Sierra Evans
BIS 257: Asian American Studies
Book Report
November 25, 2015
In From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express: A History of Chinese Food in the United States, Haiming Liu describes the evolution of Chinese food in America and the progressive journey of how it became the globally recognized phenomenon it is today. Liu provides an in depth description of the struggle early immigrants went through being immersed in American culture, as well as the fundamental role Chinese food played in their integration, acceptance, and survival. Chinese restaurants have spread like wildfire, and Liu describes the process in which a foreign and feared upon cuisine became the success it is today. Reading this book gave me new perspectives by drawing …show more content…
Chang’s. In the 1980’s, ethnic restaurants made up 10 percent of all restaurants nationwide, of which 30 percent were Chinese restaurants. However, at the time, there were no standardized chain Chinese restaurants that catered to the mainstream middle-class Americans. Due to restaurant culture’s class sensitivity, Paul Fleming, a white businessman, took advantage of how consumers of different classes usually did not want to mix and created the first full-service chain sit down Chinese restaurant. What also stood out about this restaurant is that it wasn’t particularly located in or close to any Chinese American communities. While mainstream American customers tended to stay away from small, independently owned Chinese restaurants, through P.F. Chang’s expansion and development, an increasing amount of Americans continued to accept P.F. Chang’s as genuine Chinese food. By having the financial resources to create a restaurant that exudes comfort and a trendy atmosphere, it represented a new image for Chinese restaurants and as a public company with standardized chain stores, enabled real Chinese food to be a part of the high-end American restaurant …show more content…
Today, Chinese restaurants can be found in almost every city in the world. Chinese cuisine is extremely popular today and in the 2000’s, there were more than 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States. This sums up to a larger amount than McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger Kings in the United States combined. In 2007, the Taiwan government sponsored Din Tai-Fung, which has become a global phenomenon today. A steam dumpling house that started in Taipei, it has become an internationally renowned restaurant with locations all over the world, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong. The question of such a highly recognized restaurant representing authentic Chinese food has been an ongoing issue that people still question today. When compared to native stores like Longxiang Restaurant and 100 year old traditions that have been passed on over the generations, it projects the fluidity and flexibility of food authenticity in the culinary market. This book reinforced how without knowing the history and nativity of these restaurants it is easy to be blind to the level of authenticity behind them. This is equally true for Chinese dishes. General Tso’s chicken is known as a classic Chinese dish in America and is the most famous Hunan dish in the
BIS 257: Asian American Studies
Book Report
November 25, 2015
In From Canton Restaurant to Panda Express: A History of Chinese Food in the United States, Haiming Liu describes the evolution of Chinese food in America and the progressive journey of how it became the globally recognized phenomenon it is today. Liu provides an in depth description of the struggle early immigrants went through being immersed in American culture, as well as the fundamental role Chinese food played in their integration, acceptance, and survival. Chinese restaurants have spread like wildfire, and Liu describes the process in which a foreign and feared upon cuisine became the success it is today. Reading this book gave me new perspectives by drawing …show more content…
Chang’s. In the 1980’s, ethnic restaurants made up 10 percent of all restaurants nationwide, of which 30 percent were Chinese restaurants. However, at the time, there were no standardized chain Chinese restaurants that catered to the mainstream middle-class Americans. Due to restaurant culture’s class sensitivity, Paul Fleming, a white businessman, took advantage of how consumers of different classes usually did not want to mix and created the first full-service chain sit down Chinese restaurant. What also stood out about this restaurant is that it wasn’t particularly located in or close to any Chinese American communities. While mainstream American customers tended to stay away from small, independently owned Chinese restaurants, through P.F. Chang’s expansion and development, an increasing amount of Americans continued to accept P.F. Chang’s as genuine Chinese food. By having the financial resources to create a restaurant that exudes comfort and a trendy atmosphere, it represented a new image for Chinese restaurants and as a public company with standardized chain stores, enabled real Chinese food to be a part of the high-end American restaurant …show more content…
Today, Chinese restaurants can be found in almost every city in the world. Chinese cuisine is extremely popular today and in the 2000’s, there were more than 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States. This sums up to a larger amount than McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger Kings in the United States combined. In 2007, the Taiwan government sponsored Din Tai-Fung, which has become a global phenomenon today. A steam dumpling house that started in Taipei, it has become an internationally renowned restaurant with locations all over the world, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong. The question of such a highly recognized restaurant representing authentic Chinese food has been an ongoing issue that people still question today. When compared to native stores like Longxiang Restaurant and 100 year old traditions that have been passed on over the generations, it projects the fluidity and flexibility of food authenticity in the culinary market. This book reinforced how without knowing the history and nativity of these restaurants it is easy to be blind to the level of authenticity behind them. This is equally true for Chinese dishes. General Tso’s chicken is known as a classic Chinese dish in America and is the most famous Hunan dish in the