[Hack&Lube]

Eating at "real" Chinese restaurants hurts me. It really does. Because I'm Chinese and I see people unaccustomed to them come and try to order food but they are totally lost on the menu and the waiters are useless.

Real chinese restaurants are meant for group dining, at least a party of 5 or more. It pains me to see a couple sit down and order something they don't understand and get a single serving of vegetables, etc. and then they labour through it and then pay a high price. More often than not, I have heard caucasian people say: "that was terrible!".

Real chinese food is meant to only be served banquet style. The dishes are all very different and compliment each other but are never meant to be eaten alone or without tea, rice, soup, etc. and dishes all in the proper order. Please don't visit a real chinese restaurant if you are in a small group, you will be very disappointed. It's also not a meal with great presentation or any modern touches whatsoever, as that's not chinese tradition. Don't expect something nice and set like in a Japanese restaurant or a fast food restaurant.

If you want a semi-restaurant/fast food Chinese experience, you can try Hong Kong cafe type places like Sun Chiu Kee on centre st. or Pebble Beach by the old Franklin Mall (Pacific Mall now) that are more like normal western dining. Personally, I only like this kind of Chinese food. The big banquet type Chinese food (New Harbour, Regency Palace) isn't something I like eating either. It's just not to my taste so likely not to yours either. For those types of restaurants, I only really like Peking Duck, the rest I can easily live without tasting again in my life.