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Chinese Food
Lately, I seem to be running into more and more Chinese restaurants that don't provide or even have chopsticks. Just now, a co-worker ordered some (mediocre) food. Not only did it not come with chopsticks, but they were surprised when I asked where they were.
"You actually -use- chopsticks? That's strange."
I don't think chopsticks are particularly alien, especially in downstate New York...
(I also notice a distinct correlation between a lack of chopsticks and a lack of quality food).
"You actually -use- chopsticks? That's strange."
I don't think chopsticks are particularly alien, especially in downstate New York...
(I also notice a distinct correlation between a lack of chopsticks and a lack of quality food).
Comments
Near one of the offices I work out of is a small Spanish deli. When you order a burrito there all you need is one. Those things come jam packed with everything and don't cost an arm and a leg. They also carry the "sugar cane" coke.
I've got a nice set from Japan, complete with a carrying case. Not quite as convenient, but much nicer to use.
This gets me to my pet peeve regarding chopsticks in America. Simply put, Americans use chopsticks in a way that is absurd. We look like total idiots. For items such as rice, the Japanese and Chinese bring the bowl right up to their mouth. The chopstick is used more as a shovel than as tongs. Japanese rice is also stickier than rice used in America.
Americans, including myself, look like idiots trying to pick up loose bit of long-grain rice and bring it from the plate to our mouths. It's yet another example of image being more important than authenticity or practicality.
So unless you're going to eat like an Asian... forget the Asian utensils.
A little advice for the "gui lou''s" (means "gaijin" in Chinese), next time you're eating "Chinese" food in a restaurant and they don't serve the rice in a bowl or give you a bowl, either ask for one per person or just stick to the knife and fork. Not even us Asians can eat rice off a plate using chopsticks. ^_^
So why do I use them when eating asian foods? There are two reasons. The first reason is fun. I like to break them apart and play with them. The other reason is that when eating with chopsticks, the chopstick doesn't have to go in my mouth. It often does, but if I don't want it to, it won't. It's much more difficult to eat with a fork or spoon without putting the utensil itself into your food hole. With chopsticks, the only thing you have to taste is the food itself.
Other than that, I just want to add that I am not ashamed to grab the fork to eat the remaining rice off my plate at the hibachi like some other people seem to be.
Forks and chopsticks have advantages and disadvantages that are not quantifiable. Of those that are, such as maximum speed of food transfer, the value of the metric is not known (i.e. is it truly "better" to be faster? or slower?). Either is fairly easy to learn. I propose that they are not comparable, so it comes to down to a combination of preference and availability.
It seems rational that a moderate correlation between a lack of chopsticks and a low quality might exist among Asian-themed restaurants in America. However, since it is very easy to have and provide chopsticks, it does not seem likely that the reverse is true. In other words, all restaurants ranging from mediocre to excellent would likely provide chopsticks, save for outliers.
A better question might be: why is there such a high degree of similarity between disparate Chinese fast-service restaurants in America, in terms of menu, food, and service? I'm sure a large metropolis like New York City has countless counterexamples, but in the typical suburban environment, it seems unrelated restaurants frequently have nearly identical menus, right down to the design of the menu and the prices. I could show you 5 menus from stores in my area, not owned by the same company, which are nearly identical in all but the name of the store. 2 of such stores are within a tenth of a mile of one another, on the same street!
This degree of similarity exceeds that of differently-themed restaurants, such as Mexican- or Italian-themed ones. Sure, all Italian restaurants have spaghetti, but they don't all have an exact text correlation of 0.9.
I hypothesize that this is because most of these restaurants contract to one or few supply services, who supply the menus (the repertoire and the paper), the foodstuffs and recipes, and even the miscellaneous supplies (bags, boxes, chopsticks, plastic utensils). It would be a valuable service for any entrepreneur looking to start a Chinese-themed restaurant in America.
This phenomenon seems restricted to Chinese-themed fast-service restaurants.
You also have to take into account the price the take-aways ask for compared to the restaurants in somewhere like China-town (I've never been to New York, but I have no doubt the food in China-town is pretty damn authentic). If you order take-away, generally you want speed and low prices as opposed to "authentic" dining. You're not looking for a gourmet meal. Pricing will be generally the same because that's how these take-aways can compete with each other.
If you're willing to go to a proper restaurant and shell out more monies then obviously you'll expect better service and food quality.
Chopsticks are superior to forks or spoons for things like most sushi rolls or dumplings. The former stick to forks or scoops, and the latter suffer if you pierce them before they reach your mouth. Chopsticks offer a fine level of control for retrieving and consuming specific items without breaking them within a larger dish, and function just as well as a fork for most kinds of noodles.
I have chopsticks and forks at home, and use whichever suits whatever I'm eating.
As for dumplings, I prefer to pierce them lest I have a bite filled with dumpling goo.
I do not want to sound pedantic but I haven't found a place in Virginia where I can eat really good chinese food. Maybe of the big chinese population in my country. Maybe if I go to San Francisco I would find good chinese food.
By the way here in Virginia Chinese restaurants only give chopsticks if you ask for them.
