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[.JayZii]

Funnily enough, you could have just as easily turned a blind eye to my post telling you to stop using demeaning language to describe a culture's food. But here we are again, with the back and forth pettiness, when you could have just said "oh hey, my bad" and moved on

I explained my reasoning for what I said since you were clearly wanted to engage me by making some sort of vague accusation –or maybe you just wanted to take a potshot and leave unnoticed?– and you responded with nothing but snarky glib comments and didn't address my reasoning or defend your own stance.

I don't think asking someone to back up their statements with anything of substance is petty.

But you're right. Oh hey, my bad. I'll move on.

 

[Poor GRIMES]

I explained my reasoning for what I said since you were clearly wanted to engage me by making some sort of vague accusation –or maybe you just wanted to take a potshot and leave unnoticed?– and you responded with nothing but snarky glib comments and didn't address my reasoning or defend your own stance.

I don't think asking someone to back up their statements with anything of substance is petty.

But you're right. Oh hey, my bad. I'll move on.

Huh? Why do I have to prove it with direct quotes to call you out? The poster you responded to is Filipino himself, and jokingly says that his people's food makes for "funny struggle food threads." You then responded with "well, I believe that Filipino food absolutely has this struggle food quality to them because of this, this, and this." After I've read through the thread, I found your language problematic, and called you out on it to reconsider your labeling.

It's just ironic as hell considering the article in the OP, that other types of Asian foods are being ghettoized in the same goddamn thread

 

[Rentahamster]

This is why I'm glad that Filipino food failed to be a thing in spite of Food TV chefs trying for the past 10 years.

Wait until the hipsters learn the joy of boodle fight!

 

[Tenck]

Next time I'm in NYC, Is there an affordable authentic Chinese restaurant anyone suggests I try?

A few weeks ago I found a great thai place on 51st - Sukhumvit 51

https://youtu.be/kL1QbQeB37k

Cheap and delicious.

 

[Fuchsdh]

You're implying that it would be better if it was filled with 'authentic' Chinese people, arent you? How else would you interpret that statement?



Thank you. So you at least acknowledge that this 'victim/superiority' mindset does exist among some Chinese people. Like I said, I think its awesome to have pride in your culture. But it does strike me as though sometimes some Chinese people are dying to be accepted for who they are by, lets be honest, white people, but at the same time they can be very quick to put down white people for either accepting it too much (labelled appropriation) or not getting it enough (labelled ignorance).

That's a big part of the tone of the OP's article. We should like Asian noodles more because they take more effort than western noodles. The more work you put it, the better it tastes right? Oh and here's an unsubstantiated source that says the Chinese invented prosciutto.

 

[Ryuukan]

This is why I'm glad that Filipino food failed to be a thing in spite of Food TV chefs trying for the past 10 years.

Wait until the hipsters learn the joy of boodle fight!

I dunno about hipsters, but gaf was exposed to filipino food and it got pretty ugly

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1266117

 

[Haly]

You're implying that it would be better if it was filled with 'authentic' Chinese people, arent you? How else would you interpret that statement?

It's near Grand Central station, and it has one Michelin star, which means it attracts a lot of tourists, and the poster asked for some "authentic" places in NYC, and a one Michelin star restaurant that's a tourist trap usually disqualifies a place as "authentic" (it's a common measure of authenticity to judge by the clientele) but Cafe China is one of the exceptions.

This is what he asked for:

Is there an affordable authentic Chinese restaurant

And this is precisely what I provided. You're free to attach whatever meanings to it as your prejudice calls for, but I made no such judgment on whether it's "better" than, say, a food court on Main St, Flushing at lunch hour on a weekday.

I would describe Salvation Taco as "gentrified" as well. It has nothing to do with "racism" and is wholly and entirely standard foodie snobbery.

 

[Chojin]

I think we might have a miscommunication. I wasn't directly referring to .JayZii ehen talking about pingeonholing Filipino food. I was reinforcing the idea that the typical children's birthday party fare doesn't represent Filipino cuisine any more than birthday cake and ice cream reflect daily american dinners.

