[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by StreetSmarts

It is a good place overall, just really depends on where you live. I live in a small town in central FL and it's a nice place to live. If I lived in southeast FL, I'd probably think much differently.

Truth. Same here

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by StreetSmarts

It is a good place overall, just really depends on where you live. I live in a small town in central FL and it's a nice place to live. If I lived in southeast FL, I'd probably think much differently.

Yes, the same can be said for the reverse. Many would be on suicide watch if they had to live in a small central Florida town instead of South Florida.

[bmw335xi]

These are some authentic Sichuan dishes, see attached photos...

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Mattks

I've never been to Florida, but we are going there for vacation for the first time later this year. My family owns a Chinese restaurant (Shanghai cuisine) and the fact that there are few Asian restaurants (and few Asians) is a reason we are considering relocating to Florida in the future. I feel like it's a ripe spot for new authentic Asian cuisines and not this Pan Asian crap that is popping up all over the US. Florida has a huge transient population from other northern states with larger Asian populations, so even if the population remains relatively white and black, I do think the need for good authentic Asian cuisines is there. My uncle who is from here in Eastern Kansas and moved to Tampa always complains about the lack of good Chinese restaurants that serve things like hot pot, fish, real authentic dishes. He says it's very hard to find good Asian food. Yes, even here in Eastern Kansas one can find great Sushi, hot pot, dim sum, Korean BBQ, etc.

One of my ex's parents owned a Chinese restaurant in Orlando, but I never went there because this was back when I was in high school many years ago and he was pretty traditional about his daughter not being allowed to date in school lol. However, they lived in a nice area in Dr. Phillips, so they must have been somewhat successful. I think there is a market for authentic Asian food as long as the decor is nice. Where I moved from (San Francisco) people in general were more adventurous I'd say with dining out, many people loved finding hole in the wall restaurants they could surprise their friends with, while in Florida, people are more drawn to nice decor etc. I also think a challenge is getting people to try more authentic dishes besides the typical Westernized staples such as Orange Chicken, Honey Walnut Prawns, etc. It would be a challenge, but it could be doable. Here in Orlando, many of the Asian restaurants I find passable have a good amount of Asian customers, so whichever market you consider, I would still make sure there are Asians in the local area. The one thing I haven't found in Orlando is a good Chinese restaurant. I'd love to have steamed prawns with minced garlic on top or steamed whole fish with hot oil, soy, ginger, and scallions or cold ginger chicken etc. If you do open a place, send me a private message! haha

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Yeah... There's no denying FL is SEVERELY LIMITED in quality Asian dining. When craving it, I typically just try to make it myself. There are a few markets nearby that sell authentic Asian fare (Tan Tien in Orlando is my go to spot) but the restaurant quality in all of FL is limited.

Very true! I'm pretty satisfied with Korean BBQ, soon to be satisfied with Japanese BBQ (Gyu-Kaku), Pho, Thai, Sushi, Ramen... but still on the hunt for more options. I recently met a group of people from the Philippines working here temporarily and they were looking for rooms to rent, so I ended up offering 2 of the room in my house to them, so I've got to learn a lot of great Filipino recipes! I think learning to cook the dishes is the right way to go to fill in the missing voids like you said. I'll have to checkout Tan Tien! I've been going to 1st Oriental Market and Sun Pearl Bakery.

[fbernard]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

Florida is brilliant.
Wonderful vegetation,brilliant beaches,great bars and restaurants,lot of sunshine,a diverse population.
Ignore the nonsense spouted on here about heat and humidity.If you have a positive mind and the ability to organise your life properly then you will very quickly get acclimatized to it.
If you think negatively all the time and are prone to grumbling a lot about the sort of weather and climate that brings millions of people to this wonderful state then Florida is not for you.
There's a reason why Florida's population continues to grow rapidly.It's a great place to live.

Florida could be wonderful for many people, no doubt....but if someone is asking, it's very wise to point out the heat. You may be ok with it, but there are plenty of folks that simply do not get used to the heat. It has nothing to do with keeping a positive mind about it. It's not easy for many people to get used to not having deep seasonal change, and the heat for many does indeed become oppressive.


Yes, there are millions of people in this state....but there are also many more millions that do not live here nor care to live here, and heat is sometimes a factor in that.


With that said, how's life in Florida? Other than the heat, which I haven't gotten used to even after 7+ years....life is pretty darn good, and I don't even live in one of the better cities. It's actually a beautiful state, everything is well maintained, more beautiful sunny days than most states, great places to eat, entertainment, and on and on.


Put it this way, I hated the place when I first moved here, but it has seriously grown on me. You're pretty much living where people want to go for vacation.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

Yes, the same can be said for the reverse. Many would be on suicide watch if they had to live in a small central Florida town instead of South Florida.

