This used to be my ultimate comfort food, yum. A warm bowl lifted my spirit when I wasn’t feeling well or simply feeling blue. I need to put this in back in rotation.
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Last night, I ordered spring rolls, Manchurian beef (first time), Hakka Noodles with shrimp (first time) and Vegetable momos (dumplings) from a Hakka Chinese restaurant. All good 
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I was gonna list all my Sichuan faves, but then I saw this is about American-Chinese take-out 
Carry on 
I’d love to hear them.
Well, then
Garlic cucumbers, mapo tofu, dry-fried green beans, cumin beef, diced chicken with hot peppers, garlic eggplant, fish & silken tofu in chile oil, stir-fried potatoes, Chengdu noodles… I think that’s most of it
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this thread triggered me 
Once we left nyc for the suburbs we had a choice btw bad chinese food and terrible chinese food. now that we’re back in nyc, I’m loathe to set foot in our local Chinese-American joints. however, if one of us has a chest cold wonton soup with inch-thick (ugh) wrappers seems to hit the spot.
I do like tso and orange chicken when delicately fried, crispy and not covered with gloppy sauce. perhaps when the memory of a 1000 horrible takeout meals starts to fade (with the rest of my memory), I’ll see if I can find a reasonable rendition here on the UES. Oddly, I’ve noticed chinese-american prices have started approaching prices
at authentic chinese restaurants, maybe just a lagging indicator of price increases to come.
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I used to frequent a place in the east 60s 25 years ago, let me see if it still exists-
I prefer Americanized CF. It’s one of the 3 major Comfort Food Groups (along with Italian & Classic Diner). So our typical choices:
Chicken Fried Rice - Always! (& just had a major disappointment with our order of it earlier this week 
)
Pan Fried Dumplings - Almost Always
Egg Rolls - 2nd choice if not getting dumplings. I like them better then Spring Rolls but really it depends on the place. There was a Vietnamese place that had wonderful SR’s & Lemon Grass Chicken.
Chicken Egg Foo Yung (for me)-- I adore it but can’t have too often 'cause Palate Fatigue kicks in.
Shrimp or Scallop Lomein (for wife)
Orange Chicken for both of us. Tso’s for me.
Cashew Chicken for her
Garlic Chicken for me if I’m not doing CEFY
That’s pretty much it-- appetizer & 2 mains from above.
Book Rec: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer Lee
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I like Americanized, Canadianized, traditional and modern Chinese food.
Some of the Mainland stuff aimed at recent Mainland newcomers hasn’t been to my taste, but I’m always open to trying new stuff.
I’ve been craving egg rolls lately, so I’ve been ordering egg rolls and spring rolls a lot again over the past 2 years.
Our standard Canadianized order tends to be won ton soup, dai dop voy, ginger beef, singapore noodles, maybe honey garlic ribs or wings, butterfly shrimp. Wor Won Ton when we are in the Western Provinces or California.
I’m not seeing the place I used to frequent, but I am seeing there are outposts of Wa Jeal and Xian Foods on the UES! Also, as a splurge, I used to go to Shun Lee Palace for take-out dim sum. I realize some people think it was a rip-off, I always enjoyed it. There’s still a Shun Lee Cafe on the UES. I think the original space closed.
A standard Americanized Chinese delivery order here:
- “Pu Pu platter” - usually the large format appetizer combo (chicken fingers, chicken wings, egg roll, crab rangoon, fried shrimp, teriyaki beef skewers, and too much boneless spareribs making up most of the bottom of the carton
- fried or steamed dumplings
- sometimes gyoza if I want dumplings, but a thinner wrapper
- battered salt and pepper style shrimp
Some nights we’ll add any of the following:
- house special lo mein
- house special fried rice
- some kind of chow mein (the Boston version - think a protein and veggies (bean sprouts, celery, peppers) in a cornstarch thickened chicken broth sauce with La Choy type fried noodles)
- Americanized kung pao chicken
- Moo shu shrimp or beef, extra pancakes please!
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I love getting the Pu Pu platter or its equivalent. It isn’t seen on too many menus near where I live lately.
One thing I miss about getting them in person at a restaurant (versus delivery) was the spectacle of it:
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I wish I had experienced Trader Vic’s in the 50s and 60s.
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I went to one in London in the 90s and you could still get all the classics, but it was not quite the same as the heyday (I would imagine, anyway). Tiki culture seems to be on a bit of an upswing in the Boston area, so, we might try one of the places out somewhere down the line.
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