Also with the Jollibee comments. Imagine you are in a foreign country and you keep up with the local cuisine. Sometimes you feel a bit of comfort when something as a McDonalds can feel once in a while. I sure did when my family moved from former Zaire to Bonn, Germany. 12 year old me was happy to eat something I hadn't had for years. So when a Jollibee opens up in a nearby state (like in Florida) and my wife begs friends to bring back a bucket of Chicken Joy it reminds her a little bit of home.

If one opened up in Atlanta I doubt we would go daily. We hardly ever go back in the Philippines. But its nice to see something familiar. Like going to the Filipino aisle of a farmers market. Most of it is going to be prepackaged snacks mostly because you don't have to go to the Filipino aisle to make Filipino food. But its sure nice to get some povloron or bulalo mami once in a while.


Anyway I was speaking generally from past threads about Filipino food. Theres a ton of it. I have ideas on why it doesn't catch on yet you'd think that a country that has strong ties to the US for almost 120 years there would have been sone sort of "americanization" like with a lot of other asian cuisine. One is a general cultural assimilation Filipinos tend to do in their host country, at least compared to other asian cultures.

 

[not psycho]

Ironically, I think part of this is people trying not to be racist.

It can seem like racist, exoticizing food tourism to search for authentically Chinese Chinese food. Indeed, some have argued that seeking authenticity fetishizes the food and freezes it in time, while in reality food culture is always changing and being influenced by things all over the globe.

On a shallow level, it can seem that listening to people without family ties to a culture is the less racist option. It shows you aren't obsessed with or fetishizing authenticity, it shows you aren't making assumptions like "hey, you're Chinese-American, you must be an expert on making authentic Chinese food".

But I disagree with that. I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to learn about cuisine at a specific point in time and place. No more than I think it is wrong that I would pay almost anything to be able to make the food I had at a friend's house when I was a kid... not because it was exotic, but because it was incredibly tasty and now nostalgic. On the other hand, listening to white chefs is capable of fetishizing or freezing a cuisine in time, if that is the way they go about their work, and a Chinese chef can very well be part of a constantly changing cuisine.

 

[ColdPizza]

Ironically, I think part of this is people trying not to be racist.

It can seem like racist, exoticizing food tourism to search for authentically Chinese Chinese food. Indeed, some have argued that seeking authenticity fetishizes the food and freezes it in time, while in reality food culture is always changing and being influenced by things all over the globe.

On a shallow level, it can seem that listening to people without family ties to a culture is the less racist option. It shows you aren't obsessed with or fetishizing authenticity, it shows you aren't making assumptions like "hey, you're Chinese-American, you must be an expert on making authentic Chinese food".

But I disagree with that. I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to learn about cuisine at a specific point in time and place. No more than I think it is wrong that I would pay almost anything to be able to make the food I had at a friend's house when I was a kid... not because it was exotic, but because it was incredibly tasty and now nostalgic. On the other hand, listening to white chefs is capable of fetishizing or freezing a cuisine in time, if that is the way they go about their work, and a Chinese chef can very well be part of a constantly changing cuisine.

Your post for some reason triggered my memory of this Seinfeld scene: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DnAam9Hozwk

 

[Gully State]

That's a big part of the tone of the OP's article. We should like Asian noodles more because they take more effort than western noodles. The more work you put it, the better it tastes right? Oh and here's an unsubstantiated source that says the Chinese invented prosciutto.

Ugh....no the author is debunking the Western perception that Chinese cooking is cheap, unrefined, gross and weird. Her original point...
is

Yet, here in the West, we read and commission more stories about poop-themed restaurants, Communist hot pot eateries, and dog-eating festivals than deeply, thoughtfully researched pieces on Chinese pickling techniques and the art of Chinese lamb roasts.

The point of bringing up hand pulled noodles, pickling, ham curing techniques...etc.. is to show that authentic Chinese food is technical, diverse, full of tradition, refined and complex.

