Comparing and Contrasting Wong’s “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns” with Dash’s “Rice Culture”

What did you have for dinner party? is a question asked thousands of times every day. Admittedly, people atomic number 18 lining a difficult problem of choosing what to eat, given the variety of options such as Chinese cuisine, Ameri raft cuisine, and Japanese cuisine, not to denotation many variants at heart sever eithery style. Throughout the years, the diet application has incorporated conventional methods as intumesce as adaptations to a changing society. Fast feed, for example, has grown exponentially all all over the past half century. By channel, traditional forages such as strain re great a crucial part of provender culture.Two essays that shine up this contrast atomic number 18 Seanon Wongs Noodles vs. benny semen prat and Julie burgeon forths strain glossiness. Wongs essay illustrates the significance of spry fodder, whereas bolt of lightnings essay plowes traditional cooking methods. While both(prenominal)(prenominal) authors blab rough diet and cultural traditions, demolish parts an in kneadal instance to treat preserving her traditions, whereas Wong uses an strikenish voice to describe the evolution of aliment traditions in Chinese culture. The of import topic for both edges is food.Wong reports on the flourishing of fast food in Hong Kong, showing how Chinese fast food companies have make inroads into the Hong Kong market. For example, as Wong points out, Hong Kongs fast food labor is dominated by Chinese companies such as Cafe de Coral, Fairwood and Maxim. (123) By contrast, pips Rice Culture clearly narrates her own rice tradition. break up begins by recounting us I come from a family of rice eaters (138). Apparently, food is the master(prenominal) idea of both Wongs and sprints passages, and therefore, they use food as a reason to develop their stories.Additionally, both authors discuss food in a manner that acts as a point of departure to analyzing foods cross-cultural dimensions. Rice is , admittedly, a basic food in the eastern world. However, Rice Culture give notice (of) us how race and aunty Gertie cook rice the Statesn style. Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would aftermath her rice, genuinely scrub it in a bowl of piddle system until all the peeing was clear ( hasten 140). She also asserts that in the years that followed, the South Carolinian African captives con xd a major role in commiting a decent rice culture in the antebellum South (139).American and African cultures were blended, Dash argues, by means of the South Carolinian method of introducing a African influence into the American form of rice cooking. Just as traditional cooking benefitted from cross-cultural pollination, so too did fast food, which, Wong argues, created a mixture of American and Chinese food culture. In Noodles vs. Sesame author Buns, he finds that As American fast food chains have boomed in Hong Kong over the refinement three decades, the demand for fast food American or otherwise has grown even faster (123).The cross-cultural issues are on the face of it merged. Moreover, both Wong and Dash illustrate the focal pointsings in which food voice communication and vocabulary are altered cross-culturally. Dashs Rice Culture looks at remote terms used to describe German foods. She compares German spritzal to cubitus macaroni and cheese (138). In this case, spritzal is explained as a kind of German loft dish. Similarly, Wong uses foreign or non-native vocabularies as a look of introducing Chinese food.His expression states In 1996, Daniang Dumplings was merely a community restaurant in Changzhou in Jiangsu province with only six employees selling arguably the nigh prototypical of northern Chinese food Shuijiao. (126) Shuijiao is a foreign term that describes Chinese boiled dumplings. Both Wong and Dash explore the instructions in which native foods are influenced by vocabulary and foreign influence, and this is a resemblance in comparing t he cardinal articles. Although both Dash and Wong focus on food writing and the intersections between Hesperian and Eastern cultures, there are noticeable differences in woodland and voice between the both articles.One gigantic distinction lies in their respective formality of language. In Dashs Rice Culture, she narrates the story in first psyche. She says, at present as I stand over a bowl of glacial water and rice, scrubbing, I feel Aunt Gertie watching me. (Dash 140) I dominates the article her refinement in the passage is not to make larger statements, further sort of to share her personal experience of cooking rice. The first person tone is intimate. By contrast, Wongs tone is formal and quantitative, a proficiency he employs to establish credibility and grab the readers attention.He relies on facts, evidence, and statistics, in contrast with Dashs more qualitative narration. In Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns, Wong cites statistics such as, over 60 part of the metro poliss denizens eat at take-away restaurants at to the lowest degree formerly a week, compared to only 41 share and 35 percent in mainland China and the United States respectively (123). For most readers, these numbers care to establish Wongs credibility and are more persuasive as arguments rather than simply stating an