The dishes problem

 If you don't use algebra, my method is the "try" method. Firstly, according to the question, we know that the number of guests must be able to divide 2 bowls of rice, 3 bowls of soup, and 4 bowls of rice. So the number of guests must be divisible by 2, 3, and 4. Then I started to list all the numbers that can be divided by these three numbers and worked out backward whether this number guarantees that all the dishes are 65. I started with 12 guests and found that there were only 13 dishes, which is still too small. So jumped straight to 48 guests and found it was 52 dishes, which I realised was close to 65. Most likely it's the next common multiple, so that's 60 guests, and then I found it was exactly 65 dishes.

I think it's very impactful, maths examples from different cultures give students something new and fresh, not only can they learn about the development of maths in other cultures it can also give them new logic to think about and feel the different modes of thinking and asking questions, it will make them want to explore more.

I think stories and imagery are important to enhance the enjoyment of problem-solving. For example, in this puzzle, I would imagine that people sitting in a restaurant eating would be more interested in knowing how many people are eating. Students may draw pictures to support their thinking, so the process of drawing pictures is also a way of exercising their ability to 'combine shapes' in maths, which is a way of exercising mathematical logic.