Conditioning

The psychologists in the past had demonstrated the power of classical conditioning: when you give a beef to a dog, it salivates. When you added the sounds of bell ring with the beef, it salivates again. After repeating the procedure for some times, when you just give the sounds, the dogs still salivates.

Thus I solved the misery in my life: Why I could not get a good taste from meals when I ate alone.

I realized that the taste of a meal is heavily contributed by mood (and the smell sense, of course). Our limbic circuit in our brain, which is regulating our emotion, has a significant relationship with the taste and smell function. If you are low, then nothing is tasty. In this case, a good meal might be able to cheer you up. But it is also possible that you waste the good meal at all.

Furthermore, having good companies with you will undoubtedly enhance the favor of the dishes. The good companies give you good mood and energy. No wonder Richard Lam wrote a lyrics like this in 分分鐘需要你:

有了你開心啲
乜都稱心滿意
咸魚白菜也好好味

He was observant to notice it, though he might not understand the underlying principles.

In fact, the quality of other perceptions could be also altered by mood. In manic patients, they often perceive the sound that is louder than it should be. The color would be more enriched. However, the change of intensity could hardly be compared with the taste perception.

In conclusion, whenever you want to have a meal, be it a grand one or a simple one, get your friends with you.