I just wanted to share this cool interactive map from NYT, which shows the trend of immigration by ethnicity over time. It doesn’t really help with our specific boroughs, but still, enjoy!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html?_r=0
Koreans dominate small businesses such as grocery stores and dry cleaners. According to the reading, Koreans also exploit laborers of other ethnicities, such as Mexicans and Ecuadoreans. Such action, while it might benefit the owners, abuse the rights of the laborers and displace Korean employees. This might lead to the conclusion that Korean store owners should either not employ not so many other-ethnicity workers or give them better treatment. However, the laborers are still working, however unfair, and the Korean store owners are not willing to sacrifice their profits to better treat their workers. How can this unjust situation be “corrected”- benefit all the people involved- in a capitalist society where exploitation of workers are the norm? Is it even possible?
As I was reading “Food maps: Tracing Boundaries of ‘home’ through Food Relations” by Lidia Marte, I could not help but keep thinking back to how the people who were involved in this research were immigrants who were toiling in the U.S. I wonder how this research would have turned out had the subjects been immigrants who had become immensely successful. Assuming that the wealthy immigrants can take more freedom to eat out, how would their foodmaps differ from that of those presented in this study? How would their kitchens look, and how would the current kitchens be different from those they had before coming to U.S.? Thinking of how the current trend is to consume “healthy” foods, how would their foodmaps juggle the traditional and ethnic foods that they know as a heritage and the “healthy” foods that are constantly being advertised? A different approach to this topic could be to study second and third generations of immigrants and their foodmaps. Would they still retain reminiscence of the foodmaps of their first-generation parents? Or would the maps be altered so drastically according to their environments that they would be hard to title “Dominican,” “Mexican” or “Domino-Mexican”?
Name: Taiwanese 101
Address: 135-11 40th Rd. Flushing, NY 11354
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Taiwanese 101 is a spacious restaurant situated in a rather rare nook in Flushing. From the bustling Main Street and its intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, I followed the latter street westward, escaping the human clusters. The next street parallel to Main Street is Prince Street, where I made a left and another left to come to 40th Road. A few more steps planted me in front of Taiwanese 101, which, upon entering, seemed like a normal Asian restaurant. There are rectangular, dark and polished wooden tables that seat four people and round tables for larger groups. Carefully looking around, I found that the restaurant was extended deeper into the building, filled with rectangular tables. Contrasting with the norm of Asian decorations such as framed Chinese characters written in brushstrokes and colored paper balloons, are names of dishes plastered onto the wall opposite the entrance. Bright, neon cardboard papers the size of a hand are adorned with Chinese characters in bubbly fonts. There are also aquariums tucked into the walls next to the entrance, and two to three rows house lobsters and fishes. The restaurant gave an impression that it was trying to remain wholly Taiwanese, from its interior to its food, but failed to abstain from bringing in American elements.
I was served hot tea upon arrival and seating, and the menu was brought out promptly. The LTR-size menu is four sheets long, pictures included to aid and entice customers. It is divided into: Cold Appetizers, Taiwanese Appetizers, Taiwanese Specials, Seafood, Meat, Vegetable, Soup, Noodle Soup, and Lunch Specials. I ordered Crispy Shrimp Pancake with duck sauce; Spicy Squid with Hot Pepper; Shrimp, Ham and Vegetable Noodle Soup; and Taiwanese Burger.
Being more familiar with the cramped, dilapidated, and not-too-friendly-looking quasi-Asian restaurants on the bypass, Taiwanese 101 was a pleasant surprise. Its interior was not unwelcoming and the tranquility from simply being a block away from Main Street was blissful. The noodle soup had a pale coloration and failed to electrify my taste buds, but its mellowness and subtlety comforted my system, like chicken soup except for the saltiness and thickness. I really enjoyed the spicy squid due to my personal preference for spicy foods. It was composed of bite-sized squid with chili peppers, peanuts and scallions all mixed in red sauce. The burger, which I took home, had pork, cilantro and peanuts stuffed in white lotus bread. It was sweet and slightly juicy, with cilantro contributing its unique herb kick and peanuts providing the crunch. The lotus bread enveloped all the different textures and tastes into one, neutral, soft blanket. The pancake was the one I was slightly disappointed in. It was not even crispy, and only dipping it in duck sauce saved the bland flapjack from being chucked. I was convinced with the soup, the squid and the burger that this restaurant served decent Taiwanese foods, but the pancake made me doubt a little. Also, when I spotted non-Asian names such as Popcorn Chicken and the wall enhanced with neon cardboard pieces, my willingness to deem the restaurant quintessential disappeared.