Ok.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

This proves my point lol.

Chef Recommendation: General Tsao Chicken, Orange Chicken, Walnut Shrimp lol only Westerners eat these and they chef recommendations? lol

Shabu Shabu is Japanese, not Chinese. And putting dim sum with shabu shabu is as sinilar as Mexican Fajitas and Cheese Burgers lol.

This is Sichuan food, lots of hot chilli oil with these peppercorns that make your tongue feel numb, they would never sell Orange Chicken lol. Or like chilled beef tendon thinly sliced with cold hot oil and some spices.

I'll post some pictures when I get home... The mobile version is pissing me off lol

The thing is we dont have a large Asian population that would bring excellent Asian restaurants and I wonder what the demand for it would be.

NYC has Chinatown in Manhattan and a wide range of Asian cuisine in Flushing, Queens and there are many excellent Japanese restaurants in NYC. San Francisco has a Chinatown area also.

If you like Vietnamese, Orlando is a good choice.


I love my Kung Pao chicken with peppercorns.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

The thing is we dont have a large Asian population that would bring excellent Asian restaurants and I wonder what the demand for it would be.

NYC has Chinatown in Manhattan and a wide range of Asian cuisine in Flushing, Queens and there are many excellent Japanese restaurants in NYC. San Francisco has a Chinatown area also.

If you like Vietnamese, Orlando is a good choice.


I love my Kung Pao chicken with peppercorns.

Yeah, that's basically what I'm getting at is it's no surprise that the selection and availability of quality authentic Asian restaurants is limited in Florida given the demographics. There is a decent Vietnamese population though, which explains why there is a decent selection of Pho restaurants. However, I don't see many Vietnamese BBQ / rice places, which I think Westerners would like.

Chinatowns are also usually tourist traps, for example 99% of the good places are outside of Chinatown in San Francisco and 99% of the restaurants in Chinatown are tourist traps that change their name practically every year with the exception of a few places lol.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Not that many and the places that serve authentic items seem old because most White people would never order them. I love Florida, but it lacks quality Asian restaurants, sure I still have my favorites here, but compared to what I eat in San Francisco or especially when I travel abroad... can't compare for most things.

Name some authentic Sichuan restaurants?

Name some authentic Taiwanese dessert cafes?

Name some authentic Hot Pot restaurants?

Name some authentic Shabu Shabu restaurants?

Name some authentic Dim Sum restaurants?

There are some other types as well I haven't found, but these are some of the big ones I used to eat a lot.

(Key word is authentic, not just served by Chinese or Japanese. We have been trying the couple of dim sum places here and we ask for the same items that they don't have and the server is always shocked like "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT DISH!? And then proceeds by saying you can't find it in Florida.")

Believe me I've tried a lot (well I haven't found any true Sichuan restaurants yet) and none of them either had common dishes that every restaurant in that country would have or the style of it is different from how you would eat it in that country).

I have found good Pho, Korean BBQ, Thai, Yakiniku restaurants and a couple decent ramen restaurants, but the quantity of them is still very limited considering the population. It's not surprising though because there isn't a big Asian population, so I knew what I was getting into and am okay with it because there are enough places I like to get me by between my trips to Asia or say San Francisco, Los Angeles or NYC.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ripping on Florida, I love it here and would choose to live here over San Francisco in a heart beat, but this is a negative and once again, it's not surprising because you need the population to really be able to support authentic Sichuan restaurants etc.

Sure.

Dim Sum - China Pavilion in Pembroke Pines
Korean BBQ - Gabose in Lauderhill
Hot Pot - Lemongrass Hot Pot in Boca
Edit: Almost forgot Hiro's Yakko San in Miami Beach - outstanding Japanese food.

We have one of the best Sushi restaurants in the world in Miami (NAOE), and tons and tons of great Sushi and Japanese as well. We do have Hakkasan here, too

We are knee deep in Vietnamese food, tons of authentic places. Same with Thai.

In the area where my office is, we have nothing but ethnic restaurants. Quite a few amazing Indian places, Middle Eastern, Israeli, etc. Top notch.

I've eaten at multiple restaurants in China Town NYC, and the food was mediocre and about the same as anything here. Best Chinese was in San Francisco, to be sure. But I also don't go out for Chinese or search for authentic, so I don't know them all. But they are around.

We have a lot of super authentic Mexican and obviously Cuban as well. Some cool Haitian restaurants. Plus our Italian food here is off the chain. Some of the best authentic Italian restaurants I know of... I could list those off if you wanted

Do we have the best sichuan restaurant? No idea. But you said we don't have great authentic food here and we have loads of it.