Cultural cuisines thrill the palates of immigrants

With the influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States over the past 50 years, the US culinary industry and wholesale marketplace are undergoing a transformation as they realize that satisfying the palates of five million Chinese Americans equates to feeding a cash cow.

San Francisco Bay Area resident Jenny Chen was overwhelmed with surprise during a recent visit to her local Costco store. Boxes of salted duck eggs labeled in Chinese characters and grayish-green egg images stacked the shelves like towers.

"They (salted duck eggs) are very Chinese gourmet," Chen said. "I can't believe Costco in America carries such a household name from Gaoyou, a small, remote place in China's Jiangsu province. I bought six boxes with 12 duck eggs each for $5.99."