Restaurant Nutrition, Chinese style (2/2)

2. Chinese and many other Asian peoples believe strenuous exercise is of limited value. Encourage customers to increase time spent doing slow exercises such as taiqi and qigong. Support and/or advertise such groups if they are in your area. 3. All Asian people do not know a lot about which foods are hot and which are not. So make place mats and/or signs that show what foods and herbs do. Be sure these signs indicate these are TCM beliefs, and accurately cite a TCM medical professional or printed source. Advise customers, citing medical professionals, information such as what to eat to reduce anxiety or regulate energy. Do not advise them how to cure illness. That is practicing medicine and doing so is against the law in the United States and Canada. 4. Asians and others want accurate nutrition information. So, have your menus give some. We recommend including calorie, carbohydrate, protein, saturated and total fat content, as well as sodium and cholesterol. Have these food analyses determined by a registered dietician; and include his or her name on the menu. 5. Chinese foods and herbs have specific tastes. TCM calls them sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and pungent. Every taste should be eaten at every meal. Offer menus and dishes that provide them; and like hot and cold, be aware that many foods have more than one taste. Menus can say which TCM philosophical tastes are in each dish. 6. Because preparation techniques can change a food, advise that some foods can have more than one taste as well as more than one hot/cold designation. Therefore, explain how every dish on the menu is prepared. 7, Include in breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, several rice soups, called congees. Even allow customers to design their own as well as offering several of them. 8. Though most customers do not like to cook, they do like to read recipes. Therefore, provide some simple items they might make at home. Tell the TCM taste of each, do not say what TCM believes they cure, but do advise what ancient medical practitioners believed they were good for. 9. Customers can benefit when more liquids are served. Some stimulate the appetite, particularly those considered thin soups. Serve them gratis. They can stimulate the appetite and lead to ordering more food. These nutritious items make for healthy customers; and healthy customers come back often making more profit for the restaurateur. Do learn about your customer’s food habits. Do serve them fresh, healthy food. You and they will benefit. About Dr. Jacqueline Newman is a highly regarded Registered Dietician, Fellow of the American Dietetic Association, and of the American College of Nutrition. Dr. Newman celebrates eleven years as Editor-in-Chief of Flavor and Fortune, the only English-language magazine in the United States dedicated to the science and art of Chinese cuisine. This visionary publication presented the Jade Chopsticks Award to the top ten Chinese restaurants in 1997. She is additionally Professor Emeritus and is a past Chairperson of the Family, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences Department at Queens College, CUNY. She has done considerable research and lectures often concerning dietary, food, and historical aspects of Chinese and other Asian cuisines. Dr. Newman has written eight books, has had numerous chapters published in the books of others, written hundreds of articles and restaurant reviews, and served as guest editor for several journals. Her new book entitled, Food Culture in China was published by Greenwood Press in August. Inquiries and subscription requests for Flavor and Fortune Magazine are welcomed at www.flavorandfortune.com or by writing directly to Dr. Newman at: Flavor and Fortune, P.O. Box 91, Kings Park NY 11754