Obsessed: This Guy Has Eaten at Over 7,000 Chinese Restaurants
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- David R. Chan isn’t your typical Chinese food enthusiast. He can’t speak Chinese, he doesn’t use chopsticks, and he grew up barely eating anything Chinese. But the Los Angeles native has over his adult life, obsessively eaten at over 7,000 Chinese restaurants, mostly in America, and has them all methodically logged in an Excel spreadsheet. This is his story.
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Do you ask for a fork at Chinese restaurants?
No: I use chopsticks well enough to get compliments from the people who invented them, and even if I put them down, restaurants typically have silverware handy anyway.
Yes I'd like to eat my food fast...
Yes
🙏❤️😍😘😻🌼🕊💗💝❣️🌺🌹🌷
Yes there is no problem with that ! It’s not China but when I was in Korea I seen tons of locals use forks and chop sticks only for a couple dishes
- How's the food, sir?
- Good. I'm never coming back again.
So true, particularly for out of town restaurants.
Really want to see a waiters reaction if this was said out loud lol
Rofl. Good one
I won't even be back by mistake, I've taken measures to make sure.
@@Chandavkl oh usually restaurants in bigger towns are lousy one.
When Excel sheet is involved, you know he is the real one. Respect to this gentleman.
His voice sounds so young
right?? he sounds like a nerdy 20 year old
He looks like the Asian version of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Yes he sounds so young amazing
Lol we comment the same
He was a lawyer
Really no space to not sound clear
I loved that you actually allowed him to talk and you listened. Thank you.
Haha I was surprised he was third generation Asian American! His story is really cool and thanks for illustrating the history of Chinese food in America, super informative and great graphics as usual!
🙏❤️😍😘😻🌼🕊💗💝❣️🌺🌹🌷
@@primedesiree 2nd gen, right?
@@bodyloverz30 His parents were born in the states. Unless they were delivered through the mail, I would imagine that means that they were at least 2nd generation.
@@jonjo2598 right, but the poster above said 3rd gen, which I think is wrong.
@@bodyloverz30 The first generation are born in China, the second were his parents. He is the third.
Just wait until this man finds out about China
What
He'll hit 10,000 in a week
@@123fourfive5 for real I was going in and out of new restaurants for like 5-6 times a day every day when I was over there! Fun time Haha!
This is my boss’s father in law! He’s amazing! Such a knowledgeable guy
Small world! He's always a treat to interview.
@@Goldthread I want to know his life story!
I love that he has a spreadsheet!
He looks anorexic
Plot twist: This guy has eaten at so many chinese restaurants that he became chinese himself
Haha!
Born: David R. Smith
Lol, still can’t use chopsticks!
That is a huge goal. Not only that but David is a tax lawyer finding his inner Asian which is nice to do.
Fun personal goal especially after retirement
He needs to write a book... A memoir.
Call it The Yellow Pages
@@mtablan excellent
What a cool guy! Loved the waiter’s face when he asked for a fork.
Old Chinese dude asking for a fork. I would've done a double take too, lol.
He seems like a pleasant man to hang with
No he ain’t. Have you seen his evil job in the past lol
@@gold6813 Being a tax lawyer is hardly an evil job
@@lnhart7157 this person make it seem like the dude has been gassing innocent people day in and out like tf?
@@lovenutzhate4981 He got ptsd from Tax Lawyers in the past 😜
For some reason the fact that he can’t use chopsticks makes him even more adorable
I heard he cant even speak Chinese as well
I remember being a kid in the 90s and all Asian food was looked at with a eyebrow raised. My mom would make rice topped with spam wrapped in seaweed for my lunch . I think even other parents might of been concerned about this kid whos lunch was not normal they offered to put me on the assisted school lunch program . another funny thing about growing up Vietnamese my parents didn't spend a lot of money on anything .except every year we would have a new high tech expensive computer and once high speed internet starting becoming available my dad always has the fastest internet available . I told this story because ocean star restaurant is tied to a lot of memories with my dad.
ah, was it spam musubi you had? I’m much younger and (luckily) I grew up in this time where Asian food is considered normal; trendy, even. Whenever I brought my own lunch, my friends would be eager to sample some of my food. Times really have changed, it seems like
thanks for sharing find it really interesting as an aussie
So much of Chinese culture, heritage and actual daily life is defined by food, and so David's story is so intrinsic to life as an American born Chinese person. He enjoys food so clearly and also would be the ideal dining companion on a roadtrip stateside, would be great if he holidayed in the UK and sampled what is available over here which I suspect is far inferior to what he has been accustomed to lol.
