In East Asia, the idea of modernization resonates with western style a lot of times. And when it comes to restaurants, many places try to adapt to westernized service to 'modernize.' It can be good but most of times, this pushes away the cultural meaning of good service that they had provided for centuries. In Korea, good service once meant giving a customer more than what they had ordered (lots of 반찬, or 국... you know the Korean way), not necessarily smiling at a customer while serving or catering to a customer's need. Every culture has their own ways of providing food and good service. When you are ready to experience that, you can really taste the originality as well... I think a government can protect an old, traditional restaurant to a certain extent but in a long term, our attitude, the way we experience culture should change. We should never try to evaluate a place or suggest an improvement based on good service that we are accustomed to in our own culture. Accepting a way of life that is different than our own takes a lot of courage and discomfort but from there, we experience something truly valuable and unforgettable...like really good soup dumplings. =D Thank you for a good read!
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Yes, that's a really good point! I didn't discuss the cultural element as much, but I think it's certainly embedded in how we evaluate a good restaurant. The Michelin Guide came to mainland China for the first time last year (itself a reflection of bias?) and received criticism for its preference of Hong-Kong/Cantonese restaurants over local cuisines and chefs, and its reliance on foreign inspectors who were not familiar with the local food scene. The Michelin inspectors certainly have cultural expectations embedded in their evaluation rubrics, whether it's taste, service, restaurant experience, attitude towards traditional foods, etc. These are traditions with heritage that is difficult to comprehend if you are not an insider.
Another element to consider is whether collectivism or group mentality affects our experience of restaurants. Asian consumers are known to have a remarkable tolerance for long lines, whether its lining up for Shake Shack months after its launch in Seoul, or waiting hours for a cup of "cheese" tea in China. This probably has to do with long lines signaling high value of the product, or the "bragging rights" and mob psychology of being able to "foodstagram" something that is scarce. This happens in New York as well with Cronuts, and with Franklin Barbecue in Texas. There's research that suggests that long wait times can increase consumer satisfaction based on consumption motivations, and it seems to me that consumption motivations are largely dependant on cultural values.
Thank you for reading and thanks your insight!