Text/Editor丨Qingtian Imperial History
●—<前言>—●
A large number of netizens on foreign forums have bluntly said that Chinese food is very greasy and difficult to eat, but do you know what the leaders of various countries eat when they visit China? Former US President Trump is a fanatic fan of Chinese food, and Putin once made snacks with his own hands and took the menu after the meal;
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited China 12 times in the past 16 years, covering China's major Jiangnanbi and visiting vegetable markets to learn from teachers. Chinese dishes that foreign leaders are keen on, see which one surprises you the most!
●—<英国女王伊丽莎白二世>—●
Among the four major ancient civilizations in the world, the mainland occupies a place, and enjoys a good reputation in the world for both culture and cuisine. Whenever a foreign leader comes to visit China, China, as the host, naturally has to give a warm reception to the Manchu and Han people. In 1986, Queen Elizabeth II visited China, which was the first visit of the Queen of England to a socialist country.
The Queen's trip was a matter of excitement, and the Queen and her entourage, totaling about 900 people, came to China on the royal yacht "Britannia" and frigates. During her week-long visit to China, the Queen, who usually doesn't talk much, seems to be very easy-going and active on these days, talking and laughing. Facing the Chinese food at the luncheon, the queen was even more interested.
There is a famous Fujian dish Buddha jumping over the wall on the table, after the practice and origin introduced by our personnel, the queen has a strong interest in it, and bluntly said, "Then we have to eat more." Buddha jumping over the wall was not only favored by the Queen of England, but also appeared on the menu of the state banquet when US President George H.W. Bush and others visited China.
●—<老布什>—●
As an old friend of ours, George H.W. Bush is the most friendly president to China in the history of the United States. Before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the elder Bush was deeply attracted to China and spontaneously took his wife and son Bush Jr. to Beijing to experience life. With deep admiration and curiosity for China, he did not hesitate to say in front of the public: I want to work in China.
After coming to Beijing, he was greeted by Qiao Guanhua and arranged a sumptuous family banquet for the elder Bush. He gave up riding a bicycle in the streets and alleys of Beijing, and joined the mighty bicycle brigade with his wife to play in the streets and alleys of Beijing. In order to communicate with the common people, Bush Sr. also went in and out of the vegetable market to bargain with aunts and uncles, and practiced Tai Chi with uncles in the park.
He couldn't stay in China all the time due to work, and his biggest regret was that he couldn't eat fresh roast duck every day. During his stay in China, George H.W. Bush often took his wife and children to a Peking duck restaurant in Beijing, never looking at the menu as soon as he entered the restaurant, and could order all the menus in the store with his mouth open, and each time he ate them cleanly, and even packed them home and continued to eat.
Even after he climbed to the pinnacle of power in the United States, he made no secret of his love for China, not only breaking the first foreign visit of a US president after taking office, but also visiting China more than 20 times in the following ten years. Even after leaving office in his later years, the elder Bush often returned to China to eat, drink and have fun, and called for the establishment of diplomatic relations and friendly coexistence between China and the United States.
●—<特朗普>—●
That year, the U.S. election came to an end, and an old man who didn't seem very reliable finally shattered the dream of female politician Hillary Clinton to make American history. And the new president, Mr. Trump, made headlines for "eating" during the campaign for several months. In 2017, Trump visited China as the president of the United States, and at the state banquet, Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, was invited to attend the state banquet.
Lei Jun posted the menu of Trump's state banquet in China, and the Sichuan-style Kung Pao chicken and Peking duck in the menu made Trump want to stop. As an amateur foodie, Trump also has a very high opinion of Chinese cuisine after his visit to China.
●—<克林顿>—●
In 1998, when Clinton was visiting China as president of the United States, at a private family dinner, Clinton tasted typical Chinese home-cooked food at the Green Wave Gallery in Shanghai. One of the home-cooked dishes, called pickle edamame, made Clinton eat bowl after bowl, and it was the only dish that was served twice, which made Clinton and his wife give high praise.
Don't look at this dish as unremarkable, the ingredients are carefully selected, the pickles are specially flown in from Guangdong, and the edamame is a product designated by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In addition to the exquisite raw materials, the secret recipes and craftsmanship of cooking are also very important, so that the Clinton family was conquered by this small dish.