Taiwanese food is one of the many cuisines that have immigrated overseas into America. Like any other Asian cultures, it eventually found its niche according to its demand. Flushing is occupied and used by a majority of Asian-descents, and a lot of them seek out Asian cuisines. Also, non-Asians who want to enjoy different dishes try out Asian foods. Being in America, which means being surrounded by people of various origins, and trying to make a living, it is almost impossible for an ethnic restaurant to remain completely unaltered by American features. As was observed in Taiwanese 101, there were dishes such as Popcorn Chicken, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and Beef with Broccoli that were not particularly Taiwanese but were put in to appeal to a broader range of customers, and the large store space hinted at the economical importance preceding the family experience of dining out in a cozy and homey environment. Dining in Taiwanese 101 further strengthened the idea that my group had, which is that ethnic restaurants in America conform to the desire of the surrounding population and eventually acculturate American qualities. I believe this review will help not only those who wish to dine in Taiwanese 101 but also those who want to reflect on how the assimilation impacts ethnic cuisines and their representative restaurants. I hope that my descriptions of the restaurant and its foods trigger individual memories and opinions about Taiwanese food and that they help to make an informed and validated statements about ethnic restaurants in NYC.
One of the readings for this week discusses markets and its impacts on society. Particularly, it points out gender roles and how women have come to be associated with merchants, a position that used to be stereotypically of men. Relating the other reading that discussed the food crisis for the lower class during WWI, the question of how women affect the market scene arises. Sure, one can simply state that riots and boycotts of lower class women have disrupted the food economy of the lower class during WWI and that women have become merchants because of their financial circumstances. But surely there is a much deeper, complex assertion for the presence of women as both consumers and sellers at markets. Women are also the prominent ones who cook the food that they buy, so ultimately it is women who have significant influence on the financial flow in the markets. How does that reflect on the female merchants and how marketplaces are run (e.g. items that are sold, displays and advertisements, etc.)?
Also, “food deserts” is tied as much to the economy as it is to the environment. How can NYC treat this serious condition through markets? Would it be possible to subsidize and encourage the buddings of farmers’ markets throughout the city so that people will have more access to and buy more from local markets? How would major corporations that deal with food distributions and selling respond?
While it was not a completely fresh idea, it was interesting to read a suggestion to have a pattern book for the organizing of markets, similar to how architects and designers have pattern books. Fusing the idea of pattern books and markets as artistic venue, how can live performances become incorporated into the “market pattern book” so that they benefit the performers, the merchants, the administrators, and the consumers?
The readings effectively iterates one of the concerning barriers between immigrants and their health care, which is the fact that immigrants are reluctant to approach health care facilities because of fear of unfamiliarity and legal issues such as their legal status. The unfamiliarity may stem from differences between physicians and their supposed patients in the ability to communicate and express themselves in English, accustomed method of health care, and the role of family members in a patient’s health care. Seeing as how these problematic factors in treating patients can be boiled down to an overly simplified category of unaccustomed practices, and America considers itself the home of immigrants, would it be possible to have open public information sessions about available health cares in as many languages as possible? If so, how can the sessions be conducted in a way that it is most time and cost efficient? If not, how can the government go about in trying their best for their immigrant citizens to be informed of their rights for health care?
Furthermore, two of the readings focus on the relationship between Latin Americans’ obesity and acculturation. For many Latin Americans, their dream to lead a better life through immigration to United States has ironically led them to gain adverse health conditions. The first reading points to “selective acculturation” as a main culprit for drastic change in the health of Latin American immigrants. While that might be true, the same could be said for vice versa, meaning that “selective acculturation” theoretically can lead to an even better lifestyle for Latin American immigrants through allowing them to take advantage of the availability of other kinds of healthy foods than the ones that are from their motherland. However, they have limited knowledge and access to such foods because they are often uneducated in making healthy choices and are often in low SES (socioeconomic status). While it is impossible for all citizens in America to be wealthy and be able to buy healthy foods (i.e. no processed or fast foods), even the lower class have the right to lead nutritious lifestyle. How can the American economy become lenient so that well-being of the people comes before private profit? Or is that impossible in the capital market?
How has the location of the African Americans affect gentrification of Harlem? It was stated in Chapter 2 of “Eat the City” that African Americans were always a step ahead in terms of relocating because they were at the outskirts of white neighborhoods. How would have the process of gentrification changed if African Americans were forced out of Manhattan and into Queens altogether? Would the same Harlem have developed?
