August 2006
Food Blogs
by Celia Cheng
CRAVINGS
Chaxiu Pie
Luk Yue Teahouse (Hong Kong)
Andouillettes a la Lyonnaise
Le Bouchon aux Vins (Lyon)
Chicken and Whale’s Heart Sashimi
a nameless restaurant (Osaka)
FAVORITE FOOD BLOGS
Ms. Glaze’s Pommes D’Amour
Chez Pim
A Full Belly
Josh leads a double life. He keeps his blogger identity a secret from his colleagues, so he is known by first name only, or by his blog persona, Cha Xiu Bao. For those of you who don’t know, cha xiu bao is a Cantonese dish of steamed buns filled with barbecued pork. He named his blog after his favorite food.
Born in Shanghai and raised and living in Hong Kong, Josh’s first language is Chinese, yet he writes Cha Xiu Bao (CXB) in English with occasional Chinese commentary interjected. Of course, Hong Kong is a bilingual society since it was formerly ruled by the British, so it’s not entirely odd that Josh started his first blog in English, but by writing in English, he has been able to appeal to and communicate with a broader audience. Inspired by Fatman Seoul (now defunct), Chez Pim and others, he was excited to start a blog so that he could share his passion with people with similar interests around the world. CXB was the first food blog in Hong Kong, though the vast majority of Josh’s audience is overseas rather than local.
The focus of CXB is on Chinese food and dining culture. Chinese cuisine is one of the most refined cuisines in the world, but I find that Chinese food is rather misunderstood in America. It’s not about eating weird disgusting things just for the fear factor, and not everything is overly greasy, deep-fried or drowned in soy sauce. Chinatown in Manhattan is a universe of its own and I find it hard to relate to most of what I find there — a lot of low quality, dirty, unrefined foods and a lack of service or professionalism, which is not representative of the culture I grew up in. So I’m glad that Josh is writing about Chinese cuisine from Hong Kong, the gastronomic capital of China. A true food-lover with a sophisticated palate, Josh also travels a bit and takes us on his world food journeys, so CXB is not limited to just Chinese food in Hong Kong.
It’s no small feat to cover Chinese cuisine as Josh agrees that Chinese food culture is one of the richest and most dynamic in the world. There are over twenty provinces in China and each region has its own type of cuisine. Whenever he finishes a post, he realizes that the more he knows, the more he doesn’t know, and that there is always so much more to find out — the limit is boundless. But this knowledge helps him to appreciate food as his palate continues to mature. He receives lots of feedback and emails from readers and is constantly being asked what to eat in Hong Kong and China. He welcomes the inquiries but sometimes finds it tedious when people ask general questions like, “If I have three days in Hong Kong, what should I eat?” I relate to Josh very well, as I also always ask people to be more specific when they ask for food advice — without understanding what you like, what you’re interested in trying, who you’re with, what your budget is, etc., it’s hard to make a suggestion. Basically, if you want specific, targeted suggestions, then you have to start by asking specific, targeted questions.
Josh is a sweet guy with a well-rounded personality. He met a girl and fell in love, but because her English wasnít as good as his, for her sake he started WokínRoll, another blog but in Chinese. WokínRoll focuses less on food and more on entertainment and pop culture. The ability to maintain two separate blogs on different topics in different languages, and all the while keeping it undercover from his day job, is beyond me. But I wonít ask any more questions, Iím just glad thereís a good resource online that discusses the truth about Chinese food and dining culture in a fun-loving way.
