Italy is full of chinese "japanese restaurants" run by chinese people!

[noyhauser]

Actually I second Italiandude's point and its kinda unfortunate people jumped on him in the way they did because it is a valid observation, particularly in North America.

The reality that I've seen in many of the more ethnic cities in north america is that the highest quality of Japanese food generally come from Japanese owned and operated businesses. As a broad generalization, Korean and Chinese see the restaurant as a business and often don't have staff with proper training or want to just have something that looks japanese. They just offer fish on rice, and other dishes, many of which may not be japanese or not properly prepared. A proper Japanese cook should prepare it according to a certain process and attempt to give their product an artistic flair. Obviously it costs more but there is a very clear difference. I can see it in other Japanese restaurants as well like Ramen or Udon joints.

I know this sounds like a big generalization, but I've found that its fairly accurate overall. There are some poor Japanese owned restaurants and good Korean ones. Still the overall trend holds true.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

"By the way, How can you define which is which? I mean .... this Japanese restaurant is run by Chinese, that is Korean, etc. Are there any sign in front of restaurant ? (though I don't think so.)"

My wife can recognize a Japanese-run business instantly. I can usually tell by identifying which language they're speaking and watching their body language and mannerisms.

It matters because every now and then I run into someone who says they tried Japanese food, and didn't like it. When they tell me where they ate, I usually have to say, "You didn't eat real Japanese food."

There are good "Japanese" restaurants run by other nationalities, but almost invariably you'll find that their chefs trained under real Japanese chefs.

 

[mocchi777]

I,m in food business in nyc.
yes,US has decent chinese sushi chefs who have been trained by real japanese chefs in some places.
BUT the chinese people in most part of europe(I don,t even call them chefs)most of them just try too hard to make quick cash by faking their identitis.
I think that is the point italiandude is pointing out.
I have many chinese friends and nothing against the chinese.
BUT Eatin raw fish handled by untrained people is dangerous and possible fatal.
for ex. some so called sushi chefs put no vinegar in sushi rice. vinegar is one thing that kills most possible germs and this is something sushi chef should know in day1. btw sushi means vinegared rice in japanese anyway.
Why you respect those make believe sushi chefs when they have no respect to you and your family,s health.
I,m an immigrant myself and antiracism but that doesn,t mean minority groups can get away with any sneaky doing.
real japanese chefs want you to know the cham of the cuisin.
most of the chinese sushi chef want you to stay ignorant about japanese food. so what do you expect from the attitude?

 

[Qitian]

I don't see any problems here.

Italian employees make Big Mac in Italy's McDonald, will you call the Big mac "Italian food" or "American food"?

 

[ArtistInItaly]

YES !
I agree with you completely. To all the uninformed comments made here, there is a great difference between non-Japanese chefs making their food and others, like the Chinese imitating it. Food is not just ingredients. Most great Japanese sushi chefs train diligently for decades...decades, before they are permitted to be an on-line sushi host. There is also a culture of respect and a way of greeting the guest...none of that can be seen or experienced in this theft of Japanese food by Chinese restuarants in Italy. It is a shameless and insulting scam. I find it infuriating, I wonder seriously how Japanese people feel about their food being disgraced like this. I have tried a number of these Italian sushi places. The terrible rice is the first sign of bad food...it is so densely packed, it shows none of the lightness and craftsmanship of Japanese rice, who honor and respect every single grain. The proportions of fish to rice are all wrong in these places. They only have pretty much tuna and salmon, another hopeless signal. Anyone who thinks it is just OK to have anyone make a highly specialized cuisine, because it is the same ingredients, that it "does not matter" is probably to stupid to eat out in public. The fake Italian sushi places are everywhere now, and it is misrepresentation. It is theft by imitation. It is not racist to say this, it is just a fact. Anyone who has ever eaten a truly great Japanese meal, visited an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant, knows immediately that everything is wrong...the rice, the selection, the proportions, the presentation, the taste, the diversity of ingredients, everything. Chinese workers just do what they are told, like all workers. The blame is with the suspiciously well-organized marketers and owners. It seems like a gangster operation to me, there is so much conformity in the menus and the form. A lot of theworkers like this kind of fake Japanese food, prepared without art or skill, because it gets them out of the hot Chnese kitchens. Even the actual Chinese food in Italy is a joke. The Asian community must see the Italians as just stupid, because the fake Japanese food and reallly, the terrible (what region is this food even from) Chinese food disgraces an ancient culture that knows better. The Chinese make some really fine food, but not in Italy. Stealing Japanese menus by the Chinese is sad and pathetic and those of you who don't know the difference will comment anyway, because that is what you do. But I agree completely, it is very sad. If Italians were bettter informed, they would push back. But they don't. I always tell the restaurant selling fake Japanese food in Italy that it is fake, that they shoukd be ashamed. I keep eating in them because I am hungry and get tired of eating Italian, but only once have I been to a fake Japanese place in Italy where I thought the food was worth eating. Just once. I think it is a disgrace.

 

[Mike Cash]

"Decades" seems a bit of an exaggeration.

 

[Mike Cash]

I have now used real Japanese Google to check real Japanese comments written by real Japanese people in real Japanese regarding how long it would take someone (presumably a real Japanese person) to become a real Japanese sushi chef at a real Japanese restaurant in real Japan.

I find nothing that suggest it takes "decades and decades" before anyone is allowed to make sushi at the counter. Nor do I find any comment suggesting that the reason it does take a few years (five or six) to get to that point has anything to do with the actual making of the sushi itself.