The Best of China

Rating:
Summary: it's like a miniature coffee table cookbook
Review: For a book that's only about 7" square this one is full of China. There are great pictures of food and some excellent recipes (because after all it is a recipe book spearheaded by an editor for Gourmet magazine) yet I was also delighted at some of the candid shots: Guilin, stone sculptures in Dazu, a junk on the Yangtze -- beautiful images. I made a few of the recipes, the Lemon Chicken and the Chili Beef both come to mind. Both had excellent flavor and visual appeal, plus I didn't have to trudge to the Pacific Rim to find any bizarre spices. A lovely book overall but only 4 stars for two reasons: (1) the recipes contain no breakdown of calories/sugars/sodium etc. which may have been standard in 1992 when it was copyrighted but a must-have for me today and (2) it is small yet perfect bound -- which is wonderful for a coffee table book but not so great to try and use as a cookbook as the type is small and the book doesn't lie flat. P.S. Hope someone can shimmy up a screen shot of the vibrant cover for a stock photo -- lovely blues with a plate of chili beef that made me pick it up in the first place.