Q: I often see various statements on the Internet that Chinese food is very popular in foreign countries, and foreigners fall in love with it after eating it once.
However, there are also different opinions, saying that foreigners are not really interested in Chinese food. The popular Chinese food abroad is modified according to the taste of foreigners and is not suitable for Chinese people. Going on, this statement seems to be supported by some facts (many foreign players who come to China to prospect for gold can only reserve Western chefs).
Is Chinese food popular with foreigners?
A: Many people don’t realize how amazing the Chinese food that is popular overseas is.
Evaluations of overseas Chinese food are usually filled with the sourness of intellectuals. Why is the positioning too low-end, the taste unauthentic, and deceiving foreigners...
People who say this have no idea what Chinese food for foreigners is.
The food your parents cook for you is called food culture. You learn your parents’ cooking skills and cook them for your children. That’s called cultural inheritance.
If you open a restaurant and sell food to strangers, that is called a commodity.
Whether a product is successful depends not only on your own subjective evaluation of its taste, but also on its pricing, marketing, distribution channels, supply channels, capital flow, and quality control. , consumer training and many other aspects.
Sixty-eight million people on the earth eat McDonald’s every day, which can be said to be very popular.
Do you think McDonald’s CEO ate McDonald’s for dinner today? Most likely not. Because among the dinner options he could choose, McDonald's was last in terms of taste, nutrition, and freshness.
Chinese people sell a kind of food in the name of Chinese food in order to support their families during the era of war in China and overseas Chinese exclusion, and finally have money to support the Revolution of 1911. The old dishes are not unrecognizable, the new dishes are not copied from others, they are not lacking in weight, and they do not dominate the market. Why do they say it is not Chinese food?
By the way, adaptability is a kind of intelligence, following history and inertia are not.
Let’s give a few examples from other countries:
However, overseas Chinese food is different.
Overseas Chinese food is a little greater than all of the above.
Listen to me.
1. Achieve global unification.
For as long as history has begun, you’ve bought General Tso’s chicken, sweetbreads, chicken balls, egg rolls, fortune cookies, and everything else in New York, Seattle, London, and Mexico City. The homemade dishes are all similar...but these dishes are not available in China! How is this done?
2. Mature package model.
Even today, if you buy a set meal for one person, the Chinese food is the most complete, and this set meal model was formed very early!
Spring rolls or soup are a cheap way to complete the appetizer. Fried noodles or fried rice that have been prepared in advance can greatly save costs. As a fixed combination, large quantities can be used to keep freshness. The main side dishes are high-calorie fried food with sauce (lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, etc.) and stir-fried vegetables (chop suey) and hibiscus eggs, which are relatively healthy in fast food. The three categories basically cover the needs of men, women, old and young.
Lucky fortune cookies are durable and fun to store. They solve the two problems of expensive desserts and complicated production techniques. By maximizing the fun of the dessert, the shortcomings of lack of taste and low price are covered up. Chinese restaurants used fortune cookies no later than 1920, which means that at that time, a set menu model had already been formed.
Consumers get a set of dishes for the price of a fast food meal. For fast food consumers, this is a rare "ceremonial sense" that dilutes the miserable atmosphere of ordering takeout.
3. Localization of operating models.
The most criticized thing among Chinese people about cheap Chinese restaurants is that they don’t taste authentic. In addition to catering to local tastes, another important reason for this problem is localized procurement. In extreme cases, there's not even soy sauce in these dishes.
From an operational perspective, this means that restaurant operations will not be affected by the turbulence of the international situation in the past 100 years. In addition, when trade was underdeveloped in the early days, there was no need to spend a lot of money on purchasing and inventory. In the early days, it was almost impossible for ordinary Chinese to get loans from banks. There were no big benefactors behind these restaurants. They were all people from the same town who pooled some money together. They might have three months of working capital before they could open their doors.
Using local ingredients, purchasing locally, improving dishes according to local conditions, and allowing funds to be withdrawn quickly, this kind of business model is operating, and it is only when the Chinese are generally poor that Chinese restaurants can Open all over the world.
