Chinese noodles for the soul

The cooks are busy making noodles at a noodle stall in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]

For starters, he said that eating noodles, which are usually priced no more than 50 yuan a bowl in Shanghai, is an affordable way to satiate hunger. He said that a Chinese feast is usually accompanied by socializing, something that is too overwhelming for his physical and mental health. Another reason was to avoid the wrath of his wife, who almost always cooked rice at home.

"When you tell your wife you are dining out, she might be less angry if you are eating something she doesn't cook," laughs Rui.

In late 2010, when two of his favorite noodle shops were torn down to make way for the flagship store of fashion brand H&M, Rui embarked on a journey to find other good noodle shops in the city. He started a blog titled Looking for 30 bowls of noodles in Shanghai to document his quest.

Unexpectedly, the blog went viral, attracting millions of readers and spawning copycat blogs. It was even referenced by local food programs. He reckoned that if his work was worth plagiarizing, it might also be something worth investing in.

Encouraged by the reception, Rui decided to take things one step further in 2014 by writing the book The Big Flavor of Small Snacks, a 360-page, 280,000-word documentation of 60 types of Shanghai street snacks and noodles from 200 eateries.

Rui attributes his passion for Shanghai street food to his childhood days, most of which were spent around Shanghai Yuyuan Garden, known as the birth place of the city's culinary culture. He notes in the preface of his book that the number of eateries in Shanghai peaked in the mid 1950s at 23,020 but later dipped to just 1,845 in 1992 because of the country's political and economic transformation.

"Like human beings, eateries and snacks will one day meet their demise. I am writing to help them leave a mark in history," he says.

While Rui has written a lot of food he has not written a line about his rock 'n' roll days. However, he has passed on his love of Pink Floyd, one of Britain's most celebrated bands, to his teenage daughter who is now majoring in psychology at a university in the United States.

"As it turns out, getting into college and enjoying rock 'n' roll music aren't in conflict," he says.