Unit 3  Understanding ideas 2

Delicious memories

1 The taste and smell of a certain food can often bring back memories. Do you have any favourite food memories?

2 Mine start with my mother. She can do magic in the kitchen. Tofu and beef become red, hot mapo tofu; carrots and mutton become lovely dumplings; a big fat hen becomes a pot of warm chicken soup; even eggs and green onions become wonderful pancakes. I always grow hungry thinking of them!

3 But my favourite food is porridge. I often wake up to the smell of porridge. Sometimes, it’s sweet eight-treasure porridge. Other times, it’s porridge with pork and thousand-year-old eggs. Each kind of porridge tastes great in its own way. When I fall ill, my mother always makes plain rice porridge for me. That’s the simplest food on any Chinese menu. For me, however, it’s the best food in the world. And it’s better medicine than a pill!

4 Now I’m studying away from home. But all the warm memories stay with me. The old days still feel so sweet in my heart. What food remains strong in your memory?