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A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

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Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#21

Post by stevenwoo »

zawerf wrote: post #19
_hardwaregeek wrote: post #15

Yeah, maybe he does have some profound insights into Chinese food just by virtue of volume, but the fact that he doesn't like spicy food and his favorite dish is soy sauce and rice means that I'm probably not going to trust him for food advice. Kind of a shame actually.

Maybe soy sauce on rice can be done really well? A lot of my favorite rice dishes are equally plain sounding (saffron with rice, coconut oil rice, and even japanese donburi are mostly "just" soy sauce and rice). If it's literally just plain soy sauce on plain rice though, it's probably just nostalgia over childhood poverty meals. It's not bad but you don't do it by choice!

I am second generation Chinese from the same region as Chan, and I, too, did not enjoy most of the regional dishes my parents gave me and actually chose to eat soy sauce on plain rice when the dishes were unpalatable to me. I mean actual poverty meals but my bias/ignorance is showing because it's actually not clear from the article if that's what he meant or if he meant what you are describing.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#22

Post by _hardwaregeek »

dgzl wrote: post #20
_hardwaregeek wrote: post #15

Yeah, maybe he does have some profound insights into Chinese food just by virtue of volume, but the fact that he doesn't like spicy food and his favorite dish is soy sauce and rice means that I'm probably not going to trust him for food advice. Kind of a shame actually.

Rice is one of the most important foods in the world. I'm not sure you understand it's significance.

Sure, and bread is the most important food in western society, but if a French food critic's favorite dish was a baguette with jam, I'd question their judgement a little.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#23

Post by wenc »

zawerf wrote: post #19
_hardwaregeek wrote: post #15

Yeah, maybe he does have some profound insights into Chinese food just by virtue of volume, but the fact that he doesn't like spicy food and his favorite dish is soy sauce and rice means that I'm probably not going to trust him for food advice. Kind of a shame actually.

Maybe soy sauce on rice can be done really well? A lot of my favorite rice dishes are equally plain sounding (saffron with rice, coconut oil rice, and even japanese donburi are mostly "just" soy sauce and rice). If it's literally just plain soy sauce on plain rice though, it's probably just nostalgia over childhood poverty meals. It's not bad but you don't do it by choice!

Side note: soy sauce and butter on rice [1] can be really good. It doesn't sound that good, and I didn't believe it could be good until I tried it.

[1] https://norioonwine.blogspot.com/2010/11/rice-with-butter-an...

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#25

Post by mallomarmeasle »

Tharkun wrote: post #13
0xcde4c3db wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cholesterol is added via animal fat (e.g. frying in lard, tallow, or butter), not by the process of frying. Plants do not contain cholesterol.

> Plants do not contain cholesterol. Yes, they do. Source: Cholesterol and Plants by Behrman et al.

Isn't this a bit pendantic? I think cholesterol occurs in plants, but at levels that are probably insignificant to human diet.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#26

Post by stevenwoo »

wenc wrote: post #23
zawerf wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe soy sauce on rice can be done really well? A lot of my favorite rice dishes are equally plain sounding (saffron with rice, coconut oil rice, and even japanese donburi are mostly "just" soy sauce and rice). If it's literally just plain soy sauce on plain rice though, it's probably just nostalgia over childhood poverty meals. It's not bad but you don't do it by choice!

Side note: soy sauce and butter on rice [1] can be really good. It doesn't sound that good, and I didn't believe it could be good until I tried it. [1] https://norioonwine.blogspot.com/2010/11/rice-with-butter-an...

I was hesitant to mention the butter part in my post (I realize it would sound weird to most Americans), that is what I ate as a child, too.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#27

Post by staticautomatic »

_hardwaregeek wrote: post #22
dgzl wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rice is one of the most important foods in the world. I'm not sure you understand it's significance.

Sure, and bread is the most important food in western society, but if a French food critic's favorite dish was a baguette with jam, I'd question their judgement a little.

You underestimate how important bread still is in French cuisine. I was just in Paris and complained to the concierge at our high end hotel about a bad restaurant recommendation. He said he didn't need to hear anymore about how bad the meal was after I said the bread was bad (and stale). In other simple French food news, Joel Robouchon is known for saying his last meal would be a good potato with good butter.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#28

Post by dashmatte »

haven't we all eaten at 7300 Chinese restaurants? i think i have. i wont reveal what i think unless someone with deep pockets flashes me Abraham Lincolns Washingtons and some 50 cent Kennedys in front of me...then pull a chair up, get cozy with a blanket and ill tell u everything i know.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#29

Post by irrational »

stevenwoo wrote: post #21
zawerf wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe soy sauce on rice can be done really well? A lot of my favorite rice dishes are equally plain sounding (saffron with rice, coconut oil rice, and even japanese donburi are mostly "just" soy sauce and rice). If it's literally just plain soy sauce on plain rice though, it's probably just nostalgia over childhood poverty meals. It's not bad but you don't do it by choice!

I am second generation Chinese from the same region as Chan, and I, too, did not enjoy most of the regional dishes my parents gave me and actually chose to eat soy sauce on plain rice when the dishes were unpalatable to me. I mean actual poverty meals but my bias/ignorance is showing because it's actually not clear from the article if that's what he meant or if he meant what you are describing.

This is fascinating to me. When my kids don't want to eat what we are serving they will often have carrots or broccoli with ranch dressing instead. I never stopped to wonder what kids in other cultures eat in similar circumstances.

Re: A man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants

#30

Post by _hardwaregeek »

staticautomatic wrote: post #27
_hardwaregeek wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, and bread is the most important food in western society, but if a French food critic's favorite dish was a baguette with jam, I'd question their judgement a little.

You underestimate how important bread still is in French cuisine. I was just in Paris and complained to the concierge at our high end hotel about a bad restaurant recommendation. He said he didn't need to hear anymore about how bad the meal was after I said the bread was bad (and stale). In other simple French food news, Joel Robouchon is known for saying his last meal would be a good potato with good butter.

And rice is profoundly important in Chinese culture :D. But just because a restaurant has good bread/rice doesn't mean it's good. Good bread/rice is the baseline, not the goal.
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