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The only thing I'd add to this is that the Chinese themselves are not percieved as hip, at least not in the "aspirational lifestyle" variety. Americans want to pretend, at least for an evening, that they are bistro-going Parisians or Romans at their local trattoria, as these cultures have romantic associations. As China becomes more promenant culturally and economically I think this might change; Americans will see the Chinese lifestyle as aspirational and will become more interested in authentic Chinese cuisine.

I agree with chevans, above, about restaurant decor as a factor in Chinese cuisine's lack of hipness. Many of the good, authentic restaurants in NYC's Chinatown have all the charm of a high school cafeteria. I like eating at these restaurants, but if I want nice ambiance I'll look elsewhere.

chaevans: Americans may have the most diverse set of restaurants to choose from, but how much of what is offered is actually un-Americanized fare from the original cuisine? You may have restaurants representing 500 different cuisines from around the world in one place. But if they all use ketchup and cheese to make their offerings approachable to the American palate, then how much diversity is there truly? As an example, how many Chinese restaurants have you gone to in America that serve whole, steamed fish? The Chinese revere fresh fish, simply steamed as one of the greatest expressions of culinary finesse. But the average American diner would run out the door if he had to deal with a fish head gaping at him. Ditto a suckling pig head.

Ha ha! I was going to ask about how long miso keeps, too! Good to know!

Miso soup is my favorite food when sick. I used to order take-out, but then I got crafty last year and realized I could BUY miso ahead of actually getting sick and have it in my fridge. A little goes a long way, though, so I still have a bunch left for this cold-season!

Having always been a pretty coordinated individual the, one of the few things that I have tried, but have never been able to master are chop sticks. I have, however, mastered fork, knives, spoons and fingers.

Flying back from that first trip to China, I sat next to a hapless engineer from Texas. For the first couple of weeks, he had been in Shanghai -- and he couldn't stop bitching about the lousy room-service cheeseburgers. But for a month he had been out in the provinces, where there just aren't any forks to be had. Completely unable to manage chopsticks, he had starved for a couple of days and then -- he was, after all, an engineer -- he came up with a solution: He WHITTLED chopsticks into little wooden spears, and jabbed at his food that way. I think somebody probably wound up taking pity on him and giving him a spoon.

mfhughes: Really? That's news to me...

I not only eat Asian foods with chopsticks but also stir fry with them too.

It's sad that ANYONE eats at McD's, not just the French, you patronizing ninny.