Chinese v Indian (takeaway)

Best username ever · 03-03-2013 01:05PM

Indian is the best, a nice vindaloo and a couple of Tiger beers, then just to top it off a packet of huggies baby wipes stored safely in the fridge for the morning.

Cosmicfox · 03-03-2013 01:07PM

I hate spicy food and even the smell of indian turns my guts so Chinese it is.

suicide_circus · 03-03-2013 01:45PM

The trouble with Chinese food is that the vast majority of Chinese take aways in Ireland are all selling the same low quality greasy gloopy slop. It's stuff that is meant to appeal to the irish palette and i have certainly indulged on more than one ocassion even though i know it's pure crap.
Thing is, i've had a few dishes out of a Chinese in parnell st in dublin which caters to the Chinese population, menus written in Chinese, mostly Chinese customers etc. Went there on the suggestion of a Chinese work colleague who said it was as authentic as i was likely to get in Ireland and he loved it.
Pure muck. I mean dire. Every aspect of the food was unappealing - smell, appearance, taste, texture . The soups, rice and side dishes were fine but the main meat courses were, in my opinion, dreadful.
And i will eat anything. Not squeamish in the slightest and love trying any new food i can get in my mitts on.

Best username ever · 03-03-2013 01:54PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

The trouble with Chinese food is that the vast majority of Chinese take aways in Ireland are all selling the same low quality greasy gloopy slop. It's stuff that is meant to appeal to the irish palette and i have certainly indulged on more than one ocassion even though i know it's pure crap.
Thing is, i've had a few dishes out of a Chinese in parnell st in dublin which caters to the Chinese population, menus written in Chinese, mostly Chinese customers etc. Went there on the suggestion of a Chinese work colleague who said it was as authentic as i was likely to get in Ireland and he loved it.
Pure muck. I mean dire. Every aspect of the food was unappealing - smell, appearance, taste, texture . The soups, rice and side dishes were fine but the main meat courses were, in my opinion, dreadful.
And i will eat anything. Not squeamish in the slightest and love trying any new food i can get in my mitts on.

My parents went to China last year and said the same, the food was awful, it was bland, the meat they used was mostly grizzle.

The Chinese take away's here use mostly canned meat imported. The one up road from me gets a regular delivery of canned meat. I always wondered why the pork was sliced so thin and had a jelly like texture to it:(

spankysue · 03-03-2013 02:15PM

Indian food definitely, it's just delicious.

Also, me and my OH have a regular place that we order from once a week and we play a game based around who we'll get through to when placing the order, it'll either be "Thank you Man" who says thank you after every dish you order or "Man who repeats everything you say", he repeats your order after you say it, and his voice seems to go a little higher every time he does it, by the time you're finished ordering, only dogs can hear him repeating the order back :P

omega666 · 03-03-2013 02:15PM

Best username ever wrote: »

My parents went to China last year and said the same, the food was awful, it was bland, the meat they used was mostly grizzle.

The Chinese take away's here use mostly canned meat imported. The one up road from me gets a regular delivery of canned meat. I always wondered why the pork was sliced so thin and had a jelly like texture to it:(

is that true about the meat?

kowloon · 03-03-2013 02:18PM

I'm sure as more Indian takeaways open they'll get worse. I lived in a student town in the South of England for a few years and most of the Indian takeaways there were not the best. All the Northerners warned me that I wasn't in curry country.

If you ever get the chance to take a walk around inside a catering suppliers/wholesale place you might see the buckets of sauces they sell. I'm sure plenty of places are going that route. The Chinese places nearly all seem to do it. At least it tastes that way.

I'd love a peek inside the kitchen. Anyone who has worked for a Chinese/Indian on here?

Best username ever · 03-03-2013 02:18PM

omega666 wrote: »

is that true about the meat?

Probably not true for all, but the one where I live gets the canned meat in, they moslty use the same importers, that's why most sauces and flavours are the same.

kowloon · 03-03-2013 02:20PM

Food counterfeiting is a major problem in China. They'd laugh at our horsemeat scandal.

Benny_Cake · 03-03-2013 02:22PM

Indian takeaway, definitely. A veggie madras or biryani always goes down well.

