Pick a region, see the dominant flavor profile - and what dishes define that region.
Pick a region and meal context. The card shows flavor intensity (salt, spicy, sweet, umami, sour) plus signature dishes.
Chinese food gets treated as one cuisine. Eight major regional cuisines disagree on the most basic assumptions - sweet vs salty, chili vs peppercorn, soup vs stir-fry. Choosing a region before cooking changes everything.
Anyone picking a Chinese cookbook. Travelers planning a food tour. Cooks confused why Sichuan in their city tastes different from Sichuan in Chengdu.
Bars are relative to other regions, not absolute. Salt 5 in Shandong means saltier than other Chinese regions, not saltier than the ocean. Meal context matters - banquets tone down regional intensity; street food pushes it.
Cities within regions disagree. Canton (Guangzhou) and Hong Kong have very different Cantonese food. Within Sichuan, Chengdu is spicier than Ya'an. The 8 great cuisines are a simplification.
What about Xinjiang, Beijing, Northeast? Northern cuisines span a huge area. Xinjiang is heavily cumin/lamb; Northeast is pickled-vegetable heavy.
What is the 8 great cuisines? The traditional 8: Sichuan, Hunan, Cantonese, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong.
Why does restaurant Chinese food taste different? Restaurant versions tone down regional extremes for non-local customers.