as a british person watching these videos, it reminds me of watching a new player do a lets-play for the first time and they choose all of the right dialogue options
raw shelled prawns minced with lard, spring onion, ginger, rice wine, and egg white. Spread on sliced white bread, and press spread side down into a dish of sesame seeds. deep fry.
I can't stand it if they put lettuce on it. Who wants warm limp lettuce. I avoid those places, they haven't a clue. Cabbage onion grated carrot.is where its at. And not that bottled sauce either. We have one that makes incredible garlic sauce and chili. It's like nothing on earth.
British person here. Really happy to see you enjoying your takeaway. 😊 With the duck, don't take the lid off the container until you are ready to eat it. The steam evaporates and leaves the duck dry. If you had left the lid on it would have been much moister.
❤ He should have ate the duck first! Or at least with the other starters! Nearly screamed when he wasted time with the chips and curry you get from any takeaway!!!
I love how much you commit to each bite. You never just take a small bit to taste, you shovel a huge amount into your mouth a chomp it down in a beautifully gross way 😂
That fried rice is far too white, should be brown, Chinese food is a hit or miss in the UK, you get some really good ones and some bad ones so be careful.
The thing is with Chinese takeaways over here is, you kind of gotta find a good one and then thats your go to. Ive lost count of how many trash Chinese takeaways i've had in the UK, but i've also had some amazing ones. theres so many of them around the place that the standard is low, in my opinion.
Not even just that but some specialise in certain stuff. Like some have nicer curry sauce, some have nicer ribs, some have nicer versions of the certain meals. It's extremely rare one has a lot of good versions of the various things.
@@chrisbfreelanceThe average person isn’t at an ethnic restaurant for completely authentic food. They’re there for food that’s different and tastes good to them and that’s all that matters in the end. If you want totally authentic food then you go to the country of origin. However, even eating in that country can be totally diverse. So what is authentic? Food is ever changing. You can be embarrassed all you want and the rest of us will be happily eating.
Also remember that the 20% sales tax is included in the menu price and not added after. No need to tip for picking up a takeaway and if you're tipping in the UK then around 10% for good service.
I want to an Indian restaurant that didn't do delivery only take away no eating and the guy kept trying to imply I should tip with a tip jar that he kept placing near me I didn't tip and never went back
@@Ayan-bp4dq it is, but it's still cheaper than the US, and the servers are paid a minimum wage, so there isn't such a reliance on tips like the US servers.
@@Ayan-bp4dq It's not actually sales tax. It's VAT. It's calculated differently and can produce different results than an equivalent "20% sales tax". That being said idk if the value would be higher or lower or if it would even apply here (it's largely the same result as sales tax, just in some cases it isn't).
Great to see your reactions! Welcome to UK cuisine!? You should try curry/chips/egg fried rice loaded onto a prawn cracker. It's the culinary equivalent of wrapping your soul in a comfort blanket.
Chinese takeaways used to often do double duty as Fish & Chip places so that's where the curry chips comes from. The curry sauce is British Standard, it's where Japanese curry is derived from. Veggies on ribs is weird.
Back in the '70s, one of the Chinese takeaways where I lived, was run by an extended Chinese family, where everyone helped out, right down to the old grandmother, who couldn't speak a word of English. It was her job to wrap up the meals when they were ready, and had already been paid for. At the time, being younger teenagers, my friends and I used to visit the place just for chips, and when they'd arrived in their little styrophone trays, grandma would ask us: "salt en veega?" enquiring if we required salt and vinegar, but regardless of our reply, she always doused the chips accordingly; then she'd ask "rat or unrat", and since we knew we'd be eating them as we walked home, we'd always request "unrat" (or "unwrapped" once the joke has ceased to be funny;) nevertheless, they always came across the counter beautifully wrapped, only for the wrapping to be discarded into the nearest bin, once we'd got outside. 🤗
Salt and pepper (chilli) ribs are elite bro, try them :) Usually the ribs are a red-ish colour like a chashu pork with the flavours of salt, garlic, chilli and the veggies complimenting it very well.
Ben I think you pretty much nailed exactly the preferred dishes that I would order from the Chinese Restaurant menus here in the UK. Not like this all at once of course! But certainly these would be all of the go-tos for me. Chips/Fries with Curry are probably the most common side order, next to rice or some noodles. It's cool to try different dishes, from different Restaurants too... because they can surprise you from place to place with the taste or techniques of cooking. I'm gonna order some Duck and Prawn Crackers next time! Thanks for making me hungry!
Hey Ben! I'm from the UK, Leicester specifically, and I'll tell you a lot of people order Chinese takeaway a lot. My parents own a small Chinese takeaway in a small village 20 minutes away from the city centre, and I take phone orders every Friday and Saturday (when it gets busy). We're a family run business, but my parents have a second business (my parent's friends come in to help out in the smaller Chinese takeaway, alongside me) out in the city centre which is an eat-in and delivery restaurant that sells Japanese food. I've got to say, living in a Chinese restaurant is actually kinda cool, you can just grab some rice and cook it up if you're hungry and what not. As a person who's been watching your videos for a while now, it's nice to see you dive into the British food scene, and take in what we REALLY have to offer! Thanks so much for providing us with these videos, there's just something about them which gives it the extra charm and feeling to it, keep it up mate :)
I remember going to a Chinese place in South Carolina once and they had a lot of the stuff you got. I particularly remember the beef ribs, they were really good. Really tender and stuff. EDIT: I’ll forever remember that place too, cause we went there at, like near closing time so they gave us a huge discount. It was truly awesome.
Hahaha yes in charlotte nc too. I feel like Chinese restaurants always have like a few local influenced options. Most of ours here have chicken wing/fry combos too which is…. Maybe slightly racially motivated but 😂
You've done insanely well showing genuine British food as a foreigner. it's clear that you have listened, listened, listened to genuine locals advice! The reason why we don't have chopsticks, is because we don't (or didn't) have many Chinese or East Asian people living in the UK in comparison to places like the US, Canada and Australia. That is why this 'Chinese Food' is extremely distinctive and not really traditional in any sense whatsoever.
Don't judge all British Chinese food on this place, every restaurant can be very different from one another, i feel bad that was your experience for spare ribs because I've seen much better.
Can't even judge one place on the food they give you, sometimes you got them on a bad or day or sometimes you ordered on a good day and then get disappointed next time lol
the same goes for the US, moving to different states will very in quality. I can tell you this takeout could dominate the market in most rural states in America, yet fail in more populous states. I would love to see Ben try a different spot while he is in the UK, but I've seen worse here across the pond.
Much of the british chinese food was created by cantonese people and hong kongers who migrated to the UK - big communities in london, liverpool, birmingham and belfast.There are regional differences even in british chinese food too. In liverpool, a chinese is called a chippy ( fish and chip shop meal) where you can buy fish and chips and the likes of what you are eating above. A 'spice bag' is also an Irish Chinese invented in Dublin. One meal I wish we had in the UK from American Chinese is general tso's chicken. I wish we had more spicier chinese options although it's getting more common
Really loving this British series you’ve been open minded and non judgmental. Also you’re right chip shop curry is indistinguishable when I think of curry from different countries and regions.
I find you tend to get 2 types of curry, a standard curry sauce that's pretty much the same everywhere or a tangier one with sultanas in it which you tend to find more in England.
Back in the 70s you used to be able to buy Sherwood's (Chicken) Curry as a sort of ready meal for the flavourings. That tasted and looked rather like that sort of curry, which I think they emulated on the basis it was familiar taste to most of us. After that it stuck. I've had similar sort of Curries in France (the ones that predate the modern Indian restaurants that are now opening everywhere). I forget the name, but i think that originated from Mauritias
My dad had Chinese takeaways in England in the 80’s-2000 and prawn toast is made like this: blitz raw prawns with water, sugar, salt, msg, pepper into a paste. Spread a thin layer of prawn paste over white bread then dip into sesame seeds. Slice into 4 triangles and fry until golden.
A simple mix of chips, fried rice, curry sauce and onions in the 1 container is amazing! My chinese take away go to is lemon chicken or chicken with green pepper and blackbean sauce with fried rice and a side of dry ribs with lemon.
