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Challenges  

For a variety of reasons, restaurants in each cuisine face challenges in preparing the food in the way an expert in the country of origin would have prepare it. The following identifies some of these challenges.

Chinese Restaurants in America
In general, the quality of the food you order from Chinese restaurants in America is far below the quality in China. Here are some of the usual reasons:

1. The chef is a critical part of any restaurant and, for the most part, there is a limited supply of top chefs for Chinese cuisine in America, even in New York.
2. The products are much better in China. For example, there is easy access to high-quality food for a reasonable price. Produce such as the smaller, more tender and delicious snow pea stems are difficult to find in America, but are quite common in China.
3. Much of the food you eat from a Chinese restaurant in America has been frozen. For example, the meat and vegetables from a dumpling’s filling may have been frozen. The dumpling, after being prepared, , may also have been frozen.
Japanese Restaurants in America
Many of the challenges related to finding good Chinese food in America also apply to Japanese food. There is one exception: Sushi. There are actually professionally trained chefs from Japan who prepare food in the US. Some areas, such as New York, have the benefit of fresh fish being flown in nearly every day, so some of the fish you eat in Japan is actually available in certain restaurants in the US. There are a few important factors to having a good sushi restaurant in America:
1. While it’s not a significant issue in Japan (due to the availability of seafood), in the US, the purveyor providing the fish may be the most important determinant of a sushi restaurant’s quality.
2. The next most important factor would be how well the chef has been trained to prepare sushi. For example, if a chef received a license to prepare sushi in Japan, the restaurant will have an advantage. In general, it takes approximately 7 years of apprenticeship to become a licensed sushi preparer in Japan.
3. Chefs in the US are may not be sufficiently focused on the preparation of the rice, as the up-and-coming sushi chefs would be in Japan. However, the rice is extremely important and needs to be prepared by someone who has been trained properly. Interestingly, in Japan, the rice becomes one of the final defining aspects of the quality of a sushi restaurant: This is because fresh fish is readily available, and all the sushi chefs have a license and the proper training.
Armenian Restaurants in America
Restaurant-goers who favor Armenian food face a unique challenge, since each year there are fewer and fewer authentic Armenian restaurants to choose from. What is available to us are a handful of Armenian delis and a few Turkish, Lebanese or Russian restaurants that are complemented with an Armenian style of cooking.
Italian Restaurants in America
Similarly to the situation with Chinese restaurants, there’s no shortage of Italian restaurants in America. What is lacking is the availability of Italian restaurants that serve freshly made pasta. So, finding a restaurant that meets your standards from eating in Italy will not be an easy task. However, a general rule-of-thumb is to verify that the pasta you are ordering is made in-house, fresh that day. If so, the chances that your meal will be satisfying will increase drastically. The reason is that, if the pasta is fresh, the restaurant will take the time to prepare everything around it, such as the sauces, properly as well.

 

 
 
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