My Chinese Family Thinks Red Lobster Is a 5 Star Restaurant

Lobster was a way to feel rich, even in times we weren’t

Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash

Mainstream culture often regards Red Lobster as a family-friendly chain restaurant on the same level as Olive Garden or Outbacks. It’s not quite the cheapest restaurant on par with fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, but it isn’t the fanciest either.

But in my Chinese-American culture, Red Lobster is equivalent to a fancy five-star Michelin restaurant. When I went home for my spring break, my mom made me and my grandparents dress up in our finest attire for a fancy birthday dinner. The location? Red Lobster.

For my whole childhood, whenever my family wanted to splurge or celebrate something, lobster was always the food of choice. Seafood, in general, was regarded as a high-commodity item. But shrimp or any type of fish always came second to lobster.

Apparently, it wasn’t just specific to my family. Chen Shanshan, a food writer and nutritionist based in the US and Shanghai, said lobster has been seen as a symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture because they’re “nice and red, a color that represents prosperity in the Chinese culture.” Red lobster is especially becoming a commodity and symbol of prosperity for the Chinese middle class.