I work in a Chinese takeaway

[mniser]

I've worked there 7 years and I'm currently very bored AMA

Are the dishes authentic? If so which ones? Which dishes were created for a British palate?

What you recommend as an order for 6 people?

@BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou Monday makes sense

I want to know how to make egg fried rice because you’d think it would be simple but I tried and it tasted nothing like it and went straight in the bin!!! I love Chinese takeaway

What are the most popular dishes on the menu? (My guess : sweet & sour pork ; bbq spare ribs).

Is there a staff meal? If so, what sort of food is it?

Egg fried rice is dead easy to make. It doesn't taste like what I have had from the Chinese takeaway. It tastes better.

@FoxtrotOscarPoppet and @AdvicePleaseThanks we try not to use msg products in our food however if it does contain it we state in on the menu.
@Bluewavescrashing things aren't usually reheated however the chips are pre cooked once and then re fried and they tend to be nicer this way to be honest.

@NoMilk yes!!! All the time it's so infuriating normally forgotten drinks or missing items when I've packed the bags myself and know they where in there. We have regular customers that order every night most weeks and have even seen some give toddlers Chinese food which I think is too salty but each to there own. About 40% of customers are nice and it's remembered they always get free prawn crackers.

@Fairylea they cook everything in very very hot woks they don't precook the chicken as that would be a food poisoning risk because you don't know how much you will use in one night.

@Justajot not that I am aware of no strange chemicals just good cuts of meet and I think that helps. Yes thank you for asking I would say people who order everything from one category before moving to next e.g starters then mains then extras it helps a lot.

@NetballHoop I have never been to China but would love to go and I deffo don't attempt an accent they would find that very offensive

Sorry people working through this now a lot more questions then I thought there would be

@Angie6868 the most popular dish is either the special curry or the salt and pepper box by far.

@floppybit the sweet and sour sauce is made in the shop and you can deffo eat it. They boil down oranges lemons limes onions cloves and other spices garlic and peppers they also add tomato ketchup and vinegar.

@Marsbardelight we tend to give them more freebies such as prawn crackers spring rolls fortune cookies.

@leghairdontcare we don't sell popadoms but sell curry parcels which is strange. I am not Chinese but still get racist comments which I can't stand. I've once had someone who was Chinese ask why I'm not Chinese and why don't I speak Chinese and normally teenage kids make Chinese jokes which I don't really find funny tbh. Our food hygiene rating is 4.

@Redshoeblueshoe we are not getting less people in however the owners family is originally from the village in China that is on lock dow so he is quite concerned about it as his whole family are there still it's an awful situation. The salt and pepper box is amazing! You get chicken balls spring rolls salt and pepper chicken ribs chips egg fried rice and noddles then a choice of sauce

@Cheesecake53 see above.

@managedmis deffo not the chips are lush and we always get them. I am not Chinese but find parts of the culture fascinating.

@Sagradafamiliar yes our curry sauce is vegetarian however the gravy is not. The chips are fried in sunflower oil and we do a lot of vegetarian options which most Chinese's don't seem to do.

@bsc yes it is deep fried cabbage and we top ours with fish powder which I think it's vile and strange but people obviously like it. We do offer vegan meals however always have but more vegetarian then vegan. We also try to cater to dietary requirements and can suggest meals that can be made gluten and dairy free most places will do this if you ask the staff nicely enough.

Your Chinese sounds lush, where are you located - just say county?

Thanks that sounds fabulous. I'm glad trade isn't being affected

No question but I really want a Chinese now

Me too mouth drools....

Is there a particular type of onion or way of cooking a normal brown onion - they taste so light and fresh?

Oooh thank you for answering, OP. I'm laid in bed almost drooling at the thought of a takeaway now 😂

Thank you @mniser!

Chinese takeaway is my absolute favourite.
Hope the owners family is ok, it's a shitty situation.

Do you have to deal with many drunk rowdy people late at night? and is BBQ sauce actually hoisin sauce?

@BikeRunSki I'm not sure around here it's either Tuesday or Wednesday we shut on a Tuesday because Monday is bank holidays and that's normally busy and Thursday is busy due to it being neatly weekend so I guess Tuesday is closer after busy weekend. That's just a guess anyway.

