dsi1 wrote:
>
> Those poor Chinese restaurants! These days they're looking pretty passé. Everybody would rather have Korean, or Thai, or Vietnamese. My wife and kids no longer want Chinese food. I like it because it cheap. Hee hee.

I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
hot food. Never had any though....yet.

I have no urge for Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese food.

I do still love Chinese food. Mostly the Szechwan hotter foods. One
local restaurant keeps putting menus on my door. I plan to try it
sometime soon. If I do the lunch menu, it's much cheaper.

Anyway, here's my wish list for an order there. Whenever I do this, I'll
call it in for pickup so I don't have to give a generous tip to a
deliverer. I'm cheap .

- 2 spring rolls (not egg rolls)
- 1 quart or pint of hot&sour soup (with fried noodle pack)
- 1 sweet and sour pork (not hot)
- 1 from the hot menu like General Tso's chicken or whatever
- all with fried rice, not plain white rice

This one order will give me a couple of meals and a couple of snacks.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:13:14 -0400, Gary > wrote:

> I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
> hot food. Never had any though....yet.

I've heard that, but never experienced a truly hot dish so they must
tone it down for white people. I think you'll like it when you get to
try it. Pad Thai is a famous noodle dish, but if you like meat and
you like salad - try Thai Beef Salad sometime. It's addictive. I'm a
big fan of any Thai eggplant dish too. I may not know what the dish
is, but I know I'll like it if it contains eggplant.

--

sf

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 10:07:25 AM UTC-5, sf wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:13:14 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
> > I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
> > hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I've heard that, but never experienced a truly hot dish so they must
> tone it down for white people.
....

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of the first time I ordered some green curry from a well known Asian food restaurant, and I told the water I wanted it hot but not too hot. When I got the green curry dish I ordered it was delicious but barely hot at all! I learned!! Now I order stuff "thai hot" so they know I mean business! MeLOVES capsaicin!! :-)

John Kuthe...

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 10:07:25 AM UTC-5, sf wrote:
>
> On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:13:14 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
> > I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
> > hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I've heard that, but never experienced a truly hot dish so they must
> tone it down for white people. I think you'll like it when you get to
> try it.
>
I've had Thai food once. It was at a local restaurant that had
rave reviews. I did request easy on the heat and it was a chicken
dish. Very unimpressive as it was not too hot butter rubbery
chicken. Blah. I'll try it again at another restaurant in the
future but really have no desire any time soon.
>
> I'm a big fan of any Thai eggplant dish too. I may not know what the dish
> is, but I know I'll like it if it contains eggplant.
>
> sf
>
That is one vegetable I can go the rest of my life without every
eating again.

On 2016-07-16 11:07 AM, sf wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:13:14 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
>> I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
>> hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I've heard that, but never experienced a truly hot dish so they must
> tone it down for white people. I think you'll like it when you get to
> try it. Pad Thai is a famous noodle dish, but if you like meat and
> you like salad - try Thai Beef Salad sometime. It's addictive. I'm a
> big fan of any Thai eggplant dish too. I may not know what the dish
> is, but I know I'll like it if it contains eggplant.

Thai restaurants around here offer a range of heat on most of their
dishes 1 to 5 chili (symbols). The one we used to go to seemed to be hit
and miss. On one occasion we ordered something quite hot that was fairly
mild, while a dish we had ordered mild was quite hot. We tried a new
Thai restaurant a few months ago and, not being sure of their heat
levels, I ordered something medium. I liked the nice nip to it and would
not have wanted it much hotter and said that level 3 seemed to be the
way to go foe me. Then my son pointed out that I had asked for it medium
hot, and on their scale medium hot is only 2.

I once went to a Spanish restaurant with a guy from India. We ordered
paella and he asked for some hot sauce to go with it and explained that
he was from India and he liked his food spicy hot. When the waiter
brought a bowl of hot sauce and some crackers. I tried some. Holy cow.
It was hot. He said that it might be hot for me but again said he was
from India and is used to hot spice, that it would not be as hot for
him. Then he tried some..... " Oh golly, that is very hot".
>

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 16 Jul 2016 08:13:14 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
>> I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
>> hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I've heard that, but never experienced a truly hot dish so they must
> tone it down for white people. I think you'll like it when you get to
> try it. Pad Thai is a famous noodle dish, but if you like meat and
> you like salad - try Thai Beef Salad sometime. It's addictive. I'm a
> big fan of any Thai eggplant dish too. I may not know what the dish
> is, but I know I'll like it if it contains eggplant.

I had an Thai neighbor in CA and most of what she made was seriously hot.
She bought the little peppers every week and sent some to friends in other
states. She bought tons of the things and would sit on a bamboo mat in the
garage. sorting through them before mailing.

My son picked up Thai food when he was here for a visit. I didn't want any
because it was peanutty, and I don't like peanuts or the flavor in hot foods.
His restaurant of choice scores their foods as 1-5 for degrees of heat. He
couldn't really eat the one he ordered as a "3" but enjoyed the "1" and "2"
dishes. I hate to think what a "5" would be...he loves hot food.

