The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food | Jennifer 8 Lee | Good, could have been a bit better

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The Fortune Cookie...

	The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food Jennifer 8 Lee Twelve, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.

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Fascinating book

I found this book really fascinating. I'm really intrigued by food history, and Lee made me think alot about so-called "authentic" food. I recommend this book, and have already to my friends and family.
Joan

Good, could have been a bit better

As others have said, Ms. Lee writes very well, and most of this was really interesting. But she has a total blind spot about fortune cookies, and for me, there was WAY too much stuff about trying to research exactly who invented them. When I realized that I was starting a THIRD chapter on this same subject -- which she'd already covered exhaustively in two previous chapters -- I groaned inwardly and just skipped to the next chapter. OK, we get it: fortune cookies are not Chinese, any more than General Tso's chicken or chop suey. Except for this one flaw, the book was a lot of fun.

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Pass the chopsticks, please

When you think about it - it is amazing there aren't any national chains with Chinese restaurants in every town. But this book explains why. It's an amazing story of immigration to probably 99% of the cities and towns in America. No matter where Americans travel in the US - we want Chinese food - and we get it!
A very interesting story of cultures and their expectations. It makes me wonder how Amerians in China for the Olympics are eating! Are they eating "Real Chinese food" or what we have come to expect of Chinese food!
Great story, with many interesting things to learn.

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Take-out observations on an American obsession...

Jennifer Lee has written an engaging book on the phenomenon of Chinese food in America. It is filled with factoids that most likely you did not know before, such as the fact that there about twice as many Chinese restaurants in America as there are McDonalds.

She delves into such arcana as the origin of General Tso's chicken, the history and anatomy of fortune cookies, the making of those trapezoidal carry-out food boxes, why Jewish people especially love Chinese food and a stroll through the best Chinese restaurants in the world.

It would be tempting and a cliché to say that, thirty minutes after reading it, you're hungry for more. Alas, that line has apparently been taken by a prior reviewer.

If you enjoy Chinese food, you will enjoy "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles."

Confucius say, "You have a fun reading ahead of you..."

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Entertaining; pinball-like organization

This is a breezy and entertaining foray into the world of Chinese/American cuisine diaspora. Lee writes well. This book, however, would have benefited from better editing. Some parts of the book resemble a chop suey. The book contains several typographical errors that should have been corrected during the editing process.

Ex:
p. 183. "Robert Borgas." Lee means "Robert Porges." Lee should have asked Seth Faison for his comments before the book was published.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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