But no, the West only focuses on Orange Chicken, Crab Rangoons, MSG and if it's the "authentic" stuff....insert drive by shitpost about dog...

 

[Renekton]

It's weird how Chinese food became the cheap end of restaurant food in America and Japanese became the overpriced end. I guess it was a combination of the 80's and 90's, weaboos, and the high price of "sushi grade" fish.

I don't​ know much about Chinese Americans but cheap-but-good has been our culture for a long time so it's not a problem. This extends to the diaspora too where we find Chinese food gems in the dodgy streets of Thailand and Vietnam.

 

[.JayZii]

I think we might have a miscommunication. I wasn't directly referring to .JayZii ehen talking about pingeonholing Filipino food. I was reinforcing the idea that the typical children's birthday party fare doesn't represent Filipino cuisine any more than birthday cake and ice cream reflect daily american dinners.

Also with the Jollibee comments. Imagine you are in a foreign country and you keep up with the local cuisine. Sometimes you feel a bit of comfort when something as a McDonalds can feel once in a while. I sure did when my family moved from former Zaire to Bonn, Germany. 12 year old me was happy to eat something I hadn't had for years. So when a Jollibee opens up in a nearby state (like in Florida) and my wife begs friends to bring back a bucket of Chicken Joy it reminds her a little bit of home.

If one opened up in Atlanta I doubt we would go daily. We hardly ever go back in the Philippines. But its nice to see something familiar. Like going to the Filipino aisle of a farmers market. Most of it is going to be prepackaged snacks mostly because you don't have to go to the Filipino aisle to make Filipino food. But its sure nice to get some povloron or bulalo mami once in a while.


Anyway I was speaking generally from past threads about Filipino food. Theres a ton of it. I have ideas on why it doesn't catch on yet you'd think that a country that has strong ties to the US for almost 120 years there would have been sone sort of "americanization" like with a lot of other asian cuisine. One is a general cultural assimilation Filipinos tend to do in their host country, at least compared to other asian cultures.

I understand what you're saying completely. In my initial response I didn't mean to diminish Filipino food or anything, so I hope it didn't come across that way, and I apologize if it did. I was just responding to your post about Filipino food and "struggle food" with the Filipino dishes that I knew that came to mind.

I wasn't aware that there were over 20 different culinary styles in the Philippines either, I should look into Filipino food culture more.

Hehe.


In all honesty, I think it's great that white America is exposed to other cultural foods.

What I really tend to side-eye is, how after a cuisine becomes trendy, all the top "best <food>" lists are basically all white chefs.

That's super sketch, especially since those restaurants are located in areas fairly close to ethnic enclaves where the food has been eaten for decades.

I think it's great for foods to cross cultures too. The bolded is more what I was referring to with the 'taking credit" part of my comment.

 

[akira28]

That's a shame. Deep fried pork intestine is amazing.

lol, that's all you playboy. I'll join you at the table, but will have different food on my plate.

 

[Korey]

The reason why Filipino food isn't a thing in America is because there are like literally zero Filipino restaurants. So when we think of Filipino food, it's this:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1266117

So that begs the question...why are there no "real" Filipino restaurants in America? Isn't that typically the first type of business that immigrants open?

 

[massoluk]

The reason why Filipino food isn't a thing in America is because there are like literally zero Filipino restaurants. So when we think of Filipino food, it's this:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1266117

So that begs the question...why are there no "real" Filipino restaurants in America? Isn't that typically the first type of business that immigrants open?

To be fair, a few Filipino restaurant fed me when I was still living in Jersey City. Decent street level food

 

[ahoyhoy]

As a white person thank you for good food.

 

[Nista]

There are a couple of Filipino restaurants around here, but OC has pretty much every Asian country/region represented somewhere. There's even a more "hipster" one called Irenia that uses seasonal ingredients, and their dishes don't look anything like Jolibee.

