# Why are the Chinese so culinarily unadventerous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194 "2004-08-10T13:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/41 "2004-08-11T15:31:25Z")
[hijack] Gyros is a greek sandwich, normally made of lamb but I’ve had a lamb and pork mix before. Doner is pretty much the same thing but it’s the Turkish version I guess ‘donair’ is a US/Canadian word for ‘doner kebab’ ? Over here in France people use both words interchangable though in certain areas where you find a greek and Turkish restaurant right beside each other, each prefer that you use the correct ‘term’. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/42 "2004-08-11T16:04:32Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#): > > You left out my personal favorite: **Three Penis Soup** (Sheep, Ox and Pig, if you’re wondering). This was in a small sidewalk place in Guangzhou. > > P.S. Eating in China is interesting for me. I tell them I don’t eat meat–and they say “Oh, this doesn’t have any meat, just intestines, liver…” It does give me an out on the 3 penis soup, since I can say “I don’t eat any part of an animal” without appearing culinarily unadventerous. Yeah, vegetarians are quite common in China what with the large number of Buddhists. So they pretty much easily accept that some people don’t eat meat and often have a lot of alternatives. In fact I had a meal at a monastary made with many different veggie protiens that the monks made look (and taste) like pork, shrimp and chicken. Seems odd to put all that work into making something taste like something you don’t eat. I must admit though it was very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/43 "2004-08-11T18:02:22Z")
Let’s play a little culture game. Scenario: I find the idea of a tuna melt, or even a chicken cassarole with cheese, so disgusting that I can think about it to kill my appetite if that’s my intention. Now I love cheese (even though I’m lactose intolerant) and I love chicken and tuna, so what’s the problem? I also loathe most fish. Well, my family is Jewish. Though neither of my parents was religious or kept kosher, my father’s family did and my mother’s grandparents did. Neither of my parents ever cooked any meat + cheese dish in the house (like, no cheeseburgers in the house, no cheese on your roast beef sandwich, no cheese grated onto the chef’s salad, no melts, no covered dishes). Yes, we’ d eat the occasional pepperoni pizza, but nobody ever _cooked_ one. No one ever talked about this; I don’t think anyone was even aware of it. I wasn’t aware of it until I lived with a non-Jew who pointed out that I never ordered cheese on my Subway sandwich. I can now eat a meat sandwich with cheese, though I prefer not to, and most dishes with melted cheese plus meat still repulse me. That’s cultural conditioning. What about fish in general, you say? Well, my mother didn’t like fish so she never cooked it. I can’t predict when I can manage to eat it and when it will be too disgusting. That’s just family culture. So why would it be surprising that most people prefer what they grew up with? BTW, when I lived in Jerusalem, the longest lines were always at the burgers & fries place, not the falafel place. Lots of Americans in Jerusalem at that time. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/44 "2004-08-11T20:34:21Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > My great grandpa, who was from Meduno, Italy refused to eat _pizza_! > > He only ate Italian food and he insisted that pizza was not Italian because he never saw it before he came to the U.S. > > Any dopers ever eat pizza in Meduno (which is pretty much a speck on the map)? > > . when your grandad came across that would have been true. Pizza was a southern dish, from Napoli originally. Now days you will find plenty of Pizzarias even in Meduno (along with lots of MacDonalds unfortunately) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/45 "2004-08-12T03:04:54Z")
Ponster writes: \> I guess ‘donair’ is a US/Canadian word for ‘doner kebab’ ? I don’t think so. I think that “donner” or “doner” is the standard term. I should note though that there are few kebab wagons like there is in the U.K. You can get kebabs in various sorts of Mediterrean cuisine restaurants, but it’s not a standard cheap fast food like it is in the U.K. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/46 "2004-08-12T03:22:08Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > A Chinese guy once told me that Chinese will eat anything with wings except an airplane, and anything with legs except the table. > > I once saw “Cock Testicle Soup” on a menu in a Chinese restaurant. I _think_ they meant cock as in chicken. Most likely ox cock. not joking. It’s an expensive delicacy and usually served in soup. color me unimpressed the time I tried it. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/47 "2004-08-12T03:32:06Z")
Easiest way to eat vegetarian is to say you’re a buddhist. That’s a concept that is understood (and they might not let you eat garlic or onions). But back when I was a veg, at every restaurant I’d go through the same litany, I’m buddhist, vegetarian, don’t eat meat, no pork, no chicken, no beef, no goat, no fish. Occaisionally they’d ask if “grasshopper” or “turtle” was okay. To a country 40 years removed from starvation, it’s a wierd concept to be turning down food. Okay, there is a growing middle class in China. Any big city will have lots of western restaurants whose business is clearly dependant on local consumers and not expats. Lot of good restaurants too. As I thumb through a Shanghai restaurant guide I see 16 Italian, 3 irish, 12 french, 5 German (3 Paulaner Brauhaus), etc restaurants in Shanghai. Haven’t been to all, and many are quite good at varying budgets. Older people are pretty set in their ways in what they eat. My mother in law is now a huge fan of good brown bread, and will eat cheese. That was a pretty alien concept 10 years ago. I didn’t grow up on rice or chinese food, but when I visit the US after about a week I’m ready for some decent Chinese food for a change. There is a whole industry in China now for cheese for children. I’d say that the stereotype is certainly changing. ---
**Author:** ![jttm80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jttm80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jttm80)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/48 "2004-08-12T05:38:44Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I’d hesitate before tucking into jellied duck foot or thousand year old eggs. Just a small nitpick. Century eggs aren’t a thousand years old. They just happened to be preserved in horse-piss (or, these days, in ammonia). Sure the eggs might be greenish brown, but damn, they sure taste good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194/49 "2004-08-12T13:17:04Z")
> [@China Guy](#): > > Easiest way to eat vegetarian is to say you’re a buddhist. That’s a concept that is understood (and they might not let you eat garlic or onions). But back when I was a veg, at every restaurant I’d go through the same litany, I’m buddhist, vegetarian, don’t eat meat, no pork, no chicken, no beef, no goat, no fish. Occaisionally they’d ask if “grasshopper” or “turtle” was okay. You know, as a vegetarian, I still don’t think my curiosity would allow me to turn down grasshopper or ox penis soup. However, I draw the line at that fermented tofu stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-chinese-so-culinarily-unadventerous/259194.md?page=2)