Once-in-a-Lifetime Late-Nite Post

It is nearly 1:30 AM, and I have just arrived home from a triumphant conversation that I must share with the world.

On the drive back from Jodi's house, Corey, Kia and I began a simple conversation about Thai food and how Corey likes it. Then I make my random comment as follows: "I think you can understand a person's development by which variety of Asian food they prefer." Much laughter ensued before we got serious and realized this statement is true.

Let's explore.

People in general enjoy different varieties of Asian foods. There's your Thai, your Vietnamese, your standard Chinese, your Japanese, and your more obscure Mongolian (I'm sorry, we have to exclude Indian because it's a separate subcontinent and a somewhat unrelated taste). It seems that one prefers one variety over another at different stages of life, as each variety thus illustrates that a person is at a specific point of development.*

Here is what we concluded**:
Vietnamese: childhood. It's a generally mild flavor, often sweet, and easily appealing to the undeveloped and immature palate. It goes down easily and presents very little challenge to the digestive system.

Chinese: adolescent. It's one step above Vietnamese as it gets slightly more bitter and textured. The flavor still lacks the fullness of much Asian cuisine, but it opens one's taste up to further development.

Thai: young adult/twenties. The adventurousness of the food coincides with the adventurousness of the individual. The food is not only more spicy, but the flavor is also more robust, vibrant, and varied. It is very similar to the difficult but ultimately fulfilling road to adulthood.

Sushi/Japanese: adult. This is more sophisticated and calm to coincide with the settled or settling mindset of the adult. The restaurants are often more subdued as well. The food befits a very advanced palate and digestive system and often requires a well-traveled eater.

Buffet: senior citizen. We are all familiar with the Chinese buffet, and though it is a necessary part of our diet at any age, it does not become the signature of one's Asian eating until the taste for more authentic food has long since disappeared. The lamp-heated, plastic-looking chicken probably reflects how our seniors feel.

We performed the same experiment with varieties of Mexican restaurant with similar results (children don't eat Mexican, adolescents begin with Taco Bell, young adults graduate to Chipotle/Qdoba, adults end up at Don Pablo's). I may not be a sociologist, but I'd say this discovery is groundbreaking. Bring on the Nobel Prize!


*This is not to say that if a person eats one of these kinds that they are at that level. It goes by general preference. For instance, I may eat Vietnamese, but I prefer Thai.
**The following does not apply to Asian people.