N.

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 2:11:58 AM UTC-10, Gary wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> >
> > Those poor Chinese restaurants! These days they're looking pretty passé. Everybody would rather have Korean, or Thai, or Vietnamese. My wife and kids no longer want Chinese food. I like it because it cheap. Hee hee.
>
> I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
> hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I have no urge for Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese food.
>
> I do still love Chinese food. Mostly the Szechwan hotter foods. One
> local restaurant keeps putting menus on my door. I plan to try it
> sometime soon. If I do the lunch menu, it's much cheaper.
>
> Anyway, here's my wish list for an order there. Whenever I do this, I'll
> call it in for pickup so I don't have to give a generous tip to a
> deliverer. I'm cheap .
>
> - 2 spring rolls (not egg rolls)
> - 1 quart or pint of hot&sour soup (with fried noodle pack)
> - 1 sweet and sour pork (not hot)
> - 1 from the hot menu like General Tso's chicken or whatever
> - all with fried rice, not plain white rice
>
> This one order will give me a couple of meals and a couple of snacks.

I'd eat that. These days we go to Panda which is a fast food joint that serves mostly stir fried Chinese-like dishes. It's a sad state of affairs. The old ways are dying out.

https://www.pandaexpress.com/menu/entrees

"dsi1" > wrote in message
...
On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 2:11:58 AM UTC-10, Gary wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> >
> > Those poor Chinese restaurants! These days they're looking pretty passé.
> > Everybody would rather have Korean, or Thai, or Vietnamese. My wife and
> > kids no longer want Chinese food. I like it because it cheap. Hee hee.
>
> I'd like to try Thai food sometime because I understand it's basically
> hot food. Never had any though....yet.
>
> I have no urge for Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese food.
>
> I do still love Chinese food. Mostly the Szechwan hotter foods. One
> local restaurant keeps putting menus on my door. I plan to try it
> sometime soon. If I do the lunch menu, it's much cheaper.
>
> Anyway, here's my wish list for an order there. Whenever I do this, I'll
> call it in for pickup so I don't have to give a generous tip to a
> deliverer. I'm cheap .
>
> - 2 spring rolls (not egg rolls)
> - 1 quart or pint of hot&sour soup (with fried noodle pack)
> - 1 sweet and sour pork (not hot)
> - 1 from the hot menu like General Tso's chicken or whatever
> - all with fried rice, not plain white rice
>
> This one order will give me a couple of meals and a couple of snacks.

I'd eat that. These days we go to Panda which is a fast food joint that
serves mostly stir fried Chinese-like dishes. It's a sad state of affairs.
The old ways are dying out.

https://www.pandaexpress.com/menu/entrees

I made the mistake of getting food for Angela there once. She was stuck
home, sick and I was having a very bad day. I'd been out driving people
around and doing errands and I got home far later than I wanted to. I think
they were close to closing. The food was dried out and inedible.

More recently, she went to the one at the mall with friends and said that
the food was good.

My friend who used to work near one said that it could be good or bad. She
said to check the steam tables first. If they were busy, the food was likely
to be more fresh. But it's still highly Americanized. Her husband was
Japanese and she prefers authentic Asian food.

dsi1 wrote:
>
>These days we go to Panda which is a fast food joint that serves mostly stir fried Chinese-like dishes. It's a sad state of affairs. The old ways are dying out.

Used to be a "Beijing Express" very nearby here. Just like you said
almost a fast food place for stir fry dishes (and other things). I loved
that food and ate there often. Guess that depends on the specific
location and who owned the franchise.

Looking up "Panda", I see there is one here but a bit far unless I'm out
that way anyway. Interestingly, it looks to me like Panda is the same
franchise as Beijing just under a new name. The websites are about the
same.

http://www.beyondmenu.com/26080/virg...ach-23452.aspx

http://www.beyondmenu.com/24894/acco...eek-20607.aspx

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 11:02:06 PM UTC-10, Gary wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
> >
> >These days we go to Panda which is a fast food joint that serves mostly stir fried Chinese-like dishes. It's a sad state of affairs. The old ways are dying out.
>
> Used to be a "Beijing Express" very nearby here. Just like you said
> almost a fast food place for stir fry dishes (and other things). I loved
> that food and ate there often. Guess that depends on the specific
> location and who owned the franchise.
>
> Looking up "Panda", I see there is one here but a bit far unless I'm out
> that way anyway. Interestingly, it looks to me like Panda is the same
> franchise as Beijing just under a new name. The websites are about the
> same.
>
> http://www.beyondmenu.com/26080/virg...ach-23452.aspx
>
> http://www.beyondmenu.com/24894/acco...eek-20607.aspx

It's a different company. Panda Express has a limited menu and most of entrees are wokked. It's a very slick operation and all the ingredients are prepped and bagged and ready for the wok. The food is cooked at high temperature in minutes and in amounts of about 6 portions. The food doesn't sit around a long time as it does in most Chinese joints that use steam tables. Brilliant!