I live in the Detroit area and was wondering why Chinese food here and on the West Coast are so different.?

Answer 1

Detroit, unlike the West Coast, Chicago, NY and Toronto, has no significant Chinese population. When you look at the cuisines we do well around here, nothing beats Arabic, Greek, Polish and Soul food. But our idea of Chinese is an interpretation of the real thing and there's not anyone to tell them how bad it really is. The low spot is finding canned corn and peas in Mongolian beef at a little place over on Telegraph that should be ashamed of calling its food "chinese".

Answer 2

Typically in the Detroit area, you're eating a mass consumption American-ized chinese food that has been altered to favor the general public. The food is not as fresh, and tends to be American grown and processed. Also, it tends to have much more MSG in it.

On the west coast, you find chinese food that tends to be made to the tastes of the Chinese people eating it, is fresher, and has more imported ingredients that haven't been altered and/or processed as much American foods are.

Also, you have to consider the different cooking styles of Chinese cuisine, as well as the differing pallettes that are found with a billion + people living in an area as large as China.

Answer 3

Their are different styles of Chinese food--Hunan ,Szechuan etc. Restaurants all very here on the west coast. Some are a lot more healthy than the typical Americanized version of Chinese food.

Answer 4

It all depends on what kind of ingredients and seasoning are available locally. In the US, chinese food is too americanized not AUTHENTIC at all. So, don't expect it to be good at all. But there's this Chinese restaurant I frequent on 12 Mile between Mound and Van Dyke. They have delicious dimsum and dumplings. Then there's a buffet on 12 Mile and Ryan called Mongolian Buffet. The food are great, they have authentic dishes like Spicy Tripe, Chicken Feet, Century Egg, etc.

Answer 5

There are a lot of different cuisines on the Chinese menu. Though they are all called Chinese food, the tastes can vary greatly -

Northwestern Chinese cuisine
Mandarin cuisine
Jiang-Huai cuisine
Northeastern Chinese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine (Guangdong province)
Chiuchow cuisine (Chaozhou region, Guangdong)
Hakka cuisine (Hakka ethnic group)
Anhui cuisine
Henan cuisine
Hubei cuisine
Hunan cuisine
Shanghai cuisine
Shandong cuisine
Shaanxi cuisine
Sichuan cuisine
Fujian cuisine
Jiangsu cuisine
Yunnan cuisine
Hainan cuisine
Zhejiang cuisine

Even a Chinese living in China may not have tried all the different cuisines.

Answer 6

its a well known fact that chinese food on west coast is horrible, Why?? I dont know. Japanese is the thing in LA.

Answer 7

I live in London. I've been to Chinese resteraunts in London, Brussels (Belgium), various places in France, North Carolina, Florida, New York and Bangkok (Thailand). The food is different everywhere. I don't really know why.

Answer 8

don't know buddy.