KEN SWARNER: CHATTING UP CHINA >>>

When I traveled to China in February, I expected a visual trip â€" seeing the ancient sites and modern changes of a country few in the West explore. Food never entered my mind or my plans other than hoping to try Peking duck and seeing what the hype over teahouses might be. Then, I took my first bite of China â€" and my view changed completely, forever. China takes food seriously.

In China, people don’t eat alone â€" that just doesn’t happen. Plates arrive to the middle of the table. Diners have their own bowl of rice but collectively stab at the food with chopsticks in a double-dipping manner that would send some prissy Americans screaming for the door.

Freshness forms a foundation for the Chinese. Fish, bullfrogs, turtles, shellfish live their final days in tanks smack dab in the middle of the restaurants. Patrons pick their catch then sip tea or beer until their choices appear at the table fried, steamed, sauced or whatever.

I spent 10 days in Qingdao and Beijing, or in other words, culinary heaven. The shrimp tasted divine â€" perfectly plump, firm and sweet stuffed inside delicate dumplings. I enjoyed several steamed fish in light soy sauce, served with head and tail because it’s part of the freshness factor Chinese demand. I even scored with a reservation at the Li Family Restaurant in a Beijing hutong where heads of state eat when in the Red Country. The multi-course meal may not equal the multiple of dishes Chinese emperor’s enjoyed inside the Forbidden City nightly, but the experience was decadent nonetheless.

On the streets, I tempted the dysentery fates ordering succulent pork stewed in hot chili oil then stuffed into a sweet steamed bun for practically pennies. The “oh my God that’s good” factor worked overtime. I didn’t go all Andrew Zimmern and try fried scorpions on a stick, but I felt smug for at least giving street food a try.

Food remains cheap in China â€" ridiculously inexpensive. Not that I was complaining. A four dish meal with lots of beer can run $8 total.

I based my story of local Chinese cuisine in today’s Weekly Volcano on the lack of authentic Chinese food in the South Sound. I suppose it doesn’t matter whether General Tso’s chicken or Mongolian beef are Chinese imports or not if people enjoy how they taste. But what is that taste, if not imitation and stale?  I find American Chinese food processed, empty and indistinguishable from one taste to the next. I have always felt that way â€" I just didn’t know there existed better options. Seriously, how is it that in America we take foods from places like China and Mexico and create heaping plates of lard? They don’t taste that way where they came from. With that said, all is not lost. There are places in the South Sound that cater to those wanting authentic bites from around the world … it’s just difficult when it comes to finding good Chinese food.

Lotus Perry told me that, “We need more restaurants like Tacoma Szechwan to ‘revive’ the local Chinese culinary scene.”

Maybe Perry’s reconciliation project can accomplish that. Maybe as China dapples in freedom and commerce we can have more Chinese chefs come to our shores. I hope so, because frankly, I’m hungry.

LINK: Chinese cuisine in the South Sound.