From street food to museums, Chinese food hot in US_美文

From street food to museums, Chinese food hot in US

It seems you can’t go a week without reading about the glories of Chinese food in America.

From baozi in Boston to jianbing in New York, traditional Chinese street food is enticing the US.

From street food to museums, Chinese food hot in US1

It’s not just food trucks or old school Chinese restaurants, some of which have gotten away from the typical fare they’ve offered for more than 100 years - dishes that can be found on the mainland are popping up in the US.

Meizhou Dongpo opened its first US restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 2013, with offerings from its menu in China. Locally hired chefs were sent to China for training.

Next spring, Beijing’s Dadong, known for its Peking Duck and chef Dong Zhenxiang, will open a flagship US restaurant in Manhattan in an 18,000 square-foot, glass-walled space over two floors.

Xi’an’s Famous Foods is about to open its 12th location in New York near the Museum of Modern Art. Xi’an’s started as a 200-square foot basement stall in the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing, Queens.

From street food to museums, Chinese food hot in US2

The original location, established in 2005, was the first restaurant to bring Xi’an cuisine to the US, featuring hand-ripped noodles, secret spices and burgers on flatbread.

Chinese food is also the stuff of museum exhibits.

A current exhibition at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York called Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America raises the food to an art form, literally. Various chefs and home cooks talk about their craft — with each one’s specialty dish presented in ceramic.