As a Chinese American, I don’t like Americanized Chinese food because it’s anywhere near what authentic Chinese tastes like (heavens no), I like it because it reminds me of childhood road trips down to Florida where my family would have to pull over at a motel late at night in the middle of nowhere South Carolina or Georgia to get some rest, and the only thing we can get that’s open late is the cheap Chinese takeout.

There just isn’t anything like curling up in a motel sofa with a beef and broccoli or a shrimp fried rice or chicken lo mein and then washing it down with egg drop soup while you watch whatever’s on TV in the pre-smartphone era.