This is actually the 3-star rule for American Chinese restaurants. Any restaurant below 2 stars or above 4 stars will be garbage. The goal is to find some place that lands right in the middle with the ~3 star average.
3 stars is the perfect combination of good reviews from Chinese people, and bad reviews from locals who expect American style service. If it has +4 stars, it’s too American. The service may be great, but you won’t find a single Chinese person inside. If it’s under 2 stars, the place will just be gross or the food will be bad enough that even Chinese people don’t like it. 3 stars is the right mix of authentic Chinese food (meaning it gets good reviews from Chinese people) and Americans not being able to read the menu and getting upset that it takes +5 minutes for the server to come over and take your drink order.
This is actually the 3-star rule for American Chinese restaurants. Any restaurant below 2 stars or above 4 stars will be garbage. The goal is to find some place that lands right in the middle with the ~3 star average.
3 stars is the perfect combination of good reviews from Chinese people, and bad reviews from locals who expect American style service. If it has +4 stars, it’s too American. The service may be great, but you won’t find a single Chinese person inside. If it’s under 2 stars, the place will just be gross or the food will be bad enough that even Chinese people don’t like it. 3 stars is the right mix of authentic Chinese food (meaning it gets good reviews from Chinese people) and Americans not being able to read the menu and getting upset that it takes +5 minutes for the server to come over and take your drink order.