Rating: 
Summary: this is a great cookbook!
Review: Eileen Yin-Fei Lo is a good writer, and helps you understand the Chinese attitude towards cooking and food selection. Not only are the recipes authentic, but they range from the difficult, special-occasion dishes (glutinous rice-stuffed chicken) to the most basic home preparations (pickled mustard greens). Being Cantonese-American, it reminded me of recipes my mother and grandmother used to make. My only caveat about the book is that the recipes are not categorized by type of main ingredient (not even in the index), making it hard to find a recipe you recall seeing in the book. Otherwise, an excellent introduction to Cantonese cuisine!!
Rating: 
Summary: This book is great
Review: I am a second generation Chinese American. And I grew up eating my grandmother's cooking. This book has been the most delightful gift in reminding me of the authentic flavors that came from my grandmother's kitchen. I absolutely love it. I have not been able to get more authentic chinese home cooking than from out of my own kitchen with this book. Buy it, relax, and cook from it.
Rating:
Summary: This book is great
Review: I am a second generation Chinese American. And I grew up eating my grandmother's cooking. This book has been the most delightful gift in reminding me of the authentic flavors that came from my grandmother's kitchen. I absolutely love it. I have not been able to get more authentic chinese home cooking than from out of my own kitchen with this book. Buy it, relax, and cook from it.
Rating:
Summary: A First Rate Cookbook
Review: I bought this book for my husband for Christmas and we can't stop cooking from it! Every recipe we've tried has been delicious and authentic. While we are not novice cooks, we knew little about Chinese ingredients and next to nothing about Chinese cooking techniques. But the recipes are so clear and easy to follow, that once we stocked our pantry, we were producing wonderful tasting and visually pleasing dishes that put our neighborhood Chinese restaurants to shame.Although the recipes generally require a fairly long list of ingredients (it is not unusual to need a few different types of soy sauce and vinegar), and you will need access to a good Asian market, you will be able to use the ingredients you buy in many different dishes. The book opens up a new world of flavors and textures, and the author manages to inform and entertain with information on Chinese history and culture along the way. This is one of the best cookbooks I've purchased, and I buy a lot of cookbooks. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: I learned about chinese cooking but hardly cook any!
Review: I have no doubt that Ms. Lo is a very knowledgable person in the area of chinese cooking. Her stories reminds me of my own childhood, growing up as a second generation of Chinese-American, which recipes such as Shark Fin Soup and Bird Nest Soup. On the back cover of the beautiful cookbook are the comments by famous chef all over the country. I should have taken the hint. While I learned a great deal about chinese cooking, I can hardly try any of her recipe, which makes me think who are the target audience of this book. Out of 250 recipes, only less than 20 I can confidently try, with a trip to Asian grocery, practical enough for daily meal at home. And, I am quite familiar with chinese cooking in general. (No, the key ingredients for most of the recipes are not available in regular grocery store, such as shrimp paste or sweet bean paste). Reading her recipes, I realized that many of them are adapted or geared for cooking in commercial kitchen. Many times she asked for 2 tablespoons of chopped red bell pepper, or 20 slices of it, 1/4 cups of chopped lotus root, etc. I also found the organization of the chapters a bit confusing. I am not sure if it is organized base on the flow of her story, history or type of ingredients. The key explanations of the ingredients is also scattered through out the book, for example, the noodle was explained in great details in its chapter, away from "The Chinese Larder" where she explains most of the other ingredients ..... If you are looking for a practical, home-cook-everyday-meal friendly cookbook, this is not the one. Thia is for those of you who enjoy occasional fine cooking with a great interest in the history of the food.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoying the book immensely!
Review: I just got the book...I was actually inspired by watching her appear as a gust on Martha Stewart - she had a quick wit, fun personality and was extremely knowledgeable about Chinese cooking. I bought her book and have really enjoyed the historical discussion of the dishes as well as in depth discussions about wine, techniques, and instruments required in the Chinese kitchen.
I just made the Lemon Lobster and snow peas with mushrooms and both turned out fabulous! If the rest of the dishes are as good as these, I will keep this book as one of the important references in my library!
Rating: 
Summary: Great in theory
Review: I weighed several Chinese cookbooks prefering something authentic. This book looked great in terms of its variety and introductory details. It contains many recipes I remember seeing family and guests sharing during holiday parties. However, when I met with friends to try and make a few of these recipes we found they were very time consuming. Now I know practice will speed cooking up but it just felt tedious. The ingredients also required a lot of investment in items that take a bit of effort to find and store if you don't use regularly. I have no doubt that these recipes end in wonderful dishes but you have to be pretty dedicated.
Rating:
Summary: Upon further review: maybe too authentic?
Review: I'm submitting a followup review here after looking at a recipe in detail. The example that decided things for me was the 'Ants Climb a Tree' (mah ngai seung seuh) traditional dish. Frying the rice noodles first in six cups of peanut oil and the use of Sichuan pepper pickle, preserved horse beans, and sweet wine rice are points where the recipe is more involved than others that I have seen. Substitutions are suggested for some but not all of the items. The result may be more authentic but requires more effort.
Rating:
Summary: Difficult for the novice, but an enriching book!
Review: My chinese girlfriend (I'm just a "white guy") and I have decided to start cooking chinese. She has experience with some of the dishes and techniques, my experience is is limited to knowing how to make stir-fry in a wok. This book offers no-nonsense approaches to traditional chinese dishes. No corners are cut, everything is the way the author thinks it should be (and who am I to argue?). Novice cooks beware: this book is not for you! It is a beautiful book. The art with which it was put together is stunning. Technically, it is outstanding. With illustrations and pictures of the techniques, commentary on proper techniques and cultural commentary. We are having great fun with it already. If you know how to cook, and can build up enough courage to go and make Peking Duck, this book is definitely for you. Chinese cooking is fantastic. This book makes a worthy addition to any intermediate - advanced kitchen.
Rating:
Summary: YUMMY
Review: This book is absolutely wonderful! The dishes are yummy and absolutely great! The recipes do take a little bit a reading before making the dishes, but it's worth taking the time and effort of doing so! The taste in each dish that I've made so far is full of delicate tastes that blend so well together. The dishes do not overpower one another. Ever time I use a recipe from this book, it brings me back home to my mother's family dinner table. Each recipe is authentic and beautifully artistically done as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not afraid of the kitchen and enjoys cooking.
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