How different is American-Chinese food from real Chinese food ?

[Xiadane]

Mm.. The general rule of thumb when looking for a 'good chinese restaurant' is looking into the restaurant and seeing if there are any foreigners in there. If it's all/mostly Asian, then most likely it's authentic. XD

But about eggrolls and orange chicken... they're incredibly westernized to suit the Western tastes. That's why most foreigners think of those two when it comes to Chinese food.

[Geographer@UK]

Well, i'm a Chinese in England and the Chinese buffet in a number of Chinese restaurants here can only show the way of cooking and seldom the good taste based on my limited experience. The real Chinese food is far more than a non-Chinese can expect.