McDonalds:Chinese Food::Windows:Linux
That’s the thesis of Jennifer “yes 8. is my middle name” Lee’s new book. Or at least how she presents it in the TED talk on the book. Her point being that whereas McDonalds is a large centralized company which plans out its release of new products years in advance, Chinese Restaurants are decentralized open-source powerhouses of culinary innovation.
I’m glad to see that the book also covers the various incarnations of “Chinese Food” around the world. I had a chuckle when the Indian post-docs at my university served “Gobi Manchurian” as part of an “Indian” meal they cooked for their Taiwanese colleagues in the chemistry department. Lee’s book might be a fun counterpoint to Golden Arches East.
In a similar vein, I recommend Kenneth Guest’s article, in AnthroNow, on the labor relations which keep America’s Chinese food economy afloat (PDF download).
And finally, in the spirit of the holidays, here’s a link to one of my favorite holiday songs.
P. Kerim Friedman is an assistant professor in the Department of Ethnic Relations and Cultures at National Dong Hwa University, in Taiwan, where he teaches linguistic and visual anthropology. He is co-director of the film Please Don't Beat Me, Sir!, winner of the 2011 Jean Rouch Award from the Society of Visual Anthropology. Follow Kerim on Twitter.
I would like to hear more about this middle name. The book blog talks about her siblings’ names and how their initials spell out the name of the airport her parents arrived in, but nothing on the 8. Could it be a legacy of her degree in “applied math”?
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Nevermind, Wikipedia answers “everything”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_8._Lee.
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Here is the article about her name. I had meant to link to it, but it isn’t available online as far as I could tell. This copy was in my e-mail archive. Someone sent it to me a long time ago.
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then why does one find Jolibee, Terriakiboy and Chow King restaurants all over the Philippines, and with new outlets starting in China?
You are comparing apples and oranges.
If we want good Chinese food, we go to Makati. We spend five or more dollars per meal.
If we just want a clean air conditioned restaurant with a clean rest room, and food that is cheap and fast, we go to Chow King. Good meal for 2 dollars.
If we want cheap food, and are willing to risk Diarrhea, we go to the local restaurants or buy “street food”.
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