On the night of October 1, I took a friend, Brianne, to Everyday Restaurant Chinese Cuisine on Grand River for dinner. What we experienced, however, was completely different from the everyday American restaurant you or I am used to. Rather, this restaurant seemed to be more customary of a restaurant from China, and seemed to cater more to a niche customer than an American restaurant, say an Applebee’s, would. While I do not know the true meaning of an “authentic” Chinese restaurant, this paper has been written assuming the practices at Everyday Restaurant Chinese Cuisine is a fairly accurate representation of typical Chinese eating habits.
One of the first things that Brianne and I both noticed when we walked through the door was how authentic this restaurant seemed. The entirety of the staff was of Asian descent, and it became clear in a mere matter of moments that English was the second language of these workers. The customers inside the restaurant were also of Asian heritage. Most of which seemed to be groups of exchange students who study at nearby Michigan State University. It was also immediately clear that English was not only the second language of the work staff, but of the majority of the customers as well. In fact, Brianne and I were the only obviously English speaking, white Americans in the restaurant.
Upon showing us to our table, our waitress laid down our menus, took our drink orders, and then said something I found to be truly unusual (in broken English I might add); she told us to call her over to the table when we were
ready to order. This seemed awkward as compared to the typical American restaurant style in which the wait staff is constantly checking on their patrons, however, this is the norm in many countries outside of the United
States (Brianne later informed me that the wait staff was the same way in Germany, so perhaps it is the American style of restaurants that is awkward). Our waitress then left us so we could peruse the menu for our dinner orders.
Whilst examining the menu, I saw everything that can be expected from a Chinese restaurant menu: orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, Mongolian beef, Lo and Chow Mein; all the classics. But on second glance, I started to notice a few interesting options; mainly, an appetizer of Jellyfish. In fact, three of the appetizers had jellyfish as the main ingredient. I found this to be unusual, until further research on the subject revealed that Jellyfish is a delicacy harvested in Southeast Asia. While this may not exemplify a typical Chinese restaurant, this is clearly more common than if Jellyfish were to be served at an Italian restaurant. Eventually we called our waitress over and ordered our food. After ordering, I began to examine my surroundings to try to fully understand the food culture around me.
As expressed previously, the typical group of customers at the restaurant seemed to be groups of 3 or 4 Asian exchange students. Observing their eating habits is probably the closest to authentic Chinese eating habits that can be found in East Lansing, as many of these students are only recently transplanted to Michigan. The group I most closely observed was the table directly to my left, which consisted of five students, two girls and three guys (this table was chosen for its proximity and its accurate representation of the typical group in the
restaurant).
One of the more obvious habits performed by these groups was the way that they ordered food. While most Americans typically order food for themselves, these groups seemed to order many dishes and share the food with one another, in more of a “family at the dinner table” style. Large plates of colorful and truly exotic looking foods were placed in the middle of the table, and the students would take a small amount and enjoy it only to be rewarded with another plate of a different food. All the while, the waitress remained within the vicinity of this table, while never interrupting or engaging them, merely waiting to be called upon. While we left before this table did, the number of different plates had already reached three.
In the end, our dinner, an orange chicken combo and a sesame chicken combo, both with broccoli, vegetable fired rice and an egg roll, only amounted to $17. A very fair price for the large amount of food served. And while $17 may still be a high amount of money for some customers, it is a fairly affordable and would not discriminate many from dining here (unlike, say a Manhattan Steakhouse).
While both Brianne and I were expecting a less-than-traditional restaurant experience, we could not have predicted the events we happened to see. To us both, this restaurant was highly unorthodox. However, this restaurant does seem to be a comforting setting to many of the workers and customers, as the language, style of waiting, and many of the foods offered resemble a more familiar eating environment than what is typically offered in East Lansing. This restaurant does seem to be fairly representative of other cultures’ ideas of restaurants and eating habits. So perhaps it was only unorthodox to us. Perhaps for others, this is the experience they expect when they go out to dinner.
One of the first things that Brianne and I both noticed when we walked through the door was how authentic this restaurant seemed. The entirety of the staff was of Asian descent, and it became clear in a mere matter of moments that English was the second language of these workers. The customers inside the restaurant were also of Asian heritage. Most of which seemed to be groups of exchange students who study at nearby Michigan State University. It was also immediately clear that English was not only the second language of the work staff, but of the majority of the customers as well. In fact, Brianne and I were the only obviously English speaking, white Americans in the restaurant.
Upon showing us to our table, our waitress laid down our menus, took our drink orders, and then said something I found to be truly unusual (in broken English I might add); she told us to call her over to the table when we were
ready to order. This seemed awkward as compared to the typical American restaurant style in which the wait staff is constantly checking on their patrons, however, this is the norm in many countries outside of the United
States (Brianne later informed me that the wait staff was the same way in Germany, so perhaps it is the American style of restaurants that is awkward). Our waitress then left us so we could peruse the menu for our dinner orders.
Whilst examining the menu, I saw everything that can be expected from a Chinese restaurant menu: orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, Mongolian beef, Lo and Chow Mein; all the classics. But on second glance, I started to notice a few interesting options; mainly, an appetizer of Jellyfish. In fact, three of the appetizers had jellyfish as the main ingredient. I found this to be unusual, until further research on the subject revealed that Jellyfish is a delicacy harvested in Southeast Asia. While this may not exemplify a typical Chinese restaurant, this is clearly more common than if Jellyfish were to be served at an Italian restaurant. Eventually we called our waitress over and ordered our food. After ordering, I began to examine my surroundings to try to fully understand the food culture around me.
As expressed previously, the typical group of customers at the restaurant seemed to be groups of 3 or 4 Asian exchange students. Observing their eating habits is probably the closest to authentic Chinese eating habits that can be found in East Lansing, as many of these students are only recently transplanted to Michigan. The group I most closely observed was the table directly to my left, which consisted of five students, two girls and three guys (this table was chosen for its proximity and its accurate representation of the typical group in the
restaurant).
One of the more obvious habits performed by these groups was the way that they ordered food. While most Americans typically order food for themselves, these groups seemed to order many dishes and share the food with one another, in more of a “family at the dinner table” style. Large plates of colorful and truly exotic looking foods were placed in the middle of the table, and the students would take a small amount and enjoy it only to be rewarded with another plate of a different food. All the while, the waitress remained within the vicinity of this table, while never interrupting or engaging them, merely waiting to be called upon. While we left before this table did, the number of different plates had already reached three.
In the end, our dinner, an orange chicken combo and a sesame chicken combo, both with broccoli, vegetable fired rice and an egg roll, only amounted to $17. A very fair price for the large amount of food served. And while $17 may still be a high amount of money for some customers, it is a fairly affordable and would not discriminate many from dining here (unlike, say a Manhattan Steakhouse).
While both Brianne and I were expecting a less-than-traditional restaurant experience, we could not have predicted the events we happened to see. To us both, this restaurant was highly unorthodox. However, this restaurant does seem to be a comforting setting to many of the workers and customers, as the language, style of waiting, and many of the foods offered resemble a more familiar eating environment than what is typically offered in East Lansing. This restaurant does seem to be fairly representative of other cultures’ ideas of restaurants and eating habits. So perhaps it was only unorthodox to us. Perhaps for others, this is the experience they expect when they go out to dinner.
