# A question for Chinese people. What do you think of American Chinese food?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 28, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237 "2023-10-28T19:01:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nadnerb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nadnerb)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/1 "2023-10-28T19:01:24Z")
I’m just wondering and keep in mind that I’m not anti-Chinese. I’m just curious to see what they think of American Chinese food. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Or, are you indifferent with it?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/2 "2023-10-28T19:06:56Z")
I’m sure they’d rather not.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/3 "2023-10-28T19:32:07Z")
I think it’s tasty in its own right, I just try to avoid thinking of it as Chinese and regard it as a separate category (that’s what my cousins advised me.) I’ve been teased by fellow Chinese friends for choosing menu items that they scorned as “too Americanized.”
Kind of like how I’m sure there are Italians who like American pizza but try to compartmentalize it away from Italian pizza.
But - Panda Express is horrid.
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### Author:  [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/4 "2023-10-28T19:59:24Z")
I’m not Asian, but I think of it much like @Velocity described. This is largely because I visited Hong Kong on business back in the 90s and learned very quickly that the food there had nothing whatsoever to do with American Chinese food. Which was a wonderful experience.
It was also where I learned to use chopsticks. If you asked for a fork they would give one to you, but then you’d be treated like a child for the rest of the meal.
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/5 "2023-10-28T20:02:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> I just try to avoid thinking of it as Chinese and regard it as a separate category (that’s what my cousins advised me.) I’ve been teased by fellow Chinese friends for choosing menu items that they scorned as “too Americanized.”
I’ve heard somewhere that there are now restaurants in some Chinese cities that serve American “Chinese” food, and that they market it as “American food”. But I can’t verify that, so take it with a grain of salt. Or perhaps a grain of MSG.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/6 "2023-10-28T20:27:21Z")
I’m under the impression that it was created by immigrants who tired of working on railroads and started restaurants. They worked with what they had and with what Americans would eat.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/7 "2023-10-28T20:50:19Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> regard it as a separate category
That is I believe the official characterization from culinary historians. As @carnivorousplant suggests, the cuisine developed into a set of ingredients, techniques, and sensibilities based on the materials available, which were much different than what was found in China.
Fortune cookies are a prime example of American Chinese cuisine. They don’t come from China. That doesn’t make them inauthentic, just part of an authentic American food genre.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/8 "2023-10-28T21:09:00Z")
From my Chinese wife (born and raised in China, living in the US for 35 years, including 20+ married to a barbarian who puts milk in tea):
Even in China, regional cuisine outside the region was not that common even 30 years ago. So an older Chinese person in the US might find even authentic Chinese food strange and foreign.
American Chinese food isn’t Chinese food unless you go to restaurants that are more authentic. Not in Chinatowns but in the heavily Asian suburbs, where you can find real Northern, Hui, Sichuanese, Hunanese, etc. restaurants, some of them with secret menus, some without.
There’s nothing wrong with pan-Asian, but it’s just too much.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/9 "2023-10-29T00:50:28Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> including 20+ married to a barbarian who puts milk in tea):
Egad!
China is of course very large, so I would expect more variation than Southern fried chicken vs (shudder) New England clam chowder.
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/10 "2023-10-29T01:18:24Z")
An American Chinese restaurant was opened in Shanghai some years back. It is now closed, but here’s a 2015 article describing its heyday. [Why Shanghai's first American Chinese restaurant is taking off - BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34877507)
> “As weird as it sounds, we actually import a lot of ingredients to make authentic American Chinese food in China,” Fung says.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/11 "2023-10-29T01:21:16Z")
As an aside, apparently chicken cordon bleau has nothing to do with cordon bleau.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/12 "2023-10-29T01:26:09Z")
One of my college classmates was from Malaysia, and he had to learn how to use a knife and fork as part of his Americanization experience.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/13 "2023-10-29T01:33:08Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> …20+ married to a barbarian who puts milk in tea
I am no expert but I have asked several Brits about milk in tea and I have always been told it depends on the type of tea. Some are suitable for milk, others you would be seen as a barbarian if you put milk in them. Of course, Chinese people may view it differently.
