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For my money, stateside at least, Los Angeles and NYC have the best asian food and the most variety with San Fran and Honolulu coming close (but not tops for a reason I will get to in a second). Also despite a lot of posts to the contrary, I feel that pretty much all of the top 10 or 15 major metros will have decent Asian food to sample as they all have a sizeable asian population now...much different than 30 years ago.
On to the point I made before, what puts Chinese food in Los Angeles and New York City at the top of my books is their over abundance of hole in wall mom and pop type restaurants. The two key elements to Chinese food of any variety (and this applies to most Asian cuisines) is time and long knowledge.
The foods that can be cooked quickly are usually served on the street in Asia and do not lend themselves to being served in restaurants (or easily to American palates), those foods that are more suitable to cook in restaurants take a very long time to prepare and cook...which is why that the majority of "Chinese" restaurants in America are only "Chinese flavored" as that slop they dish out doesn't take long to cook.
The street food experience you get in LA or NYC is very much like the experience you would get in Asia on a sentimental level, though not as expansive. That speaks volumes to me personally. San Fran is definitely no slouch though.
I lived in the South Pacific and they loved spam. So nasty. A lot of the Chinese Immigrants that had restaurants there had "lo mein" with either spam, hot dogs, or a mixture of both in it. Same with the fried rice. I use to pick the pieces of spam out of it.
I remember when I went to American Samoa there was some Hawaiian fast food chain there that among the fried chicken on the menu it also had spam dishes. Had no idea it was legit though so thanks for that. I'm going to show it to some of my friends for a laugh.
Again, there are more Chinese in NYC and LA than in SF. Therefore, the food is likely better.
Just because the % is higher in SF means nothing.
So if I have a village of 500, and it's 100% Chinese, you would claim it has better Chinese than a city of 20 million, with 5% Chinese?
500 Chinese people would produce better cuisine than 1 million Chinese people??
So more Chinese=Better quality Chinese food? It may mean more options, but better? Does NYC have THAT many more Chinese than SF for a 100 to 1million ratio?
I've had both "real" and Americanized Chinese... I like both... just because it's Americanized doesn't mean it's bad. Just because it's authentic doesn't mean it's good....
Very true. I've had terrible tasting "authentic" Chinese food, one of my gripes is when someone mentions "authentic" with the proposition of it being good.
Anyways, I would have to go with San Francisco. Also be wary of those tourist traps, they're usually waving you down the streets - pamphlets in hand and sometimes yelling and arguing with the competitor across the street. Anyone else see this?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EndersDrift
I lived in the South Pacific and they loved spam. So nasty. A lot of the Chinese Immigrants that had restaurants there had "lo mein" with either spam, hot dogs, or a mixture of both in it. Same with the fried rice. I use to pick the pieces of spam out of it.
I remember when I went to American Samoa there was some Hawaiian fast food chain there that among the fried chicken on the menu it also had spam dishes. Had no idea it was legit though so thanks for that. I'm going to show it to some of my friends for a laugh.
Oh totally.
It was probably a different place, but I remember stopping dead in my tracks the first time I saw this restaurant in Manila because I couldn't believe it existed:
It was probably a different place, but I remember stopping dead in my tracks the first time I saw this restaurant in Manila because I couldn't believe it existed:
So more Chinese=Better quality Chinese food? It may mean more options, but better?Does NYC have THAT many more Chinese than SF for a 100 to 1million ratio?
None of that is relevant to this discussion. I don't care if NYC's general population is 500 million -- NYC has way more Chinese people than SF, period. Again, what does ratio have to do with this discussion?
You haven't answered as to why you believe that you can find more skilled cooks amongst the 142,000 Chinese in San Francisco than the much much larger group 400,000 Chinese in New York City. Common sense tells me you are bound to find a large group of skilled Chinese cooks amongst group A with 400,000 people than group B with 142,000.
what is the big deal about spam? it's just pork shoulder or like ham but all minced together. i don't particularly think it's the best thing ever but spam fried rice can be tasty. it's pretty good, imo.
as for chinese food, it's like any other food. you can get the cheap or regular kind and the divine kind that's more gourmet. gourmet chinese food is fabulous. it's very different. it's like comparing a mcdonalds cheeseburger to a gourmet hand-made carefully prepared burger with the best ingredients and finesse.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yankee.
None of that is relevant to this discussion. I don't care if NYC's general population is 500 million -- NYC has way more Chinese people than SF, period. Again, what does ratio have to do with this discussion?
I completely do agree with this. Those familiar with New York City (Queens especially for that matter) will know that these ethnic neighborhoods are designed to replicate a modern version of areas in their home countries. Don't even get me started with Chinatown or Jackson Heights in New York City! If it wasn't for the modern look of the areas I would honestly think I was in China or India!
(More clean, advanced, pedestrian friendly, & paved)
Thus meaning, ethnic enclaves in New York City = Home for thousands upon thousands of the given ethnicity. More of a International feel.
But seriously dude, people here are denying San Francisco's impact compared to Los Angeles. It is a known fact, and a supported fact that San Francisco has the LARGER Chinese population within its city limits and metropolitan area compared to Los Angeles. And people are still finding ways to deny that. Hell if anything its not New York City & Los Angeles rather its New York City & San Francisco this time for this thread because this is something San Francisco outdoes Los Angeles in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lifeshadower
For the most part, I agree. Hell, one of the most famous Chinese food places in California was in Hanford, CA (out in the Central Valley, amongst waves of field and smog)
I just thought that Chinese food up in SF was better than what I had down here.
Truthfully though, if you like eating food, then it shouldn't matter much one way or the other. You can find good food anywhere. It's not like it's hard. Hell, I would state this again "I wish there were more places serving American food around here." I can find tacos, sushi, and dim sum way quicker than I can get a burger that isn't from a chain, or steak that isn't from Sizzler.
I just had a Korean Burger last night. Loved it!
Damn do I love Asian food. Thai, Korean, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, I'm glad I'm an Asian born and raised in the United States, no place better to be. So many options for everything, so many things to like, and the list goes on and on.
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Does NYC have THAT many more Chinese than SF for a 100 to 1million ratio?
