The truth about Chinese Restaurants

B.A._Baracus · 13-05-2016 04:44PM

I have to say that I love a chinese takeaway. But even I will admit you are basically eating crap.

Anyone want curry sauce ruined for them? :pac: Watch this:

Too lazy to watch?

It is essentially oil and flour

I'm still gonna eat it.

13-05-2016 04:51PM

Maireadio wrote: »

I don't get this. I have never left a restaurant in Ireland feeling anything other than nicely full, including lots of great ones. I cannot imagine having to stop off somewhere because I'm not full enough. The portions are ample everywhere as far as I can see, usually veering on to the side of too big. I actually get a doggy bag to take home from most restaurants. Being too stuffed is a horrible feeling.

I like to be absolutely bursting after a meal and generally if I could eat more I'm not fully satisfied. The fact my gf rarely finishes her meals and I hoover up the leftovers usually means do leave restaurants full though :pac:

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Depends on what you're eating for. If you want to experience something interesting then size won't be the most important factor. If you want to fill up ahead of a day on the bog then size is more important.

I would prefer a great movie in 70 mins than an average movie in 3 hours.

I put it this way you will never catch me going into one of them Michelin star restaurants where you get tiny portions of what people call "fantastic food" for a massive price. I rather a massive feed somewhere normal. No matter how nice something was I wouldn't be happy if I was hungry.

A good example was a piece of lamb I had in France a few months ago. It was delicious but it was less than half the amount of meat I'd be looking for and the only side was a small portion of chips. If I had twice the amount of chips, a selection of veg and maybe some mash as well then I would have enjoyed the lovely bit of meat more but instead left the place saying it was nice but I'm still half hungry and wouldn't go back again.

eisenberg1 · 13-05-2016 04:57PM

^^
Thanks for that BA Baracus. Dinner of champions, and don't forget the msg, lol.

Jesus some calories in that.

NiallBoo · 13-05-2016 05:04PM

honreal wrote: »

I noticed this big see through plastic storage box - similar to something you would buy in IKEA as a storage box. This was absolutely full to the brim with chicken balls.... just sitting there out in the open under the table... I witnessed them taking a few out with their bare hands, presumable to the fryer to heat up.

Kitchen food storage for uncooked food is see-through plastic. It all looks like it comes from Ikea. If it did come from Ikea that's fine too.

Bare hands are find too and again is the norm in a kitchen. If you don't trust someone to keep their hands clean enough to touch your food then you shouldn't eat there. If you're totally against the idea then you shouldn't eat out at all.

If they're busy enough then having a quantity sitting out is fine, so long as it gets used within a certain length of time. Your idea of a massive amount and theirs is probably very different.
That said, this is the part of what you said that I'd be suspicious about.

Speedwell · 13-05-2016 05:10PM

What's disgusting about the Chinese curry sauce? It's a reasonably complex, highly seasoned, roux-based gravy. I don't like it, but I mean, even bechamel sauce is just a butter and flour base.

Tea-a-Maria · 13-05-2016 05:24PM

Not quite Chinese, but for a lovely Asian meal outside of the pale, the Weaver's Inn in Newmarket on Fergus in Clare is well worth a look. The wife of the owner is Indonesian I believe, and they've lots of lovely dishes on the menu. They do a lovely Nasi Goreng

LuckyLloyd · 13-05-2016 05:32PM

A place like the Lee Kee on Parnell St. is excellent and authentic. Bad takeaways are not, nor are they aiming to be.

Bottom line is there are excellent Asian eateries in Dublin and we're luck to have them.

Sebastian Dangerfield · 13-05-2016 05:35PM

I went to a "traditional" Chinese restaurant with some friends a few weeks about, up around North Great Georges St. We had a hot pot - basically they brought a big steaming pot of broth and a load of uncooked food, and you made your own as you wanted it. The veg was ok - cabbage, beansprouts, some noodles, tofu and mushrooms, but the cooking broth was pretty tasteless. Then the meat... shaved fatty lamb and beef belly that looked to have been sliced raw, rolled up and frozen, which came out of the broth like a fatty grey mess.