I used to live in England and Chinese food was my favourite take away. I tried so many Chinese spots and all of them were a hit. I I loved the portions too. They always gave very generous servings. Ahhh I miss it
I have been loving these videos! Grew up in America, but been in the UK for almost 4 years. My hubby is from the UK and always gets chips and curry sauce when we order Chinese. Glad you loved it so much!
Hey Ben, recently discovered your channel (think it's because you do doing British food content and this is where I live). Late to the party it seems, 600+ video and 1.3mil subs late, great honest content with no BS. Keep up the good work.
The first generation of the current style Chinese take-aways were opened by folks originating in Hong Kong in the 1970s (there must have been Chinese food available before then, but it wouldn't have been widespread across the UK). Many or perhaps all of them took over former fish and chip shops and introduced Chinese menu. Chips in Curry sauce was an early invention to cater to the post-Pub closing crowd who wanted to eat familiar item like chips. Spring Rolls used to have more variety of ingredients than now (I guess it's to keep the price down) but they've always been Bean Sprout heavy in my experience. If you want a more refined, Chinese(I guess as I haven't been to China either) then you'd need to go to a restaurant and then more of a higher price point experience. I'd recommend that. Current menus especially take-aways) are strongly influence by what became popular early on (such as sweet and sour Pork and Crispy Dick). The same thing happen with Indian food. which started to become common at the same time (actually most early British India restaurants were open by people from Bangladesh and their menu reflected that the cooking from that region). Hence Chicken Tikka Massala, the most popular takeaway dish in the UK and the same few menu names you find in just about every restaurant. Fortune Cookies have always been uncommon in the UK. Is it a Hong Kong thing ?
Wow you are so lucky to get that much Chinese food for $100.00. Here in Australia, Chinese food is so expensive that we get half of what you ordered if even that. 🌺🌺
A friend showed me how to make prawn toast. It’s ground prawns until turned to a paste, then spread on toast and covered in sesame seeds before deep frying.
My local Chinese takeaway in Cheshire, England does give you fortune cookies too. I think it just depends on which one you go to. My fave dish is sweet and sour king prawns- i really like the sourness of the sauce 🙂Looks like you tried a lot of the things people typically order here.
A lot of Chinese takeaways has stopped doing fortune cookies why I'm not sure the one I deliver for used to do fortune cookies if the order was £15 or more for every £5 spent you would get a fortune cookie so if the order was say £16 you would get 3 cookies £20 4 cookies £25 5 cookies but if it was £14.90 0 cookies why they stopped doing it for I'm not sure
@@Samantha23478 : Because those newcomers or those new suppliers often charges a LOT for those stupid biscuits, that is why they aren't given out any more. Which is a shame. But it is fine. It is like... "to spend 10 million" to sell it for around "2 pounds".... just ask your local place if they have nice freebies. lol..... Maybe they might give you something extra. :) I hate what is going on, everybody tries to flip food here in the UK now. If they flip it.. then they better pay the damn sales tax to that transaction. You want to earn from that item.. then register yourself as a company and pay the taxes !!!! Enough of this insanity!
One of my pet hates is Crispy Shredded Beef when it all comes stuck together like one gelatinous clump. In all my years I've only have one take away that the beef was individual pieces with identifiable chunks of beef. As a kid Chinese Chips - (potatoes were cut to a disc uniformity and cover in sweet & sour sauce) - was a real treat.
Chips and curry sauce from a Chinese takeaway (when it is good), is a mighty fine dish. My local chippy growing up was Chinese owned and theirs was amazing.
I love the chicken balls with curry sauce instead of the sweet and sour and i always get chips to dip in the sauce as well. My favourite rice at a Chinese is the Singapore fried rice, that's a meal in itself and has a great flavour, quite spicy it contains chili peppers it has different meats like pork, chicken, prawns and vegetables, egg rice and noodles, delicious in my opinion.
First time seeing the curry sauce dunked on top of the chips, I always get the same. Chips, chicken balls with curry sauce, singapore fried rice and maybe salt and chilli wings if I'm extra hungry.
Diligent review and likeable reviewer. I live in the US Midwest and prawn toast & ribs are readily available in my go-to Chinese place. I've only been to London a couple of times, loved it and thought the cuisine to be really underrated. Their take on Chinese food is to go for bolder and spicier flavors which I appreciate. I would not be a curry-fries guy. Sorry. Not every bold experiment succeeds. But London taught me to love tartar sauce with my fries, thank you for that.
We always get egg fried rice, sweet and sour pork, roast duck in honey lemon sauce, bamboo shoots and water chesnuts with mushrooms and king prawns. Plus the chips, something about chips from the Chinese Takeaway they are always the best.
Loving this series dude. Absoulute shame that i only discovered you during this UK session being English myself, but I feel like you like you would of preferred the chips in gravy! And if you ever get the chance to have beef in black bean sauce in the UK, thats a personal must have for me!
Inflation man...100 doesnt get you much anymore, My dad worked in a chinese takeway in Holland way back when and he said the spring rolls were even more humongous than our UK ones. P.S. fortune cookies are an American thing
Come try northern New England chinese takeout. Key items that aren't widely available elsewhere include the incredible teriyaki beef skewers and "salt and pepper" (bith chili and black pepper varieties) of every type of seafood imaginable. A few shops even offer a seasonal fiddlehead fern dish.
I only started to watch your posts of Uk food. The first thing is, yes, we have great comfort foods , probs because geographical perspective due to sunlight hours, but also what is on the table either way. When I was growing up here in the Uk 20 years after the second world war, we did not have take aways at all. And my mother was a great advocater of vegatables ,so no matter what we had , we always had veggies too but in season. I love to see how Asians use vegatables and meat. The Asian way of cooking and the vegatables seem so healthy. I do love Uk food but sometimes there can be an overload of carbs and fats. So a balance is the best way.
Curry half n half was popular with kids/teens when I was growing up, which was made of the things you liked here. Half chips, half egg fried rice, and curry sauce. I also think I remember it costing about £1.
Yes, we have shrimp toast in America, in fact is probably my favorite appetizer to get. The only time I have ever had duck was at a Chinese restaurant, it was served off a dim sum cart and very greasy. All the Chinse ribs that I have ever gotten were served as an appetizer and they were sauced with something similar to sweet and sour sauce but less sour. Your meal looked good but unsure how I would feel about the curry fries, like they say don't knock it till you try it.
In his previous videos, he often eats just once a day and/or eats healthy on other days he isn't filming. I'm sure he does his fair share of exercising too
British born Chinese here! Hmm, not all Chinese takeaways cook the same. The chilli salted ribs should be dry with less* veg and I personally hate beansprouts in a spring roll… it ruins it. The chicken sweetcorn soup is just cream style sweetcorn in a tin, water, seasoning and cornstarch. The prawn on toast - the prawn is smashed into a paste and spread on a piece of bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds then deep fried. Anyway another great video Ben!
u are probably miles away from where im from, but if u ever can try pop by and try the Chinese place in Tooting market it’s AMAZING their chicken is so yum and their noodles are the perfect level of spicy my mum always gets us some when she goes there. also recommend Rodeos their burgers are mighty fine!
Ben, the duck is supposed to be dry. It's crispy duck. That's how we do it for some reason lol. Unless you're going to an authentic spot to get Peking Duck. But if it's a takeaway, its gotta be dry and crispy to go with the pancakes 😅
You really need to get a mix of spring rolls. The big ones are usually mostly filled with beansprouts. medium sized ones cone in different meat flavours, and the mini ones are vegetables.
I seriously cheered when your fave dish was the curry and chips! Brought up on them badboys. In school we used to have our dinner time at my local downtown in a chinese takeaway. Good times.
Makes me glad to see you try this. Prawn toast is one of my favourites but the crispy aromatic duck pancakes from a good place is the bomb! Love your stuff bro, enjoy it in the UK. Try Indian food, maybe a few dish recommendations for you - chicken pasanda and/or chicken chasni.
Living in the Chicago area, I've never had Chinese food that DIDN'T have ribs and shrimp toast. In the appetizer section of the menu is where you find them. I've even made Chinese spareribs and shrimp toast. It was delicious! 😋
I'd love to see you try munchie boxes, they're super popular here in Scotland. I don't know if they do them in England, but it's basically a pizza box filled with all the takeaway stuff. I don't get them anymore, but the slat and chilli box is my favourite one.
