What type of Asian food is your favorite?
By Amber
@AmbiePam (90079)
United States
July 13, 2008 7:40am CST
I like Chinese food. I have also had Thai and Japanese food. I don't think I could tell you anything about food with origins from Vietnam, Korea, or the Philippines, other than the halo halo I saw a contestant make on Top Chef. And despite the fact that all the Chinese places I go to are owned by Asian people, I am told this is just the 'American' version of Chinese food. So why would they not want to serve traditional Chinese food? Someone on mylot told me it is a lot healthier. What type of Asian food is your favorite?
12 people like this
49 responses
@ltmoon (1008)
• United States
13 Jul 08
Granted, taste is individual, but from experience and experimentation I rank the major Asian cuisines as follows: Vietnamese 1st, Thai/Khmer 2nd, Japanese 3rd, Chinese 4th, and Indian and Korean tied for 5th. This is by no means a comment on quality, each of these cuisines is of high quality and contain a variety of ingredients.
I have eaten several of these cuisines in their native countries, and at both high-end restaurants and street-vendor stalls. I've eaten Thai in Bangkok and Khmer in Siem Reap. In Shenzhen Guangdong (Canton in English) China I of course had Cantonese, and also in nearby Hong Kong. I found the Chinese food in Taipei Taiwan to be more like Fujian of the mainland. I have eaten all these cuisines at American restaurants all across the country.
I pick Vietnamese for the top slot because of not only its unique components but also its fusion of Chinese elements, French influences, and the citrus and curries of Thai. I think if I had to give up all but one cuisine to eat, I would choose Vietnamese because of the variety.
I didn't touch on Nipponese cuisine previously, but from my childhood, it was and is still one of my favourite cuisines. Partly because of the mysticism that surrounded a particular Japanese restaurant my parents would take us to every few years in the city. It was a fantastical mystical place. It began with the kimono clad hostess that met us at the door and lead us over the little arched bridge over the stream that trickled from the indoor waterfall and through a garden to the main dining room. Along the way we would get a quick glimpse of the sushi bar. The main room was surrounded with the sliding rice paper walls of the "private" tea rooms. All of which just made the place magical to a child! Of course as a child, my favourite dishes were the shrimp tempura and teriyaki. My tastes grew as I did and now I am more fond of sitting at the sushi bar enjoying sashimi and handrolls. One of the most intriguing aspects of Nipponese cuisine is the presentation, it is one of the most intricate of all cuisines and is steeped in legend and tradition. I love getting a real Bento Box for lunch, it's so much fun opening all the little food gifts. And least I forget, a big bowl of Miso is a great way to chase away a cold!
A cuisine I forgot to mention is Malay, which I have sampled in both Kuala Lumpur and in America. Which is a bit courser than the more refined Asian cuisines and in general is quite spicy.
The American-Chinese cuisine that so many are familiar with is mostly based on Cantonese with a bit of Hunan and Szechwan to add some spiciness. The 19th century Chinese immigrants who came to America to work on building the western railroads created a style of Chinese food not found in China by utilizing the local ingredients of their newly adopted country and catering to the western American tastes.
@ellie333 (21016)
•
13 Jul 08
My sister-in-law is Thai and I must admit I love visiting her as I get fed so well and she also enjoys the fact that I appreciate the Thai cuisine. Her cooking is amazing and very hot and spicey and even though she has given me the recipes I just can never make it the same as she does. I enjoy Chinese too and have not experienced much else so I would go with Thai food as being a favourite. Luckily I have just eaten else this discussion would have made me hungry for some. LOL. Ellie :D
@bournecaindelta (2477)
• India
13 Jul 08
I'm from India and as everybody knows Indian Cuisine is a very wide ranged subject to be discussed. I love the whole lot of stuff that my mum makes. Sweet Rice, Lemon Rice and various curries especially Tandoori Chicken with Roties. These are some of the various things that I like in India cuisine. Apart from these I like Chinese Noodles. I like them and that's my usual order when i go out with my friends. There are some places in my town where they make great noodles and I love them.
bourne
3 people like this
@stellashen (42)
• China
13 Jul 08
I do love Chinese food not because i am Chinese.
