3 ms·

Really? Lived in HK for a long time, had lots of friends who grew up there/were very local.. never saw this happen. Is it regional?

by sidek 10y ago

jimmywanger 10y ago
You know, I never thought about it. Maybe. Asian restaurants in Asia tend to specialize. You want curry, go to the curry place, if you want noodles, go to the noodle place. Asian restaurants in the states (Thai and Chinese especially) have huge menus with no clear recommendations in the name. For instance, what are you getting when you go to Morton's steak house? The name gives you the cue. Just like if you're heading into a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling House" you're probably getting dumplings. "Golden Dragon" or "Wok Shop" gives you no information to work with, so you have to extract what is good from the waiter instead of the menu.
- jghn 10y ago
  "Just like if you're heading into a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling House" you're probably getting dumplings." Be careful with this. At least in the US, the English name often has very little to do with the Chinese name, and it's the latter which is meaningful. As an example there's a place in Boston's Chinatown called the "Dumpling House" (or something along those lines) but the Chinese name is something like "tastes of north and south". Go figure, you see a lot of Westerners complaining about the dumplings here.
  - jimmywanger 10y ago
    Agreed. Not to be creepy, but is this the place you're talking about? https://www.yelp.com/biz/gourmet-dumpling-house-boston-3 https://www.yelp.com/biz/gourmet-dumpling-house-boston-3 (Food is very important to me) They seem to be known for their shanghai soup dumplings. This is a great book if you like eating out. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GSYYQ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GSYYQ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?... Basically, if you show up at an ethnic place and order what the other ethnic people are getting, it's hard to go wrong. That's why it's maybe more of a thing in the states where you interrogate the waiter. In Asia, each restaurant does one thing, because the competition is so intense. In the states, you expect to get broccoli beef in every Chinese restaurant, so they sort of have to offer it. Once you talk to the waiter, everything will be made clear.
    - jghn 10y ago
      Yep, that's the one. It's not that their dumplings are bad or anything like that, it's just not as much a forte of theirs as the English name would lead you to believe.
- Cerium 10y ago
  By the way, in Cupertino there is a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling". They serve some of the best soup dumplings I have had. The soup is not too salty and does not leave an oily mouth feeling. The service is poor, but food fast and delicious. 10895 S. Blaney Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014

Really? Lived in HK for a long time, had lots of friends who grew up there/were very local.. never saw this happen. Is it regional?

by sidek 10y ago

Really? Lived in HK for a long time, had lots of friends who grew up there/were very local.. never saw this happen. Is it regional?

jimmywanger 10y ago

You know, I never thought about it. Maybe. Asian restaurants in Asia tend to specialize. You want curry, go to the curry place, if you want noodles, go to the noodle place. Asian restaurants in the states (Thai and Chinese especially) have huge menus with no clear recommendations in the name. For instance, what are you getting when you go to Morton's steak house? The name gives you the cue. Just like if you're heading into a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling House" you're probably getting dumplings. "Golden Dragon" or "Wok Shop" gives you no information to work with, so you have to extract what is good from the waiter instead of the menu.

jghn 10y ago
"Just like if you're heading into a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling House" you're probably getting dumplings." Be careful with this. At least in the US, the English name often has very little to do with the Chinese name, and it's the latter which is meaningful. As an example there's a place in Boston's Chinatown called the "Dumpling House" (or something along those lines) but the Chinese name is something like "tastes of north and south". Go figure, you see a lot of Westerners complaining about the dumplings here.
- jimmywanger 10y ago
  Agreed. Not to be creepy, but is this the place you're talking about? https://www.yelp.com/biz/gourmet-dumpling-house-boston-3 https://www.yelp.com/biz/gourmet-dumpling-house-boston-3 (Food is very important to me) They seem to be known for their shanghai soup dumplings. This is a great book if you like eating out. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GSYYQ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GSYYQ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?... Basically, if you show up at an ethnic place and order what the other ethnic people are getting, it's hard to go wrong. That's why it's maybe more of a thing in the states where you interrogate the waiter. In Asia, each restaurant does one thing, because the competition is so intense. In the states, you expect to get broccoli beef in every Chinese restaurant, so they sort of have to offer it. Once you talk to the waiter, everything will be made clear.
  - jghn 10y ago
    Yep, that's the one. It's not that their dumplings are bad or anything like that, it's just not as much a forte of theirs as the English name would lead you to believe.
Cerium 10y ago
By the way, in Cupertino there is a restaurant called "Shanghai Dumpling". They serve some of the best soup dumplings I have had. The soup is not too salty and does not leave an oily mouth feeling. The service is poor, but food fast and delicious. 10895 S. Blaney Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014