Take-out is a good option for quick lunch breaks.
From major chains to small local diners, Chinese take-out restaurants offer American food with an ethnic twist. Although chefs debate over the authenticity of American Chinese food, restaurants serve dozens of items with slightly different choices that cater to everyone's tastebuds. You always want to do a little homework on a place before you order, so stop in to the restaurant to see the menu and check out the food. Otherwise, you might not know what you get when you order.
Knowing the Menu
From egg rolls to vegetable dumplings, Chinese take-out restaurants offer similar items across the country. The menu usually categorizes items by appetizers, soups, sides such as fried rice or soft noodles, meats such as chicken, pork or seafood, and vegetables. Additionally, the menu also includes lunch specials, dinner plates or combo platters. Common dishes on these menus include lo mein, chow mein, egg foo young, sweet and sour chicken or pork, beef and broccoli or house special items.
American vs Authentic
The Chinese food served in America is actually very different from authentic Chinese cuisine. American Chinese cuisine dishes include General Tso's chicken, sesame chicken, chinese chicken salad, chop suey, chow mein, chow fun, crab rangoons, fortune cookies, royal beef and yaka mein. Fortune cookies actually were invented in San Francisco, not in China. Chinese restaurants in America typically want to include several regions or varieties of food in their menus to appeal to different tastes, which means that restaurants have dozens of variations of noodle and sweet and sour dishes. Chef Ming Tsai, the owner of Blue Ginger, an American Chinese restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts, told CNN in an interview that American Chinese food is actually more sweet and thick than authentic Chinese food.
Chain Chinese Take-Out Restaurants
As Chinese food tries to cater to all sorts of tastes, from fried chicken to mixed vegetables, chains of take-out restaurants developed over time. Popular chain restaurants include Panda Express, Manchu Wok, P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Stir Crazy Fresh Asian Grill. These restaurants are found across the United States and offer websites to find restaurant locations. While P.F. Chang's is a sit down restaurant, the chain also has a take-out menu and allows you to call in orders for pick up.
Placing Orders
Picking up a menu or ordering online is essential to placing orders at a Chinese take-out restaurant. Newer or local Chinese restaurants do not always have a website, so in these cases, you need to go in and pick up a menu for future ordering from home. Before calling, write down what you want to order, starting with appetizers and moving on to the main dishes. For example, order fried wontons or spring rolls, then give your order for main dishes like a sweet and sour pork combination. Also, the menu tells you if your dinner plate includes side options. To save time, look up the side options before ordering, so you know to order fried or steamed rice, pork or vegetable egg rolls and so forth. For a busy lunch break, call your take-out restaurant ahead of time to get your egg rolls in a hurry.
Tags: Chinese food, American Chinese, Chinese take-out, sweet sour, take-out restaurants, American Chinese food, chicken pork