To not want to eat Chinese - help me to see if I’m being unreasonable

How ridiculous when he knows you don’t like it. I love Chinese, and wouldn’t care if someone ordered a different takeaway. I’d ask him to suggest how exactly you’re supposed be excited to eat something you dislike.

Why would you purchase a meal you don’t like? Why would he expect you to? Why is he incapable of eating takeaway solo?

No you shouldn’t have to eat a meal you wouldn’t enjoy just so your partner is happy. It’s odd that he wants you to.

I don't really understand why, when we've been told the OP doesn't like Chinese food, some posters are insisting she should still try Chinese food!
I'd be annoyed if somebody was trying to force me to order a takeaway that I knew I wouldn't enjoy! Takeaways are expensive these days, way too expensive to be eating something that wouldn't be a treat for you!
You're not being unreasonable, OP.

Ok. OP is vegetarian. Doesn't eat meat. People are suggesting she should eat meat occasionally to make her partner happy. Her partner says she should eat meat occasionally to make him happy. 🙄
How about this: OP doesn't like to eat snake. Partner does and wants OP to eat it occasionally to make him happy. Is that ok? He says it's no fun eating snake alone. OP has offered to sit with him at dinner eating something she likes while he eats his snake, but he's not appeased. Should she just eat the fucking snake to make him happy?

FWIW Asian cuisine offers some of the most exciting vegetarian options. Wondering why OP doesn't pull a strop that her partner won't eat like her? Maybe it's respect? 🤔

It sounds like he’s pressuring you to do what he wants even though you’ve given him the option of ordering Chinese for himself and you aren’t holding him back from that opportunity.

If you are open to exploring Chinese food some more, I was raised vegetarian (and would eat eggs). I was always a fan of Egg Foo Young, which most people don’t seem to think of when it comes to Chinese. I’m also a massive fan of Chinese buffets as they offer a flavorful variety (Crab Rangoon, noodles, rice, etc.). I also always get pineapple in my rice to “brighten” up my plate 😋

But it’s OK to know that you don’t want to eat something and your husband should respect that. Is there a food he dislikes that you can analogize?

It’s not a compromise for him if he likes the takeaways they’re getting! Whereas he’s literally asking OP to get something she doesn’t like. Worse – and a bit controlling/red flaggy – is he wants her to get excited about the food just because he does.

He’s perfectly capable of ordering Chinese while she orders from elsewhere or cooks something else, and they eat together, sounds like they have a hefty takeaway budget to cover the extra delivery costs. (If not, a compromise would be to alternate who gets takeaway: he has Chinese one week and OP cooks, she gets takeaway the next week and he cooks.) But no, he wants her to eat the same meal as him and he wants to get inside her brain and make her enjoy it the right way. Weirdo man.

Just order what you want ffs.

I can kind of see his point. Part of having a Chinese is getting several dishes and sharing them surely? That’s what we do! Having Chinese for 1 gives you no variety. In fact I prefer having at least 4 people for a Chinese!
iI have never had a bland Chinese takeout!
So on that basis YABU. I don’t think it’s much to ask for you to compromise on your preferences from time to time when he presumably compromises every time!

This is totally odd behaviour from him. Of course you shouldn’t eat food you don’t enjoy. I don’t like sushi and DH would never insist that I have to eat it to keep him company! With Just Eat etc it’s become much more normal to order takeaways from different places. We sometimes do it if the kids fancy pizza and we want an Indian. The whole thing is very weird and controlling from him.

I wouldn't order and eat takeaway I didn't like - but I struggle to understand finding Chinese food boring and bland! There's huge variation in Chinese cuisine- I'm guessing your takeaway is a Cantonese style (adopted to British tastes) and you might prefer more authentic or different regional varieties

You’re not being unreasonable. If you’re eating together then I don’t see the problem at all. The only thing I would say is you’re eating the wrong Chinese food! There is nothing bland about it and there are plenty of veggie options!

Sorry, yes, I really did misunderstand! Apologies xx

OP is vegetarian

My husband hates Chinese food and so I go with my children or get it when out for friends.

It wouldn't matter how much I loved someone, there is no way I am eating anything I do not like just because they wanted the experience of eating it. I am all for compromise, and in that instance I would happily compromise by saying "well you order yours and I will order mine". I know my husband used to quite like going out for the occasional curry, which I never eat, and I compromised by telling him to take his mother or a friend with him. If this topic was about any kind of sexual act, you know how the voting would go.

Well, a basic part of life is doing things you don't like, sometimes to accommodate a loved one.

I don't suppose you have a cuisine where you could ask him to suffer through it for you? It seems silly to argue over take-out, when you could just go to two places to pick up your meals. On the other hand, loving Chinese food myself, I wonder if you couldn't find another restaurant based on another regional Chinese cuisine, more to your taste. Some are quite spicy, not at all bland.

You've misunderstood.

He's being a big bloody baby!

Anyway, Indian food is far superior to Chinese...

wowzabox every time. Try the vegan Mapo Tofu and comic back and tell me it is bland!

@CaptainFuture Most of that stuff is Japanese and Korean and not Chinese. I mean it looks quite nice but it’s Asian fusion stuff. It is incredibly hard to find authentic Chinese food in a takeaway and even some decent restaurants serve stuff up nothing like the food I was raised on.

There is quite a decent take away near me and she will do me stuff off menu.

Any meat eaters try and get hold of Mapo tofu, steamed pork with ginger in cabbage leaves, potsticker dumplings.

Regardless of the cuisine, he is being very ridiculous

I understand where you are coming from. I was veggie for about 20 years and even now I wouldn't be particularly enamoured with a veggie takeaway because you don't know what you are really getting.

Of course, when you see chilli, ginger, garlic, spring onion, pepper all stir fried and add a bit of this a dash of that...

Well I actually missed my old mix vegetable curry, which used to be big chunky English mushrooms, chunky crunchy onion, bamboo shoot, peas... I had a real hankering.

It arrived - frozen mixed veg in curry sauce with what were frozen baby button mushroom. Restaurant were taking no calls (complaints) Just Eat advised me that I'd been served a vegetable curry so all I could do was leave a review.
Mixed veg in oyster sauce should be a lovely light dish - brocolli and cauliflower last seen being binned at the retirement home. Lots of cabbage for bulk..

Unless you know you are getting a fresh tasty meal, Chinese isn't usually a good option.

Indian on the other hand...

What was the question? I've just started feeling hungry!

Domino's. Extra cheese and tomato sauce.

Just both order different things and aim to eat at the same time? As long as everybody is happy.

Chinese is also my least favourite takeaway, though weirdly for the opposite reason! In most I can almost taste the MSG. Plus I hate sweet and sour/savoury together which seems to make up a large amount of their sauces. I just don't like the flavours in most dishes and find them overpowering.

Love all other typical Asian takeaway foods though - Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Sri Lankan etc.

We did find one amazing Chinese restaurant that also does takeaway near us (went for a friend's birthday) - all freshly cooked, great quality, really tasty and the waiter was happy to make suggestions to me for things that weren't sweet. The quality was reflected in the price though so I wouldn't be keen to get it as a takeaway, it was more of a going out to dinner treat!

Oh and @LadyLucyWells I think someone else may have mentioned it but she's actually vegetarian 🤣

i like Indian, my DH likes Chinese and we eat our own choice of food together.

It’s a bit strange demanding someone eat something they don’t like as a treat

@CaptainFuture you do realise this is not Chinese food????

Maybe he wants to enjoy his plate of MSG without being sneered at... OP didn't say she doesn't agree with the healthiness of the food, just the flavour.