Chinese Food

[Calgary Flames]

Even real chinese food is greasy as hell. I'm not going to stop eatin' it though.

[Otto-matic]

Im all for this great food, It may be greasy but is it ever good. Damn good food.

[Shazam]

A lot of it is real Chinese food. It's just not Cantonese Chinese, which is much lighter, a little more elegant, has a lot more seafood dishes and not as heavily flavoured (think Dim Sum). What you see at buffets is mostly Peking cuisine along with *******ized food, like ginger beef, sweet and sour chicken balls, beef + broccoli, and salt and pepper squid. Even then, there's very similar dishes in "traditional" Chinese cooking. They're just taking what's available here and making similar dishes using the local ingredients.

Traditional stuff you see at a Chinese buffet include fried rice, deep fried chicken wings, noodles, black bean stir fries, s+p pork ribs among other things.

MSG is pretty popular in Asian cooking. Heck, I've never been to a Chinese person's house who didn't have a huge freaking jar of MSG in their pantry.

Go to that restaurant beside the Lambda market on Centre Street south of 16 Ave. There's lots of "regular" Chinese food there, it's dirt cheap and damned delicious. Order one of the congee dishes (rice porridge), a vegetable dish and something with black bean if you want something traditional. A Chinese meal usually has very little meat, as it's usually pretty expensive.

[V]

I'm the same way. I enjoy the stuff on the way down, but I come within inches of my life the next day. I must have a problem with MSG or something.

[Shazam]

If you want something Chinese like but not so heavy, go to Tropika on Centre Street. That place is yummy.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by Calgary Flames

Even real chinese food is greasy as hell. I'm not going to stop eatin' it though.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

"Real" chinese food is very healthy. Being chinese, most of the food I ate at home when I was young was steamed or braised. Very high vegetable content in meals, and steamed fish is usually eaten in Chinese families at least once a week.

Also, a major ingredient of Chinese cooking is ginger root, bean curd (tofu), and garlic, which are all very healthy. I read an article once about China and Japan having the lowest overweight populations in the world, which was attributed to the food they eat overseas (close to the water... high fish content in meals)... but can't seem to find this article right now.

fotze, the best way to experience "real" chinese food is to go to a chinese restaurant where other Chinese people are eating. If you look around you and see no Chinese folks (Ginger Beef in Sunridge Mall when I used to live in Calgary, or A Touch of Szechuan in Whitehorn), that's the first sign you need to get the hell out!

Another good way to experience, healthy chinese food is to go with an actual Chinese person... LOL... if you don't know any just go to the restaurant but stay away from the deep-fried foods... or dishes which come with sweet dipping sauces.

The first time I ever had ginger beef was with a white guy who claimed it was the best dish EVER. Any of the battered, deep-fried foods are essentially on the menu for the non-Asians... stay away from them and you should be fine!

[KipperIsGod]

Gotta love those all you can eat Chinese Buffets..Man are those ever good!

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by fotze

Well since you are a chinese person tell me what to order assuming I have gone to a good chinesy restaurant. I've heard aberdeen is good.

I know ginger beef is the worst one. Chicken and cashews is bad too apparently. I have done a hot pot but the raw egg dip kinda freaked me out.

What would you order if you got to someone's house and they had the chinese takeout menu on the table and said pick five dishes so we can eat during the Flames game.

Unfortunately, most of the time, Chinese restaurants which deliver, do not serve real Chinese food. Sad, but true.

Do you like fish? Order a Chinese-style steamed fish. It's my favourite dish, but I know that fish isn't for everyone.

Any braised dish would be good also... something like a braised pot of lamb? The pot usually comes with the meat, carrots, and potatoes. If lamb isn't your thing, you can also get braised beef brisket, or even chicken. Garlic steamed prawns are also good... it comes with a simple soya-sauce dipping sauce.

Vegetables are one of my favourites, and just a simple garlic stir-fried vegetable is very tasty to me. Watercress is good (but is not usually stir-fried)... Baby Bok Choy, Chinese Spinach, or Chinese lettuce ("Gai Lan") are all the usual vegetables which are stir-fried.

Another dish which I like alot is Eggplant with Fish. The eggplant is sliced into pieces, and each piece is sliced in the middle, and stuffed with a fish paste.

Make sure you order steamed rice, rather than fried rice.

[Clarkey]

Vietnamese food is less greasy, at least from my experience here in Calgary. I could be wrong but I think the Vietnamese places use less msg and instead rely more on spices, peppers etc. to flavor the food.

[CarlW]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

Unfortunately, most of the time, Chinese restaurants which deliver, do not serve real Chinese food. Sad, but true.

Do you like fish? Order a Chinese-style steamed fish. It's my favourite dish, but I know that fish isn't for everyone.

Any braised dish would be good also... something like a braised pot of lamb? The pot usually comes with the meat, carrots, and potatoes. If lamb isn't your thing, you can also get braised beef brisket, or even chicken. Garlic steamed prawns are also good... it comes with a simple soya-sauce dipping sauce.

