4.4 Communication of Restaurant Culture between the United States and China From above, it is clear to see that there are, indeed, some discrepancies of the restaurant culture between the United States and China, however, with the progress of globalization, the restaurant culture between two countries have been frequently communicating with each other in social lives. To be more specific, on the one hand, as early as 1849, the first Chinese restaurant was opened in San Francisco of America (Ma, Qu, and Njite 291). It was probably a result of the immigration wave of Chinese people from South China to America due to the Gold Rush in 1848, during which Chinese immigrants had begun to build up Chinese communities, as well as Chinatown in America …show more content…
In her childhood, she had to go to the Chinese restaurants buying Chinese take-out food for her family, when her mother was too busy to prepare the foods. That was the early experience that she had direct contact with Chinese restaurants in America. In order to order dishes on the menu, her mother taught her corresponding Chinese words, and she points out that, “without exception, the vocabulary words that Chinese-American kids—and immigrant kids ingeneral—know best are almost always related to food (Lee 16)”. In fact, Chinese restaurants here can be regarded as a good medium for these Chinese immigrants to recall or regain their Chinese heritage, just like Jennifer who could barely understand complicated traditional “Chinese philosophical classics like Confucius’s Analects and the I Ching” (qtd. in 17), but she might acquire knowledge about Chinese culture through eating Chinese food. However, Jennifer was bewildered about that the take-out foods from Chinese restaurants were greatly distinct from what her mother usually cooked at home, as she describes …show more content…
The author, Yunxiang Yan, in his essay, “Of Hamburger and Social Space: Consuming McDonald's in Beijing”, points out that quick-service restaurants or fast-food restaurants is not intrinsic in Chinese history and culture (451). In actuality, the advent of fast-food restaurants in China can be traced back to the late 1980s when Kentucky Fried Chicken established the first restaurant in China in 1987 (Lozada JR 273). After that, fast-food restaurants have begun to expand their business in Chinese market, among which McDonald’s that opened its first restaurant in Shenzhen, China in 1990 (Lozada JR 273), has gained its enormous popularity in China because Chinese consumers are allured by its sanitary, modern, cozy dining environment (Yan 451). In terms of cultural communication, the expansion of American fast-food restaurants also reflects the output of American culture in China, since Chinese people regard American culture as modern culture, and thus, the way that Chinese parents pay money for their children to eat food from McDonald’s restaurants can be considered as a way of equipping their children with the knowledge about modern social life (Yan 457). In addition, Willy Schneider (2007) adds that “Parallel zur Expansion wird auch geplant, traditionelles chinesisches Essen leichter
The life pursued by the average young person in America is fast paced and scheduled to the point of breaking. As time has progressed this time stretched life style has impacted the need for food that isn’t cooked at home or even at restaurants that cook with traditional methods. This coupled with the swelling number of households with either a single parent or two working parents has increased the reliance on the fast food industry and in turn increased the overweight and obesity rates in the country. In his article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko addresses this topic and places the blame not on those partaking in these delectable dinners, but in the hands of the fast food industry and their lack of understandable labeling. Zinczenko’s argument is valid and strong due to his equal use of ethos, logos and pathos.
These institutions were a way for Chinese immigrants to cling to their culture and allow them to seek economic and social improvement. “During the 1850s, Chinatowns in San Francisco was already a bustling colony of thirty-general merchandise stores, fifteen apothecaries, five restaurants, five herb shops, three boarding houses, five butcher stores, and three tailor shops” (Takaki, Pg.195). Certainly, these establishments exemplify the commitments made by the Chinese population as to developing an infrastructure for proceeding generations. These close net communities were often designed to establish social ties to the United States; ideally, the earlier mindset of many Chinese immigrants had changed; however, for some Chinese immigrants, they were uncertain of their future in the country and as a result “the Chinese tended to invest their money in personal property rather than in land, preferring to take long leases in order to sublet” (Chinese in America Life, Pg. 202). As this mindset was only the minority of the Chinese population, many immigrants contributed to the development of Chinatown by creating their own businesses.
These old fashion traditions and values are visible throughout the short story “Yin Chin,” written by Lee Maracle. This story follows the oppression of the Chinese and First Nations communities in early Vancouver and the internal and external conflicts they faced due to racism. From the very beginning of the story, we get a sample of what went on through the heads of individuals of different ethnicities and the old fashion values they possess. At the beginning of the story “Yin Chin,” the narrator walks into a restaurant filled with Chinese and explains “It is my reflexive action on my part to assume that any company that isn’t Indian company is generally unacceptable,” showcasing the reflexive thought process that went through people’s minds if they weren’t the same skin pigment (156). They found the restaurant full and that there were no places to sit because “there aren’t any Indians in the room” (156).
Introduction In the year 1993 a sociologist named George Ritzer wrote a book called The McDonaldization of Society, which wasn’t about how the deliciousness of McNuggets has revolutionized the world, but instead focused on how the methodology and rational structuring used at the McDonalds franchise functions. The concept is that traditional ways of thinking are replaced by ends/means focused goals, sense of social control and prioritization of efficiency. In the words of Ritzer McDonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world”. The following essay discusses the origins of Ritzers’ theory of McDonaldization, elaborates on the four components proposed by him and talks about the critique ‘irrationality of rationality’.