I usually use them except at uni where there aren't good tables and I spill things on myself all the time.
Granted, I enjoy some non-authentic food just as much as the real thing. Taco Bell isn't so bad as a food: those things just aren't tacos. White Castle is splendidly wonderful, but I'd abstain from calling them "hamburgers." ^_~
The only "Mexican" food in all the world is food made in Mexico from Mexican ingredients by Mexicans. Considering that much of the Mexican recipes we're familiar with are largely spanish in origin, and many of the ingredients were originally from Spain and other parts of Europe, what does "authentic Mexican" even mean?
There's a restaurant near my house staffed entirely by a 100% Mexican family. Their food is very "authentic". I often prefer it to Taco Bell. Sometimes, I just want Taco Bell. It is cheaper.
The concept of authenticity is as pretentious and transient when used to describe food as it is used to describe copies of Microsoft Windows. There is no need to categorize food for simplicity when every rational player in the food game understands it on a more complex level. They know which restaurants they like and don't like. They might like some authentic ones, and other non-authentic ones. They also know you have to actually try food before you can say whether or not you like it.
So why even categorize?
For example, there are Don Pablos Mexican restaurants all over the place. I enjoy their food. Then, there is the cafe Maya down here. I enjoy their food infinitely more.
The cafe Maya bases its dishes and prepares its food based on traditional and current foods from parts of Mexico. The type of food you'll get there is vastly different from what you'll get at a Don Pablos, and is very much like what you would get in many regions of Mexico. It is authentic to the common food of that region.
I personally much prefer this type of food to other similar "Mexican" food, so I choose to eat at places that specifically make this type of food. If someone else prefers less authentic Don Pablos food, there's nothing at all wrong with that: it's just their preference.
Authentic doesn't automatically mean "better." It just imparts the information that this food was prepared in a specific way. Don Pablos doesn't serve many of the dishes that are common in Mexico, and they make the ones they do serve with different ingredients and different methods. As a result, it tastes very different. It is good, but it is not authentic.
Mexican food grew out of the mixing of indigenous foods with those of the conquerors, and evolved over the years based on cultural, societal, and economic pressure. Mexican food is distinct from Spanish food and, although many Spanish roots can be seen in Mexican dishes, pre-Spanish influences are very significant.
Authentic Mexican food tends to be spicier, tends to include a greater variety of ingredients, etc... Some Mexican dishes are served cold or otherwise presented in ways that nonauthentic Mexican restaurants shun. Some Mexican recipes have evolved to include ingredients that weren't available in the past but are in modern Mexico, but they are close enough to be considered authentic (nevermind the fact that they're served widely in Mexico).
Even in very authentic Japanese restaurants, I've always found something that is Americanized. It may be a small detail, but you can almost always find something.
My point is to illustrate my disregard and contempt of the pretentious use of "authentic" or words of specific authenticity meant to connote the meaning of "authentic". Taco Bell, perhaps the most flamboyant example possible, is Mexican food with strong American influences, and even stronger fast-food influences. Then again, Mexican food is just a combination of Native American and Spanish cuisine, each adapting to new meats, vegetables, and spices not previously available, and given time to mix together into a new tradition.
Ultimately, the point is that most reasonable people understand Taco Bell for what it is--it is as I said. Therefore, what need is there to simplify by saying it is or isn't Mexican, or is or isn't authentic? It is what it is.
It's not THAT silly to want to use chopsticks with Asian food. Everyone has to learn somewhere.
I read an article in the paper ages ago about some Italian restaurateur who wanted there to be some sort of organisation that monitored the authenticity of food (re: nationality). Needless to say: Lols.
Personally, I do not care about the utensil provided, and I would argue that forks are equal to chopsticks for dumplings and the like. As for sushi, a lot of sushi is meant to be eaten by hand, and not with utensils. As for authentic Chinese food, unless the restaurant presents you with the head and feet of the animal in the meal you are about to eat on top of the dish, it most likely isn't "authentic". Even so, who cares one way or another. Rym, if you desire pretensions, then carry your own chopsticks around, they will be far prettier and you will not be wasting the wood that goes into the disposable chopsticks. Also, even the Cafe Maya is not authentic Mexican food, any menu that has burritos on it (a Tex-Mex) creation isn't authentic Mexican food.
Oh, on the topic of food, I just picked up this book: Japanese Women Don't Get Fat or Old. Unfortunately, you have to wade through a lot of repetitive, anecdotal BS, but it has some great advice for setting up a "Tokyo Kitchen" and some great recipes, along with real statistics that point out how a Western diet is killing us (as if we didn't know).
As for Toxic Bell, look up Jim Gaffigan on YouTube and watch him tear it apart. That guy is pale. That's sad.
EDIT: I hope it's clear that the above was meant to be tongue-in-cheek after my post on racism in the selective services thread.
I used chopsticks since I was little, and so in terms of dexterity, there really isn't much difference. I like to eat stuff like salad and noodles with chopsticks because it feels better. However, food that is squishy, like some slippery dumplings, a fork is better. I figure - use what is easier. If you feel better eating your spaghetti with ohashi, go for it, but you can also use a fork for Udon if you need to.