| rev:text
| - There is an inherent dilemma that affects all ethnic cuisine in this country. That dilemma is: How authentic are we going to make this restaurant? Basically, this question is answered by looking at the bottom line. If you are in an area with a relatively low conentration of that ethnicity then in order for your business to stay alive, you need to cater to the tastes of the local majority. The beauty of China Chili is that they walk this line and do it successfully. Restaurants that lean towards authenticity typically tend to alienate the majority of people because its simply intimidating. On the other side, a restaurant that caters to American tastes is hated on for the watered down ethnic experience. What China Chili has managed to do is make Chinese food accessible to the demographic around them. The Asian population in the Phoenix metro area is concentrated in the East Valley and Northwest Valley. There are very few Chinese downtown and that is shown by the lack of Chinese restaurants in the downtown area. China Chili has understood this and has beautifully adapted their menu to reflect the area they are in. In response to the people who commented on the lack of authenticity of the food here, I would say that I agree with that in part. However, being Chinese, I know that if you go into any Chinese restaurant that has Chinese people working there and you ask them, you'll find that there are additional items that the kitchen can make for people who are looking for that authentic experience. China Chili is no different. Just ask for something more authentic and in most cases they can tell you what they have available. I can tell you from first hand experience that they have ALL Chinese cooks in the kitchen. Its not like they don't know how to make authentic Chinese food, but like any good restaurant, they know their audience.
Now to the food. Most of the things on the menu are pretty tasty. One thing that they do that most other places don't is tailor the food to your exact specifications. They can make it spicy, or less spicy, or omit veggies, msg, meat, or add basically anything you want. Some favorites of mines are the House Special Chicken, Salt and Pepper Pork Chops, Chicken Corn Chowder, and Spicy Garlic Eggplant. During lunch, they serve hearty lunch specials that after make you wish you were going to nap time rather than work(to some that may be synonymous). They have even more dishes that they can make for lunch specials than the ones they have listed so make sure you ask.
As for the decor....lets be honest. Chinese decor is tacky. I'm Chinese, I admit it. If the decor of a restaurant causes you to not eat there, then sadly you have probably missed the most amazing meals of your life because some of the biggest holes create some of the tastiest food. Its not dirty or messy, its just tacky, so please get over it. The Chinese are prone to gaudy, extravagant presentations, or did you miss the opening ceremonies of the Olympics?
In any case, I love China Chili because it allows people who would never walk into a more authentic Chinese restaurant to put a foot in the door of an enormous culinary world. And at China Chili they can venture in as far as they would want. .
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)