Haley Aimone
Basic Nutrition
Dr. Spencer
April 16, 2012
For my project I choose Dining Out in Ethnic Restaurants, and I picked
Japanese, Mexican, and Thai food. Dining at all three different ethnic restaurants
was fun and interesting because my eyes were opened to food I have never tried
before. Each restaurant had a different atmosphere and a variety of different foods
on the menu that I normally do not eat. Personally my favorite restaurant that I tried
was dining at Thai Chili 88. I have never had Thai food before and I was nervous to
try it because I am a very picky eater, but after trying an appetizer and a chicken
entrée I realize the food was delicious.
The first restaurant I experience was a Japanese restaurant, Samurai Hibachi.
It has been opened for 7 years and it is located right by Rowan University, at 646
North Delsea Drive. The owners from Samurai are from Japan and have been living
in the United States for 6 years. The food from their home country is made very
differently. They Americanize their food so that their customers enjoy it, there is
more flavoring the way Americans like their food and the portion sizes are smaller.
A typical meal in Japan is sushi. For dinner I ate Hibachi chicken with vegetables,
fried rice, and noodles, and the food was cooked perfectly and very good. Hibachi is
one of my favorite dining out experiences because they make the food right in front
of you and it is entertaining.
My favorite and next restaurant I went to was a restaurant called Thai Chili
88. This restaurant being a little further than Samurai was right down Green Tree
Road, in Turnersville. Thai Chili 88 opened up in December of 2009 and the owners
have lived in the United States for 4 years and came from China. The food from
China is made differently than in United States because each dish in their home
country must be sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. A typical meal in their country is Pad
Thai with a side of white rice. Also, a fun fact is that in Thailand people eat the bones
in the chicken, beef, and fish in their food. This was my favorite restaurant because
the food was delicious, and I didn’t think I would enjoy it. I shared lettuce wraps for
an appetizer and I had Thai Peanut Chicken for dinner, which turned out to be one of
my favorite chicken dishes I have ever tried. The whole setting of the restaurant was
enjoyable.
The last restaurant I went to was a Mexican restaurant called Hernandez,
located at 512 North Delsea Drive in Glassboro. Hernandez just recently opened one
year ago, but the owners moved to the United States from Mexico 18 years ago. The
food in there country is very different. The portion sizes have less quantity and the
dishes are a lot spicier. A typical dinner in Mexico is Tacos, but not your typical taco
with beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato that us American eat, but a hard shell with just
cilantro and onions. For dinner I ate a chicken Quesada, and it was decent but
nothing special. Personally Mexican is one of my favorite food ideas because tacos
have been my favorite food since I was little.
For my article, I researched the customs and traditions of Mexican food.
Unlike in the United States, Mexico has four meals called Desayuno, Almuerzo,
Comida, and Cena. Desayuno is breakfast in Mexico, which is eaten early and is
usually very light. If you are a countryside farmer your typical Desayuno is tortillas
with frijoles refritos served with a cup of hot chocolate. If you live in the city, the
tortillas are replaced with fresh bolillas, which is fresh bread and hot chocolate. But
if you live in an area of money your Desayuno may include all of those that the
farmers and city workers eat, but also fresh fruits and eggs. Next, at around 11
o’clock a.m. they have a special lunch called Almuerzo that is one filling dish based
around tacos or enchiladas. The main meal of the day is the Comida that is typically
tacos. This meal is two to three hours long between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m., and it
is custom for most people to eat this meal at home with their loved ones. If in
between the Almuerzo and Comida people are left still hungry there is a “sweet
break” that consists or sweet rolls and small pastries with coffee and chocolate. The
last meal is the Cena, and it is eaten very late between 8 and 10 o’clock at night. This
meal is out of the home usually dining at a buffet style restaurant. Even through
Mexico has many meals; the people love snacking during the day on fresh fruits,
vegetables, nuts, and fruit drinks. All the food choices are baked fresh and are spicy
hot and crispy-fried.
This project showed me how different food is prepared, served, and cooked
in other countries. Before this project I never realized how different the customs
and traditions of other countries meals actually are, and I never recognized how
tasty the food is. I learned I shouldn’t judge food before trying it because it may turn
out to be something completely unexpected like the Thai food. Doing this project
mades me want to go out and try other ethnic foods that I haven’t eaten yet, and
experience even more options. This project was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed
doing it.
http://www.food-links.com/countries/mexico/meals-customs-mexico.php