Chinese cuisine is justifiably famous, memorably diverse - and generally not for the squeamish.

The Chinese themselves like to say they'll eat anything with four legs except a table. For the most part, however, it's a case of doing ingenious things with a limited number of basic ingredients. The cuisine can be divided into four regional categories:

Beijing/Mandarin and Shandong (with steamed bread and noodles as staples),

Cantonese and Chaozhou (lightly cooked meats and vegetables),

Shanghainese (the home of 'red cooking' and wuxi spare ribs),

and Sichuan (spicy, with lots of chilli).

Tea is the most common nonalcoholic beverage on sale, although Coca-Cola (both original and bogus) is making inroads.

Beer is by far the most popular alcoholic drink.

'Wine' is a loose term which can cover oxidized and herb-soaked concoctions, rice wine and wine containing lizards, bees or pickled snakes.

That $5 a gallon screw top jug doesn't look so bad now, does it.

Another favorite is maotai, a spirit made from sorghum which smells like rubbing alcohol and makes a good substitute for gasoline or paint thinner.

Which way to the bar?

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