WHY??? Since when did CHOW MEIN = vegetables?

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Oct 27th, 2004 2:30 pm

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Oct 26th, 2004 1:38 pm

actng [OP]: Deal Expert; Nov 2, 2003; 15543 posts; 1520 upvotes; GTA

Oct 26th, 2004 1:38 pm

WHY??? Since when did CHOW MEIN = vegetables?

I don't get it. Back in school, in those dinky towns where there isn't a lot of chinese/chinese food, I understand why the "fake" chinese restaurants have chicken balls and chow mein = vegetables.

But why oh why in downtown TORONTO at Manchu Wok, do they try to serve me CHOW MEIN with vegetables? I understand Manchu Wok is also "fake" chinese food but at least it's much closer to real chinese food and much better than those fake chinese restaurants with chicken balls. (Yeah, if you see chicken balls in the menu, it's not a real chinese restaurant.)

CHOW MEIN by definition is FRIED NOODLE. NOODLE!!! not vegetables!

Does anyone know how on earth could CHOW MEIN be vegetables? Mistake? Another fake chinese dish like chicken balls?

31 replies

Oct 26th, 2004 2:37 pm

Degenerate: Banned; Jul 13, 2003; 5232 posts; 5 upvotes

Oct 26th, 2004 2:37 pm

actng wrote:I don't get it. Back in school, in those dinky towns where there isn't a lot of chinese/chinese food, I understand why the "fake" chinese restaurants have chicken balls and chow mein = vegetables.

But why oh why in downtown TORONTO at Manchu Wok, do they try to serve me CHOW MEIN with vegetables? I understand Manchu Wok is also "fake" chinese food but at least it's much closer to real chinese food and much better than those fake chinese restaurants with chicken balls. (Yeah, if you see chicken balls in the menu, it's not a real chinese restaurant.)

CHOW MEIN by definition is FRIED NOODLE. NOODLE!!! not vegetables!

Does anyone know how on earth could CHOW MEIN be vegetables? Mistake? Another fake chinese dish like chicken balls?

I don't mind veggies in fried noodles just can't stand bean sprout. Name one restaurant that serves chow mein with no vegetables. All of them do. You can't just put pure meat in there as much as I love meat and hate veggies.

"It's a case of mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter" - Bret Hart

Oct 26th, 2004 4:08 pm

actng [OP]: Deal Expert; Nov 2, 2003; 15543 posts; 1520 upvotes; GTA

Oct 26th, 2004 4:08 pm

no dude... that's not what i mean.

i'm talking about chow mein as nothing but vegetables. I understand sometimes chow mein has veggies in it along with some meat and some bean sprouts or sometimes just chow mein... but the essence of chow mein is the noodles. How can there be no noodles and vegetables? How can you call a plate of vegetables chow mein???

Oct 26th, 2004 4:59 pm

Degenerate: Banned; Jul 13, 2003; 5232 posts; 5 upvotes

Oct 26th, 2004 4:59 pm

actng wrote:no dude... that's not what i mean.

i'm talking about chow mein as nothing but vegetables. I understand sometimes chow mein has veggies in it along with some meat and some bean sprouts or sometimes just chow mein... but the essence of chow mein is the noodles. How can there be no noodles and vegetables? How can you call a plate of vegetables chow mein???

oh I get what you mean. Well it's still chow mein even if it's just noodles and vegetables even though it would suck big time.

"It's a case of mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter" - Bret Hart

Oct 26th, 2004 5:18 pm

actng [OP]: Deal Expert; Nov 2, 2003; 15543 posts; 1520 upvotes; GTA

Oct 26th, 2004 5:18 pm

Degenerate wrote:oh I get what you mean. Well it's still chow mein even if it's just noodles and vegetables even though it would suck big time.

no dude!!! they're calling a plate of vegetables WITH NO NOODLES chow mein. To me that is just... wrong!!

Oct 26th, 2004 5:21 pm

tkl: Deal Addict; Dec 11, 2003; 3445 posts; 680 upvotes

Oct 26th, 2004 5:21 pm

actng wrote:no dude!!! they're calling a plate of vegetables WITH NO NOODLES chow mein. To me that is just... wrong!!