@Christmaspug we do a lot of tofu dishes and it's all cooker separately we also do just vegetable dishes in sauce that has no animal products and the boiled rice is also vegan and people ask nicely enough we will make them there own batch of fried rice without egg.

@beyoncessweatband I am not Chinese and it's not my family who run it however I have worked there for so long they treat me like family I get a very very nice Xmas and birthday present every year and when DS was born they came round and brought lots of nice gifts. They even delivered me Chinese food to the hospital because I was in a week after he was born. I don't know how much annually however my guess would be a lot they have nice car house kids go to private school and have lessons in a lot of subjects with private tutors. I've taken over £2000 a night before. We aren't in a Chinese area however there is one in a near city centre. It's called china town.

They sound lovely!
Odd question but with people trying to save on plastic etc has anyone brought their own boxes and would you fill them??
I lived overseas (very poor country with lots of shortages, think Eastern Europe but not there) in the 90s and you had to take your own casserole dishes to the only Chinese takeaway.

Interestingly for me, prawn crackers and salt and pepper box are not on the menu in American Chinese restaurants. I had to google them to find out what they are and I've eaten in dozens of Chinese restaurants here, including some very posh ones in NYC.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan it's mainly things you would expect so all rice has sesame oil in which gives it a better flavour a lot of chilli is used and also white wine it's even used in the salt and pepper dishes. A lot of dishes are cooked with a chunk of butter as well which people don't seem to be aware of such as Thai curry and Chinese curry. The chefs are normally eating there dinner just as I'm arriving for my shift they eat authentic Chinese food not our version so soups and broths and dumpings a lot of seafood as well. @Bunnyfuller this slightly applies to you me question too the chair Sui is marinaded overnight normally and then cut into slices I don't really know the recipe for that sorry and the curry sauce is a staff secret but we do make it in shop.

@macaroniandpizza we do make our curry suave and it is amazing. I've tried many other Chinese's and none are on par.

@NemophilistRebel we do deliver in a four mile radios and unlike a lot of places the drivers get the full delivery charge say you pay £1.50 in a lot of other shops the drivers sometimes only get 50p of that which I think is shocking.

@Thelnebriati I did like Chinese food before I started however I wasn't very daring since working there I have tired a lot more and love most of it still even after seven years. I go through phases of things so don't really go off it.

@JewelTheft I don't unfortunately however might be able to get back to you on that one.

@Mlou32 a lot of places do however it's the same with any takeaway place not all are the same our kitchen is spotless but the front of house could use a paint.

@7dayslater hi, how long have you worked there do you enjoy it and do they treat you well?

@Kittywampus I am not Chinese however they do let me try there dishes and it's very different less salt and sugar and less ingredients but they work brilliant together. They are more broth and noodle based dishes

How is the rice cooked? I'm always a bit wary of takeaway rice as im worried about how it is stored and reheated.

@Dragonembroidery I don't put on anaccent as it would be a terrible attempt and wouldn't want to offend anyone. My boss is from China and he has a strong accent but his son was born here and he does not.

@Bluerussian hi, i hope they are lovely people and the food is good! I'm not keen on sweet and sour pork I think I had it too much over the years I prefer spicy things but Dh does not.

@Fanniesyeraunt it depends on your pallet really. If you like salt and pepper chips you should try salt and pepper chicken too. I normally recommend satay dishes it's peanut based though so not good if you have allergy's. Peking dishes are also very nice they are similar to sweet and sour and Singapore chow mien is also delish. Try things similar before venturing out then your more likely to enjoy them.

@Straycatstrut I have hundreds what are you after? Drunk people, worst chat up lines, best arguments I've had, most memorable complaints?

@MrsAgassi it depends which chow mien the extra dish with just bean sprouts and onions is cooked in soy sauce and the main dish is cooked in oyster sauce.

@bakedbeanzontoast we do get a lot of people ordering English dishes not too many chicken Maryland it's normally omelettes or mixed grill or sausage chips and gravy to be honest. We pre cook the chips then re dry when ordered so they are double fried and very nice.

@loutypips all the sauces are made in the shop in giant pans like pans you can't even imagine I was shocked the tiny chef could even lift it.