1. Most Japanese restaurants run by Chinese people in New York City are very bad to mediocre.
2. Most Japanese restaurants run by Korean people in New York City are bad to very good.
3. Most Japanese restaurants run by Japanese people in New York City are mediocre to excellent.
Of course, Japanese restaurants run by Japanese people are going to be better on the average. But does that mean that Chinese and Korean people should not run Japanese restaurants? No.
Sometimes, I go to a Japanese restaurant run by Chinese people because it is convenient or the prices are cheap. There is even a Chinese restaurant that serves sushi for $1 a piece in my neighborhood. One time I went there and it was REALLY good. I couldn’t believe how cheap and tasty it was. The next time I went, it was so AWFUL that I wanted to spit it out and vowed never to eat Chinese-made sushi again. I was even tempted to go back and insult the cashier.
Jeollado (a Korean-run sushi place the author mentioned) is pretty good. It is very fresh and cheap. But it is not top-quality sushi. I prefer Kuruma Zushi. But, of course, Kuruma Zushi (Japanese-run) is $150+ per person! There are many good sushi places in New York City. In fact, you could say there are more (visible) sushi places in New York City than there are in Tokyo!
Anyhow, Korean people usually make decent sushi. That’s because they eat sushi all the time in Korea! Correction: Koreans eat a lot of sashimi (sushi but without the rice). Sashimi is a very common appetizer in Korea. Chinese people generally don’t eat sushi, but now it’s catching on. Most Chinese and Southeast Asian people though think eating raw fish is disgusting and this is usually passed on to the second and third generations in America. But eating raw fish has always been a part of Korean and Japanese culture. Why? Because it’s colder! The fish doesn’t go bad as fast.
This author seems to me like someone who really likes sushi and had some bad sushi at some Chinese and Korean-run places and is now mad. But also there are definitely A LOT of prejudiced statements here. And there are some things simply untrue (most Chinese delivery menus in New York City are white, not red). This is yet another case of a white (or other) person "turning Japanese" and falling for the "Japanese are superior" complex. Damn the Japanese are really good at PR! Which PR firm do they use anyhow?
But seriously, Japan is one of the richest nations in the world. So naturally, Japanese people demand high standards for cuisine. The same thing is happening in China and Korea. As living standards go up, so does the quality and presentation of the food. Why? Because people expect higher standards.
Does this mean only Japanese should make Japanese food in New York City? Hell, no! Let people make what they want and let folks eat it!
Are Chinese and Koreans "disrespecting" the Japanese culinary art by "exploiting" it? Maybe, but so is everyone else! How many Italian restaurants are run by real Italians? Same for French or any other cuisine for that matter. Is Nobu Matsuhisa disrespecting Peruvian food with his Latin American-inspired sushi creations? No.
When you really think about it. Japanese food is truly primitive. Raw fish plus a few rip-offs of Chinese dishes like noodles and Korean dishes like grilled fish or pickled vegetables. Chinese cuisine is far more sophisticated and difficult to make. Has the author been to a fancy Beijing or Shanghai-style Chinese restaurant? If you had really good Chinese food, you’d know why the French rank Chinese as the world’s second cuisine (after their own, of course) ahead of Italian or... Japanese.
Anyhow, I think the reason why so many people are pissed off after reading this article is the tone of it. It’s really degrading to Chinese and Koreans. These people have heard over and over again how superior the Japanese are to them from the Japanese and now they have to hear it from white (or other) people. Japan borrowed everything from China and Korea (practically everything on a Japanese menu) and then the West and decided to invade those countries and then the West! Even the rice that Japanese people eat originates from Korea (it is a different strain from Chinese rice). Gyoza is originally Chinese, right?