My local chinese does a " nosh box " ribs . chicken wings . curry trigon . mini spring rolls . Prawn toast . Chicken balls and chips with chilli salt and a tub of curry sauce all for £13.50
I live in Hastings, on the south east coast. There's a place near me that does this. It's like getting the whole menu in a pizza box, which confused the hell out of me initially.
I tend to prefer Plum Sauce over Sweet and Sour. If you do another Chinese before you go, give it a whirl. Hits kind of the same with a sweet and sour vibe but it’s different and just nicer IMO. Chilli and honey ribs are a good choice (if the restaurant does them) and get Salt & Pepper/Salt & Chilli King Prawns to get the real Salt & Chilli Pepper experience. If they do deep fried crispy noodles then maybe try those with Beef in Black Bean sauce. Made me want to order a Chinese takeaway in now….😂 🤤
At my local and various places in the UK we have something called a 3in1 and it's chips, egg fried rice and sauce (I usually get curry) in one box, it's usually very cheap like £4 and I usually get that and chicken and sweetcorn soup if it's cold, or I'm a little depresso or sick or generally need some comfort food. I'd say all of this was pretty standard for UK Chinese, though the egg fried rice looks a bit lacking in egg for usual, the spring roll, usually you do have the option between meat and veg at my place and usually the big ones are better, but that doesn't look like a good one. Also as far as the fortune cookie, they do give them, not EVERY time however, and not EVERY takeaway gives them either, you'll get one spot that does sometimes, another that does every time and another that never does it's a bit weird honestly haha. And the duck (from a standard Chinese takeaway) is yeah usually pretty dry, but it's not too bad when eaten at the start of the meal, it's usually what my family tuck into first as it just gets dryer and dryer quickly. At more expensive places it's definitely always been more juicy, but not losing the crispiness. I've gotta say, I'd love to see you go to a USA Chinese because when I think of American Chinese food I don't have any high expectations at all I just think of like Panda Express or idk orange chicken at the cheesecake factory and shit like that which I assume isn't actually representative of actual little takeaways not big corporations. My favourite Chinese takeaway items are unfortunately very UK only, and so I would definitely have to say I'd never say American Chinese food was better, gimme a 3in1 and my prawn toast any day.
Prawn toast sounds delightful. I am a Canadian born Chinese and Cantonese specifically. Our traditional dishes are lighter and less oilier in comparison to mainland Chinese dishes, but oh my goodness I fell in love with 'Hakka' Chinese restaurants here after college. They are sometimes run by Chinese-indian culturally mixed families, or even rarer, Chinese who grew up in the West Indies or Carribean. There is a Guyanese-Chinese place near me and their food is HOT and so, so good, with reasonable amount of veggies cooked perfectly for a good crunch (cabbage, onions, peppers), not just wilty 3-hour old sweet peas, canned baby corn and some sad bean sprouts.
prawn toast is my favourite thing from a Chinese. A lot of our chippies (fish and chips takeaway) are Chinese owned and they're usually Chinese chippies (we call them this) although I've only really seen these more up north where I am but I could be wrong and maybe there are a lot down south too. We had a Chinese chippy takeaway near my mum's called Au Yeung and they were a family run chippy for over 20 years, always packed full of customers every night, they even drove the Chinese chippy across the road out of business! they have since been taken over but they're nowhere near the standard that was Au Yeung. So Chinese takeaway is a very common and sought after takeaway for us Brits as is an indian takeaway. Duck pancakes and prawn toast are usually my go-to order.
The veggies from the ribs are delicious when you mix them with rice 👍 Royal China on Baker Street or in Canary Wharf are great Chinese restaurants. And if you have the chance to, try a three roastie meats (BBQ pork, crispy roast pork belly and roast duck) with rice - superb!
I agree. They're good to their employees. Good people. What has been happening a lot is also that, so many individuals uses those stupid online reviews too... and it has been known to collapse the entire sector. So... yeh... this is really cruel... and very unfair too? Now some people have given up playing this kind of game. Others just moved on. Lots of businesses were destroyed based on those bad reviews. And now, those stupid apps are here too. So yeh... swings and aroundabouts. Don't use apps. (Don't pay extras.) Go in person. Follow recommendation by word of mouth. Not reviews. Build up relationships. Bring things back to normal is a good thing imho. Vice media has done a lot of damages to this sector as well... It is like, never mind the stupid review companies from within the UK.. and then the foreign app companies as well... and then the Canadian media as well... LOL... F!ck... What chances has any companies have of survival ?!?!!
As you mentioned before Chinese can differ greatly to one another,there are those that i really like such as shredded beef in certain places but not in others,they all seem to be better at some things than others,the only Chinese ive had which i literally like everything they do is a place called noodle house in Sutton high street and many Chinese people eat there,its the best by far in my opinion,quality tasty food.
Same as many other comments on here once you find a good chinese you hold onto that bad boy and pray it never shuts down or they move away, finding a good chinese always puts a smile on your face
Who’d have thought chips and curry eh. Never feel bad for your opinion on this delicious food Fabre. You are American/Korean and I’m sure your experience of Chinese food in America and Korea is way more than maybe two visits in your lifetime to London. For me,it’s great to hear your take and comparisons- after all, I have not travelled to either of your countries- only American food I have ate is on Royal Caribbean cruises- and I must say you do know how to cook your food 👌🤤🤤🔥🔥
All good choices and range of stuff, the shredded beef is always hit and miss and can be the decider on whether you go to that place again or not, for example theres 4 chinese places in my town but I always go to the one next town over because they do a thicker shredded beef (called crispy beef)
I used to work at my family-owned takeaway, the prices were very cheap compared to our competitors, and our portions were way larger than theirs, too, but our shop was situated in a very bad area, so we didn't get many customers... combined with many other recent factors, and prices just increasing more and more, we sadly had to close down for good after 25 years.
Sorry to hear that I have supported a local family owned Cantonese takeaway for the last 20 years they are struggling to compete with takeaways on just eat they have stuck to cash only but their food quality is top notch never greasy it's always fresh
@@blackdragoncyrus : Just eat was ultra nasty, cos they were charging around a whopping 25% of the entire order ! AND that does not include delivery charges as well ? Goddamn them.... and then they floated into the Dutch exchange... and what nots etc.... And this itself collapsed the entire sector. And this does NOT include various f!Qcking reviews as well.. from various (global) websites... Canadian media Vice did a crappy article. App companies went trigger happy and created other damages... ones from Taiwan... US ones.. chinese ones... ALL goddamn all over... Using cash.. is good.. and people forget that you guys are also paying business rates as well as council taxes to your local council and government. SO yeh...!!!! MEDIA WINS ! (Political regions DIED !)..... And now those app companies, all doing different things.. and some are not even legal ? As in.. UK citizens or businesses should not have used those ones. Some charged... financial fees (which some doesn't know that this is what it is).. and others are delivery fees... others are various junky fees... It goes on and on and on. You guys have done well to survived this long. I would go crazy.
@@blackdragoncyrus: A lot of foreigners, especially netizens on this specific article also does not know that majority of those ingredients are from the UK? Like, it is from the UK mostly.. and we use those, because it helps the local businesses and their situation as well. Once upon a time, there WERE noodle manufacturers in the UK that were owned by British Commonwealth disporas... and then they sold it on... and some of the English or even Irish now. (Yeh, so I didn't get that whole bombing thing in London, and targetted the chinese in chinatown way back when and the supposed gay streets etc.) Each time families are threatened, they run away. They run off. Even my family ditched their business in Liverpool when the local kids rioted. And then my brothers had to defend the business, and my dad was swift to stopped them from being jailed. So we ran off to South Yorkshire. The kind of things which does NOT get discussed today.... and yet, today's enemies are people like the foreigners... from various other countries, trying to "sell" their medias.. or to sell their apps... and you tread on an actual blackhole, and you won't even know it ??? (Next thing you know, there would be another really bad article somewhere else, calling out racisms etc.) And then, they would use YOUR name in vain.. and diss YOU... personally. For being that "bad chinese"... And that "You are not Chinese, cos you cook so badly.".... Sure.. try and cook anything post war period. When there was no farms. No food. All tins. I was a 70s baby... and yet... goes all the way to my grandfather's generation.. Even my families still feel good to those who helped us. But not so much to those who diss others NOW. These people can go and jump. Really.
