There's a lot about the Singapore hawker food concept to complain about (the way hawker stall real estate is managed, etc)
But
Having a cheaper than a cafe or restaurant option to spin up a food biz quickly also means we get so many cool ideas that don't have to be all out restaurants.
Dim sum chefs from high end hotels leaving those places after Covid to do one-item concept stalls has been a thing, and this is the latest one: https://sethlui.com/chef-leungs-soup-dumplings-new-concept-chinatown-singapore-jan-2025/
I love it
this is also a hill i will die on: in lots of types of chinese food your average hole in the wall, mom and pop spot is probably the best option.
but
when it comes to dimsum
fancy hotel dimsum is genuinely the pinnacle of the craft. not available in every city, mostly only in places where there are lots of southern chinese people
that's because to make dimsum at that level is equivalent to running five different kitchens on the backend (steam, sautee, roast, soup, dessert)
@skinnylatte I've learned to go to the places that have the least westernized menus.
I know if I see lots of characters I don't understand and then a really short nondescript translation into English, I'm about to have a good time.
"Crispy fish" and "spicy anything" always winners
@sarajw westernized HK food is a whole genre of Chinese food that i also like, but yes the pan-Asian fusion-y Chinese foods are not my faves.
@skinnylatte @sarajw my younger sister mistrusts Chinese restaurants where the English in the menus is *too* good for the same reason - there's one she regularly uses which has some bizzare translations, but its apparently one of the best in Reading (SE England)
@skinnylatte @sarajw I like fusion cuisine in general but my husband, who is HK Chinese, absolutely blows a fuse at "inauthentic" cuisine so I don't have that. Although he is accepting of Panda Express, go figure.
@CurtAdams @sarajw i think fusion has to be done really well. sometimes the direction of the fusion matters.
for me panda express is so far out of 'authentic' that it is good on its own.
there's a weird in-between that is 'meh i hate this' to 'pretty good'. often the nice restaurants run by people who aren't familiar with a cuisine tend to mess up the fusion, but at the same time, anyone who is deeply immersed in the cuisines no matter their own cultural background can do it pretty well.
my fave fusion chinese place is a cantonese venezuelan restaurant where the cantonese menu is better than chinatown, and their fusion stuff is even better. empanadas! with black beans! and beef! and cheese!