●—<拜登>—●
In 2011, Biden visited China as vice president for a six-day trip to Beijing. At that time, accompanied by our personnel, I took Biden and others to a "fried liver restaurant" near the Drum Tower to taste Beijing's special snacks. As the leader of the country, Biden did not enter the private room, but sat in the lively hall. After other customers saw the big man, they greeted him one after another, and Biden did not hesitate to take a group photo with a smile.
At this restaurant, the most attractive thing for him was the fried noodles, where he ordered 5 bowls in a row, 10 steamed buns, cucumbers, shredded potatoes, and a few bottles of Coke drinks. As a lover of sweets, how can he miss desserts? So Biden ordered a sugar mixed yam in the store, and this unpopular set meal made him so little that it exploded directly.
Biden ordered so much, and the meal cost a total of 79 yuan, and at the checkout, he took out 100 yuan and gave it to the store owner, bluntly saying that according to the American custom, the rest was used as a tip. Since then, Biden's "vice presidential set" has set off a craze in Beijing, and everyone has come to taste the Beijing snack that the vice president of the United States loves.
●—<普京>—●
Although Putin is in his twilight years, he still loves fitness very much and attaches great importance to diet. Usually Putin likes to eat some light and nutritious staple foods and dairy products, but every time he visits China, he makes an exception. For example, at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Putin salivated over various dishes at the state banquet, and he himself said that he liked to eat roast duck, especially Shanghai roast duck.
For roast duck, Putin also has a special study, he stressed: Although they are all roast duck, Beijing's and Shanghai's are very different. Peking duck seems to be force-fed and tastes delicious, but Shanghai's duck seems to grow naturally, and the meat is exceptionally firm, which has a unique flavor. In addition to the world-famous roast duck, Putin can't refuse the traditional Chinese dish of crab roe roe and wheat.
After tasting it, he gave the highest praise: This dish should also make me feel the openness, tolerance and friendliness of China's foreign exchanges. Interestingly, after eating Chinese food, Putin was particularly fond of the menu in Chinese. Once, after eating, he would ask the boss directly for a menu and take it home to give to his daughter as a souvenir.
As an unsmiling president, Putin is not just a politician, he also has considerable skills in cooking. During his visit to Tianjin, he showed his cooking skills to the staff and made a pancake fruit on the spot. He imitated the staff to spread the pie crust, and skillfully spread the eggs, and after the baking, he suggested adding Russian caviar, a combination of Chinese and Western. This scene left a deep impression on countless staff members, and it turned out that the dignified President Putin also has a true temperament and a love for food.
●—<默克尔>—●
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of the few female politicians known as the "Iron Lady". But it is such a national leader who loves China beyond imagination. During her tenure, she visited China 12 times, covering all parts of China.
The most impressive thing was that during Merkel's visit to Shenyang, she visited the factory of a German car company in Shenyang. Afterwards, I went to a very ordinary restaurant nearby and ordered two bowls of sauerkraut and white meat, a bowl of rice and a glass of beer. The people who accompanied her saw her staring at the bite and stomach, and one person ate two servings. If it weren't for the busy schedule, Aunt Merkel would have to ask the chef for cooking skills and cook it for her husband at home.
During Merkel's seventh visit to China, she tasted the Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken, which was named by the Pope and praised by the UN Secretary-General. After she tasted the Chinese Kung Pao Chicken, she made a special trip to Chengdu Reflection Restaurant to learn how to make Kung Pao Chicken with her master, and planned to go back to make it for her husband.
In order to make an authentic taste, Merkel, accompanied by the staff, personally walked into a farmer's market in Chengdu to select materials and choose ingredients such as bean paste, pepper noodles, star anise and other ingredients needed for Kung Pao chicken. Under the teaching of the head chef, the serious moment of the "Iron Lady" has become a woman who loves life very much.
During Merkel's tenure, she would taste Chinese food every time she visited China and bring it back to her home table as much as possible. Since Merkel stepped down in 2021, she has devoted herself to studying cooking techniques. After leaving office, she did not cherish power and devoted the rest of her life to enjoying family life.