Buzzfeed Video Review

I watched the videos titled “Chinese People Try Panda Express for the First Time" and "Australians try Australian-American Food."

Panda Express is a fast-food chain that is known to serve Chinese or oriental dishes. It is often looked down upon my tourists or Chinese-Americans since many claim it is not authentic Chinese food. 

In the video, many of the tasters express some of the same concerns. The food is usually subpar, such as the eggrolls and the chow mien, which one taster quotes to “smell like feet.” To my surprise however, a couple of the people said that the food actually wasn’t bad. It was interesting to see each viewpoint expressed because each person, although from the same ethnic origins, presented a different opinion. 

Some brought up an interesting point: to Chinese people who grew up and lived in China and had the opportunity to eat food overseas, the dishes at Panda Express may be mediocre. But for “Americanized-Chinese” food, it’s decent. Others taste the dishes as if they were authentic Chinese dishes and usually end up giving a less-than-mediocre review. Standards are different among the crowd and that led to a greater variety and depth to the answers. 

The video brings up another neat aspect of food in different countries: when one of the tasters picked up the Orange chicken, she said it wasn’t even Chinese food. I am reminded of how there are many “typical Chinese dishes and toppings” that aren’t even remotely close to the actual thing, for example fortune cookies and Siracha. Every time I see a fortune cookie, I am reminded of how quickly we come to some conclusions about the history and origins of food without ever taking the time to research and find out the answer for real. Although the video is mostly for comedic appeal, it raises some very important points about the different cultures interwoven in the bites we take at restaurants. 

Australians trying Outback Steakhouse also had disagreements about how the food came off. However, the overall message was clear: although Outback serves passable food, it is not authentic Australian food. In fact, Outback is even further from the authentic nature of its namesake than Panda Express is; Outback is basically an American steakhouse, whereas Panda Express at least retains some of its ethnic background in its dishes. 

Overall, both stores confirm the idea that while food chains that seem to portray a sense of serving regional dishes exist, not many of them remain 100% authentic. Perhaps this is an effort to garner more customers by sacrificing authenticity for taste and cutting costs. 


- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwfyg27wHI&feature=youtu.be
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo59LlkTDe4