4. Educate consumers.
Among residents of big cities in Europe and the United States today, when they decide to eat Chinese food, everyone knows what they want to order without looking at the menu. On the contrary, the Chinese are at a loss when faced with the names of dishes that foreigners cannot understand and Chinese cannot understand.
In the past 100 years, foreigners have become accustomed to eating these dishes, whether they eat them willingly or reluctantly. That in itself speaks volumes—as a commodity, this Chinese food is successful.
5. Reasonable positioning.
Before a large number of second-generation rich people flocked to the West, Chinese food was so cheap that after the current generation of upper-class Chinese went abroad, they felt that these things were humiliating.
However, it can be seen from the above analysis that this kind of cuisine is cheap not only through self-exploitation (although labor exploitation is also very powerful), but also through the introduction of new dishes and reasonable A series of methods such as matching menus and controlling capital flow. These approaches are today known as industry innovations. It's just that these innovations were finally formed by countless unknown people, many of whom may also be illiterate in China, after long-term trial and error improvements and mutual learning.
Then why do they position the restaurant so low? Why can it be successful and gain loyal consumers?
Chinese restaurants in the United States before the 20th century were also decorated with carved beams and painted beams and luxurious decoration. And their menus are all in free translation, such as "roasted duck from a certain lake", "fried vegetables and meat", etc. Typical interior decoration is like this. Please estimate the cost.
This kind of restaurant must be rare but exquisite. As time went by, many apprentices from large restaurants saw a gap in the market, so they left large restaurants with strong financial resources and opened up a new market.
In the mid-19th century, China was experiencing the Taiping Rebellion, and a large number of Chinese workers poured into California to pan for gold. Later, they participated in the construction of the Pacific Railway across the east and west. After the railway was repaired, many Chinese workers stayed and scattered with the railway. At the same time, this railway also increased the mobility of native Americans, and a large number of young people left their hometowns to seek life in industrial cities.
So the same situation appeared in China now - the demand for casual restaurants suddenly increased.
The cheapest simple meals at that time were food stands, such as hot dog stands and fish and chip stands. A&W opened in 1923 as a beverage stall. McDonald's opened in 1955, and dine-in service only began in 1962. Before that, you had to sit on the side of the road or eat in your car. Drinking the northwest wind and eating hot dogs with car exhaust (earlier it was horse manure) is too miserable, so we can only deal with it.
Above the stalls, there is a kind of restaurant called a diner, which is between a cafe and a restaurant. It offers more food than a cafe, but it's all simple stuff that doesn't require cooking skills, burgers, pies, sandwiches, etc. Customers order at the counter, eat at their seats, and clean up after eating. This way you don't have to tip.
The difference between a diner and a fast food restaurant is that it has not industrialized production! This means that its price is not particularly cheap, its delivery speed is not particularly fast, and it has no ability to develop new products at all. Although today's fast food chain restaurants are not prepared by professional chefs, at least the menus are developed by the head office and spend a lot of money. For example, new sauces are often used to increase the variety of burgers. In a diner, you may only have ketchup on your burger, and it has been ketchup for fifty years.
The form of Diner is almost extinct now. The few restaurants that are few have also become family restaurants, with waiters, specializing in waffles, milkshakes and other desserts, and even mainly selling all-day breakfast, using the light food trend to cover up their lack of cooking skills. Due to the distinct contemporary nature of this kind of restaurant, it often appears in nostalgic movies and TV shows. For example, in the TV series "Fargo" (set in the 1970s), almost all the restaurants that appear in it are diners.
The typical "cheap takeout Chinese restaurant" is also a thing of this era. The development trajectory of that kind of Chinese restaurant is the same as that of diner. It appeared in the early 20th century. It targets single workers and dual-income families. The consumption is low, the food quality is so-so, no tip is required, and you can enter in casual clothes.
You know, there is no takeout pizza, no fast food restaurant in any sense, no Middle Eastern barbecue, no Thai food, Vietnamese pho, Indian food, Jamaican grilled chicken, A time when DQ ice cream and even refrigerated container trucks were rare! The casual dining industry is a desert, and to fill the void, you can only rely on your imagination.
