2

I read this question "Where can I eat dishes that feature in western countries' Chinese restaurants?" and I got very curious. I always apreciated authentic Chinese food very much and I (sort of) knew that the dishes served in Ocident are, let's say, a striped down or adapted version, to serve better our tastes. I was not expecting it to be so radical though. (I am starting to wonder how sushi really tastes in Japan, or if they even have it like us).

Can I actually eat real asian food in a restaurant either in Benelux?
If yes, are there any guides or resources that will allow me to easily find them?

7
  • 4
    Your question might be too broad, and might be better focussed on some location.
    – Bernhard
    Jun 9, 2014 at 15:09
  • 1
    This needs to be better focused on cuisine and location. There are multiple places within New York alone that Chinese expats claim to serve authentic foods there are places that Thai expats serve authentic Thai food and there are places that Indian expats claim serve authentic Indian food, all varying by differences in cuisine by location of origin. Not to mention large metropolitan areas like LA or San Francisco and this is just the US.
    – Karlson
    Jun 9, 2014 at 15:43
  • @Karlson, I understand your comment. Do you have any sugestions to improve the question? my initial idea was just to know if such restaurants existed and if they were available to a wider public. The question than grew into a "where" which makes it a bit broader. Any ideas to impreve the question are welcome. I can, of course, narrow the regional scope to Europe or less, but I think this might also be intersting to people in other locations.
    – nsn
    Jun 9, 2014 at 16:04
  • @nsn They do exist and they are available to general public. The thing is Asia = many countries each country may have different regions and thus different cuisines. Secondly the authenticity of the cuisine isn't really an objective measure since I've had several expats from the same province in China nearly come to blows discussing authenticity of food in one restaurant in Queens.
    – Karlson
    Jun 9, 2014 at 16:09
  • @Karlson, again I agree, but than the only option is either narrow the question or delete it. In a way I tried to handle that asking for a resouce that list these places.
    – nsn
    Jun 9, 2014 at 16:12

4 Answers 4

6

Of course there are specialized restaurants that offer the "real" Chinese food. I don't think there is a general method to find them, other than asking Chinese people that were not born in the country. They will know these places in the city they are living. Except for restaurants, there are also dedicated supermarkets that sell items that you won't find in your own supermarket.

In my city Rotterdam, Netherlands, I went to such a restaurant with a Chinese colleague. The food was a lot alike the food I had in restaurants in China.

4

The streets around Van Wesenbeekstraat in Antwerp, Belgium, are known as the local "Chinatown". You will find a lot of restaurants there that are operated and frequently visited by the local Chinese community. My sister used to live in China for a few years and confirmed me that you can find "real" Chinese food there. There are also some restaurants in the same neighborhood with other authentic Asian cuisines.

3

Antwerp has a few. They have a few "Sichuan" restaurants。 I tried "Dragon City", which is quite authentic, and not so expensive. Add: Langeleemstraat 88,2018 Antwerpen

2

In Amsterdam you will find such restaurants in Zeedijk, the end of the street nearest Nieuwmarkt, as well as in some of the streets around it. Indeed the bit of Amsterdam that is 'almost' China town.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .