To think the standard of Chinese takeaways has dropped significantly?!

We ordered from our nearest one once. It was awful. If we want Chinese we go to a Chinese restaurant run by Chinese. It's authentic and usually full of Asian people.

Tasted just as good to me. However I did notice that the containers they were in are smaller than they used to be. I'd say 2/3rds the size.

Don't buy them but we've one close by and it gets crap reviews on just eat all the time. I sometimes look.

It's still going though. I wonder how sometimes?

I'm just going to pick my Chinese up now so I'll let you know!

I don’t think that’s greedy. We like variety too and for two of us we’d have

3x mains
1x rice
1x side (like seaweed or bean sprouts)
1x prawn crackers.

In our expensive corner of the country this would be about £50-60. Prawn crackers stopped being free donkeys years ago around here.

My Chinese take away is just as good as it has always been, and it is generally cheaper than other take aways where I am. A Chinese for 2 of us tends to be about £25 while an Indian comes in around £40. I'm in Central Acotland.

I've just looked up our order and it is normally:

Large pancake rolls £3.70
Crispy chilli beef £7.70 +£1 for egg fried rice.
Salt and chilli box £8.90
Sweet and sour sauce £3

I’m unreasonably worried about this now as I was planning a Chinese takeaway next week and not ordered one for over a year - hope it’s still good! I’ll be checking reviews!

I don't think I've ever come across one that does :( I wish....!

Good Chinese food has always been expensive. The cost of all takeaway is going up across the board IMO.

I find that too. I end up picking a load of it out.

I’ve also noticed the hygiene ratings have dropped too. It’s the first thing I check on n Uber Eats

Hey, it’s far cheaper than ours!

We have an excellent local Chinese that is still run by the family, with three generations now involved. The prices are high but the portions are absolutely enormous. They do us three meals minimum. They use real good quality meat and fish. The restaurant bit is always packed.

Sadly because of all that, and the fact that DH and I have very different tastes, and the kids join in, we rarely get change from £80 so they are a rare treat.

I always had chicken but stopped eating it (food poisoning) so went for char siu peking sauce the other day and was really pleased with it

Didn't realise how much chicken I ate until I stopped eating it!

I wish more local takeaways offered Hakka. One of my favourites is honey garlic chicken.

@Ohfishsticks haha, thank you! Do they do prawn ones? I'm not even that mad on the day glo sauce. I could just use hoi sin or sriracha.
I'll check them out. There's a new Aldi near me I've not tried yet.

My parents live up north and they have a choice of banging places.

Where I live the local one that has a chain of restaurants charges the same as eating in! It's like £15 a meal! And twice now their sweet & sour has been bulked out with lumps of cooking apple and a scare amount of pineapple. It's shit and we don't buy it anymore.

I've never been a big fan of uk chinese takeaway food to be honest, its always been slimy, salty and one dimensional in my opinion, with a few notable exceptions. I am absolutely not saying that actual Chinese cuisine is any of those things at all as real Chinese food is delicious but that is usually not available at the average takeaway.

I do think standards are down in many places but we still enjoy takeaway from our favourite Indian and Japanese restaurants on occasion.

it must depend where you live. In cities I’m sure there is lovely Chinese food, but there isn’t anywhere near where I live (rural south coast) that is nice.
We have a Chinese takeaway in our village (which is pretty much the only thing here!) and we can’t get any takeaway delivered here from anywhere else so it’s always ridiculously busy, but the food is horrible quality. Really questionable meat.

The woks of life website does really good Chinese takeaway and authentic recipes for anyone looking to try.

Op, your Chinese is expensive, ours would be £31 for your order in the SE, and thats new prices that went up yesterday! Id get free prawn crackers and spring rolls too.

(They were handing out the new menus earlier when I walked past, I don't have them on speed dial 🤣)

I haven’t read the comments but we haven’t spent less than around that on any takeaway in the last couple of years! A curry that used to be £6 is now £9.50 and of course you want sides! Life has got expensive. I’d love to know where people are still getting a takeaway for 2 for £20?!?

mitogoshigg

Make your own!

Tbh when I order takeaway it's because I CBA to cook, not because I don't know how to.

Pre kids we'd go out for dinner, but these days a takeaway is a treat.

Make your own!

I made sweet chilli fish with egg fried rice yesterday... super quick and not expensive

Cook rice (150g basmati, 300ml water, pinch of salt, bring to boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes then turn off leaving lid on)

Chop peppers and onions. Cut up a firm white fish eg I used basa, but you could use chicken or firm tofu. Roll in corn flour. Meanwhile fry the peppers and onion on a medium heat for 5 minutes until softening but not browned, remove from pan. Shallow fry fish (or other protein) in oil (I use sunflower with a little sesame oil for flavour) toss veg back in then add sweet chilli sauce (I'm cheating) and heat for 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile heat oil and add rice, chopped spring onions make a well and add 1-2 beaten eggs, once they start to cook mix in with the rice. Serve immediately.

I can make this in 15 minutes so even if I have to run to Lidl to fetch the ingredients I can beat the takeaway!!!

I think this must be the reason. It's a pretty thankless job running a takeaway. Our local chipshop has changed hands four times in the last six years, the costs are higher now and the margins are just too slim.

Order anything veggie here and it's just full of cheap thick white onion.