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(Restaurant) Food in China is terrible! The bigger the city you are in, the more so. You probably like it because you're not used to the taste of MSG which is

(Restaurant) Food in China is terrible! The bigger the city you are in, the more so. You probably like it because you're not used to the taste of MSG which is used freely and generously in China to cover up stale ingredients. Having eaten out daily in Shanghai and Guangzhou for a few years, I got pretty sick of it.

mesozoic 11y ago
I just started using MSG at home are you saying it will eventually stop making everything taste better?
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Could any of you please tell what's MSG?
  - mesozoic 11y ago
    Monosodium glutamate you can get it in a powder like salt. It is a seasoning that provides "the essence of flavor" or umami flavoring which makes lots of bland stuff taste way better without necessarily having lots of salt. Some claim it is bad for the health or causes MSG symptom complex with an array of common conditions like headaches but there's little to no scientific evidence that this isn't psychosomatic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
    - TeMPOraL 11y ago
      Oh so that's the powder that guy on the street is adding when preparing my meal... Thanks. I didn't know about it before.
      - Zigurd 11y ago
        Street food can be good but it's pretty much the digestive equivalent of hitting the double black diamonds at a new ski area on the first day.