In Chinese cuisine, mouthfeel is no less important than flavor.

Every chef knows that the texture of the finished dish reveals everything about their mastery of cooking techniques. It's no wonder, then, that the Chinese language has such a rich vocabulary for the physical sensations created by food in the mouth.

My plan is for us to undertake a very unscientific study of these mouthfeel categories by sampling a wide variety of snacks: pastries, candies, and other quick bites and nibbles.

Our snack crawl will take us to a food emporium that gathers all of Shanghai's time-honored brands under one roof. After a quick introduction to the history of Shanghai bakeries, the attendees will be set loose to wander the food stalls, explore the wealth of offerings, and pick a couple of snacks that catch their fancy. We'll meet back up to sample all of the goods: tasting and comparing notes on mouthfeel and flavor.

Along the way, we'll explore how Shanghai's haipai ("East meets West") culture gave rise to a unique array of sweets and confections that cleverly adapted European recipes for Chinese palates.

We can finish off with a light meal at a nearby restaurant to continue our analysis of mouthfeel in a more savory context.

Note: As we will be sampling pastries and baked goods, this event is not suitable for anybody with allergies to dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, wheat, and sesame.