"ian" > wrote in message
...
> RichAsianKid wrote:
> > A few random thoughts here.
> >
> > First there is presentation. When you start deliberately mixing food
> > together on the table - haha how can you call it an 'art' with
> > those bibimbap or something, in a charred stone bowl or all that lo
> > mein on a sizzling plate? One of the hallmarks of haute cuisine is its
> > emphasis on preparation or presentation technique -not how you
> > reproduce your stomach contents for public view! In fact in haute
> > cuisine often different ingredients are cooked separately to the right
> > degree of 'ripeness' and then mixed together, hence the
> > extraordinary amount of time needed for preparation. Bento boxes -
> > and these are considered cheap Japanese - like 'rice boxes' -
> > nonetheless preserve or at least pretend to preserve this quality.
> > Koreans and the Chinese do not. Else you may as well go for an infant
> > diet or a pureed diet for old people. The fact that everyone digs into
> > a public plate in the case of Chinese - thus sometimes without a pair
> > of public utensil (i.e. chopstick) is yet another 'low class' sign
> > - it's probably a residual from an ancient powwow ceremony where
> > people just feast on a dead carcass after a long day's hunt. Very
> > very primitive (or authentic, depends on your perspective).
> >
> > Décor of the restaurant is another issue and is peripheral to this
> > subject of presentation. Even a middle class Japanese restaurant (at
> > least in North America) is quiet - meaning you can hear what your
> > neighbors are saying, unlike Chinese or sometimes Korean - and at
> > times you feel like you've entered a monastery or Shinto temple
> > inadvertently where you start your life journey and engage in some epic
> > meditation session. "Authentic" Chinese restaurants - even the so
> > called more
> > expensive ones are like a flea markets or a public high school
> > cafeterias where you need to shove your way in and where you are
> > sometimes given a time limit on when you should finish your food, and
> > where you have to combat waiters from mixing residual food between
> > dishes together - just so they get a head start in dish cleaning, if
> > they do that at all....
> >
> > The use of ingredients is important. Eggs or bean sprouts may be valid
> > ingredients but they are very cheap, and are definitely not suitable
> > for a main course dish at supper, and are certainly no showcase prizes.
> > No, in fact the use of these materials reflects a sign of historical
> > economic dearth when you think about it. It's not so common in North
> > America but I think in mainland China people are so poor they eat
> > tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and tofu as their main dinner dish day after
> > day, night after night! Whoa!!
> >
> > I think 'high class' cuisine often seeks to preserve freshness and
> > the true, 'original' flavor of the food with a minimal amount of
> > seasoning. Chinese cuisine often resort to deep frying or stir frying,
> > and certain provincial Chinese (like Szechuan) use spices or MSG to
> > mask their flaws. Some Korean dishes encourage the use of hot sauce
> > (e.g. the bibimbap). Sort of like poor Indians using curry in
> > everything - thus you can really have a crappy piece of meat (if they
> > can afford it) but you still won't be able to tell what's in it.
> > It's like a woman who relies too heavily on makeup. That's why
> > ground beef is low grade but you'll never mince filet mignon. And why
> > many Chinese kitchens are so invisible - so secretive and furtive in
> > their preparation of food that they in fact don't even pass public
> > health standards!! One report I read demonstrated that it's cleaner
> > (measured in terms of a lack of bacterial count) to eat off the *floor*
> > of a university microbiology lab than a food tray at fast foods places
> > where teens spit on your onion rings (is that true, or is that just
> > Eminem lyrics) or at Chinese restaurants.
> >
> > Another sign is quality vs quantity. Chinese buffets now abound in
> > North America - because they are cheap - and Chinese buffets love
> > to emphasize quantity at the expense of quality. They are geared
> > towards 300 lb trailer wives and inner city single moms and new
> > southeast Asian immigrants probably. Higher class restaurants
> > emphasize more on preparation and not on quantity, and the end product
> > is presented perhaps as a psychological mechanism - product being food
> > is so much smaller than the plate, and are 'vertically stacked' rather
> > than a 'horizontal mess'.