When you are faced with a novel that has already been written, everything is taken for granted. But where do you start building a story when you only have a blank sheet of paper in front of you?
Consumers are faced with the same food stalls and diners, and they need something different to eat. Chinese restaurant takeout orders full of pidgin English are delivered to your home. At this time, restaurants decorated themselves with cheap Chinese elements. For example, they often used "dragon", "lucky", and "garden" in their names. The menu patterns were festive, but the restaurants themselves were much simpler (they didn't have so much money to spend on decoration). The dishes produced are very mediocre, and the tradition of Chinese food is reduced to a minimum.
Perhaps through trial and error, these restaurants discovered that their target customers were not very adventurous people. In any era, busy workers are not gourmets, nor are they the most receptive to new things. They just want a little excitement, but don't like too much excitement. A little excitement is just right. For example, stir-fried beef with broccoli, a lucky number in a biscuit, and a delivery boy who looks different from me are all just the right little adventures.
Before the 1950s, the next level up diner was fine dinning. You have to at least wear a tie to get in, sit down and order food, wait for a long time, eat what seems to be a delicious meal, pay a day's wages, and tip. Bars were popular with working people, but soon came Prohibition (1920-1933), followed by World War II, and drinking became a luxury.
High-end Chinese food has always been available, and Peking duck has always been very popular. But in terms of popularity, it is definitely not as good as the take-out Chinese food that is deeply integrated into civilian life. This kind of Chinese food doesn't necessarily meet contemporary hipster aesthetic standards, but as a commodity, it gets everything right. Consumers love this kind of Chinese food because of complex social factors, not just the taste.
Because eating and drinking is inherently a social behavior and has long been separated from pure biological behavior.
I would like to ask, what have you created, what market gap have you filled, and have you transformed your family into a class leader?
For ordinary Chinese, the past century has been a century of ups and downs, and ordinary people just want a place to stay. If you are rich, you can help the world. If you are poor, you can sell beef noodles. If you don't know how to make beef noodles, you still have to find a way to sell beef noodles. This is adaptability. Chinese restaurants are actually the ladder of human progress.
Another thing I discovered is that many people have very unrealistic expectations about "foreigners love Chinese culture".
No matter how much a person loves you, he should love himself the most. If he says confidently: "Your life is more important than mine, I can die for you at any time." - This is not love, it is neurosis (in fact, he is more likely to be a liar).
A person can like eating Chinese food, whether it is Chinese food as he understands it or Chinese food as you understand it. However, how can you love Chinese food more than the taste of your hometown? This is not normal. When something goes wrong, there must be a monster!
Everyone loves to eat barbecue, but no one can eat barbecue every day. If you eat barbecue three times a week, you will become a die-hard barbecue fan.
The only thing that everyone can eat every day without getting tired of it is the taste of their own childhood. It is generally a simple food based on carbohydrates. This is the memory of poverty of every nation. This is the "culture".
Everything else is commodities. We are all adults. You can say whether you like something or not. Just keep a light liking for it. I like to use money to buy things, and the money and goods are clear, and the road is prosperous.
If you don’t spend any money, just say nice words, and praise you far beyond what normal people can accept, it’s just a waste of money.
Chinese food is good in North America, the United States and Canada, especially now that it is no longer traditional Chinese food; new domestic products such as Chuanchuanxiang, dry pot, Malatang, and milk tea have also taken root in the United States. Catering to the needs of the new generation of international students and immigrants, it is particularly popular in Chinese residential areas; traditional catering also exists, and the customers are mainly older generation immigrants and tourism groups; if you can do foreign catering, you also face rent and labor problems, and many kitchens are Chinese chefs are working with Mexicans and Puerto Ricans; just like in China, there are just as many stores opening and closing. The advantage is that the rent is similar to that in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China. The disadvantage is that labor is expensive.
