Chinese food in Italy, you are kidding me!
Americans are open to different cultures’ music, customs, and mainly, food.
Mexican, Italian and Chinese restaurants have become mainstream favorites — one of their biggest customers being college students.
Some colleges even have similar-type restaurants as eating alternatives in their food courts.
Many afternoons and nights are filled with delivery orders to college students — from pizza and wings to Chinese food.
How long can students resist the coupons that come directly to the campus mailbox, the student discounts, and the lunch and dinner specials?
“When a food item is on special for less than $10 and your roommate or friend wants to split the difference, it is almost impossible to not take advantage of the deal,” said Simone Alcorn, a senior music education major from Maryland.
“I feel that we are lucky to be in a place where we have availability to different cuisine and get to sometimes experience [their] traditions,” Alcorn said.
In the college town of Urbino, Italy, many students rarely try different cuisine other than Italian.
For example, beyond the walls of the city of Urbino lies the Chinese Ristaurante — the only Chinese restaurant in town. The Likang family left Southeast China with a mission to find a more marketable location and open a restaurant in 1996.
“[We] traveled around half of Italy, and saw none in Urbino and chose here,” Liu Likang said.
They arrived in Urbino, Italy in 1997 and opened the restaurant in 2001.
According to Likang, there are other Chinese restaurants in Italy, but theirs is the only one in Urbino and the surrounding locations.
For the Likang family, it has not always been easy to reach their Italian neighbors.
Likang said their main customers are tourists.
“Not many people that I know go to the restaurant,” said Alice Bertaccini, a student at the University of Urbino.
The Likang family also acknowledged the Italian tradition.
“Some accept, some have not adapted,” Likang said.
“Many [Italians] just prefer their own foods,” Bertaccini said.
What Americans consider as the traditional Chinese experience is different in Italy.
In Chinese Ristaurante, one would not find the condiments Americans enjoy such as duck sauce and white sauce.
Chinese American food plates like sweet and sour chicken with rice is served on separate plates.
At the Chinese Ristaurante, delivery is not an option, but customers are able to carry-out their order.
On average, Chinese Ristaurante has 30 to 40 customers daily, depending on tourists.
The restaurant is open everyday.
Likang said he has no knowledge of the Chinese American culture and no relatives in America.
Likang said there is no Italian influence to the traditional Chinese [food].
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