I am not very familiar with American Chinese food.
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@NZChineseGenealogy no, it’s a very distinctly sze yap / toishan cuisine that has then taken on new dishes that use the ingredients available back in the day. we have northern restaurants but they don’t do any American chinese dishes at all, usually, as they are super recent
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@NZChineseGenealogy this may be of interest to you
Locke Chinatown: A Chinese-American Time Capsule — Lowdown on Chinatown "心"入唐人埠
An indirect descendant of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (or as my grandparents call him: 孫中山先生 or “Mr. Soon Chungsan”), I grew up listening to stories about how he travelled through rural towns in the United States in the early 1900s, tirelessly raising funds for his campaign to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and r
Lowdown on Chinatown "心"入唐人埠 (www.lowdownonchinatown.com)
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@skinnylatte I need to figure out which version bumps up the vinegar
(I did finally find an American-style place that makes stuff tangy enough for me but it’s still a lil too sweet) -
@Catfish_Man shanxi cuisine is all sour and vinegar forward. They have exceptional vinegars
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@Catfish_Man maybe also the southern ‘tribal’ cuisines
Chinese cooking demystified reviews that stuff sometimes (food from the south that has a lot of crossover with Burmese and Vietnamese)
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@skinnylatte I absolutely adore both Vietnamese and Burmese cooking so this is extremely relevant info
thank you -
@Catfish_Man this one is relevant (bit long but I like what he’s trying to say)
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@skinnylatte back when I was a professor, I had a weekly lunch for the grad students, and the department admin would pick a restaurant every week and order for us. One week...
"What kind of food is this?" asked one of the students who had just arrived from Shanghai, "It's very interesting, I don't think I've had anything like this before"
"It's Chinese food", one of the other students said, as his eyes widened in horror
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@dan a Singaporean of mine is a professor in New Mexico and they brought him to PF Chang as a welcome meal coz they thought he might want his food
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@skinnylatte which place did you go to? Was in Old Monterey?
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@sysop408 Great Wall!
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@skinnylatte did you hear about that book where this woman traveled the world trying dishes, interviewing people, and tried to answer the question of what was “authentic Chinese food?”
She said she’d ask that question everywhere she went and the fun would begin.
She came upon a surprising finding of what was most authentic in North America. It was in Mexico! Apparently there is a Chinese diaspora that ended up there and remained insular over the ages so the food didn’t evolve very much.
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@sysop408 ooh
I read about the Chinatown in the tunnels in Mexico too!
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@skinnylatte Ooh, good to know. I’ve never been to that one.
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@sysop408 taking recs in the area if you’d like to share! All cuisines
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@skinnylatte I think I suggested some of these before. On Lighthouse Ave: Paprika -Garlic Chicken Plate. Taqueria Del Mar - Shrimp Tacos. ZabZab Thai is great. Gianni’s Pizza.
I also really like Sea Harvest on Foam.
Old Monterey:
La Casa Del Sazon
Heirloom PizzaIf you want a boba tea, hit up Bobalicious and Bites on Tyler. It’s owner operated and the guy who runs it takes his product seriously. It’s kinda fun just to watch a guy put so much attention into making you a tea.
Mostly I made these picks because they’re interesting and good and not easily found elsewhere, but not necessarily the best spot on the street.
I’d be curious how you find Red’s Donuts. The locals are wild about that one, but I’ve found that many local favorites didn’t do much for me. Makes me wonder if the drinking water shifts your taste buds after you live there a while.
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@sysop408 thank you again!
Yes the tap water tastes.. different
