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 »

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 »