Chinese food outside of Maine (China, Eastport: restaurant, best, dinner)

[corgis]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

Has anyone eaten at Chinese restaurants outside of Maine? I have to say, since moving to Connecticut for college, that the Chinese restaurants down here are of far inferior quality. The way the all prepare the food just doesn't give it the same delicious taste I'm accustomed to when I go to a Chinese restaurant.

The most noticeable differences:
#1. Bones in the spare ribs.
#2. Vegetables, besides onion, in the pork fried rice. And it's only slightly darker than white rice.
#3. Breaded chicken wings (in the same manner as regular fried chicken)
#4. Crab rangoons are absent from the menu.

I'm told that the way they do it is normal, and that Maine Chinese restaurants are the oddballs. Has anyone else noticed that Chinese food outside of Maine is of far inferior taste and quality?

Oh my goodness - Down south, at least here in WV all our spare ribs are bone in, veggies in pork fried rice - Yep, we do that too - mostly peas and maybe shaved carrot. Have never seen something called a Crab rangoon but it sounds good. We have at least 10 - 12 Chinese restaurants in the County, must be a Southern take on how ya'll fix them up there.

[melinuxfool]

Originally Posted by corgis

Oh my goodness - Down south, at least here in WV all our spare ribs are bone in, veggies in pork fried rice - Yep, we do that too - mostly peas and maybe shaved carrot. Have never seen something called a Crab rangoon but it sounds good. We have at least 10 - 12 Chinese restaurants in the County, must be a Southern take on how ya'll fix them up there.

Crab rangoon are deep-fried dumplings served in American Chinese, and more recently, Thai restaurants, stuffed with a combination of cream cheese, lightly flaked crab meat (more commonly, canned crab meat or imitation crab meat), with scallions and/or garlic. These fillings are then wrapped in Chinese wonton wrappers in a triangular or flower shape, then deep fried in vegetable oil.

That's according to wikipedia.

[mollysmiles]

no crab rangoon, no molly! It's not that it's the only thing I like, I like most everything I've tried at chinese restaurants, but the rangoons are *vital*!!

[tcrackly]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

Crab rangoon are deep-fried dumplings served in American Chinese, and more recently, Thai restaurants, stuffed with a combination of cream cheese, lightly flaked crab meat (more commonly, canned crab meat or imitation crab meat), with scallions and/or garlic. These fillings are then wrapped in Chinese wonton wrappers in a triangular or flower shape, then deep fried in vegetable oil.

That's according to wikipedia.

I have made these...not hard. Of course you miss out on the great oyster pail boxes and restaurant ambiance! I grew up in Boston; reasonably sized Asian community...great Chinese food. There are more vegetable dishes and seafood(other critters, too) in interesting combinations. More authentic than all the typically fried American=Asian stuff. My favorite was Szechuan shrimp.

[Bewitched]

One thing the DHTB noticed after moving here was how "dark and crunchy" the fried rice is here, versus any other states we both have lived in.

Anywhere else, if you order fried rice, you will get fawn-colored soft, moist rice with peas, carrots, and shavings of chicken or pork, beef...depends on the kind you order. Neither of us had ever seen the fried rice so dark, dry and crunchy as it seems to be here in Maine
We don't order fried rice anymore

[melinuxfool]

Originally Posted by Bewitched

One thing the DHTB noticed after moving here was how "dark and crunchy" the fried rice is here, versus any other states we both have lived in.

Anywhere else, if you order fried rice, you will get fawn-colored soft, moist rice with peas, carrots, and shavings of chicken or pork, beef...depends on the kind you order. Neither of us had ever seen the fried rice so dark, dry and crunchy as it seems to be here in Maine
We don't order fried rice anymore

You just made my mouth salivate. That's the kind of fried rice I miss. I can't stand the veggies they put into the pork fried rice down here. There's hardly any pork in it down here. And that God-awful yellow junk they put in it isn't that appetizing either.

Don't get me wrong, I like peas and carrots, but not in rice. Now, where are you getting your Chinese food that the rice is dry and crunchy? Any place back home where I've bought it is always nice and moist and delicious.

[Bewitched]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

You just made my mouth salivate. That's the kind of fried rice I miss. I can't stand the veggies they put into the pork fried rice down here. There's hardly any pork in it down here. And that God-awful yellow junk they put in it isn't that appetizing either.

Don't get me wrong, I like peas and carrots, but not in rice. Now, where are you getting your Chinese food that the rice is dry and crunchy? Any place back home where I've bought it is always nice and moist and delicious.

Now see, that might be part of the problem....we live between Augusta and Belfast. We've tried many chinese restaurants in the area (my DHTB loves chinese food)...at least 8-10...every single one of them had fried rice that was very dark, dry and the rice was just one step above crunchy (which would be chewy) at best...

Maybe we are trying chinese in the wrong part of the state?

[melinuxfool]

Originally Posted by Bewitched

Now see, that might be part of the problem....we live between Augusta and Belfast. We've tried many chinese restaurants in the area (my DHTB loves chinese food)...at least 8-10...every single one of them had fried rice that was very dark, dry and the rice was just one step above crunchy (which would be chewy) at best...

Maybe we are trying chinese in the wrong part of the state?

Have you been to Ming Lee in Waterville? It's just off of Main Street, with an Advance Auto Parts store in the same plaza. That is one of my favorites. Also, just before I left for Connecticut, there was a buffet that had recently opened up on College Avenue in Waterville, right next to the Manor restaurant. The Chinese restaurant on Western Avenue in Augusta used to be good as well, but I can't remember the name. One of the best ones ever that went out of business a while ago was the Asian Palace in Bangor. Now there is some sort of gift shop/music store in it's place.

I had heard there was an Asian Palace II on that road between Broadway and Union street (the one that comes out on the backside of the Airport Mall), anyone tried that one? Is it as good as the original?

Any Maine Chinese Restaurant is going to serve dark pork fried rice, with no veggies, except for onions. But I have never had it crunchy. Usually soft and moist. Yea, the onions have some crunch, but onions usually do.

[Siobjuan]

This is one of the things we noticed right away. It is as if the Chinese food in Maine is 'fresher' or cooked in better oils than anywhere else. It tastes lighter and more wholesome. I do miss the egg rolls from Massachusetts tho, the ones here are strictly veggie and the ones I miss had shreded pork and chicken mixed with the veggies. If it is all veggies, that should be a spring roll, right?

[Bewitched]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

Have you been to Ming Lee in Waterville? It's just off of Main Street, with an Advance Auto Parts store in the same plaza. That is one of my favorites. Also, just before I left for Connecticut, there was a buffet that had recently opened up on College Avenue in Waterville, right next to the Manor restaurant. The Chinese restaurant on Western Avenue in Augusta used to be good as well, but I can't remember the name. One of the best ones ever that went out of business a while ago was the Asian Palace in Bangor. Now there is some sort of gift shop/music store in it's place.

I had heard there was an Asian Palace II on that road between Broadway and Union street (the one that comes out on the backside of the Airport Mall), anyone tried that one? Is it as good as the original?

Any Maine Chinese Restaurant is going to serve dark pork fried rice, with no veggies, except for onions. But I have never had it crunchy. Usually soft and moist. Yea, the onions have some crunch, but onions usually do.

The DHTB thanks you for offering more places to try...LOL
Guess what we're having for dinner tonight now...