Chinese Restaurants

[Phil]

MMMmmmmm. Looks like you proved us wrong, Bamboo. Where is this place?

[Mr. Flibble]

I have found lots of good places to eat good chinese food - I grew up in Montreal and spent many dinners in chinatown there as a guest of Raymond Wong (Deceased former owner of Wong Wing's Inc.).

Most of the time I was the only white person out of about 50 ppl, and most of the food served at the restaraunts was similar to all the food pictured above. However, when a very little old lady (Mrs. Wong) from the chinese mainland (somewhere in southern china) would cook "homemade" meals like the kind she learned to prepare in her village in China - I found them fairly dull. Mind you she came from a poor village. From what I remember, most of the food is shown above was only available to the richer families. Raymond, who basically created Wong Wing's, made a business of selling "Americanized" frozen Chinese food. He quite liked Mrs Wong's Cooking as it was apparently similar to what he grew up with (Raymond Wong was related to Mrs Wong via marrage - not direct descendance.)

So, coming from that background I have an apprecation for all forms of Chinese food - my personal preference being Schezwan from a great place in Ottawa. However, the food that most people eat on a regular basis is, I have found not super-spectaular. I even eat the americanized stuff, but I prefer the show-food.

Then again, if you go to an American restaraunt in China I doubt you will be eating Mac and Cheese...

[bamb00]

You are right about linking the type of food to the environment/social/economic aspects of the place. My cousins and I grew up eating the so called show food and I still love them since I rarely get to eat them because I only get the occasional opportunity to travel back to Taiwan, I spend the majority of my time here on the Island eating White food and the Chinese-wannabe food lol.

I can honestly tell you that all of my parent's generation are becoming more fond of cooking their meals in a light way. Meaning less salt, less oil, less sugar and no sauce. They do this mainly because they are becoming more health conscious and because a lot of food that are available to us are either processed or treated with chemicals, so by cooking light, they avoid putting even more chemicals in their food. Most of my family have their own little vegetable garden and almost always buy only organic food.

As unimaginable as it can be, Mr. Flibble, when I was in Taiwan this summer, I went to an Americanized restaurant called the Blue Parrot or something similar, they served the equivalent food as Moxie's/Kelsey's. Chinese love food, and they like them authentic, American or Chinese.

EDIT: My girlfriend and I went to another place in Taiwan that is supposedly known by the North Americans for its British pub style food, and to our and maybe your surprise, they have great burgers and fries, the draught was also great. My girlfriend is a British/French mix

[seoguy]

Where is this british place?

[bamb00]

Tianmu Taiwan.

[joelomite]

There are lots of good chinese places in Nanaimo although i seem to mostly order from the convenience of the more "North American" chinese food place around Nanaimo. PHO A DONG is a good place. It's really small and right across from the old city quarter on Fitzwilliam St. downtown.

A place that has really good stirfrys and noodle bowls is ARMANI's GRILL downtown beside the QUEEN's downtown. The food is great but the chef gets a little weird sometimes with his close and personal conversations he likes to have with his patrons while they eat the food he just cooked. Regardless of the talkative chef it is really worth a try.

[GRACE_25_2005]

sanghi city is my favorite,
hong kong house has very bad service, or at least it did when i went last month.

[Tantric]

steamed pork buns........oh someone get me some!!! please!

[Nick]

Shanghai is really good. I don't mind Honk kong house. I think it depends on who you get for a server.... All the servers i've had were fine. I just like the food at Shanghai better.

[REW Ric]

The Golden Inn has great food there.