"For example," says Shen Yuan, just to test, "you told me you didn't like noodles as much as you liked falafel. I accept this as a matter of taste, because I'm a very benevolent friend." His tone is playful, clearly joking. "But if I didn't, I might argue that noodles are clearly better, because they're a solid, delicious base for any flavor at all—endlessly customizable. Whereas falafel might be better once, it won't be better every time, because it's always the same."

He hasn't actually eaten falafel, but not consuming something has never stopped him from having a stubborn opinion about it before. Why would it start now?