Having difficulties in finding a decent Chinese restaurant... (Memphis, Germantown: live, shops)

[expatnortherner]

I don't know where this thread is going but 'authentic' is relative to your personal experience. Eating sushi (Japanese) in a Chinese restaurant is as authentic as American flags made in Mexico.

You're equating the physical restaurant to the food, and anyone who has eaten anything remotely close to 'authentic' Chinese knows that the building isn't important, the chef is. The seediest, most remote places often have the best food.

Having said that anyone wanting 'authentic' knows that they just have to ask the chef/owner for whatever they want, whether it's on the menu or not. Often that's their cue that *you* have some knowledge of the food and culture, and they will almost always go out of their way to prepare it for you.

My choice would be Hi-Lo, off Mt. Moriah & Hickory Hi9ll Rd (near the Rally's/Checker's). Though they are Vietnamese, the husband and wife owners will bend over backwards to make anything you want, and trust me, it's VERY authentic.

Ex-Pat

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...2,40.51,,0,5.5

[pixiepony]

agreed with PP!! If you want good Chinese food, go to a specifically asian area of town. ( since i dont live there YET, I cant tell you where that is). Find an asian super market. Ask around there to find out where they would go eat to find authentic chinese food. It's usually a place that is not advertised and run by a family and probably barey makes even. It can be found you just have to look HARD and probably sample several places. If you have a specific type of chinese cuisine you like, stick with that. For intsance are you looking for Cantonese? Hunan? Sichuan? Just like someone previously talked about Mexican cuisine, yes there are LOTS, Chinese is also very diverse and most likely a good place will specialize in one type.

[queenseven]

It is interesting. I don't know where your girl friend went, I mean the regional difference are HUGE in China. Rural vs urban, big coastal cities vs small cities.

I grew up in a metropolitation city(3rd biggest city) in China and never set foot on rurual areas (shame on me). To me, it is more like Chicago.
It is charming and clean (city skylines, parks, museums...). But noisy and crowded.

It is super convient. Public transportation can take you anywhere (bus and subway)and the taxi is cheap. There are at least 5 supermarkets withine walkable distance from my home. I really miss the public transportation system since I am a timid driver.

The shopping malls... a huge amount of shopping malls, even compared to New York city.
Not mention the food there. The restaurants are luxuriously designed, nothing like the dirty, bad designed Chinese restaurants without windows here.

It is prosperous and it is change everyday.

I miss the life there. I mean I didn't need to cook, didn't need to clean my house, didn't need to worry about moving when I move, didn't worry about the shipping costs when I buy furniture.--all of the services are very affordable.

And I miss the confident, pretty , fancy and interesting myselve. (Now I become a dorky, dull woman since nobody cares my hairstyle here and I stop caring too. and the language issue too, I lost my humor when I speak English).

You may ask me why I am still in US. Well, there is so may uncertainties in life and some times I cannot control. (and I love US too).

I don't understand why your girl friend hates China since most of the tourist I know love there. But I know there are some westerners like taking pictures of the "dark side" of China since China is "red'. (OMG, you still think we are"red"?)

I personally welcome you to China. And please hold an unbiased attitude when you travel and you will love it.

Originally Posted by kingchef

huh...a girl friend of mine just returned from a 6 week stay in china---several major cities in various provinces. she lost about 17 lbs while out of the states. the food at mc donalds was ruined by the chinese cooks (i don't think that even the chinese cooks can take the blame for that one), none of the water or drinks unsealed could be consumed for fear of sanitation issues. the rice was nasty, conditions unsanitary, the smells in the markets where food was being served, according to her, would run a maggot off a gut wagon, and most of her traveling party had continuous explosive diarrhea, gas, and daily bouts of puking. she declared that it was absolutely the most horrid experience in her life---filth and squalor, according to her. i guess..."when in rome...uh, china..."