Chinese food has a lot of nutrtion and more tempting. Especially some specailties around the Country!
we ARE sichuan people ,and we love spicy food very much. So hotpot is my favourite. maybe you don't believe it ,i chose my college only because i can eat hotpot there,is it rediculous?????
Haha
have a nice day~
@lucy02 (5015)
• United States
16 Jul 08
I love Chinese food. I think I could eat it everyday. I also love Japanese food. My husband is Japanese and before we started dating I had never had Japanese food. There was only one within 50 miles of here at the time. Since then several have opened. I also have learned that I love Thai food too. I have never had Vietnamese or Korean food but I was reading some comments about it on another site I visit and they say it is really good.
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@lucy02 (5015)
• United States
16 Jul 08
Well his mom did most of the cooking but he does remember a few dishes. By the time we got married his mother's health prevented her from doing much cooking. She passed away a couple of years ago. I never did get to eat any of her cooking but from what I've heard she was a good cook.
1 person likes this
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
13 Jul 08
Hello dear AmbiePam. I am Chinese and I love Chinese food as I was brought up with Chinese food of different kinds. I am so happy to know that you also like Chinese food. Please enjoy the food that you like. Thank you for the discussion.
3 people like this
@comeonmolly (828)
• China
14 Jul 08
Hi,dear friend,
First of all I am so glad that you love chinese food..
There are so many kinds of Asian food here in china ..any kinds of food,according to their locations they have their different style of cooking.
Actually,Most of the time I don't like to go out to eat ,so the most Asian food is mostly cooked by my mother even though she is not a good cook..
Amony them I like noodles best as it is my main food here in north china.
I remember my foreign teacher ,by the way ,she is from American who live in china for 5 years said her favorite food (dish)is "gongbaojiding"...
I do agree that the traditional food is healthier but I can't say that the food we eat nowadays is less healthier ..In my point of view as long as the ingredients and the way of cooking is healthy then the food we are eating is healthy ,maybe a little bit absolute .anyway ,just my personal opinion..
Molly;-)
1 person likes this
@bhushguha (203)
• India
14 Jul 08
I like to eat...i eat meny kinds of food...but my favourite food is the food cooked by my mom...
@isabeliever (164)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I would definitely say Vietnamese although Malay runs a close second. I lived in S.E. Asia for 7 years and got REALLY spoiled. The traditional (verses Americanized) food is INCREDIBLE. In fact, all the regional foods are better in S.E. Asia rather than cooked by immigrants trying to suit western tastes. No big surprise there!What I love about Vietnamese food is the fresh vegetables and seafood combined with exquisite sauces and various forms of rices. The flavor combinations really knock my socks off. I also adore HOT food and they are experts in that area.
1 person likes this
@isabeliever (164)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I have also been lucky in where I live now in the USA. There are some fairly large ethnic Asian communities here and I've managed to find the restaurants that sell the 'real thing'. It's kind of like knowing where the best 'highway food' is by where the most trucks are stopped. I looked for the places with the most Asian people eating and Voila! If you want to find the real thing...you could also call a local Asian church and ask the office staff if they could recommend any restaurants that sell authentic food from their culture. OR if you have ethnic clubs you could call them...a Korean club or a Vietnamese club etc. I know if you want real 'American' food when you live overseas you can always to to the American Club...it's true..they exist!Trudy
1 person likes this
@PRIYANK1992 (1677)
• India
13 Jul 08
I like Indian Food because Indian foods are Delicious and awesome and also mind blowing in Taste.I don't think that no other food is greater good then Indian Food.
