Quick Links
Categories
Archives
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category: 51
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Total entries in this category: 51
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
East is East and West is East
There's a great new Chinese restaurant in our
neighborhood. But that's not what our friends think.
Everyone agrees that the food is delicious. The
dishes we've eaten there include an assortment of wild, local mushrooms, fried
bananas, cucumbers served with a spicy dipping sauce, whole fish cooked in a
boiling broth laced with hot peppers, and two kinds of tofu, one creamy and
garnished with pine nuts, the other chunky and mixed with chopped
vegetables.
The city of Kunming is famous for restaurants with exotic foods. Yunnan province is home to 26 ethnic minorities and almost all of them have a special cuisine and a restaurant that serves it. When we ate at this new place, we liked the food so much we wanted to know which minority was responsible for it.
Our question was met with an awkward silence from our Chinese dinner guests. Finally, someone dared to speak up - "I think this is Western food! This is a Western restaurant isn't it?" I had to stop and think about that.
For our Chinese friends, a lot of what seems so foreign to us is just background noise. Chopsticks, rice bowls, green tea, tofu, and fish heads aren't even worth mentioning. This place was different because it had teacups with handles, batik tablecloths, candles, dim lighting, and background music. You can also order more or less fixed dishes, rather than interrogating the waitress about which foods are fresh, and then negotiating a meal. Then there are the raw vegetables, which for most Chinese people are about as appetizing and appealing as raw fish is to the average American.
So I could kind of see their point. If I eat sushi in America, I'm going to think it's Japanese food even if it's served with a knife and fork. But I couldn't help thinking that they're going to be in for a real surprise if they ever end up dining at the Ground Round.
The city of Kunming is famous for restaurants with exotic foods. Yunnan province is home to 26 ethnic minorities and almost all of them have a special cuisine and a restaurant that serves it. When we ate at this new place, we liked the food so much we wanted to know which minority was responsible for it.
Our question was met with an awkward silence from our Chinese dinner guests. Finally, someone dared to speak up - "I think this is Western food! This is a Western restaurant isn't it?" I had to stop and think about that.
For our Chinese friends, a lot of what seems so foreign to us is just background noise. Chopsticks, rice bowls, green tea, tofu, and fish heads aren't even worth mentioning. This place was different because it had teacups with handles, batik tablecloths, candles, dim lighting, and background music. You can also order more or less fixed dishes, rather than interrogating the waitress about which foods are fresh, and then negotiating a meal. Then there are the raw vegetables, which for most Chinese people are about as appetizing and appealing as raw fish is to the average American.
So I could kind of see their point. If I eat sushi in America, I'm going to think it's Japanese food even if it's served with a knife and fork. But I couldn't help thinking that they're going to be in for a real surprise if they ever end up dining at the Ground Round.
Posted: Tue - March 9, 2004 at 11:21 PM