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Restaurants during the Sung Dynasty (960 to 1279) in ChinaThe Sung dynasty was a period of marked culinary (and general cultural) achievement in China. This was due, in part, to the introduction of a heartier and more abundantly productive strain of rice from the Champa area in Vietnam, which substantially lessened the incidence of famine. People no longer had to struggle to eat; indeed, they could produce more than was necessary for their immediate families, and agricultural commerce thrived. Huge, open-air markets exposed urban cooks to a wider variety of produce than ever before. Sugar cane became a cash crop as luxury foods made with refined sugars grew in popularity. Tea-drinking evolved from a indulgence for the rich to a daily necessity for people at all levels of society.The major cities of this era, Kaifeng and Hangchow (both are in southeastern China), each had a fully developed restaurant-going culture similar to today's. At least, this is true for men: the most luxurious restaurants, the "wine restaurants," were usually affiliated with brothels. Wine restaurants were lavishly decorated with works by renowned artists, offered changing menus, and regularly went in and out of fashion according to the whims of a fickle clientele. In addition to wine restaurants, there were less fancy options of noodle shops and tea houses for the mostly male day-laborers in the city who wanted to eat out. |
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