To wonder if bog-standard British Chinese takeways have secret menus?

[SherleenDionne]

I've heard that a lot of Chinese restaurants have 'secret', more authentic menus that you can order from. Is this maybe just an American thing or does your bog-standard British Chinese takeaway have this too?

@cerealgamechanger

For those saying Indian restaurants have different menus for natives, please can you say more? How do o go about asking them for a more authentic dish?

They really don't. But if you want a particular dish that isn't on the menu then ask and most of them will be delighted to cook it!

Anyone else really fancying a takeaway now... (no feet)?

Sometimes when you see Chinese customers go off to a separate area in a restaurant it's because they booked a banquet room or for karaoke!

@ClaudiaWankleman wow love that bit of info.
I'm amazed at how much food changes around the world from its original origins.

For example part of family is from the Caribbean and chow mein is always present at family gatherings but it very loosely resembles what you get from your local restaurant

@Funkypickle
There's an extra interesting fact (if I can call it that) about Gong Bao Chicken. The official (that it was named for) had the surname 'ding' which means nail, but is also a way of describing bite sized pieces of meat in a dish.
His name in his official capacity would have been 'Ding Gongbao', which is like 'Officer Ding', and Kung Pao chicken in Mandarin is 'Gongbao Ji Ding' so there's an extra bit of fun there in his name and the dish.

If you want good kungpao chicken, you should go to a Szechuan restaurant, as that is where it is from. You should also pronounce Szechuan not as 'sesh-wan' but as 'Ss - chew-an' for extra points from me. That one really grates!

[quote Funkypickle]@ClaudiaWankleman wow love that bit of info.
I'm amazed at how much food changes around the world from its original origins.

For example part of family is from the Caribbean and chow mein is always present at family gatherings but it very loosely resembles what you get from your local restaurant
[/quote]
We had an office picnic and everyone had to bring a dish from their homeland (we were from all over the place).

Macaroni cheese was brought from America, the Caribbean and Albania. I was in hog heaven (my absolute fave - and the Albanian one was the best!)

One of my friends had a sideline in supplying a nearby 'Indian' takeaway with vegetables from her allotment. She took me there one evening - I knew there would be vegetarian dishes because she is vegetarian (I'm not veggie, but I'm not keen on standard takeaway/restaurant food/ which is bunging some meat in some gloopy sauce), but I am lactose intolerant/don't do dairy.

The food she asked them for was amazing - tons of tiny plates of exquisitely seasoned and lightly cooked vegetables and not a lurid pool of gloop in any of them. I tried to look them up for a delivery later and found the menu was just a bog standard chicken/lamb/beef one.

Turned out that the staff were actually vegan and she'd asked them to do the same for us as they'd have. I really wish I could order everything they made for us that night.

I used to go to a Malaysian place in Sutton before lockdown that served all of these.

It had a limited takeaway menu that looked a bit more familiar, but if you ate in there was the Chinese menu and the Malaysian menu. I just used to pick random items from the Malaysian menu - everyone was a winner.

They would politely say 'it's spicy' in an attempt to deter me, and one dish they absolutely refused to cook, but after they realised I came every week it was fine.

Only ever saw Malaysian customers in there, there were only about 4 tables, it looked like a shithole, but the takeaway business was roaring.

I miss it sooo much.

Not around here there isn't, unlike Craggy Island there is no china town in my tiny Somerset village.

In Scotland there seems to be a law that every town, village and high street must have a chimera and/or Indian takeaway or restaurant. It’s the law.

Chimera (although that would be fun)? Noooo Chinese!

Toffee - was that natto in Japan? It was either that or stinky tofu in China.

Bingo! Ot was indeed Japan.

Some of the off-menu items are foods that many people from the UK would baulk at eating (offal usually, but occasionally stuff like horse, snake, pangolin and shark fin).

Oh chicken feet is so nice. There was an authentic Chinese restaurant near me, every Saturday and Sunday was dim sum buffet, I was in heaven. My faves were the chicken feet, I also used to get rice hot pot with Chinese sausage and chicken. When they closed down I was not impressed as I was then stuck with the usual standard take away stuff which more annoyingly don’t offer the spring onion and ginger condiment, so I ended up making it myself 😁

I’ve always wanted to try tripe in a Chinese restaurant as tripe is a staple in my culture anyway but been reluctant as tripe is one of those things you need to cook for hours on end so if anyone here has had Chinese restaurant tripe is it cooked nice and tender?

My mouth is watering thinking about all this and now planning on going Chinatown tomorrow 😔

@toffeebutterpopcorn @MummyJ12 you can get hot ones in black bean sauce, which you can suck the skin/cartilage and sauce off. It's my fav.

But I also love the cold version, you can get boneless or on the bone, if on bone it more work but with a decent reward. Texture is chewy and gristly, you eat the skin and cartilage, usually the palate turns away from such textures unless you are used to it.

[quote MotherWol]@Travelledtheworld get a copy of Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, it’s got the recipe for eggs scrambled with tomatoes [/quote]
@MotherWol Fantastic ! What are the essential spices ?

@Hoxtonbabe, you say Tripe is a staple in your culture. There used to be a Tripe stall in Doncaster Market. Sold nothing but. All colours and textures. Was never tempted although I remember my Yorkshire mother cooking it.

Chicken feet are fantastic. I have had them again cooked in a Caribbean style. It definitely is all about the texture

[quote Nesski]**@toffeebutterpopcorn* @MummyJ12* you can get hot ones in black bean sauce, which you can suck the skin/cartilage and sauce off. It's my fav.

But I also love the cold version, you can get boneless or on the bone, if on bone it more work but with a decent reward. Texture is chewy and gristly, you eat the skin and cartilage, usually the palate turns away from such textures unless you are used to it.[/quote]
Sounds so yummy! I’m going to ask for that next time I go (hopefully soon!) I love black bean. Thank you for the tip

This thread is making me hungry.

@Nesski

Water cooked fish (shui zhu yu) is my absolute favourite dish, I can't wait until my local restaurant opens up again. I do often get a surprised look when I ask for it though

@HavelockVetinari

Some of the off-menu items are foods that many people from the UK would baulk at eating (offal usually, but occasionally stuff like horse, snake, pangolin and shark fin).

It would be surprising if any restaurant in the UK serves real sharks fin. Anyone ever seen pangolin on a menu, either in Chinese or English...

Sorry you’ve not sold me the feet! Mum would eat pigs trotters and things like that (a war child) so I can’t really...

I’m wondering what I eat that people balk at - probably seaweed? In my meaty days it would be rabbit. People are so odd about rabbit.

@Heyha

I love south Indian food but it's very hard to come by round here....I might see if I can suss out which of our 'Indians' are Bengali-run and which aren't but are cooking Bengali style because that's what people are familiar with. There are two superb south Indian restaurants (at least) in Leicester but alas it's been a long while since I lived within sensible travelling distance. This is a great thread!

Oo- do name them, we visit friends near there fairly often and I adore Bengali food!!

I do love the names of food that i would read about. Always sounds so amazing.