The Road to (Crab) Rangoon

I checked the list just to make sure The Hong Kong was on it :rofl:

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Perhaps for exactly the reason that @tomatotomato mentioned above. To help them stay in business.

“our go-to Sichuan restaurant includes a selection of Americanized dishes on the menu for diners who I expect would not otherwise eat there”

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Don’t knock it till you try it. What’s not to like about melty cream cheese in a crunchy wrapper? Goes best with a tiki cocktail.

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Pretty sure our local Chinese places that are predominantly Sichuan have it on the menu. Same reason they offer beef & broccoli. People like and order the stuff :woman_shrugging:t2:

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That could lead to a long discussion if restaurant (not only Chinese but across the whole spectrum) really have to “sell their soul” (yes, I am exaggerating) to just follow some of their customers strange desires even if it might be against the restaurants desire to cook good dishes which are routed in their own background, tradition and own desire. It might be location dependent but I am not convinced that is really any longer necessary everywhere

Evidently the Chinese restaurants in the US are able to do both.

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Or even Burmese/Myanmar cuisine.

Yes, quite probably it IS location-dependent. Restaurants serving Chinese food in a major city such as NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, or Chicago are very likely going to have a completely different clientele from one in Des Moines, IA, Natchez, MS, Gatlinburg, TN, or Bozeman MT.

Perhaps they can introduce fare more consistent with their specific area of expertise, but there’s a good likelihood that those menu items won’t become area favorites except to a smaller group of diners. They ultimately need to cater to their environs, or go out of business. Simple economics.

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Not gonna admit anything about that from my past. :wink:

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Whatchou talking bout Willis
Nothing to admit (after a few scorpion bowls wipe the memory)

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I wager that was the true purpose of scorpion bowls. Not that I’m admitting to that one either.

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As Rick Jenkins, who used to host upstairs at the Comedy Studio would point out, the Scorpion Bowl also provided a convenient place for your face to go when you were done.

I always thought it was brave of them to put the little plastic mermaid figurines in it. Choking hazards + drunk college kids!

The Hong Kong’s Crab Rangoon was fine. Cromulent, even!

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Straws. Only straws.

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Memories
drink1

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Our small reliable circuit of Mexican and all manner of Asian places are all family-operated. It’s a hard life, and we admire every effort that keeps the doors open and secures the family’s well being. Way back, a cooked-to-order in front of your eyes (blazing wok station behind the register) rice plate standby offered hamburgers and fries. Every third lunch, we ordered one instead of broccoli beef. Just as tasty and satisfying.

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The small town café near my cousin’s farm in Saskatchewan is currently owned by a local woman, and the chef is Filipino. The menu has bacon and eggs, Western (aka Denver) sandwiches, Saskatchewan-style pizza ( a Greek immigrant invention, lots of pepperoni or ham under the cheese), wings, hot turkey sandwiches, fries, fruit pies, butter tarts, Calgary ginger beef, and Filipino specials. They do everything well, at least a 7/10 to a 9/10 for me.

No Rangoon, though! :joy:

Restaurateurs shape their menus based on their demographic and what sells.

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The only label that matters is skill. We’re reminded of some vacuous tv interviewer speaking to Ray Charles about performing the Hoagy Carmichael standard Georgia on My Mind – “What do you call your musical “style” – is it jazz, country, R&B . . . ?”

Mr. Charles: "It’s folk . . . "

Interviewer (flustered and baffled): “Folk !?”

Brother Ray: “Folks singing music they like.”

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One of the last concerts I saw was a Willie Nelson concert in 2019. I saw Willie Nelson, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and Gordon Lightfoot that summer.

A Frank Turner concert was the last big concert I went to, around Sept 2019.

Hey, it was YOUR description: “fake crab” and “sweet goopy sauce”:woozy_face:

Well, what else should I call Krab and “duck” sauce? :joy:

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