Some countries share alcohol to bond with people, but Chinese/Taiwanese use the food to be the effective ice-breaker. With chopsticks in hand, varies dishes in front of eyes, it is the time for people to spend some time to enjoy good food and chat. In the U.S.A., preparing for four to five dishes is not common and people prefer easy-cooked meals. During my stay in Finland, I would like to experience something “exotic”- the Chinese food in Oulu.
There are plenty of Chinese restaurants in Oulu. Compared to Angola, the small city where I spent two years studying and teaching Chinese in Indiana State, U.S.A., Oulu is the paradise for Chinese food. I can easily shop for Chinese/Taiwanese ingredients or eat out by bike. When I googled “Chinese restaurants in Oulu,” not much information coming out. However, someone’s blog shares quite an interesting conclusion about Chinese food in Oulu.” Chinese restaurants are among the oldest of all ethnic restaurants in Oulu. The Chinese restaurants in Finland mostly offer sweet Canton Chinese food. This is made of rice and different kind of sauces. Soy sauce replaces salt and sesame oil brings original texture to the food.” Today, I prove it right.
My Finnish friend has a clever idea that we should go to try every Chinese restaurants in Oulu and give some feedback. Our first try is Shenglong (勝龍酒家).
First of all, I feel like explaining one thing that not all the owners of Chinese restaurants can speak Chinese (Mandarin) which is spoken in China and Taiwan. Some owners who are from Hong Kong serve Canton food and speak Cantonese way better than Mandarin or even cannot speak Mandarin. Therefore, I was careful not to speak Mandarin right after I met the owner.
Fortunately, she spoke Chinese with me and I could even read a Chinese menu. We ordered the pork with vegetables and Chicken fried noodles.
Before the courses coming up, we could enjoy the salad bar. It was quite interesting how I saw the Finnish and Chinese culture work together to satisfy customers. In Chinese/Taiwanese families, we have no salad; instead, we consume varies fried vegetables with garlic.
If I listened carefully to the background music, it was pop songs sung by Taiwanese singers about 12 years ago. Due to these Chinese immigrants in 1980s to 1990s, they also bring the classic pop Chinese songs with them around the world. One song caught my friend’s attention, which in English means “Lover.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0vjeHRBWZ8&feature=bf_next&list=FLfMVi9N6UMy8VWnYBxOafrg
Our food was satisfying for my friend. With the 7.5 euro price, we had unlimited salad, drinks, main course and dessert or tea.
To be honest, the courses are quite westernized for natives. For meat cuisine, no matter what you order, all the courses would be sticky with cornstarch and taste-all-the-same sauce. In Taiwan, we do not use cornstarch in daily meals, because it contains extra unnecessary calories.
For noodles, since there are not similar vegetables in Finland, the kitchen replaces with alternative ones. I think in order to attract foreign customers, the Chinese fried noodles no matter in the U.S. or in Finland are a bit salty for me. In Taiwan, the fried noodles are like noodles, vegetables, meat and sauce are in good combination. You can enjoy as a whole. However, the fried noodles here I tried were the noodles, vegetables, chickens and sauce working separately. It was not in such a “harmony” that I always enjoy. Our Taiwanese fried noodles look like this:
If I rate this restaurant from 1 to 10, I would give it 7. Hopefully, after I try all the Chinese restaurants in Oulu and I can find the most authentic one among them. Wish me luck! :P
Comments
Hsuen-Chu wrote: !Hopefully, after I try all the Chinese restaurants in Oulu and I can find the most authentic one among them. Wish me luck!"
Sure, great idea, do it ;)
I agree. I have visited Southern China for business purposes and spend some 10 days there. I think that, no matter we have eaten very well, I have lost some of my weight during the trip. One additional reason could be the fact that no milk were used during meals - just tea.
Very good lifestyle reporting. I'll call you 11:30. Continue with your good work.