I love Chinese food, but I hate the rubbish that passes for Chinese takeaway food in Ireland (I'm sure there must be a few honourable exceptions). It's a shame because when done well, it's delicious, but what takeaways here sell is a bastardised version of what Chinese people eat.

dark crystal · 03-03-2013 02:22PM

greenflash wrote: »

What colour tracksuit are you wearing today?

I don't own a tracksuit, however I have a lovely pair of Penney's pyjamas I'll wear to pick up my far-eastern inspired fusion of pan seared chicken, pineapple and bean sprouts, slow cooked in a sweet and sour jus and accompanied by a side of white rice, hand picked by villagers in the Zheijiang Province later this evening.

Lelantos · 03-03-2013 02:42PM

dark crystal wrote: »

I don't own a tracksuit, however I have a lovely pair of Penney's pyjamas I'll wear to pick up my far-eastern inspired fusion of pan seared chicken, pineapple and bean sprouts, slow cooked in a sweet and sour jus and accompanied by a side of white rice, hand picked by villagers in the Zheijiang Province later this evening.

You mean Uncle Ben's cooking for you too!

Mysteriouschic · 03-03-2013 02:43PM

Has anyone ever had Chinese or Indian abroad?
I remember getting Chinese in Spain it was nicer than the ones over here and the prawn toast was made slightly differently. I still eat Chinese it just doesn't feel the same.

suicide_circus · 03-03-2013 02:43PM

Best username ever wrote: »

My parents went to China last year and said the same, the food was awful, it was bland, the meat they used was mostly grizzle.

The Chinese take away's here use mostly canned meat imported. The one up road from me gets a regular delivery of canned meat. I always wondered why the pork was sliced so thin and had a jelly like texture to it:(

Yeah there dosnt seem to be any importance attached to using quality meat

Anyone · 03-03-2013 02:46PM

Indian food is too greasy for me. They must use a bucket of oil when they cook.

Chinese all the way for me. It can be healthy as well if you know what to eat.

Drakares · 03-03-2013 02:46PM

People calling Indian takeaway healthy is ridiculous.

The amount of salt, cream, butter and oil that goes in is about twice the calories of a dinner you'd cook at home.

Indian is anything but healthy.

dark crystal · 03-03-2013 02:46PM

Lelantos wrote: »

You mean Uncle Ben's cooking for you too!

I don't buy Uncle Ben's sauces because they put yucky peppers in all of them. I can't stand peppers!

ElleEm · 03-03-2013 03:03PM

I love Indian food, and cook it quite a bit at home. It can be as healthy/ unhealthy as you want. The first time I had Indian was in Spain and it was gorgeous, it took quite a few horrendous experiences for me to find a high quality take away in North Dublin. Our local one now is a €4 delivery charge and usually arrives close to 1.5 hours after you order but it is so fresh and authentic. Some of the stuff other places pass off as Indian is incredible- pure luminous sauces with no veg and scraps of chewy meat. Ugh!

I do like Chinese though, although I tend to only like one meal from each of my locals. It can be very hit or miss. In regards to the food in China, I have a few friends who have been, and they said the food in China is amazing, and nothing like the stuff here. They have also commented on how the Chinese prefer their meat to have a chewy/ rubbery texture.

Lelantos · 03-03-2013 03:16PM

Mysteriouschic wrote: »

Has anyone ever had Chinese or Indian abroad?
I remember getting Chinese in Spain it was nicer than the ones over here and the prawn toast was made slightly differently. I still eat Chinese it just doesn't feel the same.

I had a Chinese in Madrid, same as here. Had an Indian in Prague, worst muck ever,,tried a Madras & it was 3 chicken legs in a tomato sauce.

fussyonion · 03-03-2013 03:21PM

It's rare I get a take-away but when I do, I always choose Indian.

It can be unhealthy but it depends what you order.

I love Bombay Pantry and their Chicken Karahi or Jalfrezi is to die for.
They cook everything from scratch, use really fresh ingredients, chicken breast etc and it always tastes delicious.

Never been a fan of Chinese cuisine; I've had nothing but bad experiences with it and their "curries" are a joke-every curry comes with the same insipid yellow looking sauce.
It's like they've got one sauce for every curry.

I make my own Jalfrezi once a week and use coriander seeds, cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds/chillies/turmeric/tomato puree/garlic/2 tbsps oil and some salt for the paste.
I use two bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, tinned tomatoes and chicken breasts too, so it's not unhealthy at all.

It can turn carb heavy depending how much rice/naan bread you serve with it, but it's really easy to make your own authentic Indian curry and mine always goes down a storm here.

Thirdfox · 03-03-2013 03:30PM

I am Chinese so we cook "Chinese" food at home - we just call it food. And it is very healthy - 3-4 dishes of various vegetables and meats and maybe a soup.

Last night dinner consisted of:
Stir fried broccoli with onion.
Celery with prawns.
Pork with tofu, carrots and cucumber.
Stir fried tomato and egg.
Along with boiled rice of course.

And we'd have something similar to this day in day out. Annoys the heck out of me when we go back to China and see people bringing their children to KFC, McDonald's or Pizzahut etc as a "treat" while their local noodle shop which offers much better quality food and cheaper too is unvisited since "Western" food is seen as exotic and cool.

Pudders · 03-03-2013 03:34PM

Indian veg curry.....saag alooo, bhindi bhaji, chana masala, tarka dhall, mateer paneer mmmm I could go on.

Chinese veg curry....tofu.......ehh bland

Will only have chicken or prawns in either but mainly veg indian food....mmmmmmm Getting hungry

Thirdfox · 03-03-2013 03:39PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

The trouble with Chinese food is that the vast majority of Chinese take aways in Ireland are all selling the same low quality greasy gloopy slop. It's stuff that is meant to appeal to the irish palette and i have certainly indulged on more than one ocassion even though i know it's pure crap.
Thing is, i've had a few dishes out of a Chinese in parnell st in dublin which caters to the Chinese population, menus written in Chinese, mostly Chinese customers etc. Went there on the suggestion of a Chinese work colleague who said it was as authentic as i was likely to get in Ireland and he loved it.
Pure muck. I mean dire. Every aspect of the food was unappealing - smell, appearance, taste, texture . The soups, rice and side dishes were fine but the main meat courses were, in my opinion, dreadful.
And i will eat anything. Not squeamish in the slightest and love trying any new food i can get in my mitts on.

Do you mean the M+L on Cathedral street (off O'Connell Street)? Probably the best (most authentic) Chinese restaurant in Dublin at the moment. Imperial and Good World are also good choices. Though it is better to go with a Chinese person who can order in Chinese off the Chinese menu.

Mysteriouschic wrote: »

Has anyone ever had Chinese or Indian abroad?
I remember getting Chinese in Spain it was nicer than the ones over here and the prawn toast was made slightly differently. I still eat Chinese it just doesn't feel the same.

It depends - Ireland has some decent (authentic) Chinese restaurants, better than the French ones but poorer than San Francisco (Chinatown in SF was so delicious - the dim sums and breakfast options made me feel like it was down town Beijing!)

kowloon · 03-03-2013 03:40PM

If you're a vegetarian the choice in a Chinese is usually appalling.

Drakares · 03-03-2013 04:14PM

kowloon wrote: »

If you're a vegetarian the choice in a Chinese is usually appalling.

Yeah but who cares about the vegetarians?

Peregrine · 03-03-2013 04:23PM

.

gg2 · 03-03-2013 04:31PM

Mmmmmmm love them both. Chinese is usually hangover food salt n chilli chicken nom nom.

Indian-Chicken pathia rice and naan... And prawn puri. Delish!

BASHIR · 03-03-2013 04:34PM

Indian without a doubt. The takeaways are generally good but a good home made spicy chick pea and lentil curry can't be beat. Oh and chapati over naan I think are nicer.

derfderf · 03-03-2013 04:54PM

Indian restaurants > Chinese restaurants.
Chinese takeaway > Indian takeaway.

I reckon Thai is the only takeaway you could think of as somewhat healthy, don't know where people are getting their info on Indian food. Most fattening takeaway you can get (unless your idea of a personal pizza is a 12 inch).

kingtut · 07-03-2013 06:29PM

I like both but Indian is far superior !!

NYOM NYOM NYOM

Chinese v Indian (takeaway)

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