d like to tell you a true story. About eight or nine years ago, I was travelling from Beijing to Zurich on an airplane full of Chinese passengers. In the seat next to me was a middle-aged man who said he was a government official on a business trip to Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the air hostess serving dinner asked him whether he would like “Chicken or beef”, he answered, “Nothing!” A few minutes later he stood up and fetched a black leather briefcase from the overhead locker. “I come to Europe for meetings every two weeks. I’m so fed up with western food.” He murmured. Out of his briefcase he produced a head of raw Napa cabbage (aka Chinese cabbage) and a small jar of sweet soy bean sauce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is what keeps me alive in Europe. Would you like some?” Astonished, I turned down his kind offer. But I couldn’t help observing him as he tore off a big leaf of Napa cabbage, dipped it into the thick, dark sauce and proceeded to chew quite loudly. You can imagine how juicy and crispy the leaf was…only a few hours since leaving Beijing, this man’s unusual in-flight meal made me very homesick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n