Why do some Chinese restaurants not serve pork?

[Kellykins1218]

My city is almost 50% Asian by population. It's not a small city. There are 3 Panda Express locations. They are almost all always FULL of Chinese customers. It may not be authentic Chinese food, but Chinese people sure do love it.

LOL Ours is like that, too

 

[tvguy]

Who really does fast food pork other than bacon? I'm looking at what Panda Express has on its current national menu, and there isn't a single pork item. They might have had some in the past, but I'm guessing it doesn't sell well.

I know people from China. And I agree that it's hard to call Panda express "Chinese". I remember a friend originally from China telling me about going to a Panda Express with her parents because they were in a hurry on vacation. They weren't quite sure what it was, and her dad asked if it was Japanese. And sweet and sour pork in that style with the bright red sauce is definitely meant to appeal to American tastes.

But yeah - pork is the most common meat in Chinese cuisine. It's well suited for growing conditions in China. It doesn't take a whole lot of room and they grow quickly to market size. Beef cattle need room to graze.

An interesting dilemma. Apparently people love pork fast food. So much so the fast food chains can't keep up. But in Burger King's case, they ran out of packaging before they ran out of pork. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/burger-king-fails-to-plan-for-success-with-new-rib-meal/

 

[Micca]

Why do some Chinese restaurants not serve pork?
Because it's Lo Mein on the totem pole?

 

[lovesmurfs]

Why do some Chinese restaurants not serve pork?
Because it's Lo Mein on the totem pole?

 

[Floridaman999]

Why do some Chinese restaurants not serve pork?
Because it's Lo Mein on the totem pole?

You got me.

 

[ronandannette]

Why do some Chinese restaurants not serve pork?
Because it's Lo Mein on the totem pole?

That may be a fairly lame joke but it's relatively better than the quality of the food we're discussing. We don't have Panda Express here, although we do have similar food-court places. I've got nothing against the occasional salt/sugar/fat festival you have when eating that stuff. My only exposure to Panda Express is on the departure-level of American airports. The few times I've tried it I've found it to be truly vile. Whether or not it's authentic is a distant consideration compared to whether or not it's actually edible.

 

[Micca]

[QUOTE="ronandannette, post: 60161778, member: 114787"]That may be a fairly lame joke but it's relatively better than the quality of the food we're discussing.[/QUOTE]
ronandannette you've crushed my very soul. I don't go to Panda Express, and in the U.S. there are many similar places (some locally owned) which generally are about the same poor quality. I usually avoid them but the other night the DGDs wanted something from a neighborhood takeout so we gave one a try. The quality was about the same as the Chinese deli at the grocery store down the street. Because most airport food from chain restaurants is a notch below what is served in their other locations I don't think I'd risk eating Panda Express just before boarding a flight.

 

[RedAngie]

That may be a fairly lame joke but it's relatively better than the quality of the food we're discussing. We don't have Panda Express here, although we do have similar food-court places. I've got nothing against the occasional salt/sugar/fat festival you have when eating that stuff. My only exposure to Panda Express is on the departure-level of American airports. The few times I've tried it I've found it to be truly vile. Whether or not it's authentic is a distant consideration compared to whether or not it's actually edible.

One time DH and I split a combo plate from Panda Express at Chicago O'Hare airport. I think it was beef & broccoli, some kind of chicken, and lo mein. We took a bite or two each and threw 90% away. Even DH, who'll eat practically anything, wasn't having it.

 

[ronandannette]

you've crushed my very soul. I don't go to Panda Express, and in the U.S. there are many similar places (some locally owned) which generally are about the same poor quality. I usually avoid them but the other night the DGDs wanted something from a neighborhood takeout so we gave one a try. The quality was about the same as the Chinese deli at the grocery store down the street. Because most airport food from chain restaurants is a notch below what is served in their other locations I don't think I'd risk eating Panda Express just before boarding a flight.

Au contraire, I have one of those unusual constitutions that finds MSG and red dye #2 to be very calming.

 

[Floridaman999]

I don't think I've ever been to a Chinese restaurant that didn't serve pork. Or, maybe I just wasn't paying that much attention.

 

[Micca]

I don't think I've ever been to a Chinese restaurant that didn't serve pork. Or, maybe I just wasn't paying that much attention.

IMO the best dishes at most Chinese restaurants are the ones with pork. Pork fried rice???

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Well if it was operated by Chinese people who practice dietary restrictions on pork (like the Uighar) I could definitely understand.

 

[tvguy]

IMO the best dishes at most Chinese restaurants are the ones with pork. Pork fried rice???

Yeah, Chinese or Mexican, I have no idea what is authentic, I just know what I like. But reviewing all the local Chinese restaurant menus onine, they all offer Pork versions of their dishes. And the pork version at some places is the lowest cost protein option at one restaurant, 25 cents cheaper.

And for Mexican food, none of the local restaurants I ate at in Mexico had spicy food. I just remember everything had potatoes in it in Mexico.

 

[dish rag]

One time DH and I split a combo plate from Panda Express at Chicago O'Hare airport. I think it was beef & broccoli, some kind of chicken, and lo mein. We took a bite or two each and threw 90% away. Even DH, who'll eