Glutamate flavoring the neck, gradually radiating to both arms and the back, general weakness and palpitations... The syndrome is often abbreviated as CRS and also became known under the names Chinese food syndrome and monosodium glutamate symptom complex. Symptoms attributed to the Chinese restaurant syndrome have been determined to be false. Although many people believe that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the cause of these symptoms, an association has never been demonstrated under rigorously controlled conditions, even in studies with people who were convinced that they were sensitive to the compound. Techniques used to adequately control for experimental bias include a placebo-controlled double-blinded
Chinese restaurants in Australia on the job. Chinese restaurants were established in many country towns and all cities by the 1970s. The oldest Chinese restaurant in Canberra opened in 1962, and was still operating in 2016. The first documented Chinese restaurant in Australia was at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, on the Victorian goldfields, owned by Chin Thum Lok, opening in 1854. The restaurant did not serve Chinese style food, but instead provided English style food such as roast beef. In Melbourne eighteen Chinese restaurants were listed in 1920, by 1939 eight had been established outside of the city's Chinatown precinct, and by 1970 there were