Chinese Takeaway
Chinese Food Secrets: How to Spot a Good Chinese RestaurantSpotting a good Chinese food restaurant is not as easy as some people claim. Opening the local newspaper to the food section and reading about the food critics' picks is not the way to find a truly good Chinese place. And here in the US you can find a Chinese restaurant on almost every other street corner.
So how does one pick a place that offers real Chinese Food and not some Americanized version?
It took me a trip to Singapore, a marriage and days and days of testing to figure out how to spot a good Chinese place. I bring these rules to you so that you may partake in really good Chinese food.
1) If the line is long, the food must be good.
If the place is packed or the line is long then most likely the food is good. But if the place is packed with Asian people, then the food is great! Real Chinese places cater to only real Chinese people. That may be hard to take, but it is true. In Singapore, the wife would always go to the places that were the busiest. That wait for service paid off with the best food I have ever had. If the place is loaded with many Asian people, you have surely wanted into a good restaurant.
2) A place that has coffee on the menu is Americanized.
If the place offers hot tea over coffee, it's likely you have entered a place that serves to the traditional way of thinking. Coffee was never meant to follow Chinese food. It's a hard drink that Chinese chefs consider too bitter and takes away from the flavor of the food.
3) Places that serve Hot Pot, especially in the winter are most likely serve very good for Chinese food.
If you read my Hot Pot story, it explains that 1) hot pot is a traditional Chinese meal and 2) it's best served with family. If a restaurant keeps that tradition it most likely keeps the others.
4) Sushi bars are not Chinese
Any Chinese restaurant that serves sushi is most likely catering to the American way. Sushi is a Japaneses dish. Places that serve international food are not Chinese. Although sushi is very good, it's not part of traditional Chinese menu
5) Places that serve real dim sum are most likely real Chinese restaurants.
Dim sum is authentic Chinese. If a restaurant takes the time and effort to make it, they are most likely a real Chinese Restaurant.
Take these rules and hide them. There are a billion and a half Chinese who are very mad at me now for giving up these secrets. But if you love Chinese food as I do, all if fair in love and war.....and Chinese food.
Chinese Takeaway Words Of Wisdom:
If you use the restaurants bamboo chop sticks, brush them together to remove any loose strands of bamboo from breaking them apart.
Dim sum recipes:
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/bldimsum.htm
So how does one pick a place that offers real Chinese Food and not some Americanized version?
It took me a trip to Singapore, a marriage and days and days of testing to figure out how to spot a good Chinese place. I bring these rules to you so that you may partake in really good Chinese food.
1) If the line is long, the food must be good.
If the place is packed or the line is long then most likely the food is good. But if the place is packed with Asian people, then the food is great! Real Chinese places cater to only real Chinese people. That may be hard to take, but it is true. In Singapore, the wife would always go to the places that were the busiest. That wait for service paid off with the best food I have ever had. If the place is loaded with many Asian people, you have surely wanted into a good restaurant.
2) A place that has coffee on the menu is Americanized.
If the place offers hot tea over coffee, it's likely you have entered a place that serves to the traditional way of thinking. Coffee was never meant to follow Chinese food. It's a hard drink that Chinese chefs consider too bitter and takes away from the flavor of the food.
3) Places that serve Hot Pot, especially in the winter are most likely serve very good for Chinese food.
If you read my Hot Pot story, it explains that 1) hot pot is a traditional Chinese meal and 2) it's best served with family. If a restaurant keeps that tradition it most likely keeps the others.
4) Sushi bars are not Chinese
Any Chinese restaurant that serves sushi is most likely catering to the American way. Sushi is a Japaneses dish. Places that serve international food are not Chinese. Although sushi is very good, it's not part of traditional Chinese menu
5) Places that serve real dim sum are most likely real Chinese restaurants.
Dim sum is authentic Chinese. If a restaurant takes the time and effort to make it, they are most likely a real Chinese Restaurant.
Take these rules and hide them. There are a billion and a half Chinese who are very mad at me now for giving up these secrets. But if you love Chinese food as I do, all if fair in love and war.....and Chinese food.
Chinese Takeaway Words Of Wisdom:
If you use the restaurants bamboo chop sticks, brush them together to remove any loose strands of bamboo from breaking them apart.
Dim sum recipes:
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/bldimsum.htm
Hello Boss Coffee in a can
This must have been a Chinese companies sad attempt into the American coffee market. This is the worst tasting coffee I have ever had and proof that the Chinese DON'T do coffee. The entire can is written in Chinese except for the promotional text "Hello Boss Coffee", thus proving that this was made for Americans.
My advice: If you like coffee....avoid it. If you don't like coffee...avoid it.
13 Commented:
Around here it started with Chinese restaurants run by Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. As the area got more knowledgable, they became the correct Asian cuisine-Thai, Japanese, etc. Actual Chinese food became available, and "Chop Suey " is nowhere to be found (as it was American in the first place!)
you do know that Boss coffee is Japanese!?
I am going to give some to my boss...(wink.)
Thanks for the rules.
A Chinese friend of one of my kids informed us that we order "The White Man's Chinese Food" when we do take-out. (We're so boring.)
Interesting things. Thanks for sharing them. I get attracted with restaurants with long queues. A sign that good food is served there.
Hi Mike
Love your little gems of wisdom.
Better late than never, I have posted the badge on my blog. Hope you don't mind me using some of the pics too.
Wow, you did such a great job! I'm so proud to be Chinese. In the real Chinese restaurants in USA/Australia, you can order the whole fish which the Chinese love(not fillets) if you ask the waitress. They don't show it on the menu cos it freaks the non-chinese out.
I was brought to a very famous restaurant in Amsterdam which sells excellent Chinese and Indonesian food (they said). All the dishes I ate that day tasted nothing like Chinese or Indonesian food :-) Till now, I still wonder what cuisine that was!
I'm showing this in China Town today..and boy are you going to be in trouble!!!!!
LOL at that coffee...I'm a coffee drinker and I am sad that the chinese restaurants I visit don't server coffee but then again..the food is wonderful!
Peace
hahahaha... good advice. Very logical.
In Singapore, we dun have the problems of getting sub-standard Chinese food. hehehe.... In fact there're so many good Chinese food eateries and restaurants that we are tearing our hair out which one to go to.
And we have very good western restaurants run by Chinese. :)
True, the Chinese doesn't know how to drink coffee until the westerners taught them. :)
Great information Mike - thanks!
this made me so hungry for dim sum!
oh my lololol
Boss is a famous japanese brand coffee!
they copied it as 'hello boss'.
i like their sense of humour whatever it tastes. haha~
Thanks for the tips! :)
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