I get a bit tired of random Yelp wars over authenticity and whether the dish at a specific place is like one they remember from a cafe back home. I just want to know if it tastes good, and will my stomach tie itself into knots from the ingredients used.

 

[sasimirobot]

can't wait for the day America "discovers" MSG again. for a while there using the word umami was a badge of pride for some food snobs, but this harmless and tasty flavor is still not so subtly vilified because of old school rascism from the 80s. I look forward to seeing restaurants placing MSG as a condiment next to black pepper on the table sometime in the near future!

 

[Stinkles]

This is why I'm glad that Filipino food failed to be a thing in spite of Food TV chefs trying for the past 10 years.

I blame balut and jollibee.


Also why's you glad it failed to be a thing? Most of it is delicious and it sucks it's not easier to get.

 

[soundscream]

Sure but I think there is a reason Filipino food hasn't been as hyped like other cuisines.
Halo Halo is awesome though.



Asian people eat EVERYTHING that is tasty. Funnily, what is the difference between chitlins and (natural) sausage casing?
Some people act all high and mighty about weird food like chitlins when they chow down something where poop literally went through while eating a sausage.

The majority of store bought sausages are synthetic.

 

[Toki767]

I blame balut and jollibee.


Also why's you glad it failed to be a thing? Most of it is delicious and it sucks it's not easier to get.

I'm lucky enough to live right next to Daly City.

Filipino food is great, but I definitely don't usually see a lot of non Filipino people eating in the restaurants. At least not in the same way you'll see a lot of white people in fancier Chinese places here.

 

[nded]

Filipinos just don't seem to think of their own cuisine as something you go to a restaurant for. Nobody's going to recommend you go to this or that restaurant for a good adobo when someone's uncle can make a killer pot of the stuff.

 

[99Luffy]

Filipinos just don't seem to think of their own cuisine as something you go to a restaurant for. Nobody's going to recommend you go to this or that restaurant for a good adobo when someone's uncle can make a killer pot of the stuff.

I feel that adobo is the mac n cheese of filipino food. Just drenching meat with vinegar and soy sauce.

Filipino food really needs to just cater to its strength, and thats fried pork. No one wants to go to a restaurant for lumpias, pancit, and tocino, because theyd rather have spring rolls, chow mein, and ginger beef. They want sisig, crispy dinuguan, and crispy pata.

 

[Kuroi Gogeta]

The perception of Chinese food as "cheap" on par with something like mcdonalds kills me. It's actually very difficult to make good Chinese, and a lot of people don't recognize the talent and dedication it takes to make these dishes.

Even here in Vancouver where I live, there are lots of Chinese food places, but many of them seem like they aren't gourmet

 

[bobbytkc]

Yeah!

"How dare you mix and match culture to make something new. Where do you think you are? Some kind of melting pot?”

Spoiler

appropriating Bill Maher

That is not the problem. The problem is the taking credit part.

 

[ZackieChan]

That is not the problem. The problem is the taking credit part.

Is that what's happening in that article the OP article mentions? He seems to be pretty open about how many people love it, etc.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

There are a couple of Filipino restaurants around here, but OC has pretty much every Asian country/region represented somewhere. There's even a more "hipster" one called Irenia that uses seasonal ingredients, and their dishes don't look anything like Jolibee.

I get a bit tired of random Yelp wars over authenticity and whether the dish at a specific place is like one they remember from a cafe back home. I just want to know if it tastes good, and will my stomach tie itself into knots from the ingredients used.

I live in Tustin and the Asian food, especially Chinese food is pretty bad. LA is where it's at for Chinese food and most other types of food compared to the OC.

LA is actually the best for Chinese food anywhere in the US.

 

[Nordicus]

I'm sorry your chastisement didn't really work out, but you haven't had anything to say other than an attempted drive-by virtue signaling/shaming. I have an acerbic reaction to holier-than-thou people with nothing to say.

He'd likely pop a blood vessel reading any Jollibees thread on GAF

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1266117

 

[Saya]

Is that what's happening in that article the OP article mentions? He seems to be pretty open about how many people love it, etc.