Maybe it would be inferior... Although in London much of the food is 闽菜, min cai, Fujianese food, which I feel some affection for because I lived in Fuzhou for a while
This is seriously such an amazing video and interview!! what an amazing guy. please tag his blog and instagram in the description for people to click through to!! :)
Chandavkl on Instagram. Most of my articles are actually on a third party website. www.menuism.com/blog/author/davidchan/
"May I have a fork please?" - Chinese waiter looking at Chinese guy going "Wait? What? What? What?"
You deserve more subscribers, very informative and interesting.
This is my man, managing what he eats by using Excel sheet. Damn
That is a great Interview, I hope he would put this list out in a book with some small reviews. HOPEFULLY
Classic tax lawyer/accountant move. Documenting his life experiences via restaurants. Very cool and classy gentleman!
i think some newer chinese immigrants dont realize how far back the history of chinese immigration goes. they were the first asians to immigrate. i really related to david when he said he couldnt use chopsticks. having white parents as a korean adoptee, i used to ask for forks too and then i learned how to use chopsticks when i picked up korean cooking. but my korean adopted sister still asks for forks at restaurants and the waiters give her that same look. i tried teaching her but she says its just easier with a fork. i got familiarized with californian chinese food because the fung bros always talks about the 626 😂 even though im not chinese i find the history of asian america as a whole so fascinating since i grew up virtually isolated in the middle of nowhere corn fields of minnesota. its just so cool. i would love to have a conversation with this guy.
When I was growing up the majority of Chinese Americans were American born since the Chinese Exclusion laws stopped immigration to the US. I find comments by younger Asians who see the video that they're surprised to see somebody my age so Americanized. If they only knew that my parents were US born, too. I started out in the 70s and 80s writing on aspects of the Chinese American experience. When I resumed writing in 2012 on Chinese food topics, I incorporated my previous lines of writings on subjects like Chinese Exclusion Laws, the homogeneity of Toishanese America, anti-Chinese discrimination, and changes in immigration into my food writing. If you're interested many of these writings are on the Menuism website at www.menuism.com/blog/author/davidchan
i guess he has something wrong with his hand, thats why he cant use chop sticks
all the restaurants bosses will treat him like a king once they knew his job...
As a lawyer? Maybe. If he were to hold high political position or some well-known company executive, then yes.
What a dedication and impressive documentation of my favorite cuisine!
There is a guy who visited every Chinatown in the world. That was my dream. Him, David and I would have made a great team. I used to have a list of restaurants in Hong Kong so that during weekends on my business trips to Taiwan or China, I will hit them. It is great that you included a short but very accurate history of the evolution on the changes of Chinese in The Americas from the gold rush till recent years. I myself was born in Toisan where my great grandfather left for Boston. I’ve the opportunity to visited Chinatowns in most major cities, London has the worst Chinese food and the roasted duck and wonton noodles in Amsterdam are some of the best.
My interest in Chinese food was preceded by my interest in the Chinese experience in America, a topic I wrote about in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result when I resumed writing in 2012 and the topic turned to Chinese food, I did so weaving in the Chinese American story from the Exclusion Act to the first century dominance of Toishanese influence to anti-Chinese discrimination and to the changes in the wake of the repeal of Chinese exclusion. You can find these themes in many of my articles on Chinese food in America on the Menuism website at menuism.com/blog/author/davidchan
@@Chandavkl thanks David. By the way, one of the best CharSui I had was in a little town outside of St. Paul, NM. Turned out they were from ToiSan and stayed in San Francisco briefly but they didn’t like big city life. I also run into a great dim sum place in San Jose, Costa Rica, the name of the place is Wongs. www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g309293-d4275070-Reviews-Wong_s-San_Jose_San_Jose_Metro_Province_of_San_Jose.html
By the way, Sam Woo in San Gabriel was one of my favorite years ago.
