Food Network Canada has a new show featuring a Chinese "chef" cooking Chinese dishes in China. Kylie Kwong: My China.
The show follows Kylie Kwong in China where she goes city to city taking over residential kitchens, restaurants or street food carts and showing the Western World how to cook Chinese food.
What is disturbing is the fact that Kylie Kwong, a visible Chinese/Australian cooking Chinese dishes, does NOT SPEAK Mandarin or Cantonese! How can you have a show titled "My China" if you can not speak the national language. Fraud!
She walks around the country flashing her $100RMB/$20CAD in understanding that money will communicate her needs. Very insulting.
Occasionally on the show, she hires a local English speaking guide/translator to explain the Chinese delicacies. like and including the ever popular Xiao Long Bao.
4 weeks ago
2 comments:
I definitely agree! BUT there are many Chinese people out there who don't speak the language. :)
Firstly, Kylie Kwong is a *fourth generation* Australian of Chinese racial heritage. That means even her grandparents were born in Australia, so we perhaps should not over hastily criticize language skills or her even awareness of Chinese daily behaviour in China.
However, the show would have been much better, ahem, might even have been good, if it had been about her rediscovery of authentic Chinese cooking styles and ingredients, or the re-awakening of her racial heritage, but you are right, she ponces in like she owns the place, or at least can rent it for a while, like knows better becasue this is how her mom used to cook it back in Sydney.
As an Irish/English Australian who lives in Asia and loves Chinese cuisine, I found the show embrassing...
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