Hello, my name is Tae Ho Shin. To give a piece of background information about my self, I am from South Korea and I am currently living in Las Vegas. I like food from Asian culture, but I love cream pasta. I interviewed my friend Kenneth Pi.
Q: Could you give me a short introduction about yourself?
A: I'm Chinese American, but my dad came from Taiwan, and my mom came from Vietnam. I'm mostly just American though. I am from Las Vegas and lived there my whole life.
Q: You know how people get closer by playing sports together or playing video games right? In your opinion, do you think there’s something special about Chinese food that brings people together?
A: Chinese food definitely brings people together, but I think all food brings people together, really. However, for specific Chinese meals, like hotpot, a large gathering of friends and family is common. I think this experience brings many people together where people can celebrate or socialize on normal or special occasions.
Q: Personally, I grew up eating Korean food and I still lean towards Korean food if I have the option to choose between other food from any culture. By having a bit of a conservative preference for food I couldn’t eat a whole slice of pizza or hamburger at first, but now that I’m used to it, I can manage to enjoy them occasionally. Did your experience of eating Chinese food shape your preference for food at all? Are you open to any food or do you like food that are in the same category?
A: I've had a slight preference for Asian dishes in general because that's what my parents cooked and I grew up eating them. However, I am not too picky of an eater so I usually try a lot of food from a different culture. Preference wise, I like to eat food that is similar to similar Asian foods, usually from countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Q: When most Americans think about Chinese food, they think about take out places of fried rice or food like orange chicken. When I think of Chinese food, I think about real authentic Chinese cuisine with ingredients that aren’t common in America. Do you think Chinese food is underrepresented in your opinion?
A: I don't find Chinese food underrepresented that much. Even though most people think of Chinese food as Chinese takeout, that's pretty much a type of Chinese food from certain regions. I think Americanized Chinese food is also a part of Chinese food. There are plenty of Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants with food that are similar to Americanized Chinese food culture, especially with the level of diversity that exists in Las Vegas.
Q: Growing up, watching my grandma and my mom cook, I was self-influenced to cook food by myself and I am pretty good at cooking. Do you feel Chinese food has influenced or affected your life personally?
A: Seeing my family cook dishes that I enjoyed eating passed on the will for me to cook. I wanted to make my favorite dishes that I would commonly eat at home, to remind me of it when I’m away at Reno.
i really enjoyed reading this interview and could relate to alot of what was mentioned especially on the last question where you had asked him if Chinese food had influenced or affected his life personally and he had responded with that he tries to cook his favorite dishes that was commonly ate while he was at home. which i try doing the same thing so i feel a bit closer to home and my moms cooking.
ReplyDeleteI am also Chinese, so when I was reading this conversation, it reminded me of my life. I do agree that hot pot is a great way of gathering friends and family together to spend quality time with one another.
ReplyDeleteBonding with family and friends is important to spend quality time with each other.
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing just how much of an impact food can have on the rest of our lives.
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