chefs club.

"the immigrants that come over and cook their ethnic foods are not the top cooks from the homeland.  the immigrant chefs create a sub par quality that becomes the only option available perpetuating generations of sub par food...sub par generations of lowered expectation and ignorance of what it should really taste like...."  - and that's how chinese food in america is...and i, as an asian american, didn't know any better and thought...wing wong was amazing.  unfortunately....after my stint in asia...my chinatown nostalgic go to joints...never satiate anymore...

australians seem to have a much better grasp on asian flavors than the east coast american palate.  due to proximity and better access to indiginous ingredients, australians have an innate understanding of south east asian freshness of flavors.  and can't understand the greasy thai currys and crappy papaya salads that get served from japanese/thai/chinese takeout establishments in ny.  

so when chefs clubs invites australian-born bao la to cook his "vibrant take on vietnamese cuisine, infusing many of his dishes with the smokey flavors  imparted from a wood-fired grill..."  its very good.  but its just what south east asian food should taste like.  this should be the baseline.  and everything else should be banned from this earth.