How would you compare Boston Chinese cuisine to other Chinatowns? I’ve grown up visiting Boston’s Chinatown and it’s one of my favorite childhood memories. I actually went again yesterday for hot pot! 😋 But my personal favorites have been the Chinatowns in Toronto and Montreal. So I’m just curious how Boston compares to other cities for you😊
My home town of North Adams, Massachusetts at one time had the 2nd largest Chinese population than San Francesco all because of one Historical turning point. The Samson Shoe Strike in 1870 brought 75 Chinese men who were unskilled to Break the Strike. This one event was the 1st Strike in America and the 1st Strike Break to happen all of this help to lead to the 1882 Law
This man is living his AND my best life
Mikey Chen needs to collaborate with this guy on Chinese food
@@Basketballguy9530 I'm pretty sure he eats the way he does for his health. Most people probably enjoy things that are spicy or salty or sweet, as it gives you the dopamine rush. This guy probably does enjoy that type of food, but just probably limits it as these high sodium diets are detrimental to your health.
Awe bless his heart ♥️ celebrate with him Goldthread when he reaches 7,000
Before the immigration from Taiwan and Hong Kong to the United States, there were already waves of Guangzhounese people settling down in Chinatowns which caused the Taishanese language to be gradually replaced with Cantonese as the lingua franca of Chinese American communities. There is already a classist precedent here as Cantonese was seen as the prestige dialect of Yue and the Taishanese have been traditionally stereotyped as the backward cousins to the Cantonese. Since Hong Kongers also spoke Cantonese, they could interact with already established Chinatowns although there was a lot of friction as the immigrants from Hong Kong were significantly wealthier and would look down on the older Chinese communities.
The Taiwanese did the same thing but their lack of Cantonese speaking ability made them more isolated from other Chinese communities and they created their own Mandarin-speaking districts. As the Hong Kongers and Taiwanese came from upper middle-class backgrounds, they rarely engaged in any social activism or anti-racism campaigning with other communities of color instead striving to be seen as "model minorities" to appeal to whiteness.
There was quite a lot of solidarity between the Chinese and Filipino communities in the old days as both populations were the earliest Asian American immigrants but a lot of Taiwanese people held discriminatory views of Filipinos (they also related them to Taiwanese Aboriginals in some cases). Ironically, I see a lot of Cantonese nowadays complaining about the new wave of Mainlanders being rude, not properly integrating with other Chinese communities, and "replacing their language" despite the fact that they did the same thing to the Taishanese.
Thanks for the historical and social contexts of Asians in America
It's sad and ironic but nice to know, thank you.
That’s just a Cali and NYC thing. We Chicago Chinese don’t care which region you originate from. And we’re comfortable with switching between Cantonese and Mandarin.
that's interesting... here in NYC i notice a lot more cantonese people complaining about new fujianese immigrants rather than mandarin speaking northerners.
Agree with everything except that Chinese, especially HKers were/are discriminatory to Filipinos too!
7:56 This shot is of Korean totem poles in front of a Korean restaurant...
I call bs, you can even see the Chinese letters engraved on the totem.
@@TLiu-1b Koreans also use Chinese characters in the form of "hanja" (한자/漢字). In fact, you can see them in pictures in the article below on Korean totem poles: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jangseung
@@TLiu-1b Also, it's a little hard to see, but on the poster of the restaurant you can see Korean writing saying "고향순두부", meaning "Hometown Tofu Stew"
Interesting
And he can’t use chopsticks 😄 what an interesting fella
He's able to trace his past future and present through eating.
Next stop for him would be to eat at all the Chinese Restaurants in China.
HELL NO!
They use gutter oil to cook their foods!
He'll have to ask for a fork
@@TheGregatron3000 lol you should go out more often if you really think that
It's impossible even if he's a teenager now
@@Xenon1rth I guess you missed the exposé on how gutter oil is produced and used in China...
his voice is so pleasant and his speech is so eloquent lol
When David said the few malls in LA in a few block radius had 40 Chinese restaurants I was truly envious.
I like it how the lady at the restaurant pushes a cart and the patrons get to pick a delicacy from it. That's the kind of Chinese restaurant I like. Haven't been to one like that in a long time.
It is called Dim Sum
Kind of sad that in 2020 - 2021 he probably wasn’t able to go to many restaurants. Wonder if take out counts on his list?
Yes, take out counts! Otherwise I"d have only 20 new restaurants for 2020 instead of 70
Chandavkl are you visiting restaurants againL
@@amazingabby25 Yes. I never stopped though for quite a while leaving home just once a week. Amazingly some new restaurants continue to open.
This is nice, I grew up around this culture and it’s good to see someone covering this
This is so inspiring
Inspiring?? How?? Enlighten me. This is entertainment.
@@rocroc2954 lol yeah I was gonna say people are always trying to write THE corniest and cheesiest type of comments just so they can try and get as many likes from others as possible lol!