Japan used to be a backwater isle in Asia, not even considered civilized by the Chinese. It was dubbed the "dwarf pirate nation" (Japanese people are really short compared to their continental neighbors). It was unified and slowly developed an indigeneous culture in isolation. While China suffered from British drug peddlers (Opium War) and invasion (Boxer Rebellion) because it had so much, Japan was left alone because it had so little. The Japanese got smart and with the Meiji Revolution put the emperor in a symbolic status that rivaled a god and with jingoistic nationalism imported everything from the West. At first, it did this to protect itself, but then decided to BECOME the West and colonize other Asian countries (even taking them away Western colonies). Then it got defeated by America and decided to ride on the coat-tails of big brother U.S.A. in the post-war era. Japan’s a big baby really. It doesn’t deserve your respect at all. So no wonder why Chinese and Koreans hate the Japanese. (And of course, there’s the whole denying murdering hundreds of civilians, raping 12 year olds on a systematic basis, destroying national monuments and stealing cultural artifacts later claiming them as your own, etc AND then deny it all happened.)
Sure, Japan has a lot of great things about it (including sushi). And I can see how a lot of white (and other) people admire its culture, cuisine, and architecture. But it’s also a nation that copied everything it owns, tried to destroy the originals (in China and Korea), and then when it couldnt’, said they’re "inferior". The Japanese even have the gall to say they originated everything. (They even say they originated from the ocean!!!, not through a series of migrations through Mongolia, Korea, and the Philippines as is believed).
So the Japanese continue to kiss the ass of the West and try to kick the ass of the East. That’s really stupid because they are in the East. Talk about self-hatred. THAT’S why other Asians don’t like the Japanese. The food sure is good though. I like a lot of other things about Japan, but the attitude of the people and the government really turns me off. It’s a freakish, psychopathic nation with no clue on that it’s wrong to kill people because you think they are inferior. It happens all the time, even overseas (see Japanese students throwing Taiwanese student into river while studying abroad in Australia). To this day, a lot of Japanese will refuse to work next to Japanized Koreans (even if they don’t speak any Korean). But they’d love to meet a Westerner (any Westerner!) and chat about baseball or surfing. A severe superiority-inferiority complex plagues Japan.
By the way, a lot of "authentic" Japanese-run Japanese restaurants in New York City (and Tokyo) serve kimchi and yes, they disrespect it very much.
A Random Comment from June 22, 2005
Okay, let’s face the facts:
1. Most Japanese restaurants run by Chinese people in New York City are very bad to mediocre.
2. Most Japanese restaurants run by Korean people in New York City are bad to very good.
3. Most Japanese restaurants run by Japanese people in New York City are mediocre to excellent.
Of course, Japanese restaurants run by Japanese people are going to be better on the average. But does that mean that Chinese and Korean people should not run Japanese restaurants? No.
Sometimes, I go to a Japanese restaurant run by Chinese people because it is convenient or the prices are cheap. There is even a Chinese restaurant that serves sushi for $1 a piece in my neighborhood. One time I went there and it was REALLY good. I couldn’t believe how cheap and tasty it was. The next time I went, it was so AWFUL that I wanted to spit it out and vowed never to eat Chinese-made sushi again. I was even tempted to go back and insult the cashier.
Jeollado (a Korean-run sushi place the author mentioned) is pretty good. It is very fresh and cheap. But it is not top-quality sushi. I prefer Kuruma Zushi. But, of course, Kuruma Zushi (Japanese-run) is $150+ per person! There are many good sushi places in New York City. In fact, you could say there are more (visible) sushi places in New York City than there are in Tokyo!
Anyhow, Korean people usually make decent sushi. That’s because they eat sushi all the time in Korea! Correction: Koreans eat a lot of sashimi (sushi but without the rice). Sashimi is a very common appetizer in Korea. Chinese people generally don’t eat sushi, but now it’s catching on. Most Chinese and Southeast Asian people though think eating raw fish is disgusting and this is usually passed on to the second and third generations in America. But eating raw fish has always been a part of Korean and Japanese culture. Why? Because it’s colder! The fish doesn’t go bad as fast.
This author seems to me like someone who really likes sushi and had some bad sushi at some Chinese and Korean-run places and is now mad. But also there are definitely A LOT of prejudiced statements here. And there are some things simply untrue (most Chinese delivery menus in New York City are white, not red). This is yet another case of a white (or other) person "turning Japanese" and falling for the "Japanese are superior" complex. Damn the Japanese are really good at PR! Which PR firm do they use anyhow?