[ladybug35]

Originally Posted by queenseven

I don't understand why your girl friend hates China since most of the tourist I know love there. But I know there are some westerners like taking pictures of the "dark side" of China since China is "red'. (OMG, you still think we are"red"?)

Did China become a democracy and I'm just now hearing about it? Weird...

You're not going to find all the things you love about China here (especially in Memphis) because this isn't China. Nothing is going to be truly authentic here because you aren't in the place it comes from. American food is not "authentic" in China. No one is trying to say "China is bad! China is evil!" by this...it's just how the world is. The best advice I can give you is try to find something you like, ask around your circle of friends, and then branch out and try non-Chinese food too. Just because there aren't any Asian people in a restaurant doesn't mean it will be bad. Sorry you're having so many problems adjusting to an obviously completely different lifestyle over here, but it will either get better or you'll decide you just have to go home, and you'll know if it's that time.

[lilyjane]

I've just move to Memphis and haven't tried this place yet, but just last night some new friends were saying very good things about Lobster King on N. Cleveland. Bonus: they do Dim Sum!!

Lobster King Seafood Restaurant - Memphis, TN

[2nomadic4me]

Jade East in Raleigh was good... but they closed 15 years ago my friends owned it.. It was the one with the huge massacre.

[Pearlbob]

Did Lobster King close again? I know it closed, then re-opened, then closed...etc etc. Everyone raved about it, but for some reason they kept going in and out. Not sure if it's currently open, but worth a look.

[Briskbas]

Lobster King on Cleveland on the edges of midtown has a menu that's supposed to be the closest to traditional Chinese fare you can get in Memphis, although I don't know what regional variant it is. I've never eaten there, but lots of "Americans" seem to think its the best thing since sliced bread. So, Ymmv.

Aside from that, I understand that most Chinese restaurants have a "secret menu" (Positive Liberty » The Economics of Secret Chinese Menus) that's primarily for Chinese customers. Wherever you go, you might ask for the Chinese language menu or order in Chinese.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

Originally Posted by queenseven

To be honest, the foods offered in KFC and McDonald in China are much better than here.
They are tailored to satisfy our needs, Aha.

I live in China (in Hangzhou, near Shanghai) where KFC is incredibly popular. However, they serve a lot of different foods here, and there is a lot on the American menu (basically all the delicious food) that is not in China.

For instance, no buttermilk biscuits. I mean WTF? No cole slaw (odd considering Chinese like cabbage and vegetables in general). No extra crispy chicken (that sucks). No mac and cheese. No parfaits, a signature KFC item. They DO have the mashed potatoes, and corn on a stick and the original recipe chicken. They also sell twisters, french fries (like Mcdonalds).

KFC China sells something called egg tarts, which are nasty in my opinion. They also sell fried fish sandwiches, fish sticks, and some weird shrimp sandwich. It seems that KFC creates a lot of different products, some last, some don't.

KFC here serves breakfast, and they used to serve biscuit/egg/sausage, but since that was delicious, they discontinued it, and replaced it with some fried egg sandwich on white bread type of thing. I was really annoyed when I saw that.

McDonalds is closer to what McDonalds is in the USA, but with no quarter pounder, instead they have this hamburger with cucumber and cheese sauce.
They have fried pies, BUT NO APPLE. One flavor of pie is GREEN BEAN (yuuuuck.). Mango (again, barf) and banana. McD has a scaled down breakfast menu, again, no biscuits, basically egg sandwiches with buns like the ones for the small burgers.

Pizza Hut is also strong in China. Why, I could not say. Same crappy pizza (called gut bombs), it's expensive and not good. However, on Sundays there is a line of people waiting to get in the place. Their competitor is Papa John's which is much better. There is also some Subway sandwich places here now, but I have always thought that place was overpriced garbage and rarely go there.

[UofMGrad92]

Originally Posted by Senor Boogie Woogie

One flavor of pie is GREEN BEAN (yuuuuck.).

That's like a childs worst night mare (or my worst night mare). "And for desert, black eyed pea ice cream and green bean pie!" YUMMMM