@rocketjump Why I only go to Chinese restaurants with 3.5 star ratings
♬ original sound - RocketJump
A recent viral TikTok from Freddie Wong AKA @rocketjump highlights a certain philosophy of his that I can wholeheartedly vouch for. Named 'The Chinese Restaurant 3.5 Star Rule', Wong pontificates that the easiest way to find authentic Chinese food in any "major metropolitan area," is to go on Yelp and search out restaurants that have 3.5 stars on the app. "It's the sweet spot for authentic Chinese food," he claims.
One of the first examples he pulls up is Din Tai Fung, a world-renowned Chinese restaurant that tons of folks love for their soup dumplings and noodles. However, Wong sees the 4 stars it has earned on Yelp and muses, "Too many stars. Too many white people like it. The service is too good. The food is not as good as it could be." Though I admit to being a fan of Din Tai Fung's famous xiao long bao, I will say that there's other spots out there that serve them better or just as good, without the absurd wait times or inflated prices.
Wong then moves on to a number of 3.5 star restaurants on Yelp, namely Shanghai Dumpling House and Happy Duck House, both of which are in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, an area known for incredible and authentic Chinese food of all styles and types. Been to both, and yup, they're fantastic. "The waiters are not gonna pay attention to you, they're gonna be rude, but it's gonna taste better," he explained.
What's Freddie Wong's logic behind 'The Chinese Restaurant 3.5 Star Rule'? He breaks it down for us: "Cultural expectations are different in Asia, [the service] is not as proactive... People on Yelp are insufferable." What then happens is that Yelpers are hating the service, yet loving the amazing, authentic food, which balances it all out and leads to the sweet spot of 3.5 stars.
Makes all the sense in the world. Look through my Yelp bookmarks for Chinese food and you'll see a formidable lineup of 3.5-starred spots that can easily be my go-to whenever I'm in the mood for a fire meal.
The logic is airtight here, folks, take heed.
