Dearest British Friends: No, the Chinese Don't Like Your Food Either
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So did he try or has he even heard of:
Wild Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Cromer Crab, Cornish Mussels
Oysters, Dublin Prawns, Scallops, Lobster
North Sea Plaice, John Dory, Sea Bass, Dover Sole, Turbot, Skate, Bream, Halibut, Mackerel
Mowbray Pork Pies
Huge variety of sausages from Cumberland Rings to Lincolnshire
Cheeses: Stilton, Cheddar, Red Leicester, Welsh Goats, Ceerphilly.....
Beetroot, Asparagus,
Beef Wellington
Devonshire Scone Teas
Sandwiches, British Hams
Yorkshire Pudding
Rack of Lamb, Stuffed Pork Loin, Pork Belly, Braised Lamb Shoulder, Pork Chops, Crackling
Game Pie, Rabbit,
Best Bacon on the planet,
Venison
Quail, Partridge, Grouse, Wood Pigeon,
Sherry Trifle, Gingerbread, Rhubarb and Custard, Apple Crumble, Knickerbocker Glory, Carrot Cake
Toffee Apple, Monmouth Pudding,
Beers, Single Malt Whiskey, Cider, Scrumpy,
I could go on.......nuff said.
Wild Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Cromer Crab, Cornish Mussels
Oysters, Dublin Prawns, Scallops, Lobster
North Sea Plaice, John Dory, Sea Bass, Dover Sole, Turbot, Skate, Bream, Halibut, Mackerel
Mowbray Pork Pies
Huge variety of sausages from Cumberland Rings to Lincolnshire
Cheeses: Stilton, Cheddar, Red Leicester, Welsh Goats, Ceerphilly.....
Beetroot, Asparagus,
Beef Wellington
Devonshire Scone Teas
Sandwiches, British Hams
Yorkshire Pudding
Rack of Lamb, Stuffed Pork Loin, Pork Belly, Braised Lamb Shoulder, Pork Chops, Crackling
Game Pie, Rabbit,
Best Bacon on the planet,
Venison
Quail, Partridge, Grouse, Wood Pigeon,
Sherry Trifle, Gingerbread, Rhubarb and Custard, Apple Crumble, Knickerbocker Glory, Carrot Cake
Toffee Apple, Monmouth Pudding,
Beers, Single Malt Whiskey, Cider, Scrumpy,
I could go on.......nuff said.
I love British cuisine. Its just not as vast as most other cuisines thats all. I dont think its bland, I love how you can taste each and every ingredient whereas in the chinese and indian I can only taste the seasoning and spice and the main ingredients gets lost in between.
British food is about preserving the ingredients and cooking a variation which will make the most of the taste of the ingredients added. This is not true for food which are seasoned to death and pretty much anything with the right seasoning will taste the same.
I am dissapointed that the British cuisine doesnt get enough reputation.
British food is about preserving the ingredients and cooking a variation which will make the most of the taste of the ingredients added. This is not true for food which are seasoned to death and pretty much anything with the right seasoning will taste the same.
I am dissapointed that the British cuisine doesnt get enough reputation.
I was with them until the potato bit. Potato is the food of the gods.
If you are used to flavoursome food you will find British food bland - for example I am used to mediterranean flavours as my Dad is Italian so I find British food bland, Chinese people will find it bland because of the strong garlic, chilli etc flavours used in Chinese cuisine. If you've grown up in England you probably enjoy it as you aren't used to stronger flavours.
Bristish puddings are the best in the world though.
Also British cheeses are fantastic, just a shame there are not more unpasteurised varieties
If you are used to flavoursome food you will find British food bland - for example I am used to mediterranean flavours as my Dad is Italian so I find British food bland, Chinese people will find it bland because of the strong garlic, chilli etc flavours used in Chinese cuisine. If you've grown up in England you probably enjoy it as you aren't used to stronger flavours.
Bristish puddings are the best in the world though.
Also British cheeses are fantastic, just a shame there are not more unpasteurised varieties
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by uberteknik
Wild Salmon, Oysters, Scallops, Lobster, North Sea Plaice, John Dory, Sea Bass, Turbot, Skate, Bream, Halibut, Mackerel, Beetroot, Asparagus, Rack of Lamb, Stuffed Pork Loin, Pork Belly, Braised Lamb Shoulder, Pork Chops, Rabbit, Venison, Quail, Partridge, Grouse, Wood Pigeon, Gingerbread, Toffee Apple,
Wild Salmon, Oysters, Scallops, Lobster, North Sea Plaice, John Dory, Sea Bass, Turbot, Skate, Bream, Halibut, Mackerel, Beetroot, Asparagus, Rack of Lamb, Stuffed Pork Loin, Pork Belly, Braised Lamb Shoulder, Pork Chops, Rabbit, Venison, Quail, Partridge, Grouse, Wood Pigeon, Gingerbread, Toffee Apple,
How are these in any way a British thing?
