East Ocean Chinese & Seafood – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 2022, Freddie Wong posted a TikTok video that went viral on several social media platforms. In the video, Wong, purports to find the most “authentic” Chinese food by utilizing restaurant review website Yelp in a unique way. “The easiest way to find authentic Chinese food, assuming you’re living in a major metropolitan area, is to go on Yelp and to look for restaurants with three-and-a-half stars,” declared Wong in his TikTok video, which garnered an astonishing 7.2 million views in only two days. “Exactly three and a half, not three, not four. Three-and-a-half stars is a sweet spot for authentic Chinese food.” Again, the assumption is based on living in a major metropolitan area where there are a preponderance of “authentic” Chinese restaurants. In cities such as Albuquerque, few restaurants even offer a traditional Chinese menu (if you ask for it). Among those is East Ocean which coincidentally or not is rated exactly three-and-a-half stars on Yelp. A Duke City mainstay for more than thirty years, East Ocean has a huge following that includes George Thorning, my friend and colleague at the University of New Mexico. Though he did experience a bit of consternation when the restaurant changed…