Guest Yau Posted June 30, 2004 at 05:55 PM Report Share Posted June 30, 2004 at 05:55 PM I guess sunyata confused the Pizza hut with italian food. If you talk about the fine dining, it's a different story. Italian does very good in cooking a fish, and makes it as smooth and fresh as a cantonese steamed fish. Risotto with cream and cheese is exceptionally tasteful. Though its taste, in my opinion, is less complicated than chinese food, nothing you need to compromise by having a wine together. I tried it in a damn luxury restaurant with my family, and it costed me for about US$150 per head. Of course you can enjoy the same quality in italy easily for less price, and i regretted that i only tried a slice of budget pizza in italy when i was a student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wushijiao Posted July 1, 2004 at 03:03 AM Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 at 03:03 AM Well, personally, I dislike cheese, butter and cream. I think it's bad for your health. And most Asians are lactose itolerant anyway. Many Asians also don't have the enzyme that processes alcohol, so I've heard. That explains the beet color of red some people get after only a sip of beer. Nonetheless, when talking about the worth of world cuisines, it's important to take dairy into consideration, not to mention baked goods, wine (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal) and beer (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic). There is no doubt in my mind that wines from Spain and Czech beers have the same subtle flavors and complexity that good Chinese dishes have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodcutter Posted July 6, 2004 at 04:17 AM Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2004 at 04:17 AM I didn't "slag off" anything! The main point about it not being wholesome, is that there is way too much use of MSG (and is that a sign of a sophisticated cuisine?) and usually too much low quality oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangseng Posted July 10, 2004 at 05:48 AM Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 at 05:48 AM Whether I like or not, chinese food is generally quite greasy. (If you are from a country which use less oil in your dishes can notice it very easily.) So I was in China my stomach was often irritated by greasy food. So if you care about your health a lot, Chinese cuisine can't give you a good impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shibo77 Posted July 10, 2004 at 03:08 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 at 03:08 PM Well, it is purely opinion. One can either enjoy it or detest it. I try to enjoy everything, even though I may dislike it at first. Helps me gaina wider taste... You say using too much oil (high quality oil, not the oil on the street stalls), and MSG are low-quality, that is your opinion. Would you consider French cuisine high quality? They certainly use a lot of butter! Chinese cuisine is not all about oil. Fried food is widespread, not only in China, but alot of other places. It's fast and it gets the taste out. What popularity fried chicken enjoys in the world! There is a great variety of preparation in Chinese cuinsine, not just frying, zheng, zhu, chao, zha, peng, dou.... I think there are 18 varieties in all. Most high-cuisine are usually fried. Be it Chinese or French. Chinese high cuisine would be fried with high quality oil, of course. As with any other nation who would want to save and reuse their cooking oil. MSG is like black pepper, salt or any other spices. What is the difference if one places pepper on their meal instead of MSG? (excepting health factors...) -Shibo :: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted July 10, 2004 at 07:19 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 at 07:19 PM Woodcutter, are you really talking about China?? I have never eaten so well as in the months I spent in Beijing. Chinese food is better than anything I've ever had (except maybe some Japanese food), and very cheap. I haven't been to really expensive restaurants there, but the normal ones were usually very good, and the cheap ones weren't worse. Even the jianbing I bought on the street were better than most things I get at home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amperel Posted July 11, 2004 at 01:47 PM Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 at 01:47 PM Well, it is purely opinion indeed - experiences varies from person to person. excluding the vast differerences of regional cuisines - you have to take into account the differences between homecook and restaurant chinese (especially those found in america ). The main point about it not being wholesome, is that there is way too much use of MSG (and is that a sign of a sophisticated cuisine?) and usually too much low quality oil. is that an opinion of a professional chef? sure in many restaurants msg is used way too much but don't assume every "tasteful" dishes is stuff with msg. msg is only the easiest/laziest way to prepare chinese food - any food actually. I didn't "slag off" anything! so i assume you've made your effort to investigated thoroughly to come to your conclusion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yau Posted July 11, 2004 at 04:48 PM Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 at 04:48 PM I didn't "slag off" anything! The main point about it not being wholesome, is that there is way too much use of MSG (and is that a sign of a sophisticated cuisine?) and usually too much low quality oil. Yes, i agree with that too. People just don't really serious about doing their food well, but eager to make a quick cash. Ironically, the richer the city, the poorer the general quality of food. Hong Kong is typical example here. They love to crown themselve "gourmet paradise" but foodstores are usually run by non-professional chefs. Food, especially snack, is prepared in a quick way, but far behind the quality. The trend obviously spreads thoughout the china now: Making a quick cash, but also a compromise with quality. From a fried mutton to a sichun mala hotpot, the quality is obviously worsening in Southern China. The job of chef is to take the prepared and instant food from his refrigator, throw it in a preset machine, and serve it to the undemanding tongues. However, during my visit to taiwan 4 months ago, I bought a 'apricot tea' ( a boiling sweet water of milled apricot) and i was amazed with its smoothness which is a key to determine if it's good or not. I then tried a fried sausage from a hawker. I was waiting it for 5 mins, and i found that the sausage was made immediately after my order. It's definitely different from the fake taiwanese sausage you can eat in canton province. 5 months ago, I worked in Vietnam and I was also surprised with their quality in western food. Even the food in middle-range restaurant is good enough to satisfy every taste bud in my tongue. Can we try the same quality in hongkong? Well, probably, the 5-star restaurant Toscana and Hugo's serve excellent food if you're willing to pay US$150 per head. Then i just came back from Thailand. The food is also served with seriousness. They really make a no-nonsense food, including the hawkers that targets the local people. While chinese cuisines enjoy a vast variety, what does ordinary chinese eat every day now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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