What you will find with crispy shredded beef, is each takeaway differs in the sauce, in the crispiness, in how much beef each piece has etc. Some places it feels like you’re chewing on tough ass beef, others it’s like just a pile of batter. But when you find a good one, it’s god like. I mean, that goes for a lot of dishes. Each takeaway has slight difference and you find which one suits you best.
And it definitely matters where you go. I have several chinese takeaways that deliver to me but i rather drive to one further just because it's so much better. Their bbq spare ribs are amazing (and much more meat on them than salt and pepper or salt and chilli ribs). And sorry, we know it's not remotely chinese, but chips and curry sauce is a must! God i want a chinese now 🤤
I’m in Scotland & when I’ve ever had Chinese takeaway food in England the portions were smaller but price was the same as up here. Your portions there are more akin to what we get here. Most people would typically share the rice. Chicken balls are amazing! Again, too much for 1 person. And my son LOVES peking style crispy shredded chicken. Shame your beef was more just batter than anything else. Where my partner lives, they do chicken curry parcels with rice inside too which are like giant spring rolls. They’re dynamite! Will have to watch some of your videos from your home place now 😁 having just discovered your channel! 🫶🏻
We call those big ass spring rolls pancake rolls. Yeah most of them are just mainly bean sprouts filled. Deep fried, crispy and cheap. There should definitely be way more beef than there was I was amazed it was just batter in sauce - the other dishes looked legit good!
As much as I love chips and curry, my go-to chips from the Chinese are always salt and pepper/salt and chilli chips. They are without doubt the best chips ever!
First time viewer and really enjoyed this! Only triggering thing was the duck wrap where you kinda crumpled it into the centre which probably doesn't change it much but I felt you were def lacking some of the plum/hoisin sauce ratio wise if you're gonna eat it like that! I personally wrap it like an echilada or something with a streak of the sauce along the duck throughtout. Good watch all the same!
Chips and curry with the fried rice is a British Chinese classic. Especially popular as a walk home munch after a few beers. Shame you didn't try the combo.
With the exception of the chow mein you picked dishes often ordered as side dishes and starters so not necessarily the best example, but that's the gamble when the dishes aren't what you'd normally expect to see
Hey Ben I’m from the Uk so just thought I would give you a quick little lesson those thick fries you got with the curry sauce we call those chips then the skinny version of those are called fries and what you would call potato chips we call crisps
just so u know we do have fortune cookies in the uk too but some shops give them to you and some dont it really just depends on where u go. I would also love you to try kebab
not even london. uber eats/deliveroo fees are extremely high + restaurants/takeaways increase their prices because of the % taken by food delivery apps. i run 3 takeaways in London and my U.E/Deliveroo prices are about 20-25% higher than ordering directly@@ConnorDurber
as a british person watching these videos, it reminds me of watching a new player do a lets-play for the first time and they choose all of the right dialogue options
What an analogy my friend
I bet two hours after he finished all that he was hungry again.
Could not have put it better myself.
Tbh I don’t think he got the best items from a UK Chinese. Most people I know get the same order.
What does that even mean?
Prawn toast is one of those strange things, where you are not entirely sure what it is, but you know you damn well gonna eat the whole tub of them.
It's literally prawn dust and yeast lmao
@@megatronskneecapSometimes it's a thin layer of prawn in bread and fried, I like it when it's like that
Oh, nah my local shop does deep fried toast with prawns "glued" on with hot seasme seeds. Still addicting lol. @@PomuLeafEveryday
raw shelled prawns minced with lard, spring onion, ginger, rice wine, and egg white. Spread on sliced white bread, and press spread side down into a dish of sesame seeds. deep fry.
damn I adore prawn toast
The fast chewing is throwing me off. Like he sounds so chill with a deep voice and then this super fast chewing
YES! What in the H is that?
Is this a weird audio porn channel?
A total turn off.
Tell me bout it, had to turn the video off as it kinda become a bit too much😂 sounds like my dog eating his food
i've had to stop watching, it's like the mic is too close to his mouth
sounds like he is gnawing on a chew toy or sponge.
And does he have a microphone in his mouth?
The hell is the sound effects when you chew. Shits so jarring 🤣. Like a guinea pig
Just a pig
😂😂😂bro
I wondered if it was part of his gimmick but it’s crazy and so loud
Ben you need to try a donner kebab, one turkish style the other south asian (spicy) style. Also add mayo and chilli sauce
I can't stand it if they put lettuce on it. Who wants warm limp lettuce. I avoid those places, they haven't a clue. Cabbage onion grated carrot.is where its at. And not that bottled sauce either. We have one that makes incredible garlic sauce and chili. It's like nothing on earth.
Kebabs are overrated man
@@PariahMoonbow depends. There are Kebabs and lazy Kebabs.
@@limpethead carrot is a bit of a weird shout, pita, doner chilli sauce and red cabbage
@PariahMoonbow Ever been in Berlin? You don't need to, but if you are around sometime in the future, you might want to give it another try.
I can't get past the chewing sound on the mic
Yeh, the dude's a slurper!
😂😂😂😂 same
Really off-putting
British person here. Really happy to see you enjoying your takeaway. 😊 With the duck, don't take the lid off the container until you are ready to eat it. The steam evaporates and leaves the duck dry. If you had left the lid on it would have been much moister.
❤ He should have ate the duck first! Or at least with the other starters! Nearly screamed when he wasted time with the chips and curry you get from any takeaway!!!
All of it looked dry the second he opened it except for the stuff covered in sauce
I love duck so much it would've got ate first lol
@@orangeslice43 ur just mad he likes it 😂 American Chinese is rank
@@ellie1677yea rank #1 🦅
I love how much you commit to each bite. You never just take a small bit to taste, you shovel a huge amount into your mouth a chomp it down in a beautifully gross way 😂
I think it's more about getting the entirety of the mix that the food provides all in one bite. Which is probably essential.
That is all could hear the entire video. The chewing. Too much audio dedicated to chewing and swallowing.
@@kaprantiltrue
That fried rice is far too white, should be brown, Chinese food is a hit or miss in the UK, you get some really good ones and some bad ones so be careful.
Nah brown egg fried rice is horrible. It should be white with more egg.
I have a great Chinese near me in Essex and the rice is lovely.
@@LennyRoach-qy6hd I completely disagree, I have an amazing Chinese next to me and the rice is brown and delicious, way more flavour than white rice.
@@WilliamWallace42both fried rices are good
@@WilliamWallace42 I couldn’t agree with you less. But then again you are a jock so I’m not surprised 😂
Freeeddddddoooooommmmmm 🏴 🏴
Literally. If it’s not browner, then that haven’t added soy sauce.
The thing is with Chinese takeaways over here is, you kind of gotta find a good one and then thats your go to. Ive lost count of how many trash Chinese takeaways i've had in the UK, but i've also had some amazing ones. theres so many of them around the place that the standard is low, in my opinion.
Hit the nail on the head. There are some shite Chinese takeaway places sadly.
Not even just that but some specialise in certain stuff. Like some have nicer curry sauce, some have nicer ribs, some have nicer versions of the certain meals. It's extremely rare one has a lot of good versions of the various things.
I lived in China, the overwhelming majority of Chinese takeaways in the UK are an embarrassment.
same with chicken/kebab/pizza combo stores
@@chrisbfreelanceThe average person isn’t at an ethnic restaurant for completely authentic food. They’re there for food that’s different and tastes good to them and that’s all that matters in the end. If you want totally authentic food then you go to the country of origin. However, even eating in that country can be totally diverse. So what is authentic? Food is ever changing. You can be embarrassed all you want and the rest of us will be happily eating.
Also remember that the 20% sales tax is included in the menu price and not added after. No need to tip for picking up a takeaway and if you're tipping in the UK then around 10% for good service.
I want to an Indian restaurant that didn't do delivery only take away no eating and the guy kept trying to imply I should tip with a tip jar that he kept placing near me I didn't tip and never went back
@@RickTheBoss98 based!
20% sales tax is insane
@@Ayan-bp4dq it is, but it's still cheaper than the US, and the servers are paid a minimum wage, so there isn't such a reliance on tips like the US servers.
@@Ayan-bp4dq It's not actually sales tax. It's VAT. It's calculated differently and can produce different results than an equivalent "20% sales tax". That being said idk if the value would be higher or lower or if it would even apply here (it's largely the same result as sales tax, just in some cases it isn't).
