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Many would rather head to Hong Kong, Malaysia or Japan, where they can replicate their best dishes for an appreciative crowd.
Those who do wind up in the U. Visa issues also play a role: Restaurants must sponsor employees in order to bring them over, or a chef has to apply for an expert visa, which is difficult to obtain. But Americanized Chinese food might not be such a bad thing. Lee traces the history of Chinese food in America and discovers that Chinese cuisine has been transformed and adapted to the palates of people all over the world. There are Chinese risotto dishes; Italian-Chinese restaurants serve fried gelato; Indochinese cuisine features as much curry as soy sauce.
Chinese dishes served in your average suburban strip mall might not be familiar to people living in China, but there is no denying Americans love the taste of sweet, deep-fried chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with a side of egg rolls. More recent waves of Chinese immigrants hail from all over China, not just the southernmost coastal provinces. This demographic change is also having an effect on Chinese restaurants in the Twin Cities.
Pork Shreds with Dried Tofu. Traveler type. The dinner scene at the Tea House in Minneapolis. Skip to main content. But Americanized Chinese food might not be such a bad thing. All rights reserved. Diced Fish with Chili Peppers.
Chinese students encouraged the owners of Little Szechuan to offer the traditional dish of hot pot, which they did by opening a new restaurant focused on that. Paul restaurants. They serve excellent Cantonese food. I think people who are looking for authentic Chinese food should let the staff of the restaurant know. Let the chef know. Sascha Matuszak traveled to China in August , one year after graduating from the University of Minnesota.
What was supposed to be a yearlong sojourn turned into almost 15 years of traveling, writing and a lot of eating.
He returned to Minneapolis in Commenters must follow our Terms of Use. Home All Sections Search. Log In Welcome, User.
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Delta, other airlines to give customers 'nonbinary' choice under gender. Dress code shake-up at Target: Harvard's top astronomer talks aliens, doesn't care what colleagues think. What do you wonder about our state and the people who live here? Depends on what you call "authentic. Mandarin Kitchen , Lyndale Av.
Most Chinese restaurants, like Little Szechaun in St. The dinner scene at the Tea House in Minneapolis. Dishes at the Tea House include sweet and sour walleye.
Read our comment standards StarTribune. Keep it civil and stay on topic.
No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks. Comments with web links are not permitted. For starters, Little Szechuan has unquestionably snared the better location. As was the case with the original Grand Szechuan, its new outpost opened without a liquor license and at press time was still waiting. One of the challenges we laid down to our servers was to sequence our sampling of more than 10 dishes in waves.
The disappointing result at Little Szechuan was a steady stream of dishes that were tepid—and no amount of feedback on the subject helped.
In the case of Little Szechuan, another not-so-surprising facet of the nicer surroundings is the added cost—according to my reckoning, about a 10 to 20 percent price jump. In terms of the food itself, both restaurants offer nearly identical voluminous menus. Interestingly, when we asked our servers to suggest some do-not-miss dishes, their recommendations produced close matches as well.
Exceptions to the rule at Little Szechuan were the pan-seared lamb chops—lightly spicy, nicely Frenched, and very modern; the Szechuan spicy tofu, which was a pleasantly piquant arrangement of silky deep-fried soybean cubes that reminded me of the wonderful spicy golden tofu served at Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine; and the shredded pork in fish sauce, a slightly vinegar-edged toss of tender meat, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms that was our favorite dish at the restaurant. The exception at Grand Szechuan was a slightly sweet and wonderful stir-fry of shredded pork and green onions.
When it comes to a head-to-head comparison of the dishes that are widely considered to be northern Chinese standards, Grand Szechuan emerges victorious in just about every case. Not only were the presentations and ingredients first-rate, but the saucing and seasoning were more dynamic and distinctive. Items that were closest to ties were the pot stickers, nicely sized and well filled in both cases, and the classic Chung King chili chicken stir-fry.
The biggest disappointment at both places was the recommended duck dishes.