Recipes from the Garden of Contentment: Yuan Mei's Manual of Gastronomy (paperback, bilingual) (English and Chinese Edition)

...the Suiyuan Shidan is a classic and two centuries later it still sparkles with Yuan's irascible charm, his epic passion for food, and his near-religious devotion to the pleasures of the senses. Nicoles Mones, author of The Last Chinese Chef

I cannot guarantee that all the people under heaven will have the same tastes as I do, but I can still introduce them to dishes and recipes that I fancy. Although matters of food and drink can be considered trivial, I have earnestly said all that I wish to say from the heart, and for that I regret nothing! Yuan Mei, in the preface to Recipes from the Garden of Contentment

Recipes from the Garden of Contentment: Yuan Mei's Manual of Gastronomy is the first English edition of the Suiyuan Shidan , one of the world's most famous books about food. It is both a culinary treatise and a cookbook, written in the late eighteenth century by the poet Yuan Mei. This translation by Sean J. S. Chen conveys the charm, humor, and erudition of one of China's greatest writers. The book includes recipes for well-known yet exotic dishes such as bird's nest and shark's fin, and offers modern readers a unique perspective on Chinese history and culinary culture.