I’ve gotten a quite a few questions about the food here. In a nutshell, the Americanized Chinese food is nothing like what is here. I’m getting the vibe that the people here don’t like sweet food the way Americans do. When I say I’m getting the vibe, what I mean is that I hear people say, “Too Sweet”. I would say sesame chicken, orange chicken and shoyu chicken…all would be ‘too sweet’. Also, eating is much more of a communal event, where dishes are all shared, and in some cases, tables are also shared with other people.
The other night I was invited out to go to a Sichuan restaurant for some spicy food. I can’t describe how awesome this food was, but I’m going to try.
To better explain the explosion of flavor that was in their food, I’m going to refer to their website;
“Sichuan is famed for more than just hot and spicy. Like other cuisines, Sichuan [consists] of five basic tasting sensations which are sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy; yet only Sichuan cuisine incorporates the unique sixth sensation. It is the tingly numbing sensation which induces sensitivity to the taste buds that are normally non-sensitive , making all taste buds active for the grand flavor of Sichuan dishes.”
minnehappiness 