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I found a restaurant serving "Texas BBQ" here in Wenzhou, China. I went there...

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    #16
    Great write-up, Lost in China . Sounds like it was a fun (and educational) date night with your girl.

    Kathryn

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      #17
      Great post. I enjoyed the pics and text immensely. But if I can go on a trip, I think I'll go to Texas instead.

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        #18
        So Belly was correct.
        You did well with this "Article"

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          #19
          The Siganbi looks almost like crawdads but could just be large shrimp.

          Great write up, thanks for all the pics too!

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            #20
            Nothing to add other than I love this post! Thanks!

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              #21
              Great post! I have to wonder though, would an authentic American BBQ restaurant be a success in China

              Something else I've always wondered, are there any Chinese buffets in China?

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              • Lost in China
                Lost in China commented
                Editing a comment
                Hahahaha no.

              #22
              ribeyeguy I've seen some reasonably authentic American BBQ in Korea that succeeded with Korean youth fairly well. I think American BBQ could do well in China, although you would probably have to provide sauces that were to local taste.

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                #23
                There are two I know of, Bubba's BBQ in Shanghai and J&J's in Xiamen. Bubba's is pretty good, but located in a part of town that's kind of inconvenient if you don't live there. Most customers are Americans who live in the area and who live an American lifestyle in Shanghai, only occasionally interacting with China. J&J's used to serve pretty good food, but these days has become more of a nightspot than a BBQ restaurant. They're known more for their live bands and beer than the food. They do have a working mechanical bull, which is a nice touch. Their portion sizes are scandalously small.

                All the Chinese people I ever serve BBQ to love it. I don't change the sauces or anything. I think part of it is selection bias, the people I know are all open and are predisposed to like foreign things. There is this mentality of "Chinese food is suitable for Chinese people" and some will outright reject anything that they don't know. When I got here back in 2003 I used to get surprised looks from people, "Oh, you can eat Chinese food!" They thought I should eat Western food and their local cuisine wasn't suitable for me.

                It's a mental block more than anything. China is a huuuge country with not just "Chinese" food, but every damn city has its own style. It's a big topic and I could go on for a long time about how it influences not just how people live their lives, but how they think. Chinese people don't see it because they grew up with it, but I can see it easier because I'm an outsider.

                I'd like to open a restaurant serving BBQ here, but I've seen enough restauranteurs in China to know I don't want that lifestyle. You have to live at the restaurant because the moment you turn your back, your carefully trained staff will immediately stop doing things your way and go back to doing it whatever dumb Chinese way they already knew before they started working for you. The managers will start shorting ingredients, ordering low quality substitutes and mixing them in with your expensive imported ingredients, and pocketing the difference. The staff will start robbing the till. If you're foreign-owned then you get inspectors harassing you all the time for trivial problems - naturally your Chinese-owned neighbors will get a free pass.

                What I really want is for someone else to start the restaurant, and pay me to be a consultant. Then I'll teach them the Tao of Meathead and someone else can handle all the irritating details of running a business. It almost happened once but they didn't want to pay me. Another time I almost got Meathead's vinegar cole slaw recipe on the menu, but my restauranteur friend fell out with his partners. Anyway I've gone on too long.
                Last edited by Lost in China; November 19, 2016, 09:04 PM.

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                  #24
                  Lost in China Thanks for the perspective. Much appreciated. I often miss living overseas. especially the food!!!
                  Last edited by Mr. Bones; November 20, 2016, 04:17 PM.

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                    #25
                    Great post and great pix. You gotta hand it to them for trying. Wish I could joined you.

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                      #26
                      Great post Lost in China, you have a nice way with words and are a good story teller. Looking forward to more of your adventures in the mysterious Far East!

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                        #27
                        Excellent thread! I love seeing places do something out of their comfort zone and watching their interpretation unfold. I would've eaten it and praised the chef (as I do ANYONE who handles my food), but it seems they did okay given what they knew/had to work with. If all I had to eat was "bad" ribs, I'd be okay.

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                          #28
                          Lost in China Wow! BBQ in China. Judging by your evaluation maybnypu can be a BBQ consultant to Hershey's. While vacationing in New Mexico with a great deal of uncertainty we stopped at a place called Serious Texas BBQ. It was pretty decent Texas BBQ. They got their sausage from the well known sausage town of Elgin, TX.

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