Great to see your reactions! Welcome to UK cuisine!? You should try curry/chips/egg fried rice loaded onto a prawn cracker. It's the culinary equivalent of wrapping your soul in a comfort blanket.
Egg fried rice with curry sauce scooped up on a prawn cracker is the only way to eat it
you need to have chow mein with sweet and sour sauce over the top on a prawn cracker that’s the best
Your reaction to Chips in Curry Sauce is exactly why they sell it, it is an easy item to make and sell.
its just such good slop
& it’s literally one of there most sold dishes in takeaways. We brits love chips & curry sauce
Literal goyslop
@@Sfcfan120da jews
@@Sfcfan120Neckbeard
Chinese takeaways used to often do double duty as Fish & Chip places so that's where the curry chips comes from. The curry sauce is British Standard, it's where Japanese curry is derived from. Veggies on ribs is weird.
My local Chinese is also a chippy. Used to walk in there after work at about 10pm and you’d pay £2.50 for all the scraps.
Back in the '70s, one of the Chinese takeaways where I lived, was run by an extended Chinese family, where everyone helped out, right down to the old grandmother, who couldn't speak a word of English. It was her job to wrap up the meals when they were ready, and had already been paid for. At the time, being younger teenagers, my friends and I used to visit the place just for chips, and when they'd arrived in their little styrophone trays, grandma would ask us: "salt en veega?" enquiring if we required salt and vinegar, but regardless of our reply, she always doused the chips accordingly; then she'd ask "rat or unrat", and since we knew we'd be eating them as we walked home, we'd always request "unrat" (or "unwrapped" once the joke has ceased to be funny;) nevertheless, they always came across the counter beautifully wrapped, only for the wrapping to be discarded into the nearest bin, once we'd got outside. 🤗
it's a salt and pepper dish, they usually come with vegetables.
Salt and pepper (chilli) ribs are elite bro, try them :) Usually the ribs are a red-ish colour like a chashu pork with the flavours of salt, garlic, chilli and the veggies complimenting it very well.
@@DaveBartlett Exactly the same scenario for me as a kid and still occasionally now as an adult leaving the local, the Chinese is next door.
Ben I think you pretty much nailed exactly the preferred dishes that I would order from the Chinese Restaurant menus here in the UK. Not like this all at once of course! But certainly these would be all of the go-tos for me. Chips/Fries with Curry are probably the most common side order, next to rice or some noodles. It's cool to try different dishes, from different Restaurants too... because they can surprise you from place to place with the taste or techniques of cooking. I'm gonna order some Duck and Prawn Crackers next time! Thanks for making me hungry!
Egg fried rice in curry sauce is lovely too. As kids we used to get it all the time as it was soo cheap but was basically a meal on it's own.
Gotta love Ben's charisma and conistency - too natural lol. Been watching for some time and never get tired of it!
Always worried he's gonna bite his fingers off. Never seen anyone eat so aggressively 😂
Hey Ben! I'm from the UK, Leicester specifically, and I'll tell you a lot of people order Chinese takeaway a lot. My parents own a small Chinese takeaway in a small village 20 minutes away from the city centre, and I take phone orders every Friday and Saturday (when it gets busy). We're a family run business, but my parents have a second business (my parent's friends come in to help out in the smaller Chinese takeaway, alongside me) out in the city centre which is an eat-in and delivery restaurant that sells Japanese food. I've got to say, living in a Chinese restaurant is actually kinda cool, you can just grab some rice and cook it up if you're hungry and what not.
As a person who's been watching your videos for a while now, it's nice to see you dive into the British food scene, and take in what we REALLY have to offer!
Thanks so much for providing us with these videos, there's just something about them which gives it the extra charm and feeling to it, keep it up mate :)
How does every chinese takeaway in the UK have the same chow mein, spill the beans on the recipe it's basically crack
Love this…Leicestershire here also
That's rare
@@sean7185 very good question!
@@sean7185watch ziangs food workshop on UA-cam, shows you how to do it like the takeaway
I remember going to a Chinese place in South Carolina once and they had a lot of the stuff you got. I particularly remember the beef ribs, they were really good. Really tender and stuff.
EDIT: I’ll forever remember that place too, cause we went there at, like near closing time so they gave us a huge discount. It was truly awesome.
Hahaha yes in charlotte nc too. I feel like Chinese restaurants always have like a few local influenced options. Most of ours here have chicken wing/fry combos too which is…. Maybe slightly racially motivated but 😂
@@XxSuicidalNinjaxX That’s funny lol. Chinese food isn’t all fried stuff so idk why many restaurants go that route
i love the fact that when you had the microphone away from you, you could still hear you crunch and slurp. well done.
You've done insanely well showing genuine British food as a foreigner. it's clear that you have listened, listened, listened to genuine locals advice! The reason why we don't have chopsticks, is because we don't (or didn't) have many Chinese or East Asian people living in the UK in comparison to places like the US, Canada and Australia. That is why this 'Chinese Food' is extremely distinctive and not really traditional in any sense whatsoever.
Don't judge all British Chinese food on this place, every restaurant can be very different from one another, i feel bad that was your experience for spare ribs because I've seen much better.
Can't even judge one place on the food they give you, sometimes you got them on a bad or day or sometimes you ordered on a good day and then get disappointed next time lol
the same goes for the US, moving to different states will very in quality. I can tell you this takeout could dominate the market in most rural states in America, yet fail in more populous states. I would love to see Ben try a different spot while he is in the UK, but I've seen worse here across the pond.
It's Chinese takeaway dude, it's not high cuisine or something 😂 Train a bloke for a week and he'll cook it like the rest of em
@@Electromash92 we clearly have different standard lol
The rice looks hideous. It should be a deep brown, cooked in soy sauce
It’s beeen so long since I last saw your videos! Good to know you’re still active 🙌🙌
Much of the british chinese food was created by cantonese people and hong kongers who migrated to the UK - big communities in london, liverpool, birmingham and belfast.There are regional differences even in british chinese food too. In liverpool, a chinese is called a chippy ( fish and chip shop meal) where you can buy fish and chips and the likes of what you are eating above. A 'spice bag' is also an Irish Chinese invented in Dublin. One meal I wish we had in the UK from American Chinese is general tso's chicken. I wish we had more spicier chinese options although it's getting more common
Really loving this British series you’ve been open minded and non judgmental. Also you’re right chip shop curry is indistinguishable when I think of curry from different countries and regions.
It's its own thing. Chip shop curry
I find you tend to get 2 types of curry, a standard curry sauce that's pretty much the same everywhere or a tangier one with sultanas in it which you tend to find more in England.
Back in the 70s you used to be able to buy Sherwood's (Chicken) Curry as a sort of ready meal for the flavourings. That tasted and looked rather like that sort of curry, which I think they emulated on the basis it was familiar taste to most of us. After that it stuck.
I've had similar sort of Curries in France (the ones that predate the modern Indian restaurants that are now opening everywhere). I forget the name, but i think that originated from Mauritias
its like curry sauce you get from Germany
u mean distinguishable?
My dad had Chinese takeaways in England in the 80’s-2000 and prawn toast is made like this: blitz raw prawns with water, sugar, salt, msg, pepper into a paste. Spread a thin layer of prawn paste over white bread then dip into sesame seeds. Slice into 4 triangles and fry until golden.
My toxic trait is thinking I could make prawn toasts at home and them be as good as the Chinese do it 🤣
@@fionamb83 try it!!! My dad taught me how to cook in his takeaway and I was a kid making it so you can do it!
@@fionamb83you probably can I make them myself all the time but I add a lot of shrimp paste and use Japanese milk bread 😊 and it’s FIRE 🔥
@@fionamb83 Have a word with yourself. Nothing toxic about that
Don't suppose you have you dad's recipe for special fried rice? It's our absolute favourite but our at home version just doesn't compare ❤
A simple mix of chips, fried rice, curry sauce and onions in the 1 container is amazing! My chinese take away go to is lemon chicken or chicken with green pepper and blackbean sauce with fried rice and a side of dry ribs with lemon.
Onions in your chips curry and fried rice is a wild, but I’m on board.
