Well, I am off to return to Saudi Arabia in 24 hours, so we went to the last type of restaurant on my “to eat” list.
I never eat Chinese food outside the United States. I like to go with what I know and I love American Chinese food. You know you are getting the good stuff when the place is wedged between the Greek pharmacy and the Ukrainian (no kidding) deli. It was across the street from the Italian hogie place.
A group of five girls were in the booth behind us. They were speaking Portuguese. The wait staff spoke some form of Chinese. The cleaning crew Mexican Spanish.
Everything was buffet style. We ordered tea. Then I had the (pork, steamed) dumplings with plum sauce. Next up was genuine Chinese roast beef and roast duck bits. Rice with lobster came after. After that, I polished off a serving of the cheapest out-of-the-can Chinese chocolate pudding.
One of many reasons I can’t possibly imagine voluntarily living in Saudi Arabia. That and the sexist religious theocracy that governs the place make it seem most unappealing.
You know where I had the best Chinese food? Not in China. Not in the UK. And not in the US.
Jamaica.
I’m dead serious. They had all of the “American” dishes, not too sweet or syrupy, it wasn’t greasy, and it tasted “light” - like it was actually good for you. Only complaint was that it was crazy expensive and unlike in America, the servings are quite small. You’d have to double everything to get an American-sized serving.
I hate American Chinese food - yuck! I grew up in a blended American/Chinese family and we had the authentic stuff but frequently went to <vomit> Chinese restaurants. Some are really better than others. Still, going to China made me a vegetarian for several years.
Have not had it in Jamaica, but have had it many, many times in China. I’m telling you, if you spend enough time there, China has the best food I’ve eaten anywhere in the world.
The reason why I freaked out is because I could see all the meat in the windows when we left HK and went to ‘mainland’ China. I was 13. Very impressionable.
The best Chinese food where I live is cooked by a Hispanic man that learned how to cook it in LA’s Chinatown. Here is a photo I took of his Wonton Soup. He cooks from scratch and everything we’ve tried on the menu is delicious!
Best Chinese I had was in Italy, in Tirrenia. Similar experience as yours, but the food was quite reasonably priced and portions were decent sized. A regular, sit-down restaurant, not a buffet.
Their crispy duck was awesome (this was in '98, I have no idea if they’re still there).