From the article:

Only certain dishes like noodles, dumplings, kebabs, and rice bowls have been normalized. The majority is still largely stigmatized because, bluntly put, white people have not decided they like it yet.

I guess it's more about "discovering" these kinds of foods that have been around for centuries and it only becoming popular once white people give it their seal of approval and in some cases taking credit for it.

 

[KonradLaw]

It is annoying when american chefs pick up techniques that's been used long time by other cultures and try to sell it as something new. It even happens with white cousine (slavic one for example). But when somebody writes with respect about alien culture and exposes it to more audience, I don't think it's anything to be angry about. Especially since it often opens doors for members of that culture because their cousine grows in popularity.

 

[KonradLaw]

I guess it's more about "discovering" these kinds of foods that have been around for centuries and it only becoming popular once white people give it their seal of approval and in some cases taking credit for it.

Well..USA is still majority white though, isn't it? How would anything become popular without white people giving it a seal of approval? It's only really a problem when they take the credit, which is the real meaning of cultural cultural appropriation

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Well..USA is still majority white though, isn't it? How would anything become popular without white people giving it a seal of approval? It's only really a problem when they take the credit, which is the real meaning of cultural cultural appropriation

I think like the Jonathan Gold thing mentioned in the article it's mostly fine. It's good to give Chinese food a spotlight and from a white person to make it more palatable to white people. Because honestly if you have an Asian person write the same thing a lot of white people just reject the recommendations as weird and gross. I know because I get that all the time when I'm trying to introduce Chinese food to white friends, but if they see it on Bourdain or something all of a sudden it's the new hot thing.

The funny thing is the majority of the Chinese food recommended by Jonathan Gold are pretty middling for us who are actually Chinese and know the food. In that way someone like Bourdain is actually a lot better because he's relying on locals to show him the food and keeps an open mind, knowing that while he's an expert in a lot of food, primarily western food he's really not going to have much expertise when it comes to Eastern food.

 

[MGrant]

I'm Chinese and even I think stink tofu is disgusting. Sichuan cuisine is overrated by the way. I prefer Hunan spices.

I once heard someone say "Sichuanese folks love anything spicy. Hunanese folks are scared of anything that isn't spicy." Holds true in my experience. The number of peppers they must go through in a week...

I'd still rank Sichuan at #1, with Hunan, Taiwanese (inc. Hakka), and Cantonese food coming afterward, in that order.

 

[Nordicus]

Because honestly if you have an Asian person write the same thing a lot of white people just reject the recommendations as weird and gross. I know because I get that all the time when I'm trying to introduce Chinese food to white friends, but if they see it on Bourdain or something all of a sudden it's the new hot thing.

Can you give specific examples of stuff that your friends reject out of kneejerk reaction?

 

[KonradLaw]

I think like the Jonathan Gold thing mentioned in the article it's mostly fine. It's good to give Chinese food a spotlight and from a white person to make it more palatable to white people. Because honestly if you have an Asian person write the same thing a lot of white people just reject the recommendations as weird and gross. I know because I get that all the time when I'm trying to introduce Chinese food to white friends, but if they see it on Bourdain or something all of a sudden it's the new hot thing.

The funny thing is the majority of the Chinese food recommended by Jonathan Gold are pretty middling for us who are actually Chinese and know the food. In that way someone like Bourdain is actually a lot better because he's relying on locals to show him the food and keeps an open mind, knowing that while he's an expert in a lot of food, primarily western food he's really not going to have much expertise when it comes to Eastern food.

Yeah, I like those kind of shows the most, when chefs travel around and highlight local cousines, often working alongside the local chefs. Especially if they're humble enough to not be offended if local chefs make fun of their mistakes, which is always hilarious to watch

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Can you give specific examples of stuff that your friends reject out of kneejerk reaction?