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> American Chinese food isn’t Chinese food unless you go to restaurants that are more authentic. Not in Chinatowns but in the heavily Asian suburbs…
I’ve been to Chinatown in Chicago and more than a few restaurants there have a predominantly Chinese clientele (and this is right in the middle of it all). So much so that when I went in one place with my brother I got a feeling we were not really welcome. To be clear, no one harassed us and the restaurant served us same as anyone (if a bit slower). The waiters seemed to barely understand English. The food was very good.
I have also been told some Chinese restaurants in the US might have two menus. One for Americans and one for Chinese people who come in that has more authentic Chinese dishes on it. I’ve never had the nerve to ask though.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/14 "2023-10-29T01:51:47Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I have also been told some Chinese restaurants in the US might have two menus. One for Americans and one for Chinese people who come in that has more authentic Chinese dishes on it. I’ve never had the nerve to ask though.
Definitely true. Of course you need to read Chinese to use the Chinese menu.
In other restaurants the description in English is a lot less detailed than the Chinese one. Important if you’re trying to figure out if something is vegetarian or not. And of course what “leek” really means. There must be half a dozen vegetables translated as leeks or chives.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/15 "2023-10-29T01:56:07Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I have also been told some Chinese restaurants in the US might have two menus. One for Americans and one for Chinese people who come in that has more authentic Chinese dishes on it. I’ve never had the nerve to ask though.
I’ve experienced this; one of my old bosses (a Jewish guy from St. Louis) was a huge fan of all things Chinese, but particularly Chinese food. I remember going to a Chinese restaurant in suburban Chicago with him, and him asking the waiter for the “authentic” menu. He could read and speak enough Chinese to order from it, and preferred those items to the American Chinese menu items.
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/16 "2023-10-29T01:58:43Z")
As an aside, judging by ancient b&w streetscapes, Chop Suey restaurants used to be all over the place. Are any extant? Aiui, chop suey is purely American.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/17 "2023-10-29T02:02:18Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#):
>
> As an aside, judging by ancient b&w streetscapes, Chop Suey restaurants used to be all over the place. Are any extant?
Googling “chop suey restaurant Chicago suburbs” (where I live) turns up a number of listings, most of which are restaurants with “Chop Suey” specifically in their names.
> **[Chop Suey Chicago, IL - Last Updated November 2023 - Yelp](https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Chop%2BSuey&find_loc=Chicago%2C%2BIL)**
>
> Top 10 Best Chop Suey in Chicago, IL - November 2023 - Yelp - Chop Suey City, Chop Suey Huang, Chop Suey Kitchen, 1Chop Suey, Wonder Chop, House of Wah Sun, Takie Outit, Duck Duck Goat, Number 1 Chop Suey
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### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/18 "2023-10-29T03:26:46Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#):
>
> An American Chinese restaurant was opened in Shanghai some years back. It is now closed, but here’s a 2015 article describing its heyday.
Something from that article gave me pause.
> It is almost impossible to find a restaurant that serves dog anywhere in Shanghai, Jamie says.
_Almost_ impossible. Ew.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/19 "2023-10-29T05:33:40Z")
May I ask what the differences were?
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### Author:  [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2023, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-chinese-people-what-do-you-think-of-american-chinese-food/992237/20 "2023-10-29T09:29:19Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I have also been told some Chinese restaurants in the US might have two menus. One for Americans and one for Chinese people who come in that has more authentic Chinese dishes on it.
One restaurant we’d eat at in Palo Alto had the English menu in the front and Chinese in the back. It was a family-run restaurant with the younger kids in the corner either doing school work or making gao and older sister waiting on the tables.
We ordered from the Chinese section a few times by closing our eyes and pointing. We did get warned off a couple times.
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