Archives for the 'globalization' tag
Why I Love Globalization: Reason #752
For what seems like centuries, Jews have found solace in Chinese restaurants, which were once the only eateries in small towns across America that were open on major Christian holidays. Chinese restaurants gave hundreds of thousands of American Jews like my mom the wished-for excuse to scarf down non-kosher, Americanized platefuls of pu-pu platter and other exotic-sounding dishes.
Now, with the Olympics approaching, and the eyes of the world focused on Beijing, Jews visiting the city will have literally millions of Chinese culinary options. Included amongst those options will be exactly one kosher restaurant: Dini’s Kosher Restaurant. YNet News reports:
This diner is not just the only place in China that offers its guests matzo ball soup, kugel, and Moroccan cigars eaten with chopsticks, it’s also the only place where a mitzvah-keeping tourist can sample local delicacies such as dim-sum and Sichuan chicken made with all-kosher ingredients, while listening to the head rabbi’s daughter answer questions about the Torah’s Portion of the Week every Friday evening.
[...]
“The days in which Jews had to wander through China with suitcases full of preserved food are over,” said Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, Chabad’s envoy to Beijing.
According to the restaurant’s manager, Ohad Tiktinski, locals have also begun to frequent Dini’s, due to their belief that kosher food is healthier and cleaner. However even the Chinese people, who are rumored to consume everything that has four legs other than the kitchen table, have their limits. They refuse to touch the gefilte fish.
Who could blame them? Dini’s extensive tri-lingual menu (English, Mandarin, and Hebrew) here (PDF).
Why I Love Globalization: Reason #481
SourcingMap, where I most certainly did buy my girlfriend the form-over-function cheeseburger phone from Juno late last year, is now offering a cool, PlayMobil-like catering truck.
But it’s another food product they sell that caught my eye–the super hand crank food mincer. (It looks a bit cooler than the handle manual food fruit grater peeler w/ transparent container) The mincer slices, it dices well, minces, and is “[r]ecommended food such as meat (beef, chicken, ham), fish, vegetables (peanuts, walnut), beans, [and] dried scallop.”
Dried scallop? Yes. Apparently goes well with minced pork and mushrooms or tofu and mushrooms.
Why I Love Globalization, Reason #477
I can sit in front of my computer in Washington, DC and read this in the Taipei Times:
“I want to give customers in Taiwan the real taste, the taste [of the Mexican food] I grew up with,” says the Canadian-born [restaurateur Eddy] Gonzalez, whose parents are Mexican immigrants.
The review also includes mention of 7-Eleven and Starbucks.
Schultz Caresses, Ponders Coffee Bag, Company’s Future
While the consensus is that Starbucks will take a while right its listing ship here in the U.S., business is booming in some surprising international locations. Take Mexico:
Reuters reported last month that, since entering Mexico in 2002, the company’s expansion rate has increased sevenfold. In fact, Starbucks plans to open 80 new stores in Mexico this year.
For Mexico’s trendy and monied set, Starbucks has become a status symbol of indulging in American tastes.
The company is also planning aggressive expansion in China (with possibly “thousands” of stores), Great Britain, Japan and Canada.
Meanwhile, Starbucks is mining customers’ minds for improvements with its My Starbucks Idea site — linked from the corporate homepage. Easily my favorite so far — and it’s baffled me for years why no company uses this — is the order/pay swipe card.
