Chinese-American foods : Geography, culture and tourism

Chinese-American foods : Geography, culture and tourism

Creators Lew Alan A.

Food is a major way that Chinese, and other ethnic groups, engage with their cultural heritage. Behavioral perspectives from tourism studies give insight into the range of food neophyllics (love of new foods) and food neophobics (fear of new foods), as well as the role of authenticity in food experiences. Three general types of Chinese food are identified in the US: Chinese American (restaurant) Food, Real Chinese (restaurant) Food, and American Born Chinese (home) Food. Traditional Chinese American restaurant food is suited to non-Chinese, dominant American taste palates, and is mostly safe for food neophobics in the US. Real Chinese restaurant food is more suited to the palates of first generation Chinese immigrants and non-Chinese food neophylics. American Born Chinese home foods consists of the family recipes that were brought from the regions in China where first generation ancestors came from, and may be the most authentic of all Chinese foods in the US.

[ISSN]1347-9415

[NCID]AA11831154