These workers gave very helpful information. The food industry has changed so much over time. According to Eric Schlosser, “A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today, about half is spent at restaurants--mainly at fast food restaurants.”
Lily Wong, in her article about food, entitled “Eating the Hyphen,” states, “Perhaps this combination (ketchup and dumplings) has something to do with the fact that since both my parents grew up in the States, we’ve embraced many American traditions while abandoning or significantly modifying many Chinese ones” (95). Wong expresses how being a Chinese American has affected her life in a positive way. Wong eats some of her food Americanized, with ketchup, but also eats food that the majority of American’s would not touch (i.e. jellyfish and sea cucumber). Comparatively, Wong eats dumplings (which derive from the Chinese culture) with a fork, knife, and ketchup (which are all culturally American). Geeta Kothari, who wrote the article, If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?
Amy Tan took her real life experiences and molded them into a novel with many different, but connecting short stories about the relationship between Chinese immigrant mothers and more Americanized daughters. In this essay, I
In Margaret Visser’s essay, “The Rituals of Fast Food”, she explains the reason why customers enjoy going to fast food restaurants and how it adapt to customer’s needs. Some examples of the most loyal fast-food customers are people seeking convenience, travelers, and people who are drug addicts. First, most loyal customers are people seeking convenience. The reason why fast food restaurants are convenient because longer hours of being open, the prices are good , etc. As Visser said in her essay, “Convenient, innocent simplicity is what the technology, the ruthless politics, and the elaborate organization serve to the customer” (131).
Fred Jr knows that what ever he does to fit in as a Canadian, the culture his father raised him to love will always be a part of who he is. Fred Sr. taught him that “a Chinaman can always find his way around the country by knocking on the kitchen doors of Chinese restaurants”(17). The kitchen was a place where the culture all returns and Chinese-Canadians are free to have whatever social identity they choose. They get to feel comfortable in their background, and food draws Fred and his father towards their heritage. The restaurant is something they both have in common and is a place that Fred Jr was raised, which is why he will always have a piece of his father in the back of his mind.
A Pair of Tickets In “A Pair of Tickets,” Amy Tan described the journey of Jing-Mei Woo, a middle-aged, Chinese-American woman, to China where she experienced a compelling change in herself. The author herself is Chinese-American, which enabled her to use insightful experiences in the story that were similar to her own experiences to better illustrate the emotions that Jing-Mei felt. Reminiscing about her own trip to China, Tan wrote: “As soon as my feet touched China, I become Chinese” (Tan 146). As Jing-Mei made the long travel to her motherland, she experienced a series of events, met her long-lost relatives, reflected on her own memories, and listened to stories about her mother’s past, deepening the connection that she had with her mother
To begin, enjoying a meal from McDonald’s is the symbol of American culture. The fast food industry was one other major forces to shape modern life in the U.S. When asked to think of a word to describe America, majority of citizens as well as immigrants would say the “fast food”. For example,in 2001 a rebel group led by Jose Bove decided to protest the restrictions on trade set by Unites States in France and as a form of protest they destroyed a symbol of United States, a local McDonald 's, which demonstrates that McDonald 's is a representation of American culture and thus eating at this establishment is seen as an American tradition as well as the most American action a tennager can perfrm.
I pushed the chopsticks and the bowl before menagerie away: stir-fried green peppers with five-spice beef. ‘We should eat American food’” (69). In this quote Jack went to school with Americans and he figures out that he was different from his peers. He looked different; American students called Jack a chink and they made fun of Jack, so as his neighbour Mark. Another thing to mention from that paragraph is that Jack always wanted for his mother to cook American food because they were in America, in wanting to reject his Chinese culture.
When the family started eating their soup, they slurped their soup. Lin thought ”our family sounds like when the tide goes out and drains all the water in little pools on a rocky beach”. Lin was so embarrassed that she hid in the girl’s bathroom. When the Lin’s had a dinner party, she discovered that Americans pile food on their plate unlike the Chinese, who keep all their food separate. Lin realizes that even though the Chinese eat their vegetables cooked and Americans pile food on their plates, every culture has different ways of doing things.
1. Supporting point 1: Nowadays we can see these fast food restaurants in almost every shopping mall and there is at least one of these franchised restaurants in each area of the city and still increasing in number because of the high demand. a. Sub-supporting point 1: Although there are lots of choices of food inside a mall, but people often choose fast food as it is affordable and yet it is tasty and filling at the same time. b. Sub-supporting point 2: For example, in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, there are a lot options of food to choose but the two franchised McDonalds are still always
Chinese Cuisine Introduction America is a diverse nation that enjoys adding food from different parts of the world to its menu. In this case, America is in love with Chinese food, especially Chinese restaurants, takeout dinners and fortune cookies, (which are not really Chinese). This popularity is from all over the world where one cannot miss a restaurant or two providing these delicious fare. As with any food, there is a rich history behind this famous cuisine that anyone interested in learning how to cook this type of food should know. The Chinese view cooking as an art form that requires dedication to perfect each meal for those who eat it to enjoy.