Chinese menus

[KRUSTYMAN]

When ever I buy food from my local chinese takeaway (usually over the phone) I always opt for the safe options - Chow Mein, BBQ Ribs, Fried rices etc. However I always look longingly at the alternatives such as ; Singapore style, Cantonese style, Szechuan etc. Can anyone tell me what the differences are so that I can experiment a little? TIA

[Androcles]

Singapore style tends to be more of a fusion since the population there is made up of local Malays, Chinese settlers and Indians who came in with the British to provide labour, so all of these influence the local cooking. Szechuan is far from the sea and tends to concentrate on preserved foods and chili so is spicy. Cantonese is from the South of China and being semi-tropical has a lot of fruit and seafood - most Chinese restaurants are of Cantonese tradition. The others are Peking, from the North, on the borders of Mongolia and is inland,so you tend to see more meat, roasting, barbecuing and boiling, with sesame also featuring. Finally there is Shanghai from the East, which tends to be less distinctive than the others, looking to long simmering with duck, pork and freshwater seafood.

Ken Lo has written a bit on differnt styles of Chinese.

Do try some of the other sorts, you will rarely be disappointed by what you will find.

[joannie10]

are you eating alone? if there is more than one person ordering you could just try one thing different? Also I know that one of my friends always asks for small portion or whatever she is ordering - she is not like me, I like to go back to chinese food throughout the evening. Maybe they would do something like that for you? Also what about a chinese buffet place - would you have one of those near you?

[bunkmoreland]

basically if you are a fan of chow mein etc,you would find the other styles to be more spicey