WishYouWasMe

That's the beauty of it...they're just hard-working people that make their living by selling us delicious food. I doubt they're "inauthentic" or "self-hating" just because they sell what sells. Alot of the times the Chinese carryout is the ONLY place you can go for cheeseburgers and good chicken and other stuff. They sell everything and they dont overcharge like most places.

Garfield Cat

One of the most heavily populated Chinese communities in the U.S. is the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County. There are hundreds of restaurants there. Bottom line: they use plenty of sodium, fat, and most often MSG unless specified. Actually same goes for Thai food, Japanese food, Korean, Filipino. The Vietnamese food is lighter in fats and sodium but their Pho can be just as fat and salty as their Asian counterparts.

slim_77

A wonderful hybrid of food culture from the border region where Texas and Mexico meet.

My wife's uncle used to refer to himself as a "Texican"--like most things here we just mix it up and then figure it out.

Beef and Broccoli anyone?

smurfy

Okay I just got done eating my Chinese take out. Very good and filling. Being very hungry, I had rice w/shrimp, egg drop soup, and three egg rolls. I didn't use and kind of sauces on it. The owners are ethnic Chinese (if that makes any difference).

Now you all got me wondering if what I ate was good for me or fattening.

Garfield Cat

Americans tend to use soy sauce on everything, even on white steamed rice. The rice with shrimp sounds like shrimp fried rice. So it was stir fried with some salt, and some soy sauce. If it were Yang Chow fried rice, it would have no soy sauce. The egg drop soup has little spices and not much flavor, a very inexpensive soup, but it could have MSG. The egg rolls are most likely deep fried in oils.

I like going to the old fashioned type Chop Suey restaurant. There's a certain flavor to that pork chow mein with the soft noodles. Its bad for me but once in a while I yearn for it, a comfort food for me. I even like egg foo young with the gravy and served over a plate of steamed rice. All this is bad for you.

The newer fangled Szechwan, Hunan, Mandarin, Shanghai, Fukien cooking is ok but for me, bring back that old "trick the Americans" Cantonese chop suey with the molassas and soy sauce that Chicago's Chinatown is famous for.

jomalley

Oh god I want Indian food now.

Terex

Tex-Mex food is garbage. Northern New Mexican food, on the other hand, is a gift from the Gods.

rando

sonoran mexican food is pretty good too. I am pretty sure most of the cooks at my favorite Thai place are mexican.

_beaver_

>>>lmfao

AroW

Once in a while its really good for you. I mean the food is not poisonous, just very calorie dense and not as nutrient packed as other foods. However, food is food, and it gets burned up by the body one way or another. In fact the body prefers burning saturated fats and all the other unhealthy nutrients because they provide the most energy. I find that it satisfies my cravings very well and so far it has not affected my health--just had a full body checkup and had the results. BTW, nothing satisfies like General Tsos chicken. Just try to keep it to every other week and not everyday

My stomach also generally agrees better with Chinese take out than Tex Mex takeout(I always feel crappy afterwards, I don't know why). After chinese takeout I just feel full but not sluggish.

Al.canoe

China does not meet US food quality standards. There's been several articles in the media lately about poisoned pet food, toothpaste laced with antifreeze chemicals and fish tainted with dangerous chemicals imported from China. You wouldn't think that any of this would have something to do with US Chinese restaurants, but apparently it does.

There's a Chinese restaurant in Ellijay Georgia that serves from the menu; no buffet. Probably the last one in the US. I was talking to the owner about that and he commented that a lot of the Chinese buffet food is canned food and shipped over from China.

I haven't been a fan of Chinese food since the good restaurants went out of business several decades ago. I'm giving it up completely now.

Al

IronMac

I call b-ll on that because I know people who actually run Chinese buffets.

Al.canoe

I don't really know, but I'm playing it safe. The Americanised Chinese food is too high fat and to high calorie for me anyhow. The real Chinese fare that I used to eat years ago was far better. I ate at places which had a large number of Chinese patrons.

An excerpt form todays Paper:

"FDA halts imports of Chinese toothpaste
By Steve Hirsch
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 25, 2007



The Food and Drug Administration yesterday announced that it is stopping all imports of toothpaste from China to test it for a deadly chemical found in Chinese toothpaste sold in other countries.
FDA spokesman Douglas Arbesfeld cited recent reports that toothpaste containing diethylene glycol -- a poison used in antifreeze and brake fluid -- had been exported from China to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Australia.
The U.S. imported about $3.3 million worth of toothpaste from China last year, and while authorities have no evidence that tainted toothpaste has made its way into the United States, Mr. Arbesfeld said the testing is a "precautionary measure."
Food products from China have come under intense scrutiny around the world after a spate of safety breaches involving toxins in products from pet food to toothpaste, which prompted wide recalls and government investigations.
Concerns about the safety of Chinese food exports developed after dogs and cats died from pet food contaminated with the chemical melamine. The poisoning was traced to food additives from China that later were found in feed for U.S. hogs, fish and chickens. Alabama and Mississippi have banned imports of Chinese catfish because of high levels of antibiotics.
Hong Chang Corp. of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., said Wednesday it was recalling monkfish from China that may actually be puffer fish containing the toxin tetrodotoxin.
Consumption of foods containing tetrodotoxin can cause serious illness or death, and it cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing, the company said.
The problem was discovered after two people in the Chicago area became sick after consuming soup made with the "monkfish." FDA analysis of the fish confirmed the presence of life-threatening levels of tetrodotoxin.

The company said that 282 22-pound boxes of monkfish were distributed to Illinois, California and Hawaii wholesalers beginning in September. The product was sold in stores and restaurants in these regions.
U.S. officials yesterday said they have asked China to take steps to increase safety of its food exports, including requiring the registration of Chinese companies that plan to export food and feed products to the United States, a ban on exports of products from unregistered companies, and multiple-entry visas and other clearances so U.S. officials can conduct inspections in China.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group concerned with food safety and other issues, described the steps as "pretty revolutionary for FDA" but said she did not see any "teeth" in the announcement.
It was not clear what would happen if there are still problems with Chinese imports even with this system in place, Ms. DeWaal said."

Let the buyer beware.

Al

babydee

Good to see that this thread has been resurrected, with ridiculous generalities still abounding.

Al.canoe

[QUOTE=Garfield Cat they use plenty of sodium, fat, and most often MSG unless specified. Actually same goes for Thai food, Japanese food, Korean, Filipino. The Vietnamese food is lighter in fats and sodium but their Pho can be just as fat and salty as their Asian counterparts.[/QUOTE]


Not my experience with the two Thai restaurants I frequent at the present. One is in N Florida, the other is just N & W of Atlanta. Very low fat. The egg rolls (spring rolls?) are very light with no grease. Very low meat in most meals. Often go to the N Fla one for a good post-ride recovery meal. The sodium doesn't seem all that high either.

Al

_beaver_

Garfield Cat

With the sodium, if you use very little or no sodium for home cooking, then you will immediately tell the difference when you go to any restaurant. Food served in restaurants have to taste good and salt adds to the flavor as does sugar and msg.

Next time you watch the Iron Chef, you'll know what I mean. Even Japanese miso soup has a lot of sodium.

KrisPistofferson

Sodium is racist.