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There is a difference, between authentic and good.
Taco Bell is pretty good, Tejano/Mexican inspired food (especially factoring in that it's a chain). It is in no way authentic. You don't need an Asian chef to make good Asian/Asian inspired food, but you need someone who truly knows about the ingredients of a region within a country like they were raised there to truly get authentic food. Seeing as climate varies around the world, you simply can't pick the same ingredients and replant them and unless you take great care importing them isn't the same, due to distance. So the more removed culturally a chef is from a place, as in never visited, or even worse never apprenticed the less authentic the food is.
My favorite example is West African Coconut rice. I struggle to eat Coconut flavored anything in America and the drinkable Coconut Water/Milk is downright nasty with our brown colored Coconuts imported from somewhere. I completely destroyed three Ghanaian Coconuts and Coconut rice is one of my favorite dishes. All the Coconut rice dishes I have had in America are just meh to Coconut rice in Ghana or Nigeria, although amazing.
My favorite restaurant is the Spanish Tavern in Newark, NJ. It's a must go place to eat, I haven't even had nearly as good Paella at least for a similar or even more expensive price in Spain or France. I'm not sure about the authenticity of ingredients, but the food is 100% good, and my family goes out of our way to eat there if we are in the NYC area.
Last edited by NigerianNightmare; 02-11-2019 at 09:18 AM..
yep I know. They say black people make the best southern food, I think my brother does.
LOL, I take it your brothers not black? Watch out, people are going to say he "culturally appropriating" LOL. I personally think that admiring another's culture and food or customs is a great way to bring people together. It's a great way to learn about other cultures and traditions and appreciate different things.
When the hell did something like that which should be good, how did it get to be a bad thing? I've got some serious cognitive dissonance going on over here.
LOL, I take it your brothers not black? Watch out, people are going to say he "culturally appropriating" LOL. I personally think that admiring another's culture and food or customs is a great way to bring people together. It's a great way to learn about other cultures and traditions and appreciate different things.
When the hell did something like that which should be good, how did it get to be a bad thing? I've got some serious cognitive dissonance going on over here.
Yeah, agreed.
Authentic just means "..of undisputed origin; genuine."
For example, I've always been told honey walnut shrimp and orange chicken are not authentic Chinese food. Most Chinese people in China never even heard of them and probably would never eat them. So one can say Panda Express is really not authentic Chinese food. I agree with the other poster who said authentic =/= good. If the restaurant serves fish head soup, it might be serving authentic Chinese food, I don't know why this is a problem.
I don't think authentic means ethnic origin of the chef here. LOL
Welcome to the world of twitter journalism. "Reporters" working in their pajamas scan twitter for 3 or 4 negative tweets and a famous name and voila ... an "outrage". All the better if there is a racial angle -a proven magnet.
Subsequent bloggers recycle the original story adding a sentence or two creating a snowball effect.
Internet news is free and you get what you pay for.
What is the net effect of our minds being cluttered with fake controversies and negativity?
The kitchens in many of the top "authentic" Asian restaurants in LA, SF and NYC are staffed almost exclusively by non-Asians.
I always find these sort of stories idiotic. The ethnicity of the owner/operator has nothing to do with the authenticity of the meals being cooked. Those are from recipes etc, so if the preparation method is "authentic" so to speak, then it is.
"Authentic Asian" is just a selling point, marketing purposes. It is next to impossible to have authentic version outside the native country because the demand & supply, ingredients, taste of public differes from region to region.
Even "Authentic Asian Chef" will not make "Authentic" food as people will not be able to eat it.
In India, people eat meat with bone. Chicken drumsticks are preferred and whenever curries are made, they are made in huge quantities. Curries are served from the giant pots into plates. They will make 100 kilos of chicken/goat stew and still finish them by night. People have limited choice whether they want it less hot or less salty or they are allergic to something.
If the same food is served in "Authentic Indian Restaurant" in UK or USA, who will eat it - nobody !!!! The "Authentic" will close down.
Cultural appropriation is a big issue amongst the cringe fringe vocal left.
They should also be after people who have to use artificial means to relax their hair.
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