Can anyone tell me what the difference is between chinese and japanese food? Soon to be dsd will eat at a japanese restaurant but not the other and for the life of me I can't figure out why. I'm sure there is some differnce but I can't tell. They just taste good to me..lol.

Is it a Mongolian Barbecue? Because there you pick out your own food, and they cook it for you. So she might like it more than she thinks, because she's totally in control.

If she's a picky eater, she might object to the way all the stuff in Chinese food is jumbled together and covered with sauce. At a Japanese steakhouse, there isn't a lot of sauce, just mostly butter or margarine. The last time I ate at one of those places it made me very sick because they were heavy-handed with the butter.

She may also just THINK she doesn't like Chinese food -- has she had it? I thought I wouldn't like sushi, but now I'm completely addicted to it and want it all the time. Even at a sushi-style restaurant, you usually can get teriyaki chicken, tempura, and other things that are "safe" for picky eaters. A good introduction to get her to branch out would be a bento box -- lots of little goodies for her to try and not too much of anything.

Mongolian restaurants generally are more casual versions of a Japanese steakhouse, but with a larger variety of sauce options.

I think that the amount of vegetables served differs from restaurant to restaurant. It also depends on what you order.

We go to one Japanese restaurant and if you order sushi... the only vegetable served will be iceberg lettuce in a salad. You will get miso soup and sushi... but no vegetables.

If you order chicken teriyaki, you will get one baby carrot and one broc floret.

Chinese restaurants - it is the same - depends on the restaurant and depends on what you order.

Don’t go to either a Chinese or Japanese restaurant thinking that you will automatically be served a cup of vegetables - unless you specifically order vegetables.

I'll share what I know to be true. My son has a Chinese friend at school (college) and his mother has been feeding my son quite often. Chris has been eating a lot of steamed veg. and meats...and swears that this and riding the bike has been his success in loosing his weight. Not a lot of rice, and brown rice if they have it. This woman owns a Chinese (authentic) restaurant in Mpls.....so I am sure not a lot of it is fried...take it or leave it...he looks darn good to me, and I am extremely jealous!

Chinese and Japanese menus have similar items like won tons and egg rolls (actually Japanese is a very light spring roll, Chinese is a heavier egg roll that is deep fried.), Soups are somewhat similar. Japanese include a lot of fish, particularly raw sushi items.

FYI Chinese and Japanese food in this country is really Americanized foods that are not authentic. My friend is from Japan and her mom makes some really outstanding won tons.

Japanese foods do tend to be lighter, but Hibachi foods are loaded with fat. Tempura is fried Japanese food. Veggies, chicken and shrimp. Japanese restaurants are really trendy now and you are more likely to get foods that are closer to authentic. Chinese are a dime a dozen anymore and they serve pretty standard stuff.

I'm going to loook for those string beans you mentioned. I love spicy food

I think it's not so much as being picky as it is texture. She loves the Japanese steak house restaurants. I know I could never get her to go into a sushi style restaurant..lol.
What you're saying does make sense and I've never really thought of it like that. I love all veggies and about the only thing I won't eat is liver.
I talked with her tonight and she's already stressing about this mongolian restaurant we plan on going to on Saturday..lol.
I've never cared anything that was sweet and sour or General Tso's Chicken, I do love Chicken and Broccoli and Twice Cooked Pork..yum *S*

quote:

Originally posted by moviegirl:
Can anyone tell me what the difference is between chinese and japanese food? Soon to be dsd will eat at a japanese restaurant but not the other and for the life of me I can't figure out why. I'm sure there is some differnce but I can't tell. They just taste good to me..lol.

Is soon-to-be dsd a picky eater in general? When you say she will eat at a Japanese restaurant, do you mean a Japanese steak house where they cook on a hibachi in front of you? Or at a sushi-style Japanese restaurant?

I ask these questions because I'm a picky eater and, while I love both Chinese and Japanese food, I see a big difference. As a picky eater, and as a veggie hater, I could see how someone would prefer the veggies she can see being prepared in front of her (Japanese steak house) vs. Chinese food which has a lot of stuff in it that is hard to identify. I personally don't care for much in the way of Chinese vegetables. Most of the Chinese dishes I love are meat-heavy dishes like General Tso's Chicken. I do, however, ADORE Szechuan String Beans which almost any Chinese restaurant has and I get an order of those as my veggie.

I just love food too *S*

Thanks Lori!

The flavors are very different. To me, Japanese food is sweeter, lighter. Chinese is more savory, has more depth of flavor, tends to be heavier, more starch heavy, Japanese foods tend to have more veggies and meets, and smaller percentages of the starch.

I love both, and just love food! Don't really prefer one over the other.