Moon cakes a testimony to Chinese ingenuity

Living overseas, one quickly learns that Chinese cannot take credit or be blamed for all the things associated with them, such as Chinese waterboarding and Chinese fire drills. Chinese food is another example.

Almost all US towns have a Little Panda, Great Wall, Buffet King or all of them, even if they don't have a post office or fire station. These restaurants often serve Americanized Chinese food. I guess that is the fate of foods all over the world, which is unfortunate. In Texas we have Tex Mex, Mexican food with Texas characteristics.

I once had my car with a mechanic who sent a Mexican friend to pick me up. We talked about Mexican food in the United States. He complained that Mexican food here is only 8 percent authentic. I had no idea where he got the figure from, but he launched into a fury, which made his driving unpredictable. As he cursed, waved and indulged in all sorts of other gestures, he drove onto a wrong road, hit a curb and made turns I had seen only in action movies. Fearing for my safety, I said Chinese food in the US is worse, probably just 4 percent authentic. That injected some calm into him and I was able to get to the mechanic in one piece.