From former NPR correspondent, now with the Economist, Rob Gifford's amazing book
China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power
:
"The next morning, I'm up bright and breezy and ready to hit the road. I head through to the hotel dining room, knowing that, since this is a completely Chinese hotel, there will be almost nothing I want to eat. Considering the universal deliciousness of Chinese cuisine, it has always been a mystery to me how Chinese breakfasts could be so bad. You would think after five thousand years of continuous civilization they could come up with something a little better than pickled vegetables and rice gruel. I consider berating the staff on this point but realize I don't know how to say "Rice Krispies" in Chinese, so I grab a couple of sweetened bread rolls and sit down in the corner of the dining room with a pot of Chinese tea."
