How dishes were named ?(1)

Naming dishes is an artistic expression of the inventors' ideas. Often, dishes are named for natural phenomena and things that exist in nature: The four seasons, wind, flowers, snow, plants, gold, jade, gems, animals, and the moon have all been used in naming dishes to add beauty and appeal, to attract customers, and to increase diners' appetites.

Some examples are the "wind lulling cake" (a pan-cake first baked on a pan, then deep-fat fried before eating), "snowflake shortcake" (similar to the sweet and salty square available in Beijing today), "snow-box vegetable" (a green vegetable steamed with milk cakes), "snowflake bean curd" (stir-fried minced bean curd). "Lotus flower sliced chicken" (a chicken dish made of quick stir-fired egg white, sliced chicken breast and corn starch), "100-flower chess pieces" (flat noodles cut into pieces and served with soup), "squirrel-shaped croaker," and "black dragon spitting pearls" (sea cucumber braised with quail eggs).

These names stress the taste, bright color, flavor, thick aroma and shape of the dishes.