How is the survival situation of Chinese restaurants? People who have lived abroad should have some experience. The positioning of Chinese restaurants abroad should be at an upper-middle-level consumption level, somewhat similar to our better Western restaurants. There are definitely not many people, and they will not be like the hot scenes in Hunan Satellite TV's "Chinese Restaurant", and most of the customers are Chinese, this is different from our Western restaurants, where most of the people are Chinese. China is still the most populous country in the world. There are many Chinese people scattered around the world. Some people live abroad for a long time due to work and study. Over time, they will inevitably miss their hometown and can only find time to go to Chinese restaurants to satisfy their cravings. . However, there will also be some lower-grade Chinese restaurants near foreign tourist attractions, mainly targeting Chinese tourists who are not used to foreign food. The passenger flow here will be slightly higher, and there will be more foreigners. The Chinese restaurant owners I have met usually solicit customers at the door during meals, mainly targeting Chinese people. Since there are many Chinese people abroad, Chinese restaurants abroad are generally passable.
Chinese cuisine
World famous!
Thank you for the invitation, little Wukong. I am very happy to answer this question!
Chinese restaurants are now all over the world. Wherever there are Chinese people, there will be Chinese restaurants. Most cities have them. Each of China's eight major cuisines has its own characteristics, and there are some regional differences. Dishes, especially Cantonese tea restaurants, are not only popular among Chinese people but also among foreigners. They certainly have broad market prospects abroad.
Nowadays, most countries abroad have Chinatowns. This is a better place to open a Chinese restaurant. Although they are abroad, most Chinese people want to eat Chinese food. In some tea restaurants, foreigners I also like to eat dim sum there very much, just like Chinese people eat KFC and McDonald's. It is very popular, and of course the business will be better.
China’s food culture has a long history, and the cuisines in different places are different. In the Ming Dynasty, there was the famous Zheng He’s voyage to the West. At that time, exchanges had gradually formed, and the food culture has continued to this day. There are many Chinese food The famous dishes are all known by foreigners, such as spicy tofu, sweet and sour pork, Beijing duck, steamed dumplings, etc., which are very popular with foreigners. If there is a Chinese restaurant near their home, I believe they will definitely visit it. .
The current Chinese food has been greatly improved on the basis of the eight major cuisines, palace cuisine, folk cuisine and other cuisines created by our ancestors, and also incorporates many elements of Western food, such as molecular cuisine, As well as the sharing system when dining, each person has one dish and one dish. These are very suitable for foreigners' dining habits. In fact, many Chinese restaurants abroad have already done this. Of course, they are welcomed by foreign diners. It can be regarded as doing as the locals do! Of course business will be better.
Although Chinese food is very popular in some foreign cities, there are also places where eating habits vary greatly and the locals are not used to the taste of Chinese dishes. Before opening a Chinese restaurant, you should consult with the locals. , understand their eating habits and other aspects, so that you can prepare more thoughtfully.
In short, the future of Chinese food is still very bright. With the implementation of my country’s Belt and Road Initiative, it has become closer to foreign countries and has more frequent exchanges. Coupled with the improvements in dishes and eating methods of Chinese food, Of course, Chinese food is becoming more and more popular among foreigners, and I believe more foreign friends will eat Chinese food!
Red Chef Food is presented with all your heart. Suggestions and discussions on Food Culture are welcome. Thank you for continuing to pay attention! See you next time...
Check out the Hunan Satellite TV Chinese Restaurant? In fact, I think it should be more difficult. Chinese people have different tastes in the north and south, not to mention that Chinese and foreigners can have the same taste. The questioner should first go to the target country to understand the local tastes, and learn Chinese dishes. If you want more, Sichuan, Shandong and Guangdong should learn a little bit, and you don’t need to be too proficient in it. After all, it is a crooked nut. . . And you have to pay attention to local laws, living habits, etc. It’s so troublesome. . . I wish the questioner realizes his dream
There is no specific answer to this. It can be seen from many media platforms that it is still very popular, but what is the actual situation? It's very clear, after all, there will be many hidden ingredients in it. I hope my answer can help you!
Chinese food business is booming abroad! Make money! Thrive! Has good development advantages!
I’m not sure. I think it’s probably quite difficult. After all, there are differences in taste.