美语圈: American English Circle: USA Photo Gallery: Chinese Restaurants in America

欢迎来到美语圈社区!

Chinese Restaurants in America

While I have been home, I have eaten some delicious Western food. I've also enjoyed some delicious Chinese American food. Many of my Chinese friends have asked me if Chinese food in America is like Chinese food in China, and I can only answer by saying I've tasted very good food in both countries. You'll have to come to America to try it for yourself!

The Chinese restaurants in my hometown are mainly Cantonese (or Guangdong) style food. There is a Sichuan and a Hunan restaurant in my hometown, but most of the other restaurants are owned and operated by Hong Kong and Southern Chinese people. In America, there are two main types of Chinese restaurants: local and franchise. Just like restaurants in China, some are local with only one or two locations, and others are national (also called "chain" because they are part of a large company with many locations, like McDonalds). I recently visited two Chinese restaurants in my hometown; one is locally owned and operated by a man from Hong Kong, and the other is a chain restaurant that has many other locations in America.

Click on a photo below to see a larger photo:

Grand China Chinese Restaurant: a local Chinese Restaurant in America

Here is Paul Chan and me at "Grand China Chinese Restaurant". Paul is from Hong Kong and this is his restaurant.

This is my friend George with Paul and me. George lives near the restaurant, so his family often eats here or takes food home.

Do you recognize these characters?

Here is George's wife, Vik, at home with the Chinese food. We didn't eat it at the restaurant, but we got it "to go."

Here is the food packed up: chicken and shrimp soup, chicken chow mein, black bean chicken, fried rice, crab rangoons, and fried noodles. Our total meal cost about $20 US dollars (160RMB). Not too expensive and delicious!

Here's my plate. Notice that we often use chopsticks in America when we eat Chinese food.

P.F. Chang's: a national Chinese Restaurant in America

Here is the entrance to P.F. Chang's. Many of the P.F. Chang's restaurants look the same from the outside.

Do you recognize this soldier from Xi'an? The decor (decorations and design) at P.F. Chang's is very thematic of historic China.

Here is the inside of the restaurant.

Here are my parents and me with our food at our booth (table with benches and backs that are walls between other tables -- often booths are more comfortable than tables with chairs).

Here is our food: shrimp and walnuts, chicken and almonds, steamed vegetables, and rice (white rice and fried rice). Food at P.F. Chang's is more expensive than Grand China. Our total meal came to about $50US (400 RMB).

Here is my plate. Like Western restaurants, everyone has their own large plate for their own food, but we use chopsticks to serve ourselves from the plates in the middle of the table like Chinese restaurants in China.

We ordered dessert. Since China doesn't have too many desserts, P.F. Chang's has a dessert menu that uses common Chinese to make Western desserts. For instance, we ordered the fried bananas and ice cream. As you can see, the bananas were wrapped in Spring Roll shell and fried. Then they were served with ice cream and fruit.

Here is a Chinese fortune cookie that is always given at the end of a meal at every Chinese restaurant in America. It began by the Chinese in San Francisco (California) many years ago. The cookie is baked with a little paper fortune inside.

I opened my cookie. On one side of the fortune is Chinese/English vocabulary word.

Here is my fortune!

Click here to return to the American English Circle Community page.