3 people like this
@umart13 (841)
• Ireland
14 Jul 08
Morning AmbiePam, Nowadays I mostly like to order the KungPo Spicey King Prawn with boiled rice and BBQ spare ribs sometimes in Kungpo Sauce. I also used to like King Prawns with Green Peppers in Black Bean Sauce, but I went off that a bit recently. I always start with the Wonton soup and finish with Lychees or fried bananas in coconut milk. Hmmm! Have a good week. UMart
@cherrytcy86 (119)
• Malaysia
13 Jul 08
i like asian soup... kimchi soup of korean... tauhu soup of japanese... ikan bilis soup of malaysia... egg soup + seafood soup of china...tom yum soup of thailand... vegetable soup of indonesia... hihi... all is soup soup soup...
3 people like this
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
14 Jul 08
I agree... chinese food are very healthy for the body... and i also love it... i think the main reason why they cannot serve the authentic traditional chinese food... is because some of the main ingredients are not available in the U.S.... and they can only be found in China or other Asian countries... like for example the soy sauce to be used... they have a particular brand made only and available only in China... and that is also the same with the vegetables and kind of rice to be used...
1 person likes this
@CoffeeAnyone (3210)
• Canada
14 Jul 08
I love chinese food but I like the Canadian version the best. If I lived in the US I am pretty sure it would not be my favorite food. I took my kids to disneyland about 15 years ago. One night we decided to go out for chinese food. I remember trying to order from the telephone in our room but it was too confusing so we decided to walk over to the resturant and pick it up sense I was really craving chinese food. Will first of all it came in these tiny white buckets. I thought that was pretty cute. When we got back to the hotel to eat the stuff I phoned them and told them they gave me the wrong dinner. We had to go back to the resturant. Will it turned out I got exactly what I ordered I just didnt' recognize the stuff. Even the sweet and sour was not that great but not that different either. The rice was way over cooked and more like mush; but it was that chicken chowmein that really got to me. Man that was discusting. Needless to say I ate very little of it. Well it is years later and I have tried to enjoy chinese food about 3 more times down in the USA in a chinese resturant. Each time I say to myself never again. Now I hear that the Canadian version is also the americanized version just different then the US version. Right now I am off both versions of chinese food and am enjoying many lunches and dinners of sushi! Have you tried Sushi? I actually make my own once in awhile! It is easy and fast to make.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I just recently started eating it again.....I got sick off of sweet and sour pork many years ago and just the thought of eating anything like that almost made me sick all over again! And I haven't experienced all the different kinds of asian foods like you have....basically just Chinese.
1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
14 Jul 08
Congrats on having the number one discussion of
the day! Just now, your discussion was number one, page one
for top discussions. I snapped a pic of it.
As for the food, I've only ever had regular takeout Chinese
so I couldn't be sure!
1 person likes this
@bluemars (952)
• Australia
14 Jul 08
Oh yes I love asian food too and I especially like that flat rice noodle. Oh yummy now I feel like some. I usually order the stir fry with broccoli and onion and prawns with satay sauce and the flat rice noodle. I love it too when there is a hint of chili. I have not had it for a while but I have been trying to eat more home cooked meals. I am terrible at cooking asian at home, but I can make some really nice rice which turns out just the way me and my partner like it and the way it is made in some restaurants. I wish I knew how to cook more asian dishes. Lately I have been eating quite a few plain dishes and it is kind of boring at times but you what I can not help it, I am trying to eat more healthy and also sometimes I feel like I can not trust too much of the food cooked outside of home.
I don't know but I had this asian friend in high school and when I used to visit her, her home always smelled so nice from the food they were cooking. I love it and it always made me hungry. I almost wished that I was asian just so that I could grow up with that beautiful smell. It was such a nice smell in the house and left like a warm atmosphere in the house. I can not think of anything better. I think most dishes prepared at home are more healthier so back to what you were saying about health, I mean sure most of their dishes look healthier but store bought or shop can sometimes look too greasy and very unhealthy so one needs to be very careful especially when it comes to their health.
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