Do You Share Dishes at Chinese and Other Asian Restaurants?

Started by Admiral Yi, January 04, 2013, 11:56:11 AM

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Like, you know, share

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34 (70.8%)
I ordered it, I'm going to eat it.  Get your grubby mitts off my food.
11 (22.9%)
I never eat that slop.
2 (4.2%)
What would Jaron do?
1 (2.1%)

Total Members Voted: 48

Valmy

Quote from: Jacob on January 04, 2013, 02:46:31 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 04, 2013, 01:37:02 PMMan around here those Chinese food buffets are usually full of Chinese people.

I don't doubt it :)

Ah ok for some reason I got the impression that was not the Chinese way or something.
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derspiess

If it's served family style then obviously I'm going to have to go along with that.  But I much prefer individual portions.  Voted the second option.
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merithyn

Quote from: derspiess on January 04, 2013, 03:12:00 PM
If it's served family style then obviously I'm going to have to go along with that.  But I much prefer individual portions.  Voted the second option.

Yeah, I think that's the big difference. Around here, it's served as individual portions, not family style. Your order is placed next to your plate along with your rice.
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MadImmortalMan

My favorite Chinese restaurant has the rotating platform in the middle of the table so people can spin it and get to everything. They serve the food dishes on it. Makes it easy to share.

I don't do that every time though.
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MadImmortalMan

Incidentally, I agree that the Chinatown tourist places are usually not that good. Chinese food has to be the easiest type of food to do badly and get away with it. It's like there's a rule that if they deliver, it will be awful. It's tough to find good Chinese food, actually. The bad stuff has just been spammed everywhere.
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HVC

Look for Chinese places that have two menus, then order from the Chinese one. Best options.
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Jacob

Quote from: Valmy on January 04, 2013, 02:53:06 PMAh ok for some reason I got the impression that was not the Chinese way or something.

Well it is an adaptation of a Western custom, I'm pretty sure. So while I don't think it's "the Chinese way", I'm sure there are plenty of Chinese who enjoy buffets.

Jacob

Quote from: PRC on January 04, 2013, 02:37:05 PM
Thought this was a good thread to post this Globe & Mail article...

Do the Vancouverites & Torontonians know of the establishments he likes in those cities?

Yeah. Sun Sui Wah has a couple of locations, one of which is quite close to my house (and in the same building as my local nerd store). It's not my favourite dim sum in Vancouver, but it's definitely solid.

Landmark Hotpot... well... my wife is from a place that's fiercely proud of their hotpot (and we eat it at home with some frequency), so I am maritally obligated to state that there's no acceptable hotpot in Vancouver. That said, I expect the hotpot at Landmark is fine if you're not from Sichuan or other hotpot hotspots.

Malthus

Quote from: HVC on January 04, 2013, 04:16:31 PM
Look for Chinese places that have two menus, then order from the Chinese one. Best options.

Ah, only do this if you read Chinese.  :lol:

Reminds me of a (possibly apochryphal, urban-legend style) story my aunt told me - how a friend of hers, who did not read Chinese, saw some particularly beautiful caligraphy hand-written in the margin of a Chinese menu in Chinatown, carefully copied it down, and then incorporated it into the chest of a sweater she was knitting for herself. She proudly wore it around town, not noticing the funny looks from Chinese folks ... until her friend translated it for her: "This dish is good, but cheap".  :lol:
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Viking

Quote from: HVC on January 04, 2013, 04:16:31 PM
Look for Chinese places that have two menus, then order from the Chinese one. Best options.

I get both menues. I know enough kanji to read the chinese menu, especially when I have the english one as well. I just make sure to pay the prices on the chinese menu.
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garbon

Quote from: MadImmortalMan on January 04, 2013, 03:55:14 PM
Incidentally, I agree that the Chinatown tourist places are usually not that good. Chinese food has to be the easiest type of food to do badly and get away with it. It's like there's a rule that if they deliver, it will be awful. It's tough to find good Chinese food, actually. The bad stuff has just been spammed everywhere.

I'd agree that Chinatown is usually not that good. :D
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Syt

The vast majority of Chinese restaurants here are adjusted to westernized tastes and are usually for eating a lot for cheap (esp. buffets). Still, there's some authentic ones as well.
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Valmy

Quote from: Syt on January 04, 2013, 05:17:52 PM
The vast majority of Chinese restaurants here are adjusted to westernized tastes and are usually for eating a lot for cheap (esp. buffets). Still, there's some authentic ones as well.

Well as I state before these supposedly westernized Chinese Restaurants are pretty popular among the Chinese.  Heck they are all Chinese owned so far as I can tell as well.  So I find it bizarre they are so different from what one would find in China.  I mean it would be weird to have restaurants owned by Italian immigrants with large numbers of Italian immigrant clients that were some sort of bastardized Italian food.

I guess I should be taking comfort in the fact this is evidence of integration :P
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Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Malthus

Quote from: Valmy on January 04, 2013, 05:24:18 PM
  I mean it would be weird to have restaurants owned by Italian immigrants with large numbers of Italian immigrant clients that were some sort of bastardized Italian food.


Doesn't this exist? American Pizza and the like?
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Syt

Quote from: Valmy on January 04, 2013, 05:24:18 PM
Quote from: Syt on January 04, 2013, 05:17:52 PM
The vast majority of Chinese restaurants here are adjusted to westernized tastes and are usually for eating a lot for cheap (esp. buffets). Still, there's some authentic ones as well.

Well as I state before these supposedly westernized Chinese Restaurants are pretty popular among the Chinese.  Heck they are all Chinese owned so far as I can tell as well.  So I find it bizarre they are so different from what one would find in China.  I mean it would be weird to have restaurants owned by Italian immigrants with large numbers of Italian immigrant clients that were some sort of bastardized Italian food.

Not sure if it plays any role, but anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that many "westernized" Chinese restaurants here are run by Chinese from Indonesia, and that the "authentic" ones are much more likely to be run by Chinese from Taiwan or the mainland.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.