I'm no fan of Chinese takeaways, but if that's what real Chinese food is I'd settle for a kung pow chicken anyday

El_Duderino 09 · 13-05-2016 05:56PM

Mackenzie Hissing Fingernail wrote:

I put it this way you will never catch me going into one of them Michelin star restaurants where you get tiny portions of what people call "fantastic food" for a massive price. I rather a massive feed somewhere normal. No matter how nice something was I wouldn't be happy if I was hungry.

Fair enough. If you just eat to get full and don't worry about flavour then you know what you're after. It probably depends on your exposure to food and values around food.

Volume probably isn't the metric you use for other things so you might find you're missing out in some instances. You probably have durable shoes and a warm coat fir everyday use. But you probably have nice clothes for special occasions that are primarily stylish. It's a strange minimum standard to apply to food in all circumstances. If you value quantity over quality in all circumstances then you're missing out.

I've eaten in a couple of Michelin star restaurants because I couldn't afford to do it regularly. It's not about filling yourself to bursting. It's about art through food. Really interesting experience and in both cases I didn't need any more food

mohawk · 13-05-2016 08:34PM

I haven't been to a Chinese takeaway in years. I remember it being great hangover food. Lived and worked with Chinese people and they have some great food and but they do eat parts of animals that we don't. Have tried the Chinese menu in a few Dublin restaurants and have enjoyed them.

A lot of people I know have switched to Thai as have I. There is lots of non over cooked veg, meat tastes like meat, sauce isn't weird gloppy crap and you don't feel like you have overloaded on carbs afterwards.

Maireadio · 13-05-2016 10:27PM

Yareli Delicious Sternum wrote: »

I like to be absolutely bursting after a meal and generally if I could eat more I'm not fully satisfied.

Well, that's fair enough, though honestly I find most restaurants give you enough to achieve this. I'd honestly feel like a pig stopping of somewhere else after being to a restaurant. And I'd go for quality over quantity any day though like I said, portion size is never an issue for me.

Speedwell · 13-05-2016 11:38PM

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

I went to a "traditional" Chinese restaurant with some friends a few weeks about, up around North Great Georges St. We had a hot pot - basically they brought a big steaming pot of broth and a load of uncooked food, and you made your own as you wanted it. The veg was ok - cabbage, beansprouts, some noodles, tofu and mushrooms, but the cooking broth was pretty tasteless. Then the meat... shaved fatty lamb and beef belly that looked to have been sliced raw, rolled up and frozen, which came out of the broth like a fatty grey mess.

I'm no fan of Chinese takeaways, but if that's what real Chinese food is I'd settle for a kung pow chicken anyday

Chinese stock is much lighter in flavor than the stock we are used to. Hot pot is lovely if done properly; they even have special tables to keep the broth hot enough while you dump in and cook various ingredients (so if the broth was not kept continuously simmering it was not being done properly). Fatty meats are supposed to cook the longest to render out a little oil (and should NOT come to the table frozen). The broth changes and gets richer in flavor as you add and change ingredients (and you should have received more and better veg than the ones you listed). You are supposed to consume the broth as soup with the cooked veg and meat and noodles, and season it with the provided condiments. It takes a bit of practice and staring rudely at other tables to get the hang of it.

Speedwell · 13-05-2016 11:41PM

mohawk wrote: »

A lot of people I know have switched to Thai as have I. There is lots of non over cooked veg, meat tastes like meat, sauce isn't weird gloppy crap and you don't feel like you have overloaded on carbs afterwards.

Vietnamese for my money. I would eat pho on my deathbed, and probably get up and have a second helping. Korean is a close second.

13-05-2016 11:44PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Fair enough. If you just eat to get full and don't worry about flavour then you know what you're after. It probably depends on your exposure to food and values around food.

It's not just about quantity I like nice food too but you can find places that do both. Have nice food and big portions.

Some of my preferred places to eat are know for both their quality and quantity.

The truth about Chinese Restaurants

Comments