changed even more once they started serving to a white American audience.īy 1989, Chinese food had become the most frequently consumed among 19 different cuisines in the U.S., according to a survey by the National Restaurant Association. As time went on, the dishes served at Chinese restaurants in the U.S. Because Asian ingredients weren’t easily available back then, Chinese cooks at the time had to work with what they had and put their own spin on Chinese cuisine. “It’s not for everyone, but there’s a customer base for it given how many Chinese students return from abroad every year,” one noted.Īmerican-Chinese cuisine can be traced back to the 19th century, when Chinese immigrants first arrived in America during the California Gold Rush and a slew of Chinese food establishments, then referred to as “chow chow houses,” sprang up in San Francisco to feed the population. While some expressed disdain for the restaurant, with one describing it as “reverse cultural shock” and another calling its patrons “victims of Stockholm syndrome,” others applauded Tank’s venture from a business point of view. Another person wrote, “Color me interested! I unironically love Panda Express.” Now, I have to admit that I kind of miss that strange sweet and sour smell,” one commented. “Before I came back to China, I thought I would never want to have this type of food again. Chang’s, saying that although they were initially reluctant to try Westernized Chinese food when studying or working aboard, they eventually came around and even started craving it after they returned to China. Under posts about the restaurant on Xiaohongshu, many compared the dishes at Bamboo Chinese Fast Food to those served at Panda Express and P.F. I’ll decide if the food here is authentic or not,” one of them said, before gobbling down plates of food doused in orange sauce and leaving a positive review. “I had real American-Chinese food before when I spent some time in the U.S. In a Bilibili video posted in June that has racked up more than 160,000 views, a pair of young Beijing residents visited the restaurant and tried every item on the menu. Judging from reviews of the restaurant on Chinese social media, its core demographic right now includes expatriates living in Beijing and locals who got hooked on “inauthentic” Chinese food when studying overseas. Why would I want that kind of food in China?” She told the publication, “I don’t go to those Chinese takeouts when I’m abroad. One of the interesting anecdotes from the profile is that Tank’s mom, who actually resided in California for some time, was critical about his business proposal. In order to cater to the Chinese palette, he also adjusted flavors of the food, making them not “overly sweet or sour” for locals. “The sweet and sour flavor left a good impression on him,” the author wrote.Īccording to the profile, because it’s difficult to find chefs in Beijing who had experience making American-Chinese dishes, Tank worked on recipes by himself before launching the restaurant. In an article published this week by Real Story Research Lab (真故研究室 zhēn gù yánjiūshì), a popular public WeChat account profiling ordinary Chinese people, the owner of the shop, who calls himself Tank (坦克 tǎnkè), confessed that although he had never lived in the U.S., he first encountered American-Chinese food on a trip to the country when he was little. Tiny, inexpensive, and with both counter service and delivery, the spot serves up a small menu of staples in American-Chinese cuisine, including beef and broccoli, honey walnut shrimp, chow mein (fried noodles), and fried rice, with prices ranging from 16 yuan ($2.20) to 52 yuan ($7.20).Īnd just like a classic rundown Chinese restaurant in an American suburb, Bamboo Chinese Fast Food uses the famous white cardboard takeout boxes and gives out fortune cookies to customers. embassy, the restaurant is an unassuming hole-in-the-wall with a greasy, get-down-and-dirty vibe that one would expect from a typical Chinese takeout in the U.S. Tucked inside a slightly dingy-looking food court in Beijing’s Liangmaqiao area not too far from the U.S. In the past few weeks, the establishment has gained traction on Chinese social media, spurring intrigue from local Chinese who are unfamiliar with the cuisine and positive reviews from nostalgic expatriates and those who have studied abroad. In May, Bamboo Chinese Fast Food (竹子快餐 zhúzi kuàicān), an establishment specializing in American-Chinese dishes, opened in the Chinese capital.
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