Off topic: Doug: About Chinese food served here in the US, I think in big cities where most of the Chinese immigrants live, there are some good real Chinese restaurant, like in LA, SF, NYC, or even in Chicago, also in Toronto. In LA, there is a Peking Roast duck restaurant, I think is in Rosemee (sp?), is real. They use the real Peking duck, and real Chinese chef. If you have chance, you should try. But don't order other dishes except duck, they use duck fat (for higher profit) to cook and they are taste terrible.
But in most of other cities here, you are lucky to find a Chinese restaurant which serves real Chinese food. One reason for this, IMO, is that most of Americans don't like real Chinese food. They like American Chinese food. Just like pizza or other French or Russian dish served here in the US, I think they may taste different if you go to Italy, France or Russia.
Another reason is that real Chinese food cost too high to make here because a lot of of them are sort of labor intensive. And here labor is costy, as you know. And also, from the restaurant side, people want to make money to open restaurant. And real Chinese cooking material, including good spice, are expensive here. So unless they use some other things to replace, they cannot make money. For one example, fresh garlic and ginger, you will have to use plenty in all kinds of Chinese dishes, but they are expensive here. I think the US tariff for imported garlic is as high as 30-50%, which explain why the garlic in supermarket is expensive, although I don't know why. It seems to me that Americans go to Chinese restaurant expecting plenty of food on a big plate, so you will have to sacrifice some quality for quantity.
For example, the egg roll/spring roll served here in Chinese restaurant, you don't see them often in Chinese restaurant in China. For one thing, Chinese don't eat spring roll all year round, and when they eat it, they use much better stuff for fillings, like real Chinese black mushroom, cooked pork string, spring bamboo shoot string, cooked bean spout, dried bean curb string, etc. They never use cabbage in a spring roll.
And one last thing, the chicken and pork taste much better in China, because they are home raised. I mean the diet for pigs and hens are different (organic, I think is the right word) in China, and believe me, the meat taste are also better. I guess this is the price you pay for modernization.
Well I hope these answer some of your question. One way to find out which restaurant serves real Chinese food is to ask native Chinese to recommend, better yet, ask those used to work in Chinese restaurant. They know better.
Good luck. |