Simple, it's to fool the caucasian folks. It's always been that way here.

Chow mein sounds better than stir fried bean sprouts .

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Oct 26th, 2004 5:35 pm

afong56: Deal Addict; Jul 24, 2003; 3787 posts; 67 upvotes

Oct 26th, 2004 5:35 pm

i'd be pissed too. if you order chow mein, there'd better be noodles in the dish. damn. i hope you complained

Oct 26th, 2004 5:48 pm

CSR: Deal Expert; Sep 4, 2003; 18478 posts; 111 upvotes; Toronto

Oct 26th, 2004 5:48 pm

its better with veggies anyways..... its just a garnish...

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Oct 26th, 2004 5:54 pm

eelfliw: Deal Fanatic; Jul 18, 2003; 6274 posts; 66 upvotes; Etobicoke

Oct 26th, 2004 5:54 pm

There's too much fake Chinese food around.

Last time I went to a Canadian Chinese Food place and ordered Fried Rice. What I got was fried Uncle Ben's Perverted Rice instead of real Fried Rice. That stuff tastes TERRIBLE!!!

I don't know why ppl complain about fake CDs or DVDs in Chinese malls when restaurants are using fake rice instead of real rice?

Oct 26th, 2004 6:47 pm

actng [OP]: Deal Expert; Nov 2, 2003; 15543 posts; 1520 upvotes; GTA

Oct 26th, 2004 6:47 pm

afong56 wrote:i'd be pissed too. if you order chow mein, there'd better be noodles in the dish. damn. i hope you complained

I did complain. I didn't have to cause a riot... the lady was chinese and she saw that i was oriental and she knows and she knows i know that chow mein is fried noodles so she took out the cabbage and gave me noodles.

the weird thing is after that when i went back to the office, the gwai lo's knew chow mein is supposed to be fried noodles... some even went into detail explaining to me that veggies are not always included, sometimes it's just plain noodles, sometimes there is meat (pork) and veggies... etc etc.

So they haven't really fooled anyone... or have they?

Oct 26th, 2004 10:36 pm

GSXXRR: Deal Addict; Dec 15, 2001; 2934 posts; 531 upvotes; Toronto

Oct 26th, 2004 10:36 pm

i think your just generalizing what "chow mein" is and a lot of restaurant do the same too to make it easier for the customer. at a authentic hong kong style take-out you have to say what type of "chow mein" you want, such as "hoy seen chow mein (seafood fried noodle)" or "uw yok chow mein (beef fried noodle)".

chow mein is the actual just the crispy noodle.

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Oct 26th, 2004 11:08 pm

actng [OP]: Deal Expert; Nov 2, 2003; 15543 posts; 1520 upvotes; GTA

Oct 26th, 2004 11:08 pm

seems like no one is reading my posts or I'm not being clear.

1. vegetables without noodles are not chow mein.

2. anything without noodles cannot be chow mein.

3. chow mein has noodles.

Oct 26th, 2004 11:38 pm

scan: Deal Addict; May 12, 2004; 1544 posts; 5 upvotes; Richmond Hill

Oct 26th, 2004 11:38 pm

obviously "chow mein, sweet and sour chicken balls, etc" are made to make money from white people. My parents own a chinese restaurant that serves fake chinese food and white people love it. I'm not saying my mom's cooking is not good. Sometimes I like some chicken deep fried in batter (chicken balls)

Oct 26th, 2004 11:45 pm

Vancouver 1.7EL: Member; Nov 26, 2002; 244 posts; Vancouver, BC

Oct 26th, 2004 11:45 pm

Basically, they ripped you off by giving you chop suey (mixed fried vegetables) instead of chow mein.

The gwai lo's are getting smart now. D*mn you Martin Yan.

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Oct 27th, 2004 12:25 am

plucky duck: Deal Addict; Jul 21, 2001; 4288 posts; 392 upvotes; Calgary

Oct 27th, 2004 12:25 am

Sad to say, but you got jipped yo! Chow mein w/o any actually any chow mein in it is a major insult. Even more so if you're chinese.

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