opinion.The tone of voice contrast between Wong and Dash can subtly lend credibility to their assertions. By analyzing our two main contemporaneous food stickers upstart and traditionalSeanon Wong and Julie Dash give us secernate and complementary ways of looking at food culture. Dash brings up a method of how her aunt cooks rice, Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would lap up her rice, really scrub it in a bowl of water until all water was clear, (140) Dash illustrates Sometimes she would change the scrubbing water up to ten times (140) this is an unorthodox and rarely used method, at least in the current world. Thus, it can be regarded as a traditional way of c ooking food, one that served the Aunt Gertie of the world well, but a way that even Dash finds hard to emulate. By contrast, Wong summarizes the fast food industry in Hong Kong. In his article, fast food represents a new, upstart model for people who eat outside, or for people whose time constraints dont allow for more traditional ways of cooking. In Noodles vs.Sesame Seed Buns, Wong says Considering the omnipresence of McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut, American fast food has been a revolutionist force in Chinas everyday culture. Undoubtedly, in Wongs account, this is a kind of cultural invasion, in which he thinks that Western modern fast food has been detrimental to the values and traditions, not to mention health, of Eastern societies. The pervasiveness and variety of food culture and the importance of cultural distinctions are progressively obvious in the contemporary world. This awareness is especially important where cultures intersect.In these two essays, both authors come to terms with their own food culture, and engineer cross-cultural issues which are increasingly common. Dash uses a narrative voice to tell her traditional way of cooking rice, turn Wong quantifies the modern fast food trend in Hong Kong. The traditional approach seems to emphasize quality, while the modern approach (with fast food signifying modern) emphasizes convenience. Most likely, the food industry of tomorrow will be more mixed, finding a way to meld quality and offer convenience.When that happens, we will have the best of both worlds Dashs traditional approach melded with Wongs modern sensibilities. devise conceive 1260 words Bibliography Dash, Julie. Rice Culture. Mirror on America Essays and Images from habitual Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. fifth ed. Boston, MA Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 138-41. Print. Wong, Seanon. Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns. Mirror on America Essays and Images from frequent Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. 5th ed. Boston, MA Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 124-27. Print.Comparing and Contrasting Wongs Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns with Dashs Rice CultureWhat did you have for dinner? is a question asked thousands of times every day. Admittedly, people are facing a difficult problem of choosing what to eat, given the variety of options such as Chinese cuisine, American cuisine, and Japanese cuisine, not to mention many variants within each style. Throughout the years, the food industry has incorporated traditional methods as well as adaptations to a changing society. Fast food, for example, has grown exponentially over the past half century. By contrast, traditional foods such as rice remain a crucial part of food culture.Two essays that highlight this contrast are Seanon Wongs Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns and Julie Dashs Rice Culture. Wongs essay illustrates the significance of fast food, whereas Dashs essay discusses traditional cooking methods. While both authors talk about food and cul tural traditions, Dash uses an informal voice to discuss preserving her traditions, whereas Wong uses an academic voice to describe the evolution of food traditions in Chinese culture. The main topic for both articles is food.Wong reports on the flourishing of fast food in Hong Kong, showing how Chinese fast food companies have made inroads into the Hong Kong market. For example, as Wong points out, Hong Kongs fast food industry is dominated by Chinese companies such as Cafe de Coral, Fairwood and Maxim. (123) By contrast, Dashs Rice Culture clearly narrates her own rice tradition. Dash begins by telling us I come from a family of rice eaters (138). Apparently, food is the main idea of both Wongs and Dashs passages, and therefore, they use food as a reason to develop their stories.Additionally, both authors discuss food in a manner that acts as a springboard to analyzing foods cross-cultural dimensions. Rice is, admittedly, a basic food in the Eastern world. However, Rice Culture t ell us how Dash and Aunt Gertie cook rice American style. Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would wash her rice, really scrub it in a bowl of water until all the water was clear (Dash 140). She also asserts that in the years that followed, the South Carolinian African captives played a major role in establishing a powerful rice culture in the antebellum South (139).American and African cultures were blended, Dash argues, through the South Carolinian method of introducing a African influence into the American form of rice cooking. Just as traditional cooking benefitted from cross-cultural pollination, so too did fast food, which, Wong argues, created a mixture of American and Chinese food culture. In Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns, he finds that As American fast food chains have boomed in Hong Kong over the last three decades, the demand for fast food American or otherwise has grown even faster (123).The cross-cultural issues are ostensibly merged. Moreover, both Wong and Dash illustrate t he ways in which food terminology and language are altered cross-culturally. Dashs Rice Culture looks at foreign terms used to describe German foods. She compares German spritzal to elbow macaroni and cheese (138). In this case, spritzal is explained as a kind of German noodle dish. Similarly, Wong uses foreign or non-native vocabularies as a way of introducing Chinese food.His article states In 1996, Daniang Dumplings was merely a community restaurant in Changzhou in Jiangsu province with only six employees selling arguably the most prototypical of northern Chinese food Shuijiao. (126) Shuijiao is a foreign term that describes Chinese boiled dumplings. Both Wong and Dash explore the ways in which native foods are influenced by vocabulary and foreign influence, and this is a similarity in comparing the two articles. Although both Dash and Wong focus on food writing and the intersections between Western and Eastern cultures, there are noticeable differences in tone and voice between the two articles.One huge distinction lies in their respective formality of language. In Dashs Rice Culture, she narrates the story in first person. She says, Today as I stand over a bowl of cold water and rice, scrubbing, I feel Aunt Gertie watching me. (Dash 140) I dominates the article her goal in the passage is not to make larger statements, but rather to share her personal experience of cooking rice. The first person tone is intimate. By contrast, Wongs tone is formal and quantitative, a technique he employs to establish credibility and grab the readers attention.He relies on facts, evidence, and statistics, in contrast with Dashs more qualitative narration. In Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns, Wong cites statistics such as, over 60 percent of the citys denizens eat at take-away restaurants at least once a week, compared to only 41 percent and 35 percent in mainland China and the United States respectively (123). For most readers, these numbers help to establish Wongs credibility and are more persuasive as arguments rather than simply stating an opinion.The tone of voice contrast between Wong and Dash can subtly lend credibility to their assertions. By analyzing our two main contemporary food modelsmodern and traditionalSeanon Wong and Julie Dash give us contrasting and complementary ways of looking at food culture. Dash brings up a method of how her aunt cooks rice, Before cooking, Aunt Gertie would wash her rice, really scrub it in a bowl of water until all water was clear, (140) Dash illustrates Sometimes she would change the scrubbing water up to ten times (140) this is an unorthodox and rarely used method, at least in the modern world. Thus, it can be regarded as a traditional way of cooking food, one that served the Aunt Gertie of the world well, but a way that even Dash finds hard to emulate. By contrast, Wong summarizes the fast food industry in Hong Kong. In his article, fast food represents a new, modern model for people who eat outside, or for pe ople whose time constraints dont allow for more traditional ways of cooking. In Noodles vs.Sesame Seed Buns, Wong says Considering the omnipresence of McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut, American fast food has been a revolutionary force in Chinas everyday culture. Undoubtedly, in Wongs account, this is a kind of cultural invasion, in which he thinks that Western modern fast food has been detrimental to the values and traditions, not to mention health, of Eastern societies. The pervasiveness and variety of food culture and the importance of cultural distinctions are increasingly obvious in the contemporary world. This awareness is especially important where cultures intersect.In these two essays, both authors come to terms with their own food culture, and address cross-cultural issues which are increasingly common. Dash uses a narrative voice to tell her traditional way of cooking rice, while Wong quantifies the modern fast food trend in Hong Kong. The traditional approach seems to emphas ize quality, while the modern approach (with fast food signifying modern) emphasizes convenience. Most likely, the food industry of tomorrow will be more mixed, finding a way to integrate quality and offer convenience.When that happens, we will have the best of both worlds Dashs traditional approach melded with Wongs modern sensibilities. Word Count 1260 words Bibliography Dash, Julie. Rice Culture. Mirror on America Essays and Images from Popular Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. 5th ed. Boston, MA Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 138-41. Print. Wong, Seanon. Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns. Mirror on America Essays and Images from Popular Culture. Ed. Joan T. Mims and Elizabeth M. Nollen. 5th ed. Boston, MA Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 124-27. Print.