I used to live in England and Chinese food was my favourite take away. I tried so many Chinese spots and all of them were a hit. I I loved the portions too. They always gave very generous servings. Ahhh I miss it
I have been loving these videos! Grew up in America, but been in the UK for almost 4 years. My hubby is from the UK and always gets chips and curry sauce when we order Chinese. Glad you loved it so much!
Lovely. It’s underrated!
Hey Ben, recently discovered your channel (think it's because you do doing British food content and this is where I live). Late to the party it seems, 600+ video and 1.3mil subs late, great honest content with no BS. Keep up the good work.
The first generation of the current style Chinese take-aways were opened by folks originating in Hong Kong in the 1970s (there must have been Chinese food available before then, but it wouldn't have been widespread across the UK). Many or perhaps all of them took over former fish and chip shops and introduced Chinese menu. Chips in Curry sauce was an early invention to cater to the post-Pub closing crowd who wanted to eat familiar item like chips. Spring Rolls used to have more variety of ingredients than now (I guess it's to keep the price down) but they've always been Bean Sprout heavy in my experience. If you want a more refined, Chinese(I guess as I haven't been to China either) then you'd need to go to a restaurant and then more of a higher price point experience. I'd recommend that.
Current menus especially take-aways) are strongly influence by what became popular early on (such as sweet and sour Pork and Crispy Dick). The same thing happen with Indian food. which started to become common at the same time (actually most early British India restaurants were open by people from Bangladesh and their menu reflected that the cooking from that region). Hence Chicken Tikka Massala, the most popular takeaway dish in the UK and the same few menu names you find in just about every restaurant.
Fortune Cookies have always been uncommon in the UK. Is it a Hong Kong thing ?
chicken balls
All that needs to be said
That’s right
Mighty fine
Chicken balls in your mouth
chicken balls
Ben you’ve definitely become British when your loving the chips and curry with Chinese takeaway it’s a must in my opinion 😊
Wow you are so lucky to get that much Chinese food for $100.00. Here in Australia, Chinese food is so expensive that we get half of what you ordered if even that. 🌺🌺
Exactly. Everything is so expensive here now. I can nearly fit $100 dollars worth of shopping into one bag now. 😢
I had a lovely special chop suey with extra bean sprouts and noodles from Glasgow last week. You need to try one of them.👍❤️💛💚
A friend showed me how to make prawn toast. It’s ground prawns until turned to a paste, then spread on toast and covered in sesame seeds before deep frying.
My local Chinese takeaway in Cheshire, England does give you fortune cookies too. I think it just depends on which one you go to. My fave dish is sweet and sour king prawns- i really like the sourness of the sauce 🙂Looks like you tried a lot of the things people typically order here.
A lot of Chinese takeaways has stopped doing fortune cookies why I'm not sure the one I deliver for used to do fortune cookies if the order was £15 or more for every £5 spent you would get a fortune cookie so if the order was say £16 you would get 3 cookies £20 4 cookies £25 5 cookies but if it was £14.90 0 cookies why they stopped doing it for I'm not sure
@@Samantha23478 : Because those newcomers or those new suppliers often charges a LOT for those stupid biscuits, that is why they aren't given out any more. Which is a shame. But it is fine. It is like... "to spend 10 million" to sell it for around "2 pounds".... just ask your local place if they have nice freebies. lol..... Maybe they might give you something extra. :) I hate what is going on, everybody tries to flip food here in the UK now. If they flip it.. then they better pay the damn sales tax to that transaction. You want to earn from that item.. then register yourself as a company and pay the taxes !!!! Enough of this insanity!
Fortune cookies were invented in the US by a Japanese man. Crispy noodles are also an American thing.
One of my pet hates is Crispy Shredded Beef when it all comes stuck together like one gelatinous clump. In all my years I've only have one take away that the beef was individual pieces with identifiable chunks of beef.
As a kid Chinese Chips - (potatoes were cut to a disc uniformity and cover in sweet & sour sauce) - was a real treat.
Seriously depends on where you get it from if the police does it good it's banging if not it's Trash and a waste of money
Ok -spring roll, chips and sweetcorn soup +wonton soup and you have all the regulars I get and im British 😁. Absolutely spot on order bro!
Chips and curry sauce from a Chinese takeaway (when it is good), is a mighty fine dish. My local chippy growing up was Chinese owned and theirs was amazing.
I love the chicken balls with curry sauce instead of the sweet and sour and i always get chips to dip in the sauce as well. My favourite rice at a Chinese is the Singapore fried rice, that's a meal in itself and has a great flavour, quite spicy it contains chili peppers it has different meats like pork, chicken, prawns and vegetables, egg rice and noodles, delicious in my opinion.
First time seeing the curry sauce dunked on top of the chips, I always get the same. Chips, chicken balls with curry sauce, singapore fried rice and maybe salt and chilli wings if I'm extra hungry.
Chicken Balls with satay sauce for me! :) although ill usually keep the sweet and sour sauce they come with and mix that with my rice
Diligent review and likeable reviewer. I live in the US Midwest and prawn toast & ribs are readily available in my go-to Chinese place.
I've only been to London a couple of times, loved it and thought the cuisine to be really underrated. Their take on Chinese food is to go for bolder and spicier flavors which I appreciate. I would not be a curry-fries guy. Sorry. Not every bold experiment succeeds. But London taught me to love tartar sauce with my fries, thank you for that.
We always get egg fried rice, sweet and sour pork, roast duck in honey lemon sauce, bamboo shoots and water chesnuts with mushrooms and king prawns. Plus the chips, something about chips from the Chinese Takeaway they are always the best.
Just literally finished watching your bangers and mash and then this pops up so more Ben scranning on our British grub 😂
Loving this series dude. Absoulute shame that i only discovered you during this UK session being English myself, but I feel like you like you would of preferred the chips in gravy! And if you ever get the chance to have beef in black bean sauce in the UK, thats a personal must have for me!
Inflation man...100 doesnt get you much anymore, My dad worked in a chinese takeway in Holland way back when and he said the spring rolls were even more humongous than our UK ones. P.S. fortune cookies are an American thing
WHY DO YOU EAT LIKE THAT BRUV
this actually taking me out rn 😂😂😂😂 i didn’t even notice until your comment popped up
I could probably manage to live 1 week with that amount of food!
I feel overwhelmed looking at it all
No doubt. Portion it out into containers, a little of everything.
@@Almondeyezzz84just if it came in containers to begin with….
@@Almondeyezzz84that’s a good idea and individual meal in each container
@@Morecanalsthanvenice nop
Come try northern New England chinese takeout. Key items that aren't widely available elsewhere include the incredible teriyaki beef skewers and "salt and pepper" (bith chili and black pepper varieties) of every type of seafood imaginable. A few shops even offer a seasonal fiddlehead fern dish.
I had some on a trip just at random and I was so impressed. Lots of things that aren't in my local Chinese place. It was really good
I only started to watch your posts of Uk food. The first thing is, yes, we have great comfort foods , probs because geographical perspective due to sunlight hours, but also what is on the table either way. When I was growing up here in the Uk 20 years after the second world war, we did not have take aways at all. And my mother was a great advocater of vegatables ,so no matter what we had , we always had veggies too but in season. I love to see how Asians use vegatables and meat. The Asian way of cooking and the vegatables seem so healthy. I do love Uk food but sometimes there can be an overload of carbs and fats. So a balance is the best way.
Hey Ben, long time uk viewer here! Small and easy one for maybe a lunch or something, but you should definately try beans on toast! British classic!
The curry chip is a classic. In Ireland we also have what is called a 3in1 which is chips, curry and fried rice all in the one container.
Or the holy 4in1 with beef or chicken balls
4 in 1 with shredded chicken is where it’s at (love the chicken balls too tbf, just my local chineses tend to have soggy ones lol)
You need some noodles too. Noodles, fried rice, chips and sweet and sour sauce is my go to. Sometimes I'll have curry sauce but its a bit heavy
In Belfast that's a half and half with curry sauce
Use to get that in Gateshead but it was a 4in1, had plain chow mein in it too lol lush
Curry half n half was popular with kids/teens when I was growing up, which was made of the things you liked here. Half chips, half egg fried rice, and curry sauce. I also think I remember it costing about £1.
