scoopG's Profile
Hakkasan - new luxury Chinese restaurant in Midtown
I would argue that in in post revolutionary China the elite CCP party leaders and high level cadres always had access to the high end food stuffs. So yes, the masses ate plenty of Wishing Dishes: Tianjin Cabbage and Wishing you had a few pieces of pork to go with it. Any visitor to China in the early 1980's could see the abundance of all sorts of meats, fruits and vegetables available in the Western hotels but not available to the masses.
Hakkasan - new luxury Chinese restaurant in Midtown
Well, 20,000 mainland Chinese a year (at least) are allowed to immigrate legally to the USA at least and it is well established that many are parking their money outside of China. Immigrants to the ethno-burbs like Flushing or SGV are not generally poor, undocumented Fujianese. Other reasons why it is hard to find high end Chinese is the extreme difficulty in securing an American visa and language barriers. Why would a top notch Chef leave his/her comfort zone? Why leave a place where you are held in high esteem? Also some special Chinese ingredients are just plain hard to come by.
Famous Sichuan is the Real Deal
I have found their food can be inconsistent on Mondays, traditional day off for chefs. But otherwise FS delivers.
He Nan Flavor essentials?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849952
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/774685
Annisa: Small and lovely, with gorgeous, sexy food...short review
Great write up, thanks! Now on my to eat list...
Looking for RGR-type LES "Tour" with Asian Emphasis
#9 - New Chao Chao is gone but you should be able to make some ad hoc discoveries!
Any decent Shanghai (Chinese) restaurants not on Bayard Street?
456:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/770707
Shanghai Café Deluxe:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/583263
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/769840
Shanghai Cuisine
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/841090
American-Chinese food is real Chinese food?
News headlines like "Hog Bites Man" are boring today. They don't engage readers enough. But "Man Bites Hog" features - now that will stir the pot!
American-Chinese food is real Chinese food?
What is your explanation for chop suey?
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I did not say they brought any traditional Chinese ingredients with them. (That's not to say they didn't bring at least some foodstuffs.) Of course conditions were different and they adapted. They brought ingenuity, practicality and creativity. They also brought their fishing gear (gill nets, trawl lines, small wood sampans and larger junks for offshore fishing) and opened at least 30 fishing camps along the California coast. Monterey became the place where they opened their first fish processing plant. They found a niche growing fresh produce for the miners and California’s growing cities. In the Salinas Valley they discovered the mustard plant growing like weeds - up to then considered a nuisance to the wheat farmers.
Immigrant Chinese were more than just miners. They became cowboys, gunfighters, restauranteurs, hotel operators, merchants, carpenters, stonemasons, laborers, laundrymen, physicians etc. (In San Francisco in 1852, it was Chinese who built the Parrot Building on the corner of California and Montgomery Street with granite shipped from China.)
Chop Suey (杂碎 or 雜碎) zá suì in Mandarin or shap sui in Cantonese literally means chopped cooked beef or lamb intestines which really came to mean “odds and ends.” As Andrew Coe notes in “Chop Suey” (Oxford University Press; New York, 2009) it referred to a hodgepodge stew of many ingredients – which became an American favorite. While it is thought that a Cantonese dish of stir fried organ meats and vegetables originated near Toishan, the “American versions of the dish were anything but fixed.”
Jennifer 8. Lee in “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food ” (Grand Central Publishing; New York, 2009) calls Chop Suey the “ biggest culinary joke played by one culture on another.”
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'But it wasn't until after World War II in 1945 that mainstream Americans began eating and appreciating Chinese food in large numbers." - the 'right after' is your addition. There may have been an uptick in interest in Chinese food after Nixon, but that does not invalidate her statement.
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Her assertions are invalid because they are not supported by the facts. Despite the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, discriminatory national origins provisions were still in place in our immigration policy: only 105 Chinese were allowed to immigrate every year! The repeal did allow Chinese to become naturalized citizens though. Much of the post WWII optimism was derailed though after 1949 when McCarthy and Hoover focused in “who lost China” and the perceived millions of Communists running amuck in America.
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It sounds like you are nitpicking, maybe as an excuse to highlight your earlier essay (which is good).