But seriously, Japan is one of the richest nations in the world. So naturally, Japanese people demand high standards for cuisine. The same thing is happening in China and Korea. As living standards go up, so does the quality and presentation of the food. Why? Because people expect higher standards.
Does this mean only Japanese should make Japanese food in New York City? Hell, no! Let people make what they want and let folks eat it!
Are Chinese and Koreans "disrespecting" the Japanese culinary art by "exploiting" it? Maybe, but so is everyone else! How many Italian restaurants are run by real Italians? Same for French or any other cuisine for that matter. Is Nobu Matsuhisa disrespecting Peruvian food with his Latin American-inspired sushi creations? No.
When you really think about it. Japanese food is truly primitive. Raw fish plus a few rip-offs of Chinese dishes like noodles and Korean dishes like grilled fish or pickled vegetables. Chinese cuisine is far more sophisticated and difficult to make. Has the author been to a fancy Beijing or Shanghai-style Chinese restaurant? If you had really good Chinese food, you’d know why the French rank Chinese as the world’s second cuisine (after their own, of course) ahead of Italian or... Japanese.
Anyhow, I think the reason why so many people are pissed off after reading this article is the tone of it. It’s really degrading to Chinese and Koreans. These people have heard over and over again how superior the Japanese are to them from the Japanese and now they have to hear it from white (or other) people. Japan borrowed everything from China and Korea (practically everything on a Japanese menu) and then the West and decided to invade those countries and then the West! Even the rice that Japanese people eat originates from Korea (it is a different strain from Chinese rice). Gyoza is originally Chinese, right?
Japan used to be a backwater isle in Asia, not even considered civilized by the Chinese. It was dubbed the "dwarf pirate nation" (Japanese people are really short compared to their continental neighbors). It was unified and slowly developed an indigeneous culture in isolation. While China suffered from British drug peddlers (Opium War) and invasion (Boxer Rebellion) because it had so much, Japan was left alone because it had so little. The Japanese got smart and with the Meiji Revolution put the emperor in a symbolic status that rivaled a god and with jingoistic nationalism imported everything from the West. At first, it did this to protect itself, but then decided to BECOME the West and colonize other Asian countries (even taking them away Western colonies). Then it got defeated by America and decided to ride on the coat-tails of big brother U.S.A. in the post-war era. Japan’s a big baby really. It doesn’t deserve your respect at all. So no wonder why Chinese and Koreans hate the Japanese. (And of course, there’s the whole denying murdering hundreds of civilians, raping 12 year olds on a systematic basis, destroying national monuments and stealing cultural artifacts later claiming them as your own, etc AND then deny it all happened.)
Sure, Japan has a lot of great things about it (including sushi). And I can see how a lot of white (and other) people admire its culture, cuisine, and architecture. But it’s also a nation that copied everything it owns, tried to destroy the originals (in China and Korea), and then when it couldnt’, said they’re "inferior". The Japanese even have the gall to say they originated everything. (They even say they originated from the ocean!!!, not through a series of migrations through Mongolia, Korea, and the Philippines as is believed).
So the Japanese continue to kiss the ass of the West and try to kick the ass of the East. That’s really stupid because they are in the East. Talk about self-hatred. THAT’S why other Asians don’t like the Japanese. The food sure is good though. I like a lot of other things about Japan, but the attitude of the people and the government really turns me off. It’s a freakish, psychopathic nation with no clue on that it’s wrong to kill people because you think they are inferior. It happens all the time, even overseas (see Japanese students throwing Taiwanese student into river while studying abroad in Australia). To this day, a lot of Japanese will refuse to work next to Japanized Koreans (even if they don’t speak any Korean). But they’d love to meet a Westerner (any Westerner!) and chat about baseball or surfing. A severe superiority-inferiority complex plagues Japan.
By the way, a lot of "authentic" Japanese-run Japanese restaurants in New York City (and Tokyo) serve kimchi and yes, they disrespect it very much.