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Copy/paste the text below into your blog. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1002540.The_Fortune_Cookie_Chronicles_Adventures_in_the_World_of_Chinese_Food?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1180133477m/1002540.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1002540.The_Fortune_Cookie_Chronicles_Adventures_in_the_World_of_Chinese_Food?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/503667.Jennifer_8_Lee">Jennifer 8 Lee</a><br/><br/> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16657854?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a> rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>Everyone knows I like Chinese food. This delightful book explores the history of American-Chinese food, from chop suey to fortune cookies to General Tso's chicken. <br/> <br/>What might appear to be a rather dry topic, turns out to be hysterical. For example, not long ago, over 100 people won Powerball all over the country. How could this statistically impossible thing happen? Fraud? Nope--people were betting using the numbers suggested on fortune cookies! (Something I will begin to do, I might add :-)Chop suey was so popular at the turn of the 20th century in New York, purveyors were on the NY Stock Exchange. The dish became the most popular food in America, despite it not being Chinese at all. Lawsuits occurred because Chinese in San Franciso and New York claiming rights to the recipe. <br/> <br/>And as for General Tso's chicken, General Tso may have liked it, but the dish completely is an American concoction. The author traveled to Tso's hometown in China to figure it out. <br/> <br/>And, P.F. Chang's famous upscale Chinese Restaurant chain? It's owned by an American so clueless about Chinese culture, that the decor symbolically represents "death". No culturally knowledgeable Chinese person would walk into the place for fear of what would happen to him. I can tell you what would happen- he'd get sick over how bad the food is for the price he pays. <br/> <br/>There are chapters on the best Chinese Restaurant in the world, the Jewish Chinese connection, why Chinese food is more American than American pie and so on. I read sections of it to Bette as I work through it, savoring each culinary chapter. <br/> <br/>I've contacted the author and we might do a dual program at the 93nd Street Y this year. <br/> <br/>I'd loan it, but Li Jin wants to read it next after Bette. It will take some time to get out of the Siegel circle. <br/> <br/>What fun! <br/> <br/> <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/719576?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>