@@rocroc2954 I think it shows a certain level of dedication.
@@rocroc2954 its inspiring how dedicated this man is to his hobby. Is it that confusing to you?
Same, I don’t know why. Prob hormones, I’m crying at everything right now
It's nice when somebody can appreciate Chinese restaurants in the US, rather than taking the elitist and arrogant view that many people have about them.
I was working in Jeffersonvill Indiana and found Chinese restaurant. It was sad. I found Japanese restaurant which it was really Vietnamese restaurant. The owners pretended to be Japanese , I enjoyed my boch Choi. The owner mr Wong and me became great friends. Yes, I use chop sticks. California. The Mexican restaurant were also sad. California. I love my Latino Asian foods.
I went to a chinese restaurant when I was like 10 and for some reason there was sushi and cràb and oysters and now that I'm older I love all of the stuff
I know the pain, still searching for a good chinese restaurant
Great that he has just popped up on a BBC article.
He's sometimes active on here too. @Chandavkl you there? :D
I really wish more Americans can see this video and realize the foods they've been eating at panda express is not actually Chinese food, but food invented by Chinese Americans.
the average person knows this, I think you might be in the minority that think plp don't know this
Making see oy guy wonton noodle soup Tuesday 2/2. Char sui with fernented red bean curd for
Orange chicken is the best Chinese food ever.
Haha...you so different..panda is their chinese food
...the authentic chinese food is so foreign to them it's hard for them to adapt but they're missing out. 🤣
Awesome interview! So interesting!
David is highly likable! Would be cool to catch him at a Chinese restaurant
I've eaten at this place so many times. Great times always.
Wow he's eaten at over 7,000 Chinese restaurants and I've been to the one he's interviewed at
Its amazing he is so skinny and still alive after 7000+ Chinese restaurants !
Maybe he should use google docs. If he breaks his laptop, he could lose his entire list!
For me it's the location And food that makes the event that much more special As simple as Eatting Still warm baked bagels And hot coffee On top of Mount Royal Over looking Montreal mid summer. Beef noodle soup in a busseling Taipei street.... Taho (warm soy jello like cup) Sitting on the pier in Manila bay early in the morning watch the sun crest over the ocean
all those food vloggers and youtubers are nothing compared to him
There's probably 7000 Chinese restaurants in my state alone. Literally everywhere. Love it though.
I used to go to Sam Woos back when they opened. It was a BIG deal then.
this man 100% the real food adventures lol
RIP Ocean Star, used to go their with my parents
Died of covid,?
how long you didn't eat at home?
I never go low sugar, low cholesterol at Chinese restaurants in my area.
So cool! Love the food in the SGV!
Man I ain’t trying to use a spreadsheet for all of the restaurants I go to
where can I buy a copy of your Excel spreadsheet of Chinese restaurants please ?
So funny when he asked for the fork and the waiter gave it to Clarissa. ;-)
Note to self: visit SGV!
*I Love Gold Thread. So Calming Music Just Relax And Watch The Video New News.*
This is an amazing channel! Love your content!
@1:53 That guy in the blue chef's coat is the legendary Martin Yan
Dave, quite a accomplishment! I'm going to have to disagree with you on LA beating NYC for best Chinese food other than dim sum, San Gabriel and LA valley area may have the more diverse fancier mainland cuisine but Flushing in Queens NYC has the best overall Chinese food:)
Well, Flushing is my favorite Chinatown because it's urban and unlike LA and SF Chinatown it doesn't shut down after sunset. And having eaten at hundreds of restaurants in all of New York City's Chinatowns there's a lot of good stuff there. But when you look at the diversity of all the Mainland China based restaurants operating in the San Gabriel Valley, the insane Chinese food culture in the San Gabriel Valley propelled by a large concentration of professional and technical workers who demand and pay for the best food, the unique mass of second generation Chinese American foodies (dubbed as the 626 generation) not found in any other metropolitan area, about a thousand Chinese restaurants in the SGV in cutthroat competition where anybody who doesn't produce a top product is out of business, and until recently the busloads of mainland Chinese tourists who considered the Chinese restaurants of the San Gabriel Valley to be a major tourist attraction, there's no way any place in the US can surpass LA's San Gabriel Valley. As you may know, the Fung Bros. have lived in both LA and NY and they mentioned a couple of food categories where New York was better the LA, but in most categories they rated the SGV better.
