Over the years, I have traveled to many places in the world because of my work relationship. In addition to enjoying the local scenery and customs, another thing that must be done every time you go is to find a Chinese restaurant as soon as possible, in case your stomach cannot accept the local food for a long time. Although I don’t know much about cooking, I feel homesick when I see the bowls and chopsticks on the table and eat the unique taste of Chinese food, especially those dishes that have long been recognized by the world as Chinese flavors. It will be relieved immediately, and happiness will naturally arise spontaneously. However, after a long time overseas, I also found that some Chinese restaurants are "fake". The reason why these restaurants pretend to be Chinese restaurants is because Chinese dishes are unique, popular and easy to make money. Although the taste of Chinese food cooked in these "fake" Chinese restaurants is definitely not tasteful, if you go there for a meal with an open-minded and optimistic attitude towards life, you will definitely feel very relaxed and happy.
transparent surface
That was back in Ivory Coast, West Africa. When passing by Destin Boulevard in Abidjan, the capital, I saw a Chinese restaurant sign written in French on the side of the road. The restaurant's facade is very small, but since I haven't eaten Chinese food for a long time, I immediately remembered the address and name of the restaurant. I thought, I must come here today or tomorrow to enjoy it, and to speak Chinese with the owner of the Chinese restaurant. At noon the next day, as soon as I entered the door, I saw several Chinese male waiters come over and greet me in French to sit down. Seeing that they were Chinese, I naturally thanked them in Mandarin. But at this time one of them told me that they were overseas Chinese who came to West Africa when they were very young, because they could not speak Chinese after living here for decades. It made sense to hear them say that, so I asked them to show me the menu in French. After looking at the menu, I thought it was a little weird. Chinese people who have lived overseas probably know that although Chinese restaurants around the world make some adjustments to the taste and cooking methods of the dishes according to the local people's habits, the names of the dishes are generally not very different. But even though the names of the dishes on the restaurant's menu are translated into French, they don't look right in any way. One of the staple foods is called "transparent noodles" after being translated into Chinese. I have a habit of trying food, no matter if it tastes good or not, as long as I have never eaten it. But as a Chinese, I haven't heard of anything called "transparent noodles" anywhere in China. Well, let's eat something called "transparent noodles". A few minutes later, a bowl of "transparent noodles" was placed in front of me. It turns out that the so-called "transparent noodles" of this restaurant are actually the kind of very thin fans that we often eat in China. Seeing this bowl of fans in front of me, I still feel a little weird, because fans in China are generally not eaten as a staple food, but as a dish. The most common way to eat it is vermicelli soup, or "ants on the tree" (fried vermicelli with minced meat). At this point, my stomach was also hungry, and I couldn't care less. After I finished eating this bowl of "transparent noodles", the owner of the restaurant came out. At this point, I asked him why fans would do this. He told me that he is Vietnamese and that's how people eat fans in Vietnam. At this time, I suddenly realized that this is a Chinese restaurant opened by a Vietnamese. The "Chinese" who greeted me just now are actually Vietnamese!
The chef's grandpa is Chinese
The Kingdom of Oman in the Persian Gulf is an Arab Islamic country. There are not many Chinese people living here, but there are a few Chinese restaurants, but the prices of these Chinese restaurants are too expensive. For two people to eat a Chinese meal of three dishes and one soup, at least they have to spend about 240 yuan in local currency. This evening, I was walking in the Rui business district of Muscat, and I accidentally saw a sign of a fast food restaurant that said in English that the restaurant served Chinese-style fried noodles, and it was accompanied by a photo. Judging from the photos, the fried noodles here are no different from domestic fried noodles. I walked over and wanted to buy a takeaway. This is a fast food restaurant that mainly serves Indian, Chinese and Arabic fast food. The waiter is an Indian guy. "You sell Chinese fried noodles here, right?" I asked. "Yes" the boy answered. "Do you have a Chinese chef?" "Yes, we have a Chinese chef." I am very happy to hear that there are Chinese people working here, and I think that I can come here often to eat authentic Chinese fried noodles in the future. "Then can I meet the Chinese chef here?" "No problem." As soon as he finished speaking, he shouted a few times in Hindi, and a young man in his 20s came out. His face is a bit Chinese, but his face is almost African black. I asked him in English, "Are you Chinese?" "Yes, my grandfather is Chinese." Haha, I couldn't help but be friendly laughed. I thought it was a really interesting scene. While talking, the young man went into the kitchen a few minutes later and took out a box of fried noodles that I wanted. I couldn't wait to take a sip. Where is this Chinese fried noodles. The strong curry flavour inside reminded me of Indian fast food sold by hawkers in the business district of New Delhi. But then again. Indian-style fried noodles are really good. Years later, I secretly laugh thinking of the Indian guy who claims his grandpa is Chinese and his "Chinese fried noodles".
Hunan fish
There is another Indian-owned Chinese restaurant in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Because the price of this restaurant is only one-third of the restaurant opened by the Chinese, I came here today to satisfy my cravings. After entering the door and sitting down, the Indian waiter handed over the menu. There is a dish on the menu called "Hunan Fish". I was confused when I saw this dish. I am an authentic Hunanese. Born and raised in Hunan. But so far I have not heard of a dish called "Hunan Fish". I called the Indian waiter and asked him to explain to me what "Hunan fish" is. Now it's hard for him. He began to hesitate, unable to tell whether the word "Hunan" was a place name or a plant name, or the name of a spice he didn't know. I laughed while listening to him explain. He himself laughed embarrassedly because he couldn't say anything. I said, well, then you can bring me a "Hunan fish". After a while, the dish was placed in front of me. When I saw it, gosh, if you didn't know in advance that this dish was fish, you wouldn't be able to see that it had anything to do with fish anyway. The dish is served in the kind of brown earthenware bowl that is unique to India. There are seven or eight pieces wrapped in black seasoning. When I lowered my head to smell it, a strong curry smell came to my face. I took a piece and put it in my mouth. Although it tasted good, I just couldn't taste what it was.
Shanghai boss black chef
When I went to Ghana in West Africa on business that year, I saw a Chinese restaurant called Beijing Hotel in Accra, the capital of the country. The owner of the restaurant is from Shanghai. Since this restaurant is opened by Chinese, most Chinese who come to eat here will have a kind of intimacy back to their hometown. In addition, the owner of this restaurant is very talkative. Every time a Chinese guest comes to eat, he will come over and chat with you. However, although the Chinese food in this restaurant tastes authentic, it is also fake because all the dishes sold in this restaurant are cooked by several local black chefs. The Chinese owner of the restaurant is just a boss and doesn't know how to cook Chinese food at all. This is a very interesting Chinese restaurant. The current owner inherited the restaurant from his father. It can also be said that this is a Chinese restaurant with a long history in Ghana. The restaurant has cultivated batch after batch of black chefs who can fry Chinese food since the day it opened. The black chef who worked for the current owner was brought out by other black chefs in the restaurant. These black chefs cook Chinese food with authentic techniques and skillful movements, just like the chefs in mainland China, but one thing is puzzling, that is, these black chefs do not like to eat Chinese food. It's really interesting to be able to fry fake Chinese food, but I don't like Chinese food.
Chinese food is famous all over the world. No matter where you go in the world, you can basically find Chinese restaurants, but if one day you walk into a "fake" Chinese restaurant, please don't be angry anyway, because fake Chinese food also has its own unique Taste and culture. These fake Chinese restaurants will give you a different kind of joy in life.
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