ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Chinese food isnt' exactly my favorite, but over time I've found a few dishes that I really enjoy. I thought I'd list my top few favorite dishes and see if you guys had any recommendations on what else is good. My Favorites: 1) Shrimp Lo Mein 2) Mongolian Beef 3) General's Chicken Other dishes I've had are Lemon Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Garlic Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Twice Cooked Pork, and Sweet and Sour Chicken. What are some of your favorites and what else do you recommend I try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Fried pot stickers rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Fried pot stickers rock! These things?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I usually order chicken in garlic sauce, extra super hot and spicy, with only chicken and green peppers (sometimes I may also include snow peas). I also like sesame chicken, if it's well made. Orange beef, if it is crispy, is good. I will also get shrimp, if it is really hot and spicy, and doesn't include more Chinese veggies than it does shrimp. I also like pork dumplings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 1) Sweet and Sour Chicken 2) General Tsao's 3) Chicken and Mushrooms 4) Fried Vegetable Rice 5)Lo-Mein Its funny because I always refused to try Chinese food as a child(I don't what it was, but I just didn't think it was appealing at the time) but now I absolutely love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I usually order chicken in garlic sauce, extra super hot and spicy, with only chicken and green peppers (sometimes I may also include snow peas). I also like sesame chicken, if it's well made. Orange beef, if it is crispy, is good. I will also get shrimp, if it is really hot and spicy, and doesn't include more Chinese veggies than it does shrimp. I also like pork dumplings. What kind of shrimp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 1) Sweet and Sour Chicken2) General Tsao's 3) Chicken and Mushrooms 4) Fried Vegetable Rice 5)Lo-Mein Its funny because I always refused to try Chinese food as a child(I don't what it was, but I just didn't think it was appealing at the time) but now I absolutely love it! I was kind of the same way...no idea why. I'm pretty particular about where I get it from now, mainly because I used to work with a guy who had a health inspector in the family, and he said that Chinese places often scored the lowest, and that they were most often knocked for "storage practices". So I will usually check out the health inspector report online before I go somewhere....not just with Chinese places, but I find it useful for other restaurants, as well. I worked in food service for over five years, and I've seen both the good and the bad...so it's a little extra peace of mind when I know they scored well on the inspection. But I digress.... The General's chicken is something I've only tried recently but have really enjoyed....the place near my house makes the chicken nice and crispy, and the sauce has enough of a kick to it to really appeal to the ol' taste buds. Might be my favorite dish now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What kind of shrimp? It varies from restaurant to restaurant. At a place like PF Changs (forgive me) I sometimes get Chang's Spicy Shrimp (I think that's what it is called, anyway). I won't order shrimp if I can't communicate with someone at the restaurant, and then I basically tell them what I want, and see if they have an idea and will accommodate me. I tell them I want a shrimp dish, very spicy, with no, or minimal, vegetables. If it is a Hunan-style place, or a good Szechuan place they usually have something good. If you like shrimp, but don't want it spicy, Hakka restaurants often make very good salt-baked shrimp (or salt and pepper shrimp), that isn't as salty as the name implies. I typically use the menu as a guide in restaurants in general, and decide what I want. Many times what I want isn't really a menu item, so I talk to them and then see if the place can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 It varies from restaurant to restaurant. At a place like PF Changs (forgive me) I sometimes get Chang's Spicy Shrimp (I think that's what it is called, anyway). I won't order shrimp if I can't communicate with someone at the restaurant, and then I basically tell them what I want, and see if they have an idea and will accommodate me. I tell them I want a shrimp dish, very spicy, with no, or minimal, vegetables. If it is a Hunan-style place, or a good Szechuan place they usually have something good. If you like shrimp, but don't want it spicy, Hakka restaurants often make very good salt-baked shrimp (or salt and pepper shrimp), that isn't as salty as the name implies. I typically use the menu as a guide in restaurants in general, and decide what I want. Many times what I want isn't really a menu item, so I talk to them and then see if the place can do it. Very cool, thanks....I definitely like things on the spicier side, so I'll have to grab a menu from this local place I like and see if they have anything similar to what you described. I really enjoy the shrimp lo mein, but spicy shrimp with veggies sounds damn tasty