
Analyzing the names of almost every Chinese restaurant in the U.S. - doppp
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/08/we-analyzed-the-names-of-almost-every-chinese-restaurant-in-america-this-is-what-we-learned/
======
joeframbach
The reporter's name, Jennifer 8. Lee, is not a typo.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_8._Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_8._Lee)

> Lee was not given a middle name at birth so she chose "8." when she was a
> teenager. In Chinese culture, the number eight symbolizes prosperity and
> good luck.

~~~
tyre
We ran into this when working at ZenPayroll. Not her specifically but a
similar circumstance where a security check triggered based on an unexpected
non-alpha character in a signature. Turned out the person really did have a
number as a name.

~~~
newjersey
Names are hard.

[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-
programmers-b...](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-
believe-about-names/)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1438472](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1438472)

In your case, I'd just say you need the same name that the IRS/department of
revenue would need though.

------
brownbat
Language Log often notes how the English and Chinese names on Chinese
restaurants are typically wildly different.[0, 1]

The Chinese Restaurant Worldwide Documentation Project is a good resource for
restaurant names in both languages.[2]

[0]
[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=9943](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=9943)

[1]
[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4424](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4424)

[2]
[https://www.flickr.com/groups/twchineserestaurantsdp/pool/wi...](https://www.flickr.com/groups/twchineserestaurantsdp/pool/with/141012288/#photo_141012288)

------
exogen
I used to wonder why there was no Chinese restaurant in all of Capitol Hill in
Seattle. Some have opened more recently, but it turns out one was there all
along – called Regent Bakery & Cafe. Truly hidden from my Chinese restaurant
radar due to the name.

~~~
kelukelugames
There is a fusion place that's actually decent. Zhu Dang?

But I'm never going back because people in Capitol Hill are racist. Also
parking is hard.

~~~
exogen
I liked Zhu Dang! Sadly it closed after only being open for a year. :(

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vacri
> _General Tso 's Chicken might be the most popular Chinese dish in the
> western world_

Ah, the definition of 'western world' that starts at North America's west
coast and ends at its east coast...

~~~
taejo
Wikipedia [0] confirms that this is an American dish. I personally have never
encountered it in any of the four other western countries where I've visited
Chinese restaurants. (Also not in restaurants in China, or a Chinese
restaurant in Korea)

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tso%27s_chicken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tso%27s_chicken)

------
WalterBright
This is why I don't buy the theory that automation will make jobs obsolete.
The fact that automation produces enough surplus to enable the employment of
people to do articles like this!

------
99_00
If you haven't already, try Indian style Chinese food.

~~~
contingencies
After living in China for a decade, I was quite amused to find food labelled
as Chinese on a multi-month jaunt to southern India, where it seemed the only
categories for food were "veg", "non-veg" and "Chinese". There were only a few
dishes under the 'Chinese' classification, and the names seemed to have been
stuck. However, quite interestingly, I did find three other examples of
Chinese contact in South India. The first was Chinese cigarettes, super budget
brands that are obviously export only, probably using the worst quality floor-
sweepings from China's tobacco industry, which is centered on the province I
live in, Yunnan, which happens to be the closest part to India as the crow
flies, if you exclude Tibet. Secondly, bamboo-structure pivoted fishing
nets[0] were fairly common on the Kerala coast, and particularly in Kochi.
These were commonly acknowledged to have come from China. Finally, some locals
told me that a traditional system of physical exercise endemic to Kerala had
actually traveled to China with a monk and was the true basis for the Chinese
system of Kung Fu.[1] I wouldn't write this theory off entirely, but it's not
widely known and too close to Chinese national sentiment to discuss usefully
in-country.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fishing_nets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fishing_nets)
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_Asian_martial_arts#...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_Asian_martial_arts#China)

------
Yaa101
Funny story, but here in The Netherlands they are named after the owner, as
far as I know...

~~~
zhemao
That's the way they're usually named in China, too.

------
jkira
I had some fun with this idea by modding Dot-o-mator's name generator code to
cook up random restaurant names... [http://www.dotomator.com/namers/asian-
restaurant.html](http://www.dotomator.com/namers/asian-restaurant.html) :)

------
nthcolumn
Sushi should not to be in the word cloud.

~~~
jghn
The article starts off by talking about how chinese food in the US is a
cuisine of its own at this point. Given that, why are we worrying about how
traditionally non-chinese items are featured? It's not uncommon for chinese
buffets in the northeast to have things like french fries on it.

Besides, many Americans aren't too bright and have trouble discerning their
asians.

~~~
shalmanese
I went to a Chinese restaurant in Beijing that had a dish of fried lamb with
cumin that was served with a side of french fries. Something got lost in
translation though because the french fries came with a dipping sauce which
was a whole can of cold tomato paste.

~~~
panglott
It's been a decade since I backpacked through China, but potatoes were a thing
that were always lost in translation. Did not know fried potatoes could be
both greasy and undercooked.

------
zhemao
I think it's kind of funny how Mongolian and Jin show up prominently in the
word cloud.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_dynasty)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_dynasty_(1115-1234)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_dynasty_\(1115-1234\))

------
leemailll
I find it funny somehow invented a dish never found in any menu in China
saying other's dish is not "authentic". He is right other did not follow his
recipe, but "authentic" is a word I would never associate with most Chinese
dishes and resteraunts in US.

------
somberi
Obligatory Pun on the Chinese restaurant names:

[https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/31/45-asian-
fusion-...](https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/31/45-asian-fusion-food/)

------
mc32
One of my favorite names is "the five happiness" which happens to be in the
same form of the new official political strategy of the CCP "the four
comprehensives".

------
JoeAltmaier
Ultimate Chinese restaurant name: China Panda Garden Chinese Restaurant
Express!