> >
> > Also, practically, when was the last time at a quiet, sedate wine
> > 'n' cheese inbred soirees or business meetings that they serve
> > Chinese food? Never! Never! Never! These just do not have the
> > same cachet at upper middle class or upper class/educated functions -
> > it's like wearing a tracksuit to a wedding. Japanese is however
> > increasingly served in these functions, and in fact I think it adds a
> > touch of cosmopolitanism to an otherwise dull mélange of French and
> > Italian.
> >
> > And let's not forget also that at the lower middle class level, we
> > see Chinese and Koreans trying to operate Japanese restaurants, dishing
> > (pun huh?) out ersatz Japanese food. You just don't see things the
> > other way around.
> >
> > Here is another practical reason. We now know how beneficial omega-3
> > acids are to health. These are found in cold-water fish amongst other
> > food items. Fish - sushi, sashimi - is one of the main staples of
> > Japanese diet. And the Japanese have one of the world's longest life
> > expectancy at ~81 years, last time I checked.
> >
> > So why is all this important? Food is like sex. Hunger is one of our
> > natural, human, cardinal urges. It may be a non-topic and neglected
> > when it's abundant, such as in North America, but since food is
> > required by everyone to survive, i.e. it drives natural selection,
> > cultural varations hold a key to understanding something deeper
> > perhaps. I think what we eat and how we do it - like sexual norms and
> > mores - reflect and reveal ourselves more than anything else. I've
> > listed a few suggestions here, as a brute, who visits, occasionally,
> > Burger King. But if I can see it, I'm sure others can also.
> >
> > Yeah yeah I know, "de gustibus non est disputandum", i.e. taste is
> > not disputable. But in this mano a mano comparison between Japanese and
> > Chinese/Korean cuisine, I say the Japanese won hands down.
> >
> > Postscript: two other objective data points.
> >
> > 1. Price. Unless they're Chinese or Korean owned, Japanese restaurants
> > in general charge a premium for their food and services. While the free
> > market is not always rational, it does indicate that there is a demand,
> > at least in North America. And I think that's true in the Far East as
> > well outside Japan - Japanese restaurants are never considered 'cheap
> > food' or 'lower class food'. Zagat survey indicates many more Japanese
> > that make it on top compared to Chinese, *in spite of* the latter's
> > popularity. It's almost like 150 girls and 50 boys competing for the
> > Math Olympiad, but the top 10 winners are all boys.
> >
> > 2. Yes you can get real sick from Chinese food. It's called the Chinese
> > Restaurant Syndrome. Heard of it? He
> > http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/001126.htm
> >
> > "Chinese restaurant syndrome is a collection of symptoms that some
> > people experience after eating Chinese food. A food additive called
> > monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been implicated, but it has not been
> > proved to be the agent that causes this condition."
> >
> > "Life-threatening symptoms may be similar to any other severe allergic
> > reaction and require immediate medical attention. These include the
> > following:
> >
> > * Swelling of the throat
> > * Chest pain
> > * Heart palpitations
> > * Shortness of breath"
> >
> > Seems that the above 2 points which have been blatantly neglected in my
> > first go-around carry more weight. Chinese food more often than not
> > just does not have the same cachet as Japanese.
> >
> > Make no mistake: Chinese food is very much like porn: (1) best enjoyed
> > private and takeout, (2) good variety, (3) addictive to some, (4)
> > cheap, (5) often dirty, and (6) most outlets are found in sleazy
> > neighborhoods. That is, it's way way fun. It's just not always
> > mentioned in the same breath as your CEO's inbred wine 'n' cheese
> > soiree.
> >
>
> Well, the PFChang China Bistro shows one way towards increasing respect
> for Chinese food. Susannah Foo has a Chinese Restaurant in Philadelphia
> that has a very good reputation. Barbara Tropp had, until she died, the
> China Moon restaurant in SF. And thats just scraping the surface. In
> reality, there are all kinds and levels of Chinese food served out there
> - cachet appears to be in the eyes of the beholder. Anyone who knows
> much about food knows that Chinese cuisine is as refined and
> sophisticated as any in the world.
>
> Ian
>

Increasing respect? Or merely increasing expoloitation of a clientele who
really have no idea what good or bad Chinese food is?
I ate at a PF Chang's. Once. Won't happen again.
On a par with eating sushi at a Todai.
So far I haven't run into "bad" Korean food which makes me happy.
M