The other day, my boyfriend and I went to eat crayfish. I was gobbling the food, busy with biting off the crayfish's head, my hands dripping red oil from holding it, when he suddenly asked me, "What would have happened between us if I had taken you here when we first met?"

前几日，我和男友出去吃小龙虾。我正在大快朵颐，忙于吸着小龙虾的头，吃龙虾的手沾满红油，此时他突然问我：“如果我们第一次约会时我就带你来这儿吃小龙虾，那么我们之间会发生什么？

"Well, I think you might have fallen in love with me immediately, as we share the same eating habits," I joked.

我开玩笑说，“你一定会马上爱上我，因为我们有着同样的饮食习惯。”

Although we did not eat oily street food on our first date, I demonstrated a strong appetite. We dined on Yunnan cuisine¹ and finished six dishes, barely leaving leftovers².

尽管我们第一次约会时并没有吃路边摊，我仍表现出了非常好的胃口。我们去吃云南菜，二人吃掉了六个菜，基本全都吃光了。

His ability to order food we both like impressed me. After that, we had several other meals before we become lovers.

他能点出我们都爱吃的菜，这尤其让我印象深刻。自那以后，我们又一起吃了几顿饭，就成了男女朋友。

On China's popular dating show If you're the one, the host Meng Fei once said that one of the things he looked for in a partner is whether they can eat together. A popular online post recently echoed Meng's sentiments. The writer said one of the happiest things in the world is eating and gaining weight together with your lover. This won recognition among many Net users.

在中国收视率非常高的相亲秀节目《非诚勿扰》中，主持人孟非曾经说过，他择偶的标准之一是看两人是否能吃到一起。最近很火的一篇博文回应了孟非的观点，这位作者说，世界上最幸福的事之一就是，与你相爱的人一起享受美食，一起长胖。这引起了很多网友的共鸣。

I partly agree with this love doctrine³. Considering how many meals we need to eat with our other half, if we share the same dining interests, about one-fifth of our waking hours together will be happy and satisfying.

我只部分认同这个爱情观点。这得看我们要和另一半一起吃多少顿饭。如果我们有着共同的饮食习惯，那么在我们醒着的1/5的时间里，我们就是快乐的、满足的。

If he likes spicy⁴ food and I can't eat spicy things, or if he likes meat and I'm a vegetarian⁵, we will find that, aside from the other troubles lovers need to overcome, in eating alone we already have too many things to worry about.

如果他喜欢吃辣而我不能吃辣，或者他喜欢吃肉而我是素食主义者，我们会发现，除了情侣间通常需要克服的问题外，我们会在吃这件事上多出很多困扰。

Many people also use eating style as a reference for character traits when deciding if they can be with someone. This could have some scientific basis. Juliet Boghossian, a behavioral food expert, said different eating styles are linked to different traits. For instance, slow eaters tend to be more stubborn, while fast eaters lack balance when it comes to prioritizing.

有相当一部分人还将饮食习惯作为性格的参考，以决定是否与其交往。这可能有一定的科学依据。行为饮食专家Juliet Boghossian表示，不同的饮食习惯与不同的性格有关。比如，吃饭速度慢的人往往比较顽固，而吃饭速度快的人则在遇到优先选择问题时应付不来。

I asked my friends whether eating habits could be a factor that influences their choice of partner. Many said they would compromise if they only have disagreements in taste.

我问过我的朋友们，饮食习惯是否是影响他们选择伴侣的一个因素。有很多人表示，如果仅仅是在饮食口味上有分歧，那他们会妥协。

"If we can't get along in other areas, such as table manners, which can reflect character traits and breeding, it would be hard for us to be together," one of them said.

其中一人说，“如果我们在其他方面意见不合，比如能反映出一个人的性格和教养的餐桌礼仪，那么两个人就很难在一起。”