Favourite Foods

I have a very, and I mean, very long history with Chinese food. From the age of 3,when my father was posted to Hong Kong for deployment, I was eating noodle and rice dishes with the best of them. My parents ate out a lot with a gaggle of kids in tow. I think it was because they got better service with all these angelic looking blond-haired kids. Like the Family Von Trapp.

My parents had their favourite spots so much so, they were known by name, and ate at street stalls and little hole in the wall, mom and pop affairs with the locals. As kids, this was great because we were given an endless supply of sodas and ice lollies throughout any lengthy meal. Like I said, my parents like to eat. And as such. My first memories of food were not of English food, fish and chips, or roast dinners. But of spicy piquant noodles and rice dishes whose names I have long since forgotten.

And while we were only in Hong Kong for 3 years, Chinese street food became the go to taste for my palate. Everything else was, well, just bland.

We moved for a few years back to the UK but it wasn’t long before my father was posted abroad again, this time to Singapore. It was like coming home for all of us to a place, culture, and especially food that we were comfortable with, and loved.

By the time I was 12 that was it. Other food while enticing at times, and enjoyable enough as a diversion, paled in comparison to the food I love and crave. And while I’m no great cook, a lot of my weekly meals even now decades later, always default to spicy noodles and rice as my base, loaded up with a ton of veggies, and topped off with a small amount of meat or seafood.

My only sadness is living in Canada, the food served here as Chinese is most definitely not the Chinese of my childhood. And oh, how I long to go back there, into my past, to enjoy those roadside meals just one more time.

Malay Satay anyone?

Photo by Taylor Kiser on Unsplash

12 Comments Favourite Foods

  1. Kim

    Oh, how interesting! It totally makes sense that is your preference! And that the food there is nothing like it 🙁

  2. Diane

    I love these memories!
    Noodles are my favorite thing to eat. I could eat noodles all day long.
    We are going to Taiwan and Malaysia for winter break and I can. not. wait. for all the tasty food that we will get to eat.

    1. Alexandra

      Oh, you lucky thing. I envy you your visits and all the lovely food you’re going to get to taste. You’ll be in noodle heaven. Just think of me when you’re sat there slurping up that first mouthful. Yum!

  3. J

    I would imagine that Chinese Canadian food is pretty similar to Chinese American food, which I love but am sure is nothing like what you get in China. I really liked the Chinese food I had in France, I felt like the flavors were brighter than we get here.

    1. Alexandra

      Let’s say I’ve had to lessen my expectations over the years. Once I realised that the food was going to be different, taste different, it wasn’t so bad. Certainly, like any food, Frances version of Chinese will be different to the UK, and American versions. I guess it’s just how it is.

      I’ve heard tell the place to go is San Francisco.

  4. Meike

    I think I only know Chinese food from the restaurants in the Bay Area. I had “Chinese” in Germany before that but that was definitely very europeanized. I imagine there is a big difference depending where you go but we had a couple students working in the lab in the past who said there are definitely authentic places around here.
    Funnily enough my kids grew up with Japanese food since their first daycare/preschool was run by a Japanese family and they included the meals. My daughter still loves it to this day.

    1. Alexandra

      I’m sure there are places that adhere to the flavours and tastes of the old country, and try to serve as authentic Chinese as they can. But I also know and understand, the food has been adapted to other tastes and palates in the West not use to maybe so much spice or heat.

      Oh, and I love that your daughter still loves sushi. Really good sushi is also the best!

  5. Steve

    I loved the street vendor food in Taiwan! Well, most of it, anyway. And Chinese breakfast food that I haven’t found in any restaurants over here in the US. As while I can make a feeble attempt at making my own doujiang or mantou jia dan, it’s never as good, of course.

    1. Alexandra

      They do some of the best don’t they, Steve. I don’t know why Western breakfasts are so boring and bland. I mean, who really eats cereal? And yeah, I miss Asian food.

  6. Tobia | craftaliciousme

    Oh this must be hard craving food you can’t get.
    I used to be an event manager and we did handle a lot of Chinese groups and we always had to find restaurants with “real Chinese food” IN Berlin there are a few places but going into other areas it is near impossible and they just couldn’t understand. They were tough clients.

    I am not a spicy eater so I would probably have some issue but would still enjoy trying.

    1. Alexandra

      Yes, it’s difficult to find genuine ‘real’ cuisine especially Chinese, which can in itself, be very varied in cooking styles. What is served as Chinese in one country is not considered authentic in an another. And I can imagine how hard it was in Berlin to cater to Chinese tourists.

      Thankfully, not all Chinese food is really spicy or, I should say, not all of it is HOT. I like spice but am not fond of food that burns my mouth because of too much chilli. It’s nice to find a balance.

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