Chinese Restaurants in America

Chinese food is a multi-million dollar industry in the USA. Most Chinese Takeout cooks are trained New York or San Francisco, therefore, most Chinese Takeout restaurants serve almost exactly the same dishes, no matter where you go.

Much of the Chinese food in America has been Americanized by the systematic training of Chinese cooks. Suffice to say, the Chinese food here in America is not exactly the same as in China or Taiwan. It is close, but just slightly changed to be more appealing to the average American.

Many Americans have an adverse reaction to a chemical used in many Asian foods - MSG. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a chemical used to make meat-like food taste better. MSG was originally created in Japan, and appearently, not many asians have an adverse reactions to MSG. However, about 15% of Americans do experience adverse reactions to MSG (the rate of serious illness caused by MSG is practically nothing). This adverse reaction has been coined Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS), though many American foods also contain MSG. CRS includes pains in the neck, headache, stomach pain, vomitting and naseau, and other fluidous side-effects. You should always assume that all Chinese restaurants serve food with MSG, unless they say on their menu "No MSG".

Below is a typical menu of a Chinese take-out Restaurant:


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