April 2, 2007, about 200 some Chinese immigrants and their supporters held their third rallied in front of TV Channel CW 11 headquarters, chanting “Racism no! Defamation no!”, “Report the news. Not make up the news!” and “Boycott CW11!” The first two rallies were Feb 4 and Feb 26 respectively. The second rally had gathered more than a thousand people.

The protest was ignited by a news reported from CW 11 which claimed that a customer allegedly found a order from New Food King restaurant in Canarsie, Brooklyn contained meat resembling “rat meat.” Statements such as “disgusting find,” “sickening surprise,” “nasty dining experience,” and “rodent slathered in garlic sauce” were used in the report. Though, the Chinese restaurant insisted that they did not use rodent, and questioned the report did not have any scientific evidence. Read the rest of this entry »

Plastic bag is commonly used when you are grocery shopping, and is usually cheap enough that the stores will not charge for that. Since it is cheap and is free for the customers that people may not caution about how many to use. Thus, it leads to a problem of overusing. In Hong Kong, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is going to propose a bill to the Legislative Council this month which suggests imposing taxes on using plastic bags in supermarkets and convenience stores.

There are two plans for the bill. The first one is charging HKD $ 0.50 (USD $ 0.064) on each plastic bag that customers used, and the second is charging manufacturers and importer HKD $ 12.50 (USD $ 1.60) for each kilogram of plastic bag. If the stores violated the law by giving the customers free plastic bag, there would be a penalty fee from a few thousand to few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

What kind of souvenirs would you like to buy after visiting China? What about a notebooks or booklets made by Panda poop? Not a joke! Researchers at a giant panda reserve in southern China Szechwan are planning to produce papers and other souvenirs by giant panda excrement. The research claimed that giant panda excrement is fiber-rich which is excellent to process into high quality paper.

This is not a new idea. The idea was taken from Thailand which produces paper out of elephant dung. Also, if you may remember, China sent two giant pandas to live Thailand in 2003 for ten years. The Zoo in Thailand is already using the two giant pandas’ excrement to produce souvenirs, such as notebook, booklet, and folding fans. The zoo made more than US$7,000 in profit by doing so. Read the rest of this entry »

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released a report titled “Wok Carefully” which pointed out that many Chinese Dishes are fatty and high in sodium. In the report it also gave some suggestions on how to eat Chinese Food healthily. Here, I try to explain further how to eat Chinese Foods healthily based upon their suggestions.

1. Dishes that feature vegetables are recommended. CSPI also recommended avoiding noodles and meat. However, avoid them at all is fairly impossible. Some of the plate like General Tso’s Chicken which heavily in meat usually come with broccoli. You may ask if they can substitute some of the meat with broccoli. If you order noodles, you may better not to order another meat because a plate of noodle should serve enough calories. Read the rest of this entry »

On March 21, 2007, a report titled “Wok Carefully” released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) shows many Chinese dishes are high in fat and sodium. However, the report draws criticisms from some of the readers. “If Chinese dishes are fatty, why Chinese people on average are slimmer than Americans?”

Americanized Chinese Food vs. Oriental Chinese foods

The Chinese foods that you buy in most Chinese take-out restaurants in the United States are actually different from what many Chinese people eat at home or back in their country. Some of the popular items selling in United States can hardly be found in China. For example, I had never heard of General Chicken or Sesame Chicken before I came to United States. Also, only Spring Rolls are available in China but not Egg Rolls. You may ask why the restaurants would serve different kind of foods to Westerners. A similar question was asked when I was in Hong Kong. “Why French dishes in Hong Kong are different from French?” The answer is that the chefs modified the receipts to match the preferences of local customers. Most of them are much stronger flavored which is either much sweeter or saltier than original recipes appeal the customers. Read the rest of this entry »