Getting rice for free has always been a given in nearly all the Asian restaurants I’ve been to (except, of course, for the ones that cater more towards white people who had the gall to charge, and meant that I would never go back).
Now, it looks like that’s going to fall by the wayside now that there’s a global shortage of rice and other foods with imported Asian rice prices shooting up by 300%, and Asian countries limiting rice imports in order to feed their own populations. The impact in American cities is already being felt, as noted in a San Jose Mercury News article, as local Costco stores are beginning to ration the number of 50 pound bags of imported Asian rice customers can buy. Domestically grown rice, obviously, isn’t as affected, which explains why it hasn’t affected other groups as hard.
Considering that there are really high rates of diabetes, coronary artery disease, and other food-related chronic diseases in Filipino Americans, this might actually be a blessing in disguise and force people to limit their rice (and calorie) intake. Unless, of course, we start turning to domestically grown rice because it’s cheaper.
