1. First， the making method of Chinese food is different from Western-style food.

首先，中西餐的烹调方法不同。

In Western-style food cookbook， various ingredients such as the flour， sugar， butter etc. have been indicated several grams， several spoons or several cups； even the size of the egg will all be explained. It is like a testing laboratory. So making Western-style food is easy， so long as you cook according to cookbook manual.

But it is not the easy thing that you want to make fine Chinese food. Even if you have bought the cookbook， it is not so easy， because the Chinese cookbook will not tell you several grams of ingredient. For example， salt， Chinese cookbook just tell you appropriate amount of salt， instead of several grams， several spoons or several cups. Why？ The taste of people who live in different places is different in China. Therefore， a good cook relies on experience and skill when cooking in China.

西餐的烹调书中诸如面粉、糖、黄油等各种各样的原料都写明了需要几克、几汤匙或几杯；甚至连鸡蛋的大小也都有说明。烹调西餐就像在实验室里做实验一样。所以只要参考着烹调书，西餐是很容易做的。

但是想做出美味的中餐则并非易事。即使你买了参考书，也不是一件容易的事。因为中餐烹饪书里不会告诉你原料的用量。比如盐，中餐烹饪书只会告诉你适量的盐，而不会精确到几克、几汤匙或几杯。为什么呢？因为在中国，不同地域的人们口味不同。所以，一个好厨师在中国靠的是丰富的经验和技巧。

2. Second， the atmosphere of Chinese food is different from Western-style food while having a meal.

其次，中西餐的就餐氛围不同。

The atmosphere of Western-style food is particular about scenery. A good restaurant is generally built in the beautiful mountaintop， park or the revolving dining room of the city center high building. So Western-style food is “Eat the scenery” but not “Eat taste”.

The atmosphere of Chinese food is particular about taste and participation. Chinese food conquers the world with taste. There is an old adage in China： If I want to conquer your heart， I will conquer your stomach first. Everybody sits around the table while eating Chinese food， everybody is eating the dish in the same plate， and the hospitable host will also nip the dish into your bowl. The friendship between persons is deeper after a meal.

西餐的就餐氛围讲究的是风景。一家好的餐馆通常建在风景如画的山顶、公园或者城市中心高楼上的旋转餐厅。所以西餐是“吃风景”而不是“吃味道”。

中餐的就餐氛围讲究的是味道与分享。中餐以美味征服世界。中国有句古话：欲征服人心，先征服人胃。吃中餐时大家一起围坐在餐桌旁，所有人共同分享一个盘子中的食物，而主人还会热情地往你碗里夹菜。一顿饭后，人们之间的友情就加深了。

3. Third， the way that Chinese and western praise for food is different.

第三，中西方赞美食物的方式不同。

Chinese will generally say， “Your dish is cooked very excellently， which has caught up with the level of the restaurant” when they praise food； but the western people will say， “it is just like what is made at home！”

中国人赞美食物会说：“你的菜做得真好，都赶上餐馆的水平了！”西方人却会说：“你的菜和家里做的一样好！”