The most common example (and in my opinion about as low as it gets on the weird scale) is dim sum. All throughout law school I'd take my Jewish and white friends to dim sum and suggest the chicken feet (fong zhua or phoenix claw). Almost all of them would make a face and refuse to even try. I met up with them after law school and they must have seen dim sum featured somewhere because they were ordering that shit and and the stomach and gobbling it up and saying how amazing it was. These guys were the kind to only ever get the fried things, shumai, and pastry desserts previously.

This has also continued into both my wife and my professional lives when we go to get Chinese with white friends and coworkers.

Again I don't really mind it, it's just kind of amusing to me. I don't think western media has highlighted my native Taiwanese food yet so there's a whole lot of stuff they wont try still. Sichuan though, I see a lot of white people accepting more and more because I know that's been featured pretty frequently.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Can't be a chinese food thread without referencing the hit single I Love Chinese Food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWLhrHVySgA&list=RDwWLhrHVySgA

Wonder if she's related to Jonathan? lol

 

[aznpxdd]

Well, I live in Guangdong (aka origin of dim sum) and I'm gonna tell you not everyone eats chicken feet here either.

Again I don't really mind it, it's just kind of amusing to me. I don't think western media has highlighted my native Taiwanese food yet so there's a whole lot of stuff they wont try still. Sichuan though, I see a lot of white people accepting more and more because I know that's been featured pretty frequently.

Not the whole cuisine as a whole, but LA area already has 2 &#35946;&#22823;&#22823;&#38622;&#25490; (hot star fried chicken) stores around originating from the Shi-ling Night market that has gotten some attention. Kato - Taiwanese tasting menu in West LA also just won GQ's 10 new best restaurant in USA for 2017.

 

[Chuckie]

I find it funny that white people have suddenly "discovered" bone broth and now it's a thing when it's been part of most old cultures forever. There's a lot of traditional stuff that people are discovering again which I'm happy for but just like discovering civilizations, it only counts as a discovery if white people discovered it.

Which white people have suddenly 'discovered' bone broth? That shit has been part of French (and other European) cuisine for centuries.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

Well, I live in Guangdong (aka origin of dim sum) and I'm gonna tell you not everyone eats chicken feet here either.

Not everyone of any race eats everything. That's not the point.

It's that Americans who were my friends wouldn't even give it a try on my recommendation but once the food had some notoriety in media like food channels they suddenly tried it and loved it. Again it's great though. Whether it's me or some white writer or celebrity chef travelling the world I'm for it all if it gets people to try new things.

 

[The Wart]

From the article:



I guess it's more about "discovering" these kinds of foods that have been around for centuries and it only becoming popular once white people give it their seal of approval and in some cases taking credit for it.

I mean... Chinese Americans are like 1% of the population...? Larger in the major cities where food trends arise, but even so. So if something from chinese culture is going to become mainstream in America is pretty much by definition is going to have to be "discovered" by other ethnic and cultural groups.

This isn't to deny that racism is an issue. But people need to think more carefully about what exactly is good and bad about "cultural appropriation". Asking for chinese food to be only cooked by chinese chefs and only written about by chinese writers is equivalent to asking for chinese food to not be popular in America. You can't have it both ways.

 

[MistakenMobius]

Which white people have suddenly 'discovered' bone broth? That shit has been part of French (and other European) cuisine for centuries.

White of GAF means WASP.
It very strange for people from the outside of the US

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

I mean... Chinese Americans are like 1% of the population...? Larger in the major cities where food trends arise, but even so. So if something from chinese culture is going to become mainstream in America is pretty much by definition is going to have to be "discovered" by other ethnic and cultural groups.

This isn't to deny that racism is an issue. But people need to think more carefully about what exactly is good and bad about "cultural appropriation". Asking for chinese food to be only cooked by chinese chefs and only written about by chinese writers is equivalent to asking for chinese food to not be popular in America. You can't have it both ways.

I agree with you. Better to have white ambassadors get people into real Chinese food than just having the majority of Americans just think Chinese food is greasy panda express shit that you take in doggy boxes.

