^I understand your sarcasm.........but Chinese food is one of those types of cuisine where the choice of authenticity level is really limited.
It could possibly be that way because "authentic" Chinese food eludes characterization.......after all, it is a HUGE country with all sorts of social strata and geography.
Northern Chinese people might have no IDEA what southern Chinese people eat.
This is just speculation but it is doubtful that everyone in China eats egg rolls and fortune cookies.
The stuff we buy from the number menus probably started as workers' lunches for the jillions of Chinamen that helped build our infrastructure........and still, the concept is similar. Walk in, tell them what number you want, and receive a balanced meal in a box.
I'd love to tour China and check out the cuisine, but the chances of that are decreasing........as somehow I am no longer in charge of myself.
I'll have to settle for P.F. Chang's or the noodle shops downtown as surrogate "real" Chinese food.