Authentically Asian?

Lewis and I were having dinner with my dad the other night at Pho Bac Ky and I suddenly remembered something I wanted to blog about. In other appropriate words, rant.

As we were flipping through the menu there was a note added at the back: "The restaurant name Pho Bac Ky will later be changed to Photasia". The supposed authentic Vietnamese name has been slaughtered and fused into coinage.

I just found it amusing and may have taken it over the top by overanalyzing the evolution of the pho place. Having the name become fully Eurocentric would turn it into "Rice Noodle Garden" or "Asia Cafe". Separate, "non-Asian" words. Why bother having a name represent some sort of biculturalism when the menu as kept foods from one culture alive? They would never serve chicken pho and call it chicken noodle soup (with soda on the side?). That's just crazy talk.

I would agree the name has been westernized for most customers to remember, but wouldn't having such a title make it more Asian? Photasia honestly sounds like a half-hearted gimick to let westerners see an attempt at integration. You would not expect this restaurant to be marginalized. In a college friendly community with a population of at least 56% Asian students, I would expect the restaurant to be greeted with open arms. In other words, I hope Pho Bac Ky still stays true to its Vietnamese roots.

Unless the name change was a result of a chef leaving, then we'd have another problem.