If Chinese is your go-to cuisine, take note of this tip the next time you’re keen for take-out and searching for a restaurant. While you may be tempted to go for the highest-rates establishment, the theory goes that a truly authentic Chinese restaurant will have no more and no less than a 3.5 star rating on Yelp.
If that number seems rather specific, there is a method behind the madness.
The belief, which originated on TikTok, claims that 3.5 is the “sweet spot” for authentic Chinese food because cultural expectations for service are different in Asia where wait staff do not come up to you or proactively refill your glass. Instead, they require flagging down.
The behavior contrasts that in the United States, resulting in Yelp users rating the restaurant down for poor service. However, because the food is so good, the rating evens out at 3.5 stars.
The concept of “rudeness” in Chinese eateries is not new, with food writer Mai Pham penning a 2011 article entitled Why I Don’t Expect Good Service in Asian Restaurants. In it she wrote, “I didn’t take hasty as poor service, or unsmiling as unfriendly; it’s just the way things are at Asian restaurants, where the focus is more on food than service.”
Now go on Yelp and check whether your favorite Chinese outlet has a rating of 3.5!