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Nitpicking is going after minor errors and flaws. There are more than enough holes in Wei’s ill informed writing. Facts are always neutral but the interpretation of them is not!
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What phrases would you suggest to demonstrate an uptick in Chinese food interest after 1972 with Ngram?
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Simple. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Quota systems in place since the 1920’s were abolished and helped launch a large wave of new immigrants from Asia. The Asian-American population went from 878,000 in 1960 to 12 million by 2000 and 17 million in the 2010 census.
Famous Sichuan is the Real Deal
Thanks for the detailed review! I've been going through some of the lunch specials and agree Famous Sichuan is top rate. I know what you mean about the Pork Belly moratorium. Some addictions are best left untreated perhaps. Before that takes effect I suggest you try their Chengdu Double Sauteed Pork - this version has hot green peppers added for extra oomph.
American-Chinese food is real Chinese food?
Wei is off base for several reasons. Wish she had boned up on her history before spouting off too.
Chinese brought much with them in 1849 and later - three Chinese restaurants were open in San Francisco by the end of 1849. General Tso's Chicken was invented in New York City in the 20th century. Americans really "discovered" Chinese food after Nixon visited China - not right after WWII as immigration was still very limited.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/491041
Lotus Blue
Well the population of China in 1680 was already 480 million people. Internal grain shipments from Shanghai first started in 1826 and by 1840 use of the Grand Canal ceased.
Lotus Blue
I am sure they would substitute the sweet and sour chili sauce for you too!
Lotus Blue
Shanghai was always a Chinese city - it only became less so after the British forcefully invaded China in 1840, occupied Hongkong Island in 1841 and then forced the Qing to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 - which also gave the British "most favored nation status."
Fu Zhou Cuisine – Excellent Dumplings and Good Fujian Snacks
Thanks much for this Lau - will add it to my list!
Lotus Blue
The duck is excellent - and the pineapple sauce is served on the side. And you are right about the shrimps.
Bad poet needs help
Here's two old threads, I am not sure if much help
But certainly don't want you to turn to Yelp.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/350635
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/640690
Bad poet needs help
How many dollars do you want to spend
when your meal comes to an end?
Open XLB Kitchen at Shanghai Heping on Mott St.
Not sure - huge plate of rice with ample (but not overly generous) portion of protein and vegies. No soup but still only $4.95
preffered places for chinese style roasts and deep fried soft shell crabs
Amazing 66:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/340879
Big Wong King:
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/big-wong-king/
East Corner Wonton:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/611302?tag=boards;topic-611302
Great New York Noodletown:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/678367
Chinatown tomorrow-BEST XLB
There are about 6-7 houses in Chinatown serving XLB. It doesn't appear you hit more than four!
Cafe China - Anyone tried yet?
Official Vintage Café China 1930 Shanghai starlet posters now on sale in Chinatown!
Open XLB Kitchen at Shanghai Heping on Mott St.
I'd say their sheng jian bao are better than 456! Nice and juicy as buttertart notes with a crispy bottom. Also you have to make sure to ask for their special lunch menu as they just hand you the regular dinner menu. The 20% off to remain in place until further notice.
Cafe China - Anyone tried yet?
It seems LOP has just copied Szechuan Gourmet's menu. Whether the kitchen is up to snuff is another matter. Rectangular boxed shaped dining room like Cafe China. I actually walked out with my three dining companions after waiting 20 minutes to be served. Then the waiter - an older Chinese-American fellow ("call me Lou") blamed me!
Open XLB Kitchen at Shanghai Heping on Mott St.
I can't attest to their sheng jian bao but their XLB were not too bad. I don't remember the skins being too thick but then again, I had already eaten! It was possible to sip the soup out as many of the tops presented a small hole. While the menu has many Shanghai favorites (Kao Fu, Smoked Fish, Wine Chicken, Dong Po Pork) and there are 22 lunch specials starting at $4.95 there is also a smattering of American-Chinese stalwarts.
Cafe China - Anyone tried yet?
Calling it "uncompromising Sichuan food" is quite a stretch.
Daniel or EMP?? Which is a better experience?
What are you looking for? You can have a wonderful dining experience at either spot - but as ellenost says you will see many divergent views here.
