Q+A: Zhao Ziyun Zheng Yulong

Zhao, Beijing News food reporter

Zheng, nutritionist, member of the Chinese Nutrition Society

What would be your last meal?

Zhao: It would be homemade mutton in a hotpot. The broth should be clear and the mutton fresh. I'll have meat only. The tip of a lamb's flank, sirloin, rump are my first choices. I also prefer a charcoal fire. To fill the family up, each person will probably have 500g.

Zheng: Be it doomsday or not, Dec 21 is winter solstice, so I'll have colorful dumplings. The colors come from natural ingredients. You can have black dumplings if you add cuttlefish ink to the dough, purple ones if you substitute the water with purple cabbage juice.

What would be the setting for the meal?

Zhao: The plates for the meat have to be clean and dry. The meat should stick to the plate and not fall off even if the plate is placed on its end.

Zheng: Colorful dumplings are delightful enough to look at. I would go one step further and place them in dumpling-shaped containers.

What would you drink with meal?

Zhao: Quick-boiled mutton goes with white spirits. I'll have Niulanshan erguotou.

Zheng: Definitely, dumpling soup. It's good for your health. Moreover, the old Chinese saying has it that dumpling soup brings fortune and good luck.

Would there be music?

Zhao: Yes. Zuoxiaozuozhou's Kugui (bitter ghosts). If it's really the end of the world, we'll all turn into unhappy ghosts, won't we?

Zheng: I don't really care for music.

Who would be your dining companions?

Zhao: My parents, wife and kid. We'll talk about our blissful past.

Zheng: Definitely my family.

Who would prepare the meal?

Zhao: I will. I'm busy and don't usually have the time to cook for them. I'm the man of the family and I'd like to do something for them.

Zheng: My family will work together. Everyone will chip in. It's a fun activity and it's the traditional way of family bonding.