too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Good topic. I like pretty much all Chinese food and I've got it made here in SF with some of the best Chinese food outside China and NYC. We had dim sum yesterday and had: Szchewan Chicken Steamed chicken and ginger dumplings Pork and shrimp shaomei Peking duck Pork Potstickers Stuffed steamed noodles All good stuff. But I'll tell you there is nothing worse that crappy Chinese food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 These things?? Yep. I usually order them and crab meat rangoons along with egg drop/wonton (mixed together) soup. Also... I like the mu shu (pork, chix, or beef)... They are the equivalent of Chinese roll-ups/wraps/ or fajita type thingys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Good topic. I like pretty much all Chinese food and I've got it made here in SF with some of the best Chinese food outside China and NYC. We had dim sum yesterday and had: Szchewan Chicken Steamed chicken and ginger dumplings Pork and shrimp shaomei Peking duck Pork Potstickers Stuffed steamed noodles All good stuff. But I'll tell you there is nothing worse that crappy Chinese food. Guess I need to try these potsticker things lol. Have you ever sampled any of what Toronto has to offer? That was sort of where I had my first taste of REALLY tasty Chinese food, and it was the first time I ever tried the lo mein. What bothers me is how it seems like so many of the smaller, local places buy their product from one central supplier. Seems like most of these cookie cutter Chinese joints use the same over-hydrated shrimp, same beef, same chicken, etc, etc as the other guys. Then I find one that looks and tastes different than the others (in a good way) and all of a sudden I'm interested in this cuisine again. I've heard there are a couple of really good places here in the ATL, but I've yet to venture to any of them. I did like the place that Dean mentioned, PF Changs....but no idea where they stand in the grand scheme of what's good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Yep. I usually order them and crab meat rangoons along with egg drop/wonton (mixed together) soup. Also... I like the mu shu (pork, chix, or beef)... They are the equivalent of Chinese roll-ups/wraps/ or fajita type thingys. Cool, I never ever heard of those until you mentioned them....seems like others like them too, though, so I'll have to order some next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 All good stuff. But I'll tell you there is nothing worse that crappy Chinese food. Truer words were never spoken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Cool, I never ever heard of those until you mentioned them....seems like others like them too, though, so I'll have to order some next time. Ya. I never really ventured into that dish until some years ago my sister-in-law was visting from Boston and ordered them from the local Chinese joint here in town. My nephew was young and seemed to like them... They are kinda great for the young children without getting too funky a dish for those youngins'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Guess I need to try these potsticker things lol. You can get them fried or steamed. Something new that I have seen at the place I go to is a "Japanese soup"... I forget the name, I tried it and it is good... Spicey too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 You can get them fried or steamed. Something new that I have seen at the place I go to is a "Japanese soup"... I forget the name, I tried it and it is good... Spicey too! What are the primary spices they use to get the heat in Chinese food? Sometimes I eat food where I feel they went for heat at the expense of flavor, and I dont like that at all. I like spicy food, but I want the flavor AND the heat. Seems like when I order a Chinese dish that is listed as "spicy", it's actually pretty mild. Good, but mild. If I ask for something to be spicier, I was just curious what it is they would most likely add? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Truer words were never spoken. Is that possible (crappy)... I must be easy to please? Just as long as it is NOT moving... I remember my father one time went to Fort Erie with us... He was against Chinese food! (that is where I must get my OTHER old-school biases from) So he ordered roast beef! He said it tasted like it came out of a can... Duh dad, it probably did! Need I say, he likes Chinese now after that trip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What are the primary spices they use to get the heat in Chinese food? Sometimes I eat food where I feel they went for heat at the expense of flavor, and I dont like that at all. I like spicy food, but I want the flavor AND the heat. Seems like when I order a Chinese dish that is listed as "spicy", it's actually pretty mild. Good, but mild. If I ask for something to be spicier, I was just curious what it is they would most likely add? Maybe Chef would know... ?? But, don't they use that reddish brown pepper?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Maybe Chef would know... ?? But, don't they use that reddish brown pepper?? Typically dried red peppers that they either throw in whole or grind up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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