I own quite a few copies of the Lucky Peach but I find myself not able to make the majority of recipes because their recipes focus on strong overpowering ingred

I own quite a few copies of the Lucky Peach but I find myself not able to make the majority of recipes because their recipes focus on strong overpowering ingredients. To me this is sad way of cooking, where a recipe is dominated by onions, or garlic or beats. Its poor man's ketchup cooking. Is Tokyo the mecca of food? I don't know now but its narrow minded to say one city trumps them all.