On 11/5/2010 11:10 AM, sf wrote:
> On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:17:42 -0400, >
> wrote:
>
>> On 11/4/2010 9:30 PM, Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>> Clueless AOL newbie Sheldon "Pussy" Katz blathered:
>>>
>>>> every China Town restaurant in the US and Canada has a dessert section on
>>>> their menu
>>>
>>> That's a lie.
>>>
>>> Bob
>>>
>>>
>>
>> But Shelden is omniscient so it must be true....
>>
>> And folks who actually go out to restaurants and experience more
>> traditional Asian cuisine are clearly making it all up.
>
> Dessert isn't something I order in a Chinese restaurant, so I need to
> pay attention next time. I know we get fortune cookies and slices of
> orange with the bill, but I think they usually have ice cream on hand
> too - probably as a nod to the kids and those who might want a little
> something sweet to round out their meal. They aren't stupid. They
> don't want you to walk out of the restaurant and down the street to
> the ice cream shop when they could have made a few more $ if they had
> some plain vanilla to put in a bowl and serve you.
>
If it is a traditional place you won't even see a fortune cookie since
that started in the US.

Agree they aren't stupid. If they are located in a tourist area or where
they know people expect stuff they will do it. That is why they will
have forks, General Tsos chicken, fortune cookies and deserts. The only
thing in question is Sheldens bizarre idea that all do and it it is
unusual if they don't.

And likely he has never been in a traditional Korean restaurant since
they weren't too common in NYC 25 years ago. That was what his bizarre
omniscient comment about the lack of appetizers and desserts concerned.

And it all depends what you like. I have spent lots of time and traveled
extensively in Asia and I do kind of like and am comfortable in
authentic places. Fortunately there are many to chose from. For example
last week we went to a place in Sunset Park, Brooklyn that doesn't exist
according to Shelden since they didn't offer appetizers or desserts. It
is a mom & pop place (middle aged couple and family who moved here where
mom does not speak English and pop a little) and we had a great meal.

On 11/5/2010 11:36 AM, James Silverton wrote:
> sf wrote on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:10:22 -0700:
>
>>> On 11/4/2010 9:30 PM, Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> >> Clueless AOL newbie Sheldon "Pussy" Katz blathered:
>> >>
>> >>> every China Town restaurant in the US and Canada has a
>> >>> dessert section on their menu
>> >>
>> >> That's a lie.
>> >>
>> >> Bob
>> >>
>>> But Shelden is omniscient so it must be true....
>>>
>>> And folks who actually go out to restaurants and experience
>>> more traditional Asian cuisine are clearly making it all up.
>
>> Dessert isn't something I order in a Chinese restaurant, so I
>> need to pay attention next time. I know we get fortune
>> cookies and slices of orange with the bill, but I think they
>> usually have ice cream on hand too - probably as a nod to the
>> kids and those who might want a little something sweet to
>> round out their meal. They aren't stupid. They don't want
>> you to walk out of the restaurant and down the street to the
>> ice cream shop when they could have made a few more $ if they
>> had some plain vanilla to put in a bowl and serve you.
>
> Yes, despite complaints of Westerners, I've hardly ever noticed Chinese
> businesses indulging in stubborn ethnic purity where money is concerned.
> My local Chinese supermarket has Filipino and Japanese groceries. It is
> my usual source for genuine Panko and restores my faith in human nature.
>

Sure, they aren't going to sit there like morons if customers want stuff
but if they have enough of an audience for traditional stuff they will
do that too. The most interesting restaurant I know for that is a
Chinese Spanish place in the UWS of Manhattan that interestingly enough
does a pretty good job with both sides of the menu.

George wrote:

>
> If it is a traditional place you won't even see a fortune cookie since
> that started in the US.
>
> Agree they aren't stupid. If they are located in a tourist area or where
> they know people expect stuff they will do it. That is why they will
> have forks, General Tsos chicken, fortune cookies and deserts. The only
> thing in question is Sheldens bizarre idea that all do and it it is
> unusual if they don't.
>


On our first trip to San Francisco years ago we ate in Chinatown 4 or 5
nights in a row. I noticed pretty quickly that in every restaurant only
the tourists got fortune or almond cookies with their bill, not the
Chinese patrons.

Sheldon only believes what he has seen for himself and is not good at
extrapolating or believing that any one else's experience can be
different. You can believe what he says, but you have to interpret it
in that context.

gloria p

On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:15:26 -0400, George >
wrote:

> If it is a traditional place you won't even see a fortune cookie since
> that started in the US.

In my experience, you'll get a piece of hard candy at the very least -
but they do offer something sweet with the bill.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

George wrote:

> The most interesting restaurant I know for that is a
> Chinese Spanish place in the UWS of Manhattan that interestingly enough
> does a pretty good job with both sides of the menu.



For many years there was a Chinese-Mexican restaurant near us,
"Potpourri" run by a Chinese family. Their Chinese was better than the
Mexican side of the menu. They were successful enough to move the
business to downtown Denver but I haven't kept track of what has
happened to it. (Denver's many restaurants are either wildly successful
or close within 6 months.)


gloria p

On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:36:50 -0400, George wrote:

> No particular "Chinatown" was mentioned but guessing it is probably NYC
> since Sheldon's experience seems to be from 25 years ago when he lived
> there.

I just used a word the *he* used to provide an unbiased, somewhat
random sample of restaurants here in Austin so he didn't think I
picked and chose he only two restaurants in town that didn't offer
dessert.

OTOH, I could challenge him to find more than 1% of the restaurants
named "<anything> Palace", in any cities in the U.S., that offers
anything but a token "dessert" menu (2 fruits and one ice cream).

I wouldn't even order ice cream at a Chinese restaurant for fear of
being freezer burned.

-sw

On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:10:22 -0700, sf wrote:

> They aren't stupid. They
> don't want you to walk out of the restaurant and down the street to
> the ice cream shop when they could have made a few more $ if they had
> some plain vanilla to put in a bowl and serve you.

A popular Chinese restaurant doesn't want you and your little brats
hogging up a table to eat ice cream with a $.25 markup while they
could be serving other customers at that table.

-sw

James Silverton > wrote:

> There is also the Western notion that a Chinese
> meal ends with soup but that's a misapprehension from the fact that the
> broth is drunk at the end of cooking of a Mongolian Hot-Pot.

Yes, but a Peking duck dinner also usually ends with duck soup in China.
Any meal may just happen to end with soup, because soup is often enough
eaten throughout the meal, serving as a kind of beverage.

Victor