China to Chinatown: Chinese Food in the West (Globalities) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is a valuable and timely account of the West's strange love-hate relationship with Chinese food, and a stimulating read, provoking as it does so many challenging questions about how we perceive and adapt to other cultures."--The Times (The Times )

"Informative and readable."--The Independent (The Independent )

"The style and presentation, as well as the topic, make this a very good addition to the literature on the history of food. Recommended."--Choice (Choice )

Product Description

China to Chinatown examines one of the most notable examples of the globalization of food. J.A.G. Roberts recounts how the West’s attitudes to Chinese food have changed from the time of Marco Polo to now. Early travelers in China too often avoided the local food and chronicled the "disgusting" diet of dogs, cats, and snakes. Others, for example Jesuit mission-aries, were more enthusiastic about Chinese food. In the 20th-century with the spread of Chinatowns in the West, Chinese restaurants, food, and recipe books gradually took off, and in the last 20 years there has been an explosion in their popularity.

"A wonderful social history that is also a fascinating account of the way we eat today."—Ken Hom

J.A.G. Roberts is author of China Through Western Eyes (3 volumes, 1991–96) and A History of China (1999).

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Reaktion Books (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861891334
• ISBN-13: 978-1861891334
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,357,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cats Eyes and Chow Mein, February 11, 2006

By	M. Buisman "Martijn Buisman" (Amsterdam, NL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book 'From China to Chinatown' gives a great overview of the history of Chinese food, but only concerning attidutes westerners have towards it.

Part I is about the views from mostly travellogs from Europeans in China. From Marco Polo to know we see what has horrified them like the eating of cats and dogs, rats and such. It shows also that the eating culture in China is somewhat linked to the political culture as well.

Part II is about the Chinese food in the West, notably the US (stressing California the most) and England. We see how tastes have been changing over two years and how the food is geared towards the western taste. Chow Mein for example was developed in America.

If you like Chinese food and all it's facets this book is money well spent.

5.0 out of 5 stars How the most exotic of cuisines becomes the most familiar, April 20, 2005

By	Gary Soup "eatingchinese.org" (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews

It'll take more than one book to help us grasp how the most alien of cuisines became the most commodified, but J. A. G. Roberts' book is an important beginning. Well researched and well thought-out, it is also a great read, highly suggestive without bogging us down with ponderous sociology. Half a day later you'll want to read it again.

4.0 out of 5 stars How Fried Rice & Spring Rolls Became Part of Our Diet, October 27, 2004

By	Ozdagg (Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China to Chinatown: Chinese Food in the West (Globalities) (Paperback)

I had been waiting for a book like this - a major addition to the canon on Chinese food. Lots of great stories from both the east and west. It focuses on the United States and the United Kingdom. Though it is not a problem, the author is oddly detached, from the stories he retells so well from historical records. It is a little repetitive in the use of examples.