Chinese food has long been in the United States for decades, but it is often relegated to takeout boxed and dumplings. Nowadays, however, Chinese cuisine in the U.S. is put under a new light with an emphasis on taste, according to an article by China Daily.
The crowd favorites are still there but offered in a more refined setting. Restaurateurs and chefs alike look to the east and current fusion trends for inspiration.
“Chinese restaurateurs have been trying to offer Chinese food as fine dining; but their efforts have remained largely unsuccessful until recently,” said Tong Chen, a professor at the University of California-Irvine and food writer, in an interview with China Daily.
According to Chen, who wrote “Chop Suey, USA: The Rise of Chinese Food in America,” the main proponents of the “new” Chinese cuisine are “more professionally trained chefs and more affluent and more informed diners.”
One of the restaurateurs who have been busy trying to change the image of Chinese cuisine in America is Wang Gang.
Along with his wife, he opened a restaurant in Beijing in 1996. Almost two decades later, Wang has expanded his operations in the United States. The first Meizhou Dongpo restaurant in the U.S. opened in Beverly Hills in 2013.
Although chefs were hired locally, they were sent to China for professional training.
“We are trying to make authentic Chinese food for America,” said Wang Xiaojing, the general manager of Meizhou Dongpo in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Chinese companies have joined the movement, snapping up properties and forging partnerships with their global counterparts to pave way for foreign subsidiaries.
“Fame has brought us pressure and responsibility because Chinese restaurants who are considering opening locations in the U.S. are all looking at as,” Wang told China Daily.
“If we are successful, they will take action. If we fail, they will be afraid of 'going out.'”