And I don't think many Asian people actually make a big deal out of non Asian chefs making the food. It's more about western chefs using Asian techniques and making it out like they discovered and/or invented some new amazing thing (I haven't really seen much of this happening anyway).

For example if you live in SoCal and know about Ding Tai Fung, which is regarded as a very good dumpling and xiao long bao house originating in Taiwan, basically all the chefs making the dumplings and XLB are Mexican. I've never heard any of my Asian friends or family say anything but positive things about how they make them just like the Taiwanese chefs in the original Taiwan locations do.

 

[azyless]

Is chinese food not that popular in the US ? There are plenty of chinese restaurants or litte shops here. Delicious food.

I find it funny that white people have suddenly "discovered" bone broth and now it's a thing when it's been part of most old cultures forever. There's a lot of traditional stuff that people are discovering again which I'm happy for but just like discovering civilizations, it only counts as a discovery if white people discovered it.

White people have used bone broth for milleniums.

 

[The Wart]

For example if you live in SoCal and know about Ding Tai Fung, which is regarded as a very good dumpling and xiao long bao house originating in Taiwan, basically all the chefs making the dumplings and XLB are Mexican. I've never heard any of my Asian friends or family say anything but positive things about how they make them just like the Taiwanese chefs in the original Taiwan locations do.

I remember hearing a story -- I think it was an NPR segment? -- about how the children of Vietnamese restaurant owners in America have no interest in taking over the family businesses, so they're being passed on to hispanic immigrants who started working in the restaurants as line cooks.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

Is there a reason why people think that Chinese food is all about intestines?
Lived in China for over 4 years and still dont like it because there are literally 1000 other dishes....

There is "Xian"-food, heavily inspired by the muslim community living there.
Sichuan has their own food.
Beijing has a lot of unique dishes.
Dongbei has dishes that reminds people of eastern Germany/Russian food.
Guandong has its own stuff.
Tibet too.

Edit: Also effin Jianbing!!! So good!

 

[Carcetti]

I find it funny that white people have suddenly "discovered" bone broth and now it's a thing when it's been part of most old cultures forever. There's a lot of traditional stuff that people are discovering again which I'm happy for but just like discovering civilizations, it only counts as a discovery if white people discovered it.

Maybe you need to discover what white people have actually eaten since stone age.

regards,

Euro-GAF

For some reason these threads tend to assume white means 'white american'. I get that it's a young culture, but it's not the only 'white' culture on the planet.

 

[Erheller]

I mean... Chinese Americans are like 1% of the population...? Larger in the major cities where food trends arise, but even so. So if something from chinese culture is going to become mainstream in America is pretty much by definition is going to have to be "discovered" by other ethnic and cultural groups.

This isn't to deny that racism is an issue. But people need to think more carefully about what exactly is good and bad about "cultural appropriation". Asking for chinese food to be only cooked by chinese chefs and only written about by chinese writers is equivalent to asking for chinese food to not be popular in America. You can't have it both ways.

I don't mind white people or really people of any race promoting Chinese or any ethnic food. I love watching Bourdain and street food youtube channels.

But if you think about it, it's kind of strange. Chinese-Americans are uniquely positioned to introduce Westerners to good Chinese food. They're American, and they know which dishes are good and would be popular in the west. But they just aren't taken seriously the same way whites are. And it must be frustrating. I remember telling my friends to try the chicken feet at a dim sum place, but they just said ew and ignored me. It wasn't until they saw it on a youtube channel that they wanted to try it.

 

[capitalCORN]

Is there a reason why people think that Chinese food is all about intestines?
Lived in China for over 4 years and still dont like it because there are literally 1000 other dishes....

There is "Xian"-food, heavily inspired by the muslim community living there.
Sichuan has their own food.
Beijing has a lot of unique dishes.
Dongbei has dishes that reminds people of eastern Germany/Russian food.
Guandong has its own stuff.
Tibet too.

To denigrade the culture as uncivilized and poor, feeding off scraps too good for them. *Orders $25 appetizer of goose liver*