How do you like Chinese food?

[elaine l]

Jeekinz and Charlie, around here most Chinese places are Americanized Chinese. You will find nothing authentic on the menu at all. However recently there has been a trend to open authentic places. There are two about 30 minutes from me (in my parents town). Each restaurant specializes in food from a particular region in China (one is based on the Chongqing region and I am not sure about the other) so their menus are very different from each other. They both do have a very small selection of Americanized Chinese items, but if you look around you will not see anyone ordering them. Also when you look around you will find that most, if not all, the people as Asian. Both of these restaurants were started by people who came here from China and were disappointed that they could not get the food they were used to at home here. I am so happy they did because the food at both places is simply amazing.

GB, Where are these places? I would love to try them.

 

[Maverick2272]

Thai is my favorite, followed by Malaysian, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and finally Korean.
The best Chinese here is definitely in Chinatown and we love to go down there for the Dim Sum.

 

[GB]

GB, Where are these places? I would love to try them.

They are both in Framingham Elaine.

The first is Sichuan Gourmet. They are right on Rt 9 W. You can read some reviews here.

The other is Red Pepper. They are on Edgell Rd. just off of Rt 9. You can read some reviews of them here.

Both restaurants go heavy on the spicy in dishes that are supposed to be spicy (especially Red Pepper) so if that is something you are sensitive to them make sure to tell them you want it on the mild side. I love heat and can handle it just fine, but my wife can not handle as much as I can. We ordered a spicy dish at Red Pepper and asked for it mild. It was still VERY hot. I loved it but my wife could not eat it.

The service at Sichuan Gourmet is much better than the service at Red Pepper. I would recommend Red Pepper for lunch when they are not quite so busy. The food at both though is simply amazing. I could not say which is better.

If you go to Red Pepper I have to recommend the Sour Cabbage & Bean Noodle Soup. It is unlike anything you have ever had before.

 

[PJP]

I just made Mongolian beef tonight with soy sauce, hoison sauce, green onions, beef, corn starch, brown sugar... mm

 

[Chef Mark]

I like my chinese food right in front of me...forgo the chopsticks...give me a "Jethro Bodine" spoon =]

 

[MexicoKaren]

Me too - but imagine my surprise when I got to China last year and there were NO spoons. Just chopsticks. I learned very quickly to shovel that delicious food!

 

[luvs]

spicy, garlicky & with sauces with it.

 

[PJP]

Corn starchy

 

[bananafeller]

having spent time in china, i love sichuan food but the real stuff. i can't find most og my favorite dishes here but my good friends has parents who are excelent cooks and cook for me on occasion.
my all time favorite dish is Mapo tofu.

 

[BBQ Mikey]

I enjoy crispy chinese food with a good sauce. I like my rice sticky, I like my beef slightly char. Chinese ribs are fun to make. Overall, one of my fav. cuisines.

 

[Claire]

I, too, like it all. I don't know people can compare Thai or Vietnamese food to Chinese, or one kind of Chinese to another. They are different and all great in their own ways.

 

[jkath]

I love chinese food, but can't go out for it anymore. All the places around here use Vegetable (soybean) oil & soy sauce, and I can't have soy

 

[linguini]

My favourite is Szechuan Chicken.

You can find a Szechuan Chicken recipe here.

 

[larry_stewart]

I gotta go with the vegetarian hot and sour soup this one restaurant makes . I just cant duplicate it. Ive got all the physical ingredients they use ( tree ears, bamboo shoots, lily buds, tofu.... but I just dont know what the liquid/ broth is. Ive bought and tried just about everything in the chinese market, and i just cant get it right. I guess thats what keeps me going back for more

 

[DramaQueen]

My favorite dish is Won Yung Gai. Sorry, couldn't resist that.

 

[urmaniac13]

From what I know, I like the spring rolls and fried rice, but I usually modify them to my liking adding some thai or indonesian touch.
I don't care for the typical seasoning pattern which is usually too heavy on monosodium glutamate and soy sauce. But who knows about the actual chinese food which are made locally. I know from my own experience the Italian cuisine is hugely modified and altered overseas, and I suspect the same thing with the chinese food.

 

[Constance]

I had a great dish at our local Chinese restaurant yesterday. It didn't really have a name...it was chicken and shrimp with lots of wonderful vegetables and fried rice.
How do they get the meat so tender? I could cut the chicken pieces with my fork!

 

[*amy*]

I, too, like it all. I don't know people can compare Thai or Vietnamese food to Chinese, or one kind of Chinese to another. They are different and all great in their own ways.

I agree, Claire. Never having tasted authentic Chinese food/cooking, I can only go by what Chinese restaurants in the USA serve. I lean more toward Mandarin cuisine, as I like Moo Shoo (sp), dumplings, etc. Growing up in New York, the usual dishes in a Chinese restaurants were chow mein, chop suey, moo goo gai pan (sp), egg foo young, velvet chicken, cashew chicken, shrimp in lobster sauce, won ton soup, & Peking duck (as I recall). Most of the Chinese restaurants now, have dishes like beef & broccoli, orange chicken, fried rice, egg rolls etc. It's still all good.

 

[GB]

How do they get the meat so tender? I could cut the chicken pieces with my fork!

They use a technique called velveting.

 

[TanyaK]

I love Chinese food but hate it when you order sweet and sour anything and just get loads of oily batter with so little filling inside you don't even know whether it's chicken or pork. There's very few authentic Chinese restaurants in Cape Town - there is one in the harbour though - a bit of a dive apparently - but the best Chinese food in town. Planning to go there next time it's my turn to take DH out for dinner (did I mention it's super cheap as well ))