Yes, we have shrimp toast in America, in fact is probably my favorite appetizer to get. The only time I have ever had duck was at a Chinese restaurant, it was served off a dim sum cart and very greasy. All the Chinse ribs that I have ever gotten were served as an appetizer and they were sauced with something similar to sweet and sour sauce but less sour. Your meal looked good but unsure how I would feel about the curry fries, like they say don't knock it till you try it.
I have no idea how he eats like this and stays super slim. I wish I had your metabolism Ben!
In his previous videos, he often eats just once a day and/or eats healthy on other days he isn't filming. I'm sure he does his fair share of exercising too
@@evokaiyo I eat like this too. my issue is I'm already overweight... so I'm not gaining but I'm def not losing 😭
@@counterfeit4450 you need to hit the gym then
@@eyra7550 I guess. I got a lot of issues man. And these videos seem to perpetuate my relationship with food sadly….
He only has a few mouthfuls of each thing, he probably gives the food to friends after or saves it for next few days
British born Chinese here! Hmm, not all Chinese takeaways cook the same. The chilli salted ribs should be dry with less* veg and I personally hate beansprouts in a spring roll… it ruins it. The chicken sweetcorn soup is just cream style sweetcorn in a tin, water, seasoning and cornstarch. The prawn on toast - the prawn is smashed into a paste and spread on a piece of bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds then deep fried. Anyway another great video Ben!
beansprouts in a spring roll are a must for me. They add a nice bite/texture and taste to it. Love them lol
@@IamBATMAN2024same here, I love beansprouts and the texture of them!
Our salt&chilli ribs are drier here too, and they’re bright red in colour with onions, bell pepper and chillis. They’re very tasty!!
How can you be chinese, when your surname is "Hoang" ? That is a Vietnamese name... or way back when.
@@MeiinUK Parents born in Vietnam but moved to China. Ethnically Vietnamese, culturally Chinese.
u are probably miles away from where im from, but if u ever can try pop by and try the Chinese place in Tooting market it’s AMAZING their chicken is so yum and their noodles are the perfect level of spicy my mum always gets us some when she goes there. also recommend Rodeos their burgers are mighty fine!
brah was tearing up them noodles. lmao... you can tell when people taste something they like. Great stuff mate!
Shrimp toast and spare ribs are very common at American Chinese restaurants, at least in the Midwest
On the west coast too, although shrimp toast is more of a dim sum thing there
Ben, the duck is supposed to be dry. It's crispy duck. That's how we do it for some reason lol. Unless you're going to an authentic spot to get Peking Duck. But if it's a takeaway, its gotta be dry and crispy to go with the pancakes 😅
Yeah hence the hoisin sauce to give it a bit of liquid
You really need to get a mix of spring rolls. The big ones are usually mostly filled with beansprouts. medium sized ones cone in different meat flavours, and the mini ones are vegetables.
I would love to know what Ben does for his full time job? He’s been traveling a lot lately!
Great video as always!!!!!
Woo! You're the man. You made UK proud. Hope you enjoyed your chinese meal 😊
Chinese 🥡 : the only food that is universally loved 😊
Cheers from 🇺🇸
YESSSS chips and curry! Also, you're missing Salt & Pepper Chips! It's amazing
I seriously cheered when your fave dish was the curry and chips! Brought up on them badboys. In school we used to have our dinner time at my local downtown in a chinese takeaway. Good times.
Makes me glad to see you try this. Prawn toast is one of my favourites but the crispy aromatic duck pancakes from a good place is the bomb! Love your stuff bro, enjoy it in the UK. Try Indian food, maybe a few dish recommendations for you - chicken pasanda and/or chicken chasni.
Good selection there! Chicken balls with curry sauce rather than sweet and sour is the one for me! Love duck and pancakes too. Nice work man!
Living in the Chicago area, I've never had Chinese food that DIDN'T have ribs and shrimp toast. In the appetizer section of the menu is where you find them. I've even made Chinese spareribs and shrimp toast. It was delicious! 😋
Pro-tip, UK consumer here, use your superfluous rib veg in the duck wraps (get extra wraps). game changer
I'd love to see you try munchie boxes, they're super popular here in Scotland. I don't know if they do them in England, but it's basically a pizza box filled with all the takeaway stuff. I don't get them anymore, but the slat and chilli box is my favourite one.
They do at the Chinese places around me, at least. They're a huge seller at the place I normally go to.
My local chinese does a " nosh box " ribs . chicken wings . curry trigon . mini spring rolls . Prawn toast . Chicken balls and chips with chilli salt and a tub of curry sauce all for £13.50
I live in Hastings, on the south east coast. There's a place near me that does this. It's like getting the whole menu in a pizza box, which confused the hell out of me initially.
I tend to prefer Plum Sauce over Sweet and Sour. If you do another Chinese before you go, give it a whirl. Hits kind of the same with a sweet and sour vibe but it’s different and just nicer IMO.
Chilli and honey ribs are a good choice (if the restaurant does them) and get Salt & Pepper/Salt & Chilli King Prawns to get the real Salt & Chilli Pepper experience.
If they do deep fried crispy noodles then maybe try those with Beef in Black Bean sauce.
Made me want to order a Chinese takeaway in now….😂 🤤
plum sauce also goes with the duck fairly well
At my local and various places in the UK we have something called a 3in1 and it's chips, egg fried rice and sauce (I usually get curry) in one box, it's usually very cheap like £4 and I usually get that and chicken and sweetcorn soup if it's cold, or I'm a little depresso or sick or generally need some comfort food. I'd say all of this was pretty standard for UK Chinese, though the egg fried rice looks a bit lacking in egg for usual, the spring roll, usually you do have the option between meat and veg at my place and usually the big ones are better, but that doesn't look like a good one. Also as far as the fortune cookie, they do give them, not EVERY time however, and not EVERY takeaway gives them either, you'll get one spot that does sometimes, another that does every time and another that never does it's a bit weird honestly haha. And the duck (from a standard Chinese takeaway) is yeah usually pretty dry, but it's not too bad when eaten at the start of the meal, it's usually what my family tuck into first as it just gets dryer and dryer quickly. At more expensive places it's definitely always been more juicy, but not losing the crispiness. I've gotta say, I'd love to see you go to a USA Chinese because when I think of American Chinese food I don't have any high expectations at all I just think of like Panda Express or idk orange chicken at the cheesecake factory and shit like that which I assume isn't actually representative of actual little takeaways not big corporations. My favourite Chinese takeaway items are unfortunately very UK only, and so I would definitely have to say I'd never say American Chinese food was better, gimme a 3in1 and my prawn toast any day.
Prawn toast sounds delightful. I am a Canadian born Chinese and Cantonese specifically. Our traditional dishes are lighter and less oilier in comparison to mainland Chinese dishes, but oh my goodness I fell in love with 'Hakka' Chinese restaurants here after college. They are sometimes run by Chinese-indian culturally mixed families, or even rarer, Chinese who grew up in the West Indies or Carribean. There is a Guyanese-Chinese place near me and their food is HOT and so, so good, with reasonable amount of veggies cooked perfectly for a good crunch (cabbage, onions, peppers), not just wilty 3-hour old sweet peas, canned baby corn and some sad bean sprouts.
prawn toast is my favourite thing from a Chinese. A lot of our chippies (fish and chips takeaway) are Chinese owned and they're usually Chinese chippies (we call them this) although I've only really seen these more up north where I am but I could be wrong and maybe there are a lot down south too. We had a Chinese chippy takeaway near my mum's called Au Yeung and they were a family run chippy for over 20 years, always packed full of customers every night, they even drove the Chinese chippy across the road out of business! they have since been taken over but they're nowhere near the standard that was Au Yeung. So Chinese takeaway is a very common and sought after takeaway for us Brits as is an indian takeaway. Duck pancakes and prawn toast are usually my go-to order.
The veggies from the ribs are delicious when you mix them with rice 👍
Royal China on Baker Street or in Canary Wharf are great Chinese restaurants.
And if you have the chance to, try a three roastie meats (BBQ pork, crispy roast pork belly and roast duck) with rice - superb!