@@Chandavklyour story is quite amazing, sir! Have you had Chinese food in Vancouver or Markham in Canada and if so, how would you rate it in comparison to SGV or Flushing?
A guy with Aspergers goes to eat and suddenly, it’s a interview.
He seems like a really sweet guy
Great video, thanks for making me hungry.
Very cool video!! Very inspiring! I want to eat and dine like him!
7:29 Tibetan food is now "Chinese"? Haha, shots fired.
Since the spreadsheet also serves as sort of a lifetime diary, I use a highly inclusive definition of Chinese food. In this case Tibet is within thhe geographic boundaries of China.
Ocean star. I miss you 😢
I don't even remember how many restaurant I have gone to 😂
Hi David I was wondering how many Chinese restaurants you tried in Millbrae , CA. ?
About 25 in Millbrae.
He is very Americanized, if I just listened to his voice, I wouldn’t think he is Chinese
Markham, GTA (Canada) grew independently of San Gabriel, LA, and experiences similar food trends, the transition from predominantly Cantonese, now mainland regional fare. He should fly by one day north of the border, might be surprised with what he will find.
Getting through the lockdowns with CZcams recipes and chef techniques in Chinese dishes thanks to well stocked international markets short drive away.
Great video!! Subscribed
Now if he could just tell me which Pho place is the best here in Houston, this video would be perfect! (I live in Vietown and there’s like a million Pho places here but they are so hit or miss)
Is there somewhere we can find the entire (preferably up-to-date) list of all the restaurants he’s visited? It would be neat if we could search our area for establishments he’s visited.
I can send you the latest list if you email me at chandavkl@chandavkl.com. But while it's in Excel format which permits multiple sorts, it still covers many decades and many restaurants no longer in business.
@@Chandavkl Wow, neat. Thank you!
When you played Rollercoaster Tycoon but like food.
Dang. I recognized that plaza in San Gabriel instantly.
i miss Ocean Star... probably one of the biggest in terms of sq footage. Huge!
At a capacity of about 900 patrons it probably was the biggest. Unfortunately the food went way downhill from the time they opened 30 years ago.
7:56 A Korean tofu restaurant, a shot likely used for its "Jangseung" which is definitely not a Chinese
Not sure where that scene was shot but all the other scenes in that segment were shot in and around Focus Plaza and the San Gabriel Hilton center across the street, where there are no Korean restaurants. There is a Korean place a block to the west but we didn't venture down that far.
@@Chandavkl The name of the place is Ko Hyang Tofu house 140 W Valley Blvd UNIT 210 San Gabriel, CA 91776, a Korean restaurant. I am not affiliated with the restaurant and I enjoyed your clip. The shot is likely to give wrong information to viewers with recent events when a few Chinese youtubers and the Chinese government official is tagging Kimchi as one of their own historically, a clear wrong shot at gaining cultural hegemony.
@@jdabull Thanks. That's not one of the places we went by while shooting my walking sequence, but it is in a shopping center where all the other restaurants are Chinese.
I live in a city of 600,000 people with many Chinese people. There are however few truly great Chinese restaurants. The only great one closed in 2017. The good ones are located over an hour drive away.
Dragon Beaux is actually so good
A food Auditor.
Hahaha. Food Auditor :)
Did you go to Uncle Chen’s Dynasty in downtown Portland , Oregon ?
Dragon Beaux dim sum .....Yes !!!!!
The Best !
No 9 Restaurant, Richmond BC Canada!
Anyone from BC here?
Note restaurants were listed in alphabetical order, with restaurants with non-alphabetical names coming first. Quite a few other BC restaurants are on the list. If you want to see the whole list, email me at chandavkl@chandavkl.com
Very interesting, but I was hoping for a focus on the actual food - and some more recommendations!
Well when you condense an all day video shoot into 10 minutes of video it's going to be superficial
When i travel from AZ to sf bay area i usually stop for lunch chinese restaurant in monterey park, baldwin park or rosemeade
Best restaurant for dim sum in Seattle was Lin Yen, unfortunately they closed 20 years ago, it was amazing dim sum
What a great guy.
When he started doing this he was a white dude named David R. Robinson
I lol’ed
He's a third generation Chinese American who did not grow up with Chinese culture and only began to experience it in college. He is the epitome of ABC. So, yeah, what you said is pretty correct.
haha opening place is in Rowland Heights!
You guys didn't need to add captions. I can understand him 100% and I am American