Artificial Intelligence And The Fake Chinese Restaurant Backstory

I'm always on the lookout for new Chinese restaurant openings, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley.  Obviously a newly opened restaurant is the most likely source to add to my Chinese restaurant count.  Also, since I have been eating in the San Gabriel Valley ever since the first authentic Chinese restaurant opened up in the mid-1970s, by catching new Chinese restaurants right when they open, I have been able to eat at the vast majority of authentic Chinese restaurants that have ever operated in the San Gabriel Valley.

One Saturday night we were driving home after dinner in Alhambra, when we drove by a brightly lit new Chinese restaurant near the corner of Valley Blvd. and Garfield Ave.  I noted the name of the restaurant, Chong Yuen Fong, to see if there were any reports on it.  To my surprise, I found a webpage and a most interesting back story indicating this was the new branch of a long time downtown Los Angeles (presumably Chinatown) Chinese restaurant.

As noted above, the story was that Chong Yuen Fong was originally founded in 1997 “in the heart of Los Angeles” , and immediately became a hit with people from all over Los Angeles, and becoming a beloved institution, particularly for their egg tarts and Hainan chicken. Now the founder’s children have taken over the business, with their new location in Alhambra.

Now, as you know I’ve eaten at almost every Chinese restaurant in town, and I never heard of a restaurant called Chong Yuen Fong. I guess it’s possible that Chong Yuen Fong was the Chinese name for a restaurant that had a different English language name. But the only place in Los Angeles where that could be a possibility would be in Chinatown, and if they were located in Chinatown why wouldn’t they say so?

One restaurant which could possibly fit the description is New Dragon Seafood which opened in Chinatown in 1997 and closed during the pandemic, though I ate there a few times and don’t remember seeing egg tarts and Hainan chicken.  And indeed, the more I thought about it, the more puzzling it became because upon deep reflection I don't remember Hainan chicken being available in Chinatown.  Searching for answers I posted all this on the Food Talk Central message board.  The responders all found this strange, and many suggested this description was the product of artificial intelligence.  Surprisingly, though, the posting did eventually clear everything up, as an associate of Jay Leung replied with this post.

Brett_Yu

Oct 27

Hello Chan,

It’s a pleasure to see your interest in our restaurant. I’m Brett, the owner’s cousin, and I’d like to provide you with some insights. The website was developed hastily, and I must confess that the “our story” section isn’t entirely accurate. As others have pointed out, it was generated by ChatGPT. The reason behind this rush was that the city of Alhambra mandated that every restaurant have a website, and I managed to create this one in just 50 minutes.

Regrettably, I didn’t have the opportunity to craft a genuine narrative about the restaurant and its menu. I offered a brief overview of the owner, Jay, who originally hails from Guangzhou, grew up in Hong Kong, and then immigrated to Los Angeles. Jay’s English is somewhat limited, and he plans to enroll in English classes next year once things settle at the restaurant. English is my second language too, and I’m currently pursuing English courses in college.

We sincerely apologize for the ChatGPT-generated content. Please allow us some time, and we are committed to revamping the content and story on our website. We appreciate your understanding during this transitional phase as we work on improving. Our restaurant has only been open for ten days, and we’re still learning the ropes. However, the food we serve is authentically Cantonese, and we promise to enhance your dining experience in the days to come.

Thank you for considering us, and we look forward to welcoming you back for more delicious Cantonese cuisine.

 

Mystery solved!  And they replaced the AI backstory with a real one.