I agree. They're good to their employees. Good people. What has been happening a lot is also that, so many individuals uses those stupid online reviews too... and it has been known to collapse the entire sector. So... yeh... this is really cruel... and very unfair too? Now some people have given up playing this kind of game. Others just moved on. Lots of businesses were destroyed based on those bad reviews. And now, those stupid apps are here too. So yeh... swings and aroundabouts. Don't use apps. (Don't pay extras.) Go in person. Follow recommendation by word of mouth. Not reviews. Build up relationships. Bring things back to normal is a good thing imho. Vice media has done a lot of damages to this sector as well... It is like, never mind the stupid review companies from within the UK.. and then the foreign app companies as well... and then the Canadian media as well... LOL... F!ck... What chances has any companies have of survival ?!?!!
As you mentioned before Chinese can differ greatly to one another,there are those that i really like such as shredded beef in certain places but not in others,they all seem to be better at some things than others,the only Chinese ive had which i literally like everything they do is a place called noodle house in Sutton high street and many Chinese people eat there,its the best by far in my opinion,quality tasty food.
Brit here, Chinese takeaways are usually avsilutely huge portions because usually they are eaten in a big gathering
Same as many other comments on here once you find a good chinese you hold onto that bad boy and pray it never shuts down or they move away, finding a good chinese always puts a smile on your face
Who’d have thought chips and curry eh.
Never feel bad for your opinion on this delicious food Fabre. You are American/Korean and I’m sure your experience of Chinese food in America and Korea is way more than maybe two visits in your lifetime to London. For me,it’s great to hear your take and comparisons- after all, I have not travelled to either of your countries- only American food I have ate is on Royal Caribbean cruises- and I must say you do know how to cook your food 👌🤤🤤🔥🔥
In my area Chinese takeaways are always great value when feeding a group they have variety and deliver very fast. Its unmatched
hahaha i cant cope you are funny. and great review as well just subscribed x
All good choices and range of stuff, the shredded beef is always hit and miss and can be the decider on whether you go to that place again or not, for example theres 4 chinese places in my town but I always go to the one next town over because they do a thicker shredded beef (called crispy beef)
I used to work at my family-owned takeaway, the prices were very cheap compared to our competitors, and our portions were way larger than theirs, too, but our shop was situated in a very bad area, so we didn't get many customers... combined with many other recent factors, and prices just increasing more and more, we sadly had to close down for good after 25 years.
Sorry to hear that I have supported a local family owned Cantonese takeaway for the last 20 years they are struggling to compete with takeaways on just eat they have stuck to cash only but their food quality is top notch never greasy it's always fresh
@@chocobloco214 We did cash-only in person as well, but there was a cash point nearby so it was never really too much of an issue.
@@blackdragoncyrus : Just eat was ultra nasty, cos they were charging around a whopping 25% of the entire order ! AND that does not include delivery charges as well ? Goddamn them.... and then they floated into the Dutch exchange... and what nots etc.... And this itself collapsed the entire sector. And this does NOT include various f!Qcking reviews as well.. from various (global) websites... Canadian media Vice did a crappy article. App companies went trigger happy and created other damages... ones from Taiwan... US ones.. chinese ones... ALL goddamn all over... Using cash.. is good.. and people forget that you guys are also paying business rates as well as council taxes to your local council and government. SO yeh...!!!! MEDIA WINS ! (Political regions DIED !)..... And now those app companies, all doing different things.. and some are not even legal ? As in.. UK citizens or businesses should not have used those ones. Some charged... financial fees (which some doesn't know that this is what it is).. and others are delivery fees... others are various junky fees... It goes on and on and on.
You guys have done well to survived this long. I would go crazy.
@@blackdragoncyrus: A lot of foreigners, especially netizens on this specific article also does not know that majority of those ingredients are from the UK? Like, it is from the UK mostly.. and we use those, because it helps the local businesses and their situation as well. Once upon a time, there WERE noodle manufacturers in the UK that were owned by British Commonwealth disporas... and then they sold it on... and some of the English or even Irish now. (Yeh, so I didn't get that whole bombing thing in London, and targetted the chinese in chinatown way back when and the supposed gay streets etc.) Each time families are threatened, they run away. They run off. Even my family ditched their business in Liverpool when the local kids rioted. And then my brothers had to defend the business, and my dad was swift to stopped them from being jailed. So we ran off to South Yorkshire. The kind of things which does NOT get discussed today.... and yet, today's enemies are people like the foreigners... from various other countries, trying to "sell" their medias.. or to sell their apps... and you tread on an actual blackhole, and you won't even know it ??? (Next thing you know, there would be another really bad article somewhere else, calling out racisms etc.) And then, they would use YOUR name in vain.. and diss YOU... personally. For being that "bad chinese"... And that "You are not Chinese, cos you cook so badly.".... Sure.. try and cook anything post war period. When there was no farms. No food. All tins. I was a 70s baby... and yet... goes all the way to my grandfather's generation.. Even my families still feel good to those who helped us. But not so much to those who diss others NOW.
These people can go and jump. Really.
What you will find with crispy shredded beef, is each takeaway differs in the sauce, in the crispiness, in how much beef each piece has etc. Some places it feels like you’re chewing on tough ass beef, others it’s like just a pile of batter. But when you find a good one, it’s god like. I mean, that goes for a lot of dishes. Each takeaway has slight difference and you find which one suits you best.
And it definitely matters where you go. I have several chinese takeaways that deliver to me but i rather drive to one further just because it's so much better. Their bbq spare ribs are amazing (and much more meat on them than salt and pepper or salt and chilli ribs).
And sorry, we know it's not remotely chinese, but chips and curry sauce is a must!
God i want a chinese now 🤤
I’m in Scotland & when I’ve ever had Chinese takeaway food in England the portions were smaller but price was the same as up here. Your portions there are more akin to what we get here. Most people would typically share the rice. Chicken balls are amazing! Again, too much for 1 person. And my son LOVES peking style crispy shredded chicken. Shame your beef was more just batter than anything else. Where my partner lives, they do chicken curry parcels with rice inside too which are like giant spring rolls. They’re dynamite! Will have to watch some of your videos from your home place now 😁 having just discovered your channel! 🫶🏻
We call those big ass spring rolls pancake rolls. Yeah most of them are just mainly bean sprouts filled. Deep fried, crispy and cheap. There should definitely be way more beef than there was I was amazed it was just batter in sauce - the other dishes looked legit good!
As much as I love chips and curry, my go-to chips from the Chinese are always salt and pepper/salt and chilli chips. They are without doubt the best chips ever!
YES the moment I tried salt n pepper chips I was like curry who 😂😂😂😂😂
They don't have them in a majority of London Chinese takeaways
First video of yours - love how calm you are. No crazy music or mannerisms, just literally a dude eating lol
First time viewer and really enjoyed this! Only triggering thing was the duck wrap where you kinda crumpled it into the centre which probably doesn't change it much but I felt you were def lacking some of the plum/hoisin sauce ratio wise if you're gonna eat it like that! I personally wrap it like an echilada or something with a streak of the sauce along the duck throughtout. Good watch all the same!
Chips and curry with the fried rice is a British Chinese classic. Especially popular as a walk home munch after a few beers. Shame you didn't try the combo.
With the exception of the chow mein you picked dishes often ordered as side dishes and starters so not necessarily the best example, but that's the gamble when the dishes aren't what you'd normally expect to see
Hey Ben I’m from the Uk so just thought I would give you a quick little lesson those thick fries you got with the curry sauce we call those chips then the skinny version of those are called fries and what you would call potato chips we call crisps
you've made me want to order a Chinese tonight now lol, never tried to prawn toast but ill give it a go tonight
just so u know we do have fortune cookies in the uk too but some shops give them to you and some dont it really just depends on where u go. I would also love you to try kebab
Loving this UK food series! Hope you've checked out London's chitown
neiho leung neoi!
the fork struggle the whole vid got to me ngl LMAOO but fyeee vid g
I love the commitment! Bang! Big fork full of scran straight in the mush, no dainty nibbles.
These food places you’ve been going to are so expensive 🤣
😅😂like literally double the price
that’s london for you, up north is so much cheaper
Yeah but still being ripped off hard
not even london. uber eats/deliveroo fees are extremely high + restaurants/takeaways increase their prices because of the % taken by food delivery apps.
i run 3 takeaways in London and my U.E/Deliveroo prices are about 20-25% higher than ordering directly@@ConnorDurber
I live in East London and it would be a lot cheaper than this.
All his English videos off what we eat has actually been bang on. His well informed by somebody, in knowing what to get.