Surely France is more famed for its lobster than Britain, the best Mackerel I ever had was in Italy, Asparagus is more commonly eaten in Europe especially in the Med, All those meats are eaten all over, as for the prok belly just look at Porchetta. How many British cuisine restaurants do you see serving Rabbit? Yet in Italy and Greece you find them in most, Wood Pidgeon is served all over Europe and if you want good gingerbread go to Germany.
Original post by willbee
I reckon if we responded with an article judging the entirety of China's national foods on the basis of a breakfast at a cheap B&B and a meal at a motorway restaurant, they wouldn't take what we'd written seriously. Furthermore, by criticising that cook's tattoos and setting out from the off that they already thought British food was horrible, the writer wasn't being very open-minded, nor, in my opinion, did he try the best of British foods (e.g. Where's the Sunday Roast?), he only noted two stereotypical dishes.
It would be like judging the cuisine of America solely on a hot dog. And that would largely depend on the quality of the hot dog.
Ultimately, I think the writer had already decided he didn't like UK food before he came here. You get what you pay for, and if I went to China and bought some noodles from a cheap restaurant, they'd probably tell me that the noodles tasted bad because they were cheap.
But I'll agree that British Cuisine isn't respected around the world. I think our climate means that the type of foods we grow are largely more "bland" than the foods of other places, e.g. India and Africa. We use more salt and pepper to season our foods than foreign spices because that was what was available to us and every nation's culinary offers have grown around the sources available to them. The writer mentions the British Empire and expresses surprise that we did not utilise the spices that became available to us. I'd argue that we did, but that it wouldn't change our culture or preferred way of eating. There is a lot more to food than the spices and seasoning, and I personally feel that in a lot of Asian food, the taste of the food itself is not really there if you know what I mean because so many of the dishes I have tried seemed too swamped in sauces and spices. (Though I, like the author of that article, have not bought any Asian food at places which could probably realistically represent the food of Asia...)
And to call us unimaginative is to not really delve into our country's range of food. To call any country's food unimaginative is ridiculous. I mean what about rice pudding? I think that's quite imaginative. Who looks at rice and sees a pudding? Apparently we do.
It would be like judging the cuisine of America solely on a hot dog. And that would largely depend on the quality of the hot dog.
Ultimately, I think the writer had already decided he didn't like UK food before he came here. You get what you pay for, and if I went to China and bought some noodles from a cheap restaurant, they'd probably tell me that the noodles tasted bad because they were cheap.
But I'll agree that British Cuisine isn't respected around the world. I think our climate means that the type of foods we grow are largely more "bland" than the foods of other places, e.g. India and Africa. We use more salt and pepper to season our foods than foreign spices because that was what was available to us and every nation's culinary offers have grown around the sources available to them. The writer mentions the British Empire and expresses surprise that we did not utilise the spices that became available to us. I'd argue that we did, but that it wouldn't change our culture or preferred way of eating. There is a lot more to food than the spices and seasoning, and I personally feel that in a lot of Asian food, the taste of the food itself is not really there if you know what I mean because so many of the dishes I have tried seemed too swamped in sauces and spices. (Though I, like the author of that article, have not bought any Asian food at places which could probably realistically represent the food of Asia...)
And to call us unimaginative is to not really delve into our country's range of food. To call any country's food unimaginative is ridiculous. I mean what about rice pudding? I think that's quite imaginative. Who looks at rice and sees a pudding? Apparently we do.
The japanese use rice for sweets too. Dunno if you've had mochi bit they are the most delicious chewy thing ive had ever.
Original post by redferry
How are these in any way a British thing?
Surely France is more famed for its lobster than Britain, the best Mackerel I ever had was in Italy, Asparagus is more commonly eaten in Europe especially in the Med, All those meats are eaten all over, as for the prok belly just look at Porchetta. How many British cuisine restaurants do you see serving Rabbit? Yet in Italy and Greece you find them in most, Wood Pidgeon is served all over Europe and if you want good gingerbread go to Germany.
Surely France is more famed for its lobster than Britain, the best Mackerel I ever had was in Italy, Asparagus is more commonly eaten in Europe especially in the Med, All those meats are eaten all over, as for the prok belly just look at Porchetta. How many British cuisine restaurants do you see serving Rabbit? Yet in Italy and Greece you find them in most, Wood Pidgeon is served all over Europe and if you want good gingerbread go to Germany.
