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Tang goes sour on Chinese menus
David Tang, the creator of the China Tang and Shanghai Tang restaurants in London, has lambasted the way Chinese restaurants present and market their food in the UK.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Tang said: “I hate the Chinese menus in all the restaurants in the UK – from the pretentious through the mediocre to the tiny take-away shops.
“Ridiculous names like ‘chop suey’ and ‘foo-young’ are used even though we Chinese certainly don’t eat or recognise such names.”
Tang laments the lack of traditional eating habits and despairs at restaurants’ eagerness to combine Oriental food with Western eating formats and habits.
“In an authentic Chinese banquet you always get served single dishes – with up to 14 courses – and the rice is often served as the last savoury dish on its own.
“Here, restaurant owners treat Chinese food like Western food by dividing it into three simple courses. Also, the rice should never be served from a plate in the way it is in the UK.”
Tang’s comments come just six weeks after China Tang – located at The Dorchester hotel in London – was named the 2006 Restaurant of the Year by Egon Ronay.