Vegetables are one of my favourites, and just a simple garlic stir-fried vegetable is very tasty to me. Watercress is good (but is not usually stir-fried)... Baby Bok Choy, Chinese Spinach, or Chinese lettuce ("Gai Lan") are all the usual vegetables which are stir-fried.

Another dish which I like alot is Eggplant with Fish. The eggplant is sliced into pieces, and each piece is sliced in the middle, and stuffed with a fish paste.

Make sure you order steamed rice, rather than fried rice.

True Takeout is a Fakeout.
Ordering Congee is always a good nongreaser dish.

Your description of food made me hungry and want to leave Saskatoon earlier to go home to Calgary for my mom's food . I can't even find watercrest here.

[CRXguy]

Originally Posted by Shazam

If you want something Chinese like but not so heavy, go to Tropika on Centre Street. That place is yummy.

Ummm, that's fake Malaysian.

[Hack&Lube]

Heck, Ginger Beef was invented in Calgary. Chinese restaurants aren't very user friendly. I've always said they should have pictures with proper serving sizes. Nothing hurts me more than to see people who don't know any better having a dinner for two and ordering what amounts to a giant plate of steamed vegetables to share or something. Ouch.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by CRXguy

Ummm, that's fake Malaysian.

Face it, most ethnic restaurants around these parts in some one way geared toward serving the western palatte and therefore are fake or offer less daring or unique cuisine.

Real Chinese Food for dinner -> you really shouldn't try unless you have a huge amount of people because it's designed to be served banquet style and you can only appreciate all various dishes when you have a lot of people. It can also be very expensive with interesting things like Shark Fin soup, abalone, etc.

The reason why there is so much "fake" chinese food designed for the western palatte is that it's been designed to suit the "complete individual meal" idea of western convenience.

IE: when you go out for dinner, you order lets say, the steak. You might get a salad, some pasta on the side, and that's it. The guy next to you orders his own individual meal, maybe the Chicken or something.

Fake Chinese food really is organized into feeling like a portion that fits into a limited "individual" meal. You get your bit of rice, meat (ginger beef, pork, etc.), maybe some noodles, a handful of brocolli, etc. And you're done.You've had your variety and it feels like a standard meal.

Real Chinese food isn't supposed to be eaten that way. It's comes in large portions over various courses served slowly over time and to many people and you share it communally. More like old European style banquets.

I really don't know what to suggest to you except bring a large group of people and ask them for one of the many course set dinners that should be on the chinese menu (often there are two) and get them to explain them to you. I can't recommend any specific dishes because they won't be "complete" and will need to be complemented by other things and it will just snowball. . .

Still, being Chinese, I prefer western food like ginger beef haha.

[Wookie]

I saw lots of the big group meals being eaten in Malaysia at some fancy Chinese restaurant. At least they said it was Authentic.. During Chinese new Years there was this dish they always served where large groups of people stood up and tossed the dish around with their chopsticks.. It looked good and like fun.. I was sad I never got to try

All this talk is making me want food

[Calgary Flames]

Originally Posted by CRXguy

Ummm, that's fake Malaysian.

Yeah it's not chinese... and it sucks. Anyone know of a good malaysian place? Like Sizzling Wok until it closed?

[Suave]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I really don't know what to suggest to you except bring a large group of people and ask them for one of the many course set dinners that should be on the chinese menu (often there are two) and get them to explain them to you. I can't recommend any specific dishes because they won't be "complete" and will need to be complemented by other things and it will just snowball. . .

That's the best idea. Grab a bunch of friends head out and grab a set dinner. And if you are really adventurous don't even ask for a explanation of what is in the dinner, then you will be surprised as each dish comes out.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Calgary Flames

Even real chinese food is greasy as hell. I'm not going to stop eatin' it though.

Really? Wow, and all the time I was in China I must have been having some kind of fake Chinese that wasn't greasy in the slightest. In fact it was some of the best food I've ever had. Add to that it was some of the most rounded meals I've ever eaten and spicy as hell.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Vietnamese food is less greasy, at least from my experience here in Calgary. I could be wrong but I think the Vietnamese places use less msg and instead rely more on spices, peppers etc. to flavor the food.

I have found the same thing as well although a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants in Calgary have a great deal of Indonesian and Thai influence in their menu. Not that I'm opposed to it though. I love Sate (Satay).

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by Shazam

If you want something Chinese like but not so heavy, go to Tropika on Centre Street. That place is yummy.

Tropika is a hack. As a person born and raised in Malaysia half my life, I can attest to that. If you had real Malaysian food, such as assam laksa, nasi lemak, or even just cha kwe teau, you will realize the huge difference, and you will most likely never go back to Tropika again

There used to be a place that came close to Malaysian food. Sizzling Wok. Auntie Kim was a family friend. Loved the food.

[North East Goon]

Try some sort of noodle Vietnamese Dish Fotze, real tasty less greasy. Those Vermicelli noodles are awesome.