I get your point, truly. it was just in the actual poll. plus hokkien = foreign. we are drawing different lines. I mean if we want to include those cuisines from China, then why not include dragon fruit hamburgers. equally a Taiwanese thing by such metrics.
that said, if we include foods from another country, in this case china, and you want to divide that country I. sections based on immigration waves. we very quickly e.ter politics not cuisine. it isnt taiwanese in the tourist sense. and if we include that level of influence, we shouldnt be disregarding other lines of influence (eg Japanese). again, it’s just picking and choosing, not actually being fair.
it is somewhat a similar situation as choosing the Chinese food though, just a different date. no? or if we include migration/immigration, then we can certainly include vietnamese.
That’s the point. if you draw that line, cool. but hokkien are still foreigners, so it’s a bit misleading. we would then couple a timeline of immigration as well as a quantity of colonizers. for that, sure. chinese food is taiwanese it is, though, extracting 2 different metrics to form a narrative while exlducding others that match the terms. perhaps this is what I am not agreeing with.
I agree though, Chinese food in Taiwan.can often be shitty. Taiwnaese.food though, I really like!
that said, I dont like chinese food in Canada either. I just dont call it canadian food.
If Hokkiens are foreigners by your definition, then who are the local Taiwanese? The indigenous Formosans?
I believe it’s pretty established that most people here would define “local Taiwanese” （本地人/本省人）as the Hokkien and Hakka peoples. And of course, the Formosans too.
At least shitty Chinese food has some flavor to it. And by flavor, I don’t mean the kind imparted by dried shrimp, too much ginger, or some weird broth that smells like boiled gym socks.
Not sure if you guys boasting about preferring shitty Chinese food to Taiwanese have actual experience. The stuff in china has way more oil, bones, less meat, 50,000 chillis per dish, lots of other crap you can’t eat like those mala peppercorns just floating around for you to pick out.
I’ve had food all over China, and it was consistently better than Taiwanese, especially on an average basis. Probably not more healthy, but definitely more tasty.
To be clear, I think most of what I see at the buffet places and the company banquets and the average restaurant is bad Chinese food.
Generally this was true, but I prefer a flash fry to a slow boil. Maybe the reason so many of the veggies here are tasteless mush is the lack of oil.
I’d say even on that. Same.
Not my experience. I’d say about the same.
That’s fine for people who like spicy food. I’ve actually considered getting a pocket sized bottle of hot sauce to carry around with me
These seasonings are where the flavor comes from. Thats why the food has taste. I have found a Thai restaurant with a decent Tom Kha. There is lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf and galangal root. Yeah, those things aren’t eaten, but the soup is delicious.
The Sicuan peppercorns, I just eat those. Should be the skins for the ma flavor and none of the black balls.
Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge fan of legit mainland food, much of which cannot be found in Taiwan, which makes me miss it pretty badly. But saying even a bad Chinese restaurant is better than a standard Taiwanese one is a bit of a stretch.
I went to all kinds of bad restaurants in my time in China, I ate with the locals pretty much daily, I just find Taiwan to be much less of a struggle food wise.
I don’t know. Maybe I just know what to avoid at this point. I ain’t ever going to eat da chang mian xian or oyster omelet. Ain’t gonna happen.
In china (it was shanghai to be specific) I was a complete noob, I had to eat what I was given. Maybe that has something to do with it.
One time we were at a ‘re chao’ equivalent round table restaurant. The only dish that was palatable and had any meat was bowels. Which wasn’t very palatable. It tasted like poo.
Another time I asked a place to just give me something with meat. They gave me a bowl of what looked like uncooked mince.
Another time I was gifted a gift box of duck meat (various parts). Not even dried meat, just plastic wrapped cooked unrefrigerated meat. wtf am I supposed to do with that?
I found Shanghai to be one of the worst cities food-wise (authentic Shanghainese food hard to find in restaurants, and everything else not done well), although their baozi game is pretty strong (never got used to using just vinegar though).
Ah, I was in Hunan. Much better for food, as long as one doesn’t mind the chilis
I also learned to order in the restaurants, telling people what I liked and what I didn’t like. The experience here is very different where they shove an ordering form at me and point at a table.
I was hanging out with a girl in Beijing and she suggested we order some duck. Ok, says I. What to get, she asks, head or feet or intestines? I say the sensible thing, intestines, but she decides to order the lot. Of course, the intestines were the best part.
For dessert I put my head in her lap while she hand peeled grapes and fed them to me. Nice Uigher girl. Good times in China, good times
If you ever go back, you should try Xiao Nan Guo 小南國. Pretty good Shanghainese food. Ate there every weekend when my family lived in Shanghai. I hope it’s still there.
it is, though, extracting 2 different metrics to form a narrative while exlducding others that match the terms. perhaps this is what I am not agreeing with.
