Gourmet: From Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles to Banquet Chef

During a high-altitude training march, his comrade Zhou Xiaochuan collapsed in his arms. Inside his cap were the words, “Ideals are greater than heaven. The harder things get, the farther forward we go.” From that day on, every flavor of life tasted salty to him.

A yellowed copy of Miscellaneous Notes on Yunnan Cuisine, an old kitchen knife engraved with “Wang Fu,” and a Chef God System that fell from the sky.

From crossing-the-bridge rice noodles to whole-lamb feasts, from Kunming’s roadside stalls to state banquets at the Great Hall of the People, Wang Zhuo travels all over Yunnan, learning from the Yi, Tibetan, Bai, Dai, and other peoples. He traces the roots of Yunnan cuisine with every step, recreates his great-grandfather’s legacy with his knife skills, and uses a bowl of “Memory Soup” to awaken the taste he lost.

This is a journey of “finding one’s way home.”

When the ten-thousandth bowl of “Homecoming Soup” is served at the New Year’s Eve table, and a veteran takes a sip and says, “I’m home,” Wang Zhuo finally understands: what he found again was not just his sense of taste, but the way home.