They are not. Who invented what food and when? Like ancestry, I'm sure all food has roots (pardon the vegetarian pun) from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The thing is you cannot propagate the stereotype for an entire nation without qualifying what it is you are trying to stereotype.
If it's one or two foods most commonly eaten in that country then Italians would be Spaghetti, Chinese Noodles, India Rice, French baguette, British Potato.
But these are staples and all are bland n'est-ce pas?
So if one was to judge a nation based on these alone there would be no clear winner.
Food diversity is a function of what's available at any point in time in a countries history.
So British food developed over centuries had to contend with long cold winters, preservation techniques, offal to eek out the remains of slaughtered animals and the vegetables that could be grown in a limited climate. i.e. root veg'.
So it is little wonder why vast countries with a huge land area stretching across many climate zones can produce a variety of food and claim it as their national diversity. Similarly south mediterranean food ahs the luxury of vegetable and fruit abundance as well as exotics such as garlic and other herbs.
The British have embraced multiculturalism and with it we could now claim to have probably the most diverse culinary palettes on the planet.
So can one country claim to have better food than any other because they were fortunate enough to have a range of climates and land? Or can one country say they had to be more creative with what little they had to begin with?
We may have bland food but at least we don't eat whales, sharks or puppies like some countries (even though we unintentionally do it horse... ooops!)
Original post by lankymanky
http://worldcrunch.com/food-travel/dearest-british-friends-no-the-chinese-don-039-t-like-your-food-either/pie-fish-chips-cuisine-jamie-oliver/c6s11069/
I realise that the above article is a generalisation of British cuisine but do any of you receive the impression that many non-British people dislike our cuisine?
I realise that the above article is a generalisation of British cuisine but do any of you receive the impression that many non-British people dislike our cuisine?
Whilst Chinese food as we know it is ok they eat a lot of weird crap so really I don't give a damn if they don't like our food.
Some people have no sense of perspective here. Of course people who have never been to England or tasted food here are going to take a while to adjust to it and probably not like it that much. So of course they will complain. Some of you guys are getting so butt hurt over something which i bet you would do if you went to China and tasted authentic Chinese dishes (no not the ones you get here in takeaways which are bland and catered towards british people). You guys can be such hypocrites sometimes. And this is coming from a british person who loves british food.
No wonder Britain is seen as an elitist, ignorant, racist country today (backed up by over 50% of the comments). I bet those who try and argue with me about having been to China and tasting the food there also went to "tourist areas" and haven't tried 1% of real Chinese cuisine.
I bet i'll get a few negs from these people^ Such hypocrites.
No wonder Britain is seen as an elitist, ignorant, racist country today (backed up by over 50% of the comments). I bet those who try and argue with me about having been to China and tasting the food there also went to "tourist areas" and haven't tried 1% of real Chinese cuisine.
I bet i'll get a few negs from these people^ Such hypocrites.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Sum Gai
Some people have no sense of perspective here. I bet those who try and argue with me about having been to China and tasting the food there also went to "tourist areas" and haven't tried 1% of real Chinese cuisine.
Keeping things in perspective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh4px0TROSw
With a name like yours you should be able to understand this easily.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by ipoop
Belgium did! 
Oh dear…sorry!
Original post by Pigling
Britain isn't the best at food, but there's no need to be such a whiny bitch about it (article writer, not OP).
And Britain has many culinary greats, including: English breakfast (the most lavish of all breakfasts imo), tea, many awesome authentic bitters, the best hard cheese in the world (Cheddar), a great pie&pastry tradition, and some unique desserts. Most of all we appreciate and incorporate foods and beverages from other cultures and make them our own tradition, which I personally think is fabulous.
So there.
And Britain has many culinary greats, including: English breakfast (the most lavish of all breakfasts imo), tea, many awesome authentic bitters, the best hard cheese in the world (Cheddar), a great pie&pastry tradition, and some unique desserts. Most of all we appreciate and incorporate foods and beverages from other cultures and make them our own tradition, which I personally think is fabulous.
So there.
Britain got tea from india lol =p
Original post by Rybee
Agree, though without the unnecessary bull****, with the article completely.
Britain's favourite dishes are:
Fish and Chips
Chinese
Indian
Pizza
Kebabs
Now, wherever you go to pick up any of that from, it's guaranteed that it wont be served to you by a 'British' person. We hate our own food and we know it.
If it isn't grey and boiled with potatoes on top, it probably isn't British. It's probably the worst cuisine in the world, including American food.
