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?

@ShirleyPhallus

I can’t believe this. What’s more authentic than sweet n sour chicken!

sweet'n'sour battered prawns

I love Chinese food and got taught how to make lots of HK and Malay food as a student. I remember an early date with now-DH where we went to a Chinese in Cambridge which was sparsely decorated and had only Chinese customers. They gave us a menu in English which didn't look very inspiring, so I pointed at another table.of two and asked if we could have what they were having. Waitress thinks for a minute, consults with boss, then says OK, but you pay first. Given we were clearly broke students this didn't come across as an insult.

Lots of wonderful food, even if I had no idea what it was. And DP loved it too, which was a good sign. We've managed lots of countries and also UK restaurants by just conveying we'd like the same as someone else.

I love chicken feet in black bean sauce because they're cooked and you get that chicken skin flavour. Unfortunately it didn't occur to me once that chicken feet might be raw, so I ordered pickled ones. I tried to get through them but I hate vinegar and cold jelly anyway, so decided I'd let the staff laugh. I did eat all the congee and everything else, and tried to claim I was just full!

@LockdownCheeseToastie I'm not so up on the Bengali/traditional places in Leicester now although Feast India on Melton Road is a total guilty pleasure and no doubt very far from authentic anything 😂
The two South Indians I know and love are Kayal which is right near the train station and Shivalli which is more down towards the sports grounds and DMU, I forget where exactly but can always find it, it's not hidden away.

It would be surprising if any restaurant in the UK serves real sharks fin

There's at least two in Leeds that sell it or have done in the last few years, because I've refused to eat there because of it.

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

Not for me @toffeebutterpopcorn. I've just had bacon with boiled cabbage and potatoes. It was amazing.

If I lived abroad that would be the dish I would order "off menu" in an Irish restaurant.

I ordered a 'staff curry' at an Indian restaurant because I was bored of the standard mainstream choices. The waiter laughed at my request but obliged. Best curry ever!!

I visited China a few years ago and was blown away by the food. It was a surprise because I didn't think I liked Chinese food; everything I was used to eating in Chinese restaurants in the UK was gloopy and tasted of msg. The szechuan hot pots were the best although they were so spicy that I could barely feel my face afterwards. I would love to find some authentic Chinese food in the UK.

@barbaraofseville not sure what is difficult to understand about my comment but authentic Chinese food ( and yes taking into account of the regional variations) do tend to be a lot less sweet. And the Chinese takeaways i have been to in the UK all have sweet and sour chicken and black bean beef on the menu - the former of which is often sweeter than usual. Similar to thai food in the UK too - the curries are so much sweeter than what you get in Thailand typically. Obviously not all restaurants but that tends to be the case.

A school friends family owned a very popular Chinese takeaway but we were allowed to eat from there unless her mum knew we were coming so she could cook “proper” food for us.

@BarbaraofSeville

It would be surprising if any restaurant in the UK serves real sharks fin

There's at least two in Leeds that sell it or have done in the last few years, because I've refused to eat there because of it.

I know a couple in Manchester too

[quote DressyGerbera]@barbaraofseville not sure what is difficult to understand about my comment but authentic Chinese food ( and yes taking into account of the regional variations) do tend to be a lot less sweet. And the Chinese takeaways i have been to in the UK all have sweet and sour chicken and black bean beef on the menu - the former of which is often sweeter than usual. Similar to thai food in the UK too - the curries are so much sweeter than what you get in Thailand typically. Obviously not all restaurants but that tends to be the case.[/quote]
Yes, just about all British Chinese restaurants sell sweet and sour chicken and beef in black bean sauce, but they also sell dozens of other things, so the implication that British people think that Chinese food is all sweet and gloopy and this is the only thing they ever choose from a menu of a hundred different meals, as has been repeatedly posted, is clearly ridiculous.

It's like saying that Italians only eat pasta or British people eat nothing except fish and chips.

@barbaraofseville oh dear, that was not what I was implying at all! I am just saying a lot of the Chinese takeaways in the UK have those two dishes and those dishes tend to be sweeter than authentic ones. you seem to have a chip on your shoulder about something - this is a light hearted thread about food for Pete's sake.

This reminds me of my leaving do from a job that I loved. Took my colleagues to Joy King Lau in London and ordered from the Chinese menu. They loved it!

When my boss retired a few months later, he went back to the same restaurant, phoned me and asked me to speak to the waiter so I could order for him .

I cook Chinese at home, typical dishes would be steamed minced pork with egg, steamed fish, clear soups, stir-fried greens with tofu etc. Dd has recently become a big fan of stir-fried pea shoots with garlic, ginger, a bit of rice wine and sesame oil.

Talking with my parents, one if the things we've missed most in lockdown is going for dim sum together.

And steamed ribs with black bean and garlic, or chu hou (yellow bean) sauce. With a bowl of rice to soak up all of the juices!

And I agree Barbara that the takeaways in the UK also sell a load of other dishes but on many occasions they also do tend to be sweeter than usual or more authentic versions. Again not all takeaways of course but in general that has been my experience.

I never knew this!
I actually really hate bland "westernized" food and avoid some places that are very samey. I would love the authentic stuff!

I REALL want some proper Chinese food now
I spent 2 months in Hong Kong when I was 18. I had no idea what I ate most of the time but it was amazing
BarbaraofSeville can you recommend a good chinese Restaurant in Leeds please? We usually got to Manchester but Leeds is closer
As soon as we can I really need a proper Chinese food fix

This is a good (and easy) tomato and eggs recipe. The 'starch water' is cornflour mixed with water.

Make sure you serve with jasmine rice (not basmati) and do it in a rice cooker/ with the finger method so that the texture is right.

Christine's Recipes is a great blog for Chinese and other Asian food.

en.christinesrecipes.com/?m=1

@Bluegrass

Seems like a strange business model to withhold a product that you can make from a large section of your potential clientele.

Why would you not just separate out those dishes so that anyone who was interested could try them? Then people who avoid Chinese takeaways on the basis that they all taste a bit Anglicised might start using the one that offers more authenticity. Seems like a no brainer.

Not really... its hardly withheld if its available if you ask for it?

I was taken to a fantastic indian restaurant in london... didn't look like a restaurant, in a basement around a back street, no signs outside.

The menu had two options - set meal vegetarian, or set meal not vegetarian.

Still no idea what it was I had but it was all lovely :D

My local chinese will make whatever it is I ask for, but I know them well enough to know what they have in stock and can make because my sister works for them.

I took a group of friends to a Chinese restaurant and they were really keen to eat authentic Chinese food. One got drunk at a party a few months later and told me it was the worst meal he'd ever eaten . Rude!

There's lots of stuff that might not suit an unfamiliar palate - Cantonese people eat a lot of steamed fish (slimy? Head, skin and bones still attached), chicken and duck come out with the heads still on. Tofu, the non-fried version (yum). I'm partial to duck webs too. If you fancy it and you can't read the menu, most waiting staff could probably translate.

@Travelledtheworld here’s the recipe, it’s not really spiced but you could add a little garlic or a splash of sesame oil if you like.

@MotherWol thanks so much. I will give it a go !