As former world traveler (business) that is very true. For example, Mexican food. Mexico has its regional fare but you don’t find the gloppy greasy mess that you find just across the border in Texas. And then have Mexican between Texas and California and they are different for the locals palate. But it’s all pretty similar. The first international Mexican food I had was in Australia. There was nothing Mexican about it except for the nacho bar that was as exotic as the nacho bar at 7-11. Cheap though and there were roadside bars that had all you can eat which was perfect for cheap eats on a road trip. Mexican restaurants were like stepping in to the set of Three Amigos.
Then Mexican food in Europe. I would stop in them out of curiosity in the cities. The funny part would be getting warnings about how spicy something was. In Warsaw, mayonnaise is spicy to them....I asked for hot sauce and the waitress brought out this ancient bottle of Tabasco someone probably smuggled across the border durning the Soviet occupation and handed it to me like it was radioactive. My girlfriend was astounded when I emptied half the bottle on the flavorless collection of “Mexican” food to give it a little kick.
Anyway. The Chinese in America use what they have for what the customers wanted. Cheap fast filling greasy glop served on rice. Comfort food.
I have to say that my experiences with food in Mexico was a bit different. I found the more up-scale food in Mexico City to be very greasy, whereas the cheaper food in the rural areas was much like Tex-Mex, except there was an astonishing variety of things never seen north of the border. Amoebae were always a concern, however, when sampling food off the street, and I once paid a heavy price for it, losing fifteen pounds in a matter of days. In fact, I am lucky to have survived.
Mexican food in Australia is a wonder. To say that the palate down under is bland understates it. The "hottest" Mexican sauce there consists of flour, vegetable oil, and food coloring. I don't think a pepper or even a tomato comes anywhere near it. The same is true of their Italian fare, even pizzas. It is remarkable. This said, I did find some reasonably good pulche in a Mexican restaurant outside of Sydney. As I say, it is a wonder.
Give credit where credit is due: where the Aussies have the world beat is on the potato. Their French fries -- they call them chips -- and something they call potato scallops, which are large ear-like, thick slices of fried potato, are to die for.