Britain's favourite dishes are:
Fish and Chips
Chinese
Indian
Pizza
Kebabs
Now, wherever you go to pick up any of that from, it's guaranteed that it wont be served to you by a 'British' person. We hate our own food and we know it.
If it isn't grey and boiled with potatoes on top, it probably isn't British. It's probably the worst cuisine in the world, including American food.
:0 Cannibalism
Original post by Rybee
Agree, though without the unnecessary bull****, with the article completely.
Britain's favourite dishes are:
Fish and Chips
Chinese
Indian
Pizza
Kebabs
Now, wherever you go to pick up any of that from, it's guaranteed that it wont be served to you by a 'British' person. We hate our own food and we know it.
If it isn't grey and boiled with potatoes on top, it probably isn't British. It's probably the worst cuisine in the world, including American food.
Britain's favourite dishes are:
Fish and Chips
Chinese
Indian
Pizza
Kebabs
Now, wherever you go to pick up any of that from, it's guaranteed that it wont be served to you by a 'British' person. We hate our own food and we know it.
If it isn't grey and boiled with potatoes on top, it probably isn't British. It's probably the worst cuisine in the world, including American food.
You missed out Sunday Dinner and the Full English...
What gets me is why Chinese people eat EVERYTHING with chopsticks. Not just rice; not just their authentic food - literally everything.
I'm not complaining here - in fact I find it quite amusing. I made spag bol for my flatmates - two of them are Chinese. Both the Chinese people ate SPAGHETTI with chopsticks. Also, I've seen them eat English sausages - no, they don't use a fork; they use chopsticks for those as well. And they don't eat fried chicken with their hands - they use chopsticks. I've only seen them eating non-Chinese food a few times though - generally, it's some rice dish with some extravagant pork recipe. Eaten with chopsticks when a spoon would be 10 times more convenient...
What also intrigues me about their eating habits is that they *cannot stand* Indian food. They *will not* eat curry. Say all you want about English people and their eating habits, but at least the diversity of food we appreciate here is so much more multicultured than any other country I can think of. Just to name a few... we love Chinese; we love Indian; we love Thai; we love Italian; we love French; we love Greek; we also love fish and chips, bangers and mash and Sunday roasts. That's a far more diverse food appreciation than any of those other countries I just listed.
I'm not complaining here - in fact I find it quite amusing. I made spag bol for my flatmates - two of them are Chinese. Both the Chinese people ate SPAGHETTI with chopsticks. Also, I've seen them eat English sausages - no, they don't use a fork; they use chopsticks for those as well. And they don't eat fried chicken with their hands - they use chopsticks. I've only seen them eating non-Chinese food a few times though - generally, it's some rice dish with some extravagant pork recipe. Eaten with chopsticks when a spoon would be 10 times more convenient...
What also intrigues me about their eating habits is that they *cannot stand* Indian food. They *will not* eat curry. Say all you want about English people and their eating habits, but at least the diversity of food we appreciate here is so much more multicultured than any other country I can think of. Just to name a few... we love Chinese; we love Indian; we love Thai; we love Italian; we love French; we love Greek; we also love fish and chips, bangers and mash and Sunday roasts. That's a far more diverse food appreciation than any of those other countries I just listed.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by IdeasForLife
Britain got tea from india lol =p
Aware, I'm not a moron
But Britain has taken tea and made it it's own.Original post by Fullofsurprises
According to Wikipedia, it was Thomas Jefferson who invented French Fries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
Note that they are not generally known as "Belgian Fries".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
Note that they are not generally known as "Belgian Fries".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries#Belgium It a well know fact that "French Fries" AKA "Frites" or "Chips" to the Brits originated from Belgium...
Original post by ipoop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries#Belgium
It a well know fact that "French Fries" AKA "Frites" or "Chips" to the Brits originated from Belgium...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries#Belgium It a well know fact that "French Fries" AKA "Frites" or "Chips" to the Brits originated from Belgium...
That pretty much looks like a made up claim. Note the damning line:
"It is absolutely unthinkable that a peasant could have consecrated large quantities of fat for cooking potatoes. At most they were sautéed in a pan...."
Pahh. The Belgian claim falls.
Actually I suspect they were invented by Alfred the Great or the Romans or something, it was just "hidden from history" as with all peasant food.
Original post by Pigling
Aware, I'm not a moron But Britain has taken tea and made it it's own.
But Britain has taken tea and made it it's own.Never said you were a moron lol xD
Original post by Fullofsurprises
Where are you? What are you being forced to eat?
USA. Salty microwaved ****.
Original post by Mukhabarat
Are you in America? 
Hahaha how did you know?
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