We don't bake bread, though, because we don't have the ovens to bake it in. When I cook I use a lot of corn, but Chinese restaurants here don't. When I was growing up, freshness was the most important thing. I won't use canned anything, but most Chinese restaurants here don't use fresh produce, the wonderful produce that's available here. I like to use the beautiful foods that are here instead of using something canned that mimicks what we had in China.
Presentation is very important.
For the Chinese, the first thing is the eye, and then the smell, so for Chinese cooking, the colors, smell and taste have to all work together to make a good dish. Every time I come to New York it makes me feel like I have to work harder to make my food better. I am very much in accord with your choices of NY restaurants. We'll be celebrating at Le Bernardin next week. Everything is wonderful.