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

I enjoyed Chinese takeaway before Xmas

It was delicious & hot in temperature

So I disagree

Never been mad about Chinese take away..we make pigs of ourselves over Indian or Mexican, slightly pricier but it's so good

We get around the local area, by which I mean a two hour radius, a fair bit, and could name a couple of reliable takeaways which can feed two fairly greedy fussy adults for under £20. Other than those, it can be a bit hit and miss, either overly salty or bland. I don't think saltiness is down to MSG though. I use it myself and it's perfectly fine in moderation. I made a couple of Chinese style dishes at home this evening using MSG, and nobody has been necking water all evening.

’Half the menu’ for two main courses, a shared starter and a side? OK.

We've used the same one for over 30 years. The quality is still the same.

@faithbuffy I see. I don't order half the menu, so I think that's why ours is generally around the £20 mark or lower.

Check out deanedwardschef on Instagram, he shares takeaway recipes and the chilli beef looks so good !

Easily

Mixed starter for 2 £10
King prawn and fried noodle meal - £13
Chicken and fried rice meal £12
Oh I fancy some seaweed £4
Maybe we should get prawn crackers £2

£41 and that's NW prices

Ablondiebutagoody didn't make a blanket statement about another culture, though.

You really don't see a problem with people saying/strongly implying that virtually all Chinese-owned/run food businesses are run by people who can't cook, lie about their ingredients and/or otherwise seek to deceive or rip off their customers?

I agree with much of this. We seem to put up with a LOT when it comes to food in the UK, and in a COLC, it's easy to slash prices and sell crap food.

There are so many issues in the food industry, and when food standards drop, we all pay various prices.

Completely agree. I live in the North West and have thankfully finally found a reliably good one nearby, after many disappointing and in some cases inedible meals over the years.

But then I am partial to a really good Chinese. So much so, I once carried on dating a fella well past the relationship’s expiry date just because I loved the spare ribs and fried rice from his local Chinese so much…..he lived South Birmingham/Solihull way and I was up in South Manchester. Worth the 4 hour round trip every time.

At least 17 years on I can barely remember his name…..but by god, can I still taste those ribs!! 🤣

Bingo!

Totally agree!! They used to be our favourite takeaway. There is one we have that is still good - but too eye-wateringly to even consider.

We've bought about three over the last couple of years, all weirdly greasy and odd-tasting. As in, way beyond the usual level of grease you'd expect from a takeaway even.

I don't think it's just Chinese Takeaways. Food standards have dropped across the board - Very few places do food as good as they did pre-covid. The quality of generally available raw ingredients like fruit and veg and meats has fallen. And that's from a standard that was itself nowhere near as good as it was in the 90s.

Mainly this seems to be to costs. Food costs have climbed recently and supply chain issues make some things really difficult. This may be especially true for places that do foreign cuisines and need less widely available ingredients.

While food costs have grown, standards have fallen. Fruits and veg in particular are hard to get in good condition and in varieties that have much flavour. It's long been the case that fruit from a lot of supermarkets are unripe and go rotten before they ripen at home. Veg has also become far less flavourful in the last two decades. Commercial farming prioritises yield over everything else and so we aren't getting anything else. Even tinned fruit has become less flavourful. You can barely tell the difference between tinned pear and tinned peaches nowadays.

But also doing business is expensive nowadays and places that are heavily reliant on minimum wage workers have seen their wage costs rise markedly. Along with which hiring and retaining good staff has become difficult in service businesses.

High end restaurants that can source ingredients from individual sellers based on flavour and who can attract and keep good workers either because they pay a bit more or because they have a reputation people will stay for, seem to still be producing great food, but in general food is becoming less good because of commercial pressures which don't give any room for considerations of taste.

Haha great saying, is cozzy livs the new platty jubes?

We only have a Chinese takeaway once in a blue moon, usually for DD1's birthday, as she loves it.

Our local takeaway must be good, judging by these comments. The vegetables are crips, the meat is actually really nice and generally, we all really enjoy it. We have a noodle dish that is fabulous - very earthy and soy-y, with tons of seafood. I can't remember what it is, but I love it.

I'm a good cook, but I know relatively little about making Chinese regional food. I'd like to learn, but in the meantime, the odd takeaway is a pleasant but probably completely inauthentic starting point

@faithbuffy It was less than £25. The extra money was for delivery. So for 2 people, I can see how food can add up to £25 at a pricier takeaway. But how does anyone get to £40?

My last (and it will be the last) seemed to contain all the shit you would empty in to your kitchen bin. Bones, skin and gristle I just stared at it in disbelief. Yes I immediately complained but got no where. Seething as it cost over fifty quid for three of us.
We looked closely at the bones and they did not resemble a chicken. Anyway am still pursuing it as I hate being ripped off and we all felt nauseous just looking at it.

This was £28.. one main meal with rice plus 2 starters and the seaweed as a side
I can see if you're somewhere that charges more for rice, or have prawns etc it'll easily add up

I prefer Vietnamese take away.
It tastes fresh and less greasy.
Even still, I will usually buy one and pad it out with steamed vegies that we all like. It's more ecomomical and healthy.

I sometimes add fresh salad ingredients to Special Fried Rice and that is a tasty meal.

I actually had one this week and thought it was really good. I ordered a bit too much and got 2 meals out of it

£40? Without the children?

Did you order 5 meals each or what?

I will leave you to interrogate your own heart - making blanket statements about another culture is not a good look, though.

I don't know why prople ever see a greasy heap of fried food to be a treat. My family had fish and chips last night. I whipped up a quick chicken breast casserole for one for myself with onions, carrots and celery and a little bacon and did some rice in the microwave and had a glass of wine while it cooked. It was nicer, cheaper, healthier and didn't take that long. Easy to freeze too if you don't want any effort on the night.