• Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    That’s no longer accurate, as there are plenty of authentic Chinese restaurants in areas with Chinese communities that aren’t just trying to get western locals to visit. The dim sum place I’ve been to didn’t even have much English on their menu and it really helped to have some colleagues present who knew Chinese (both the language and the food).

    Easily one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and I’m not usually a fan of the western chinese style.

    • thisbenzingring@lemmy.today
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      5 hours ago

      dim sum is called dim sum though, you wouldn’t expect to get dim sum except at brunch/lunch time and if someone says they are going to get Chinese food it’d be a surprise to get dim sum. Even traditional Chinese restaurants that cater to Chinese people serve Americanized Chinese food. In the Seattle Chinatown there’s restaurants that have Chinese only menus that don’t have any of the same stuff as the English menu. I’ve been to them with Chinese speakers and it’s a totally different experience then going there with just my wife.

      my original point is that “Chinese food” to most of the western world is the stuff that American Chinese immigrants invented. Real Chinese food isn’t called Chinese food because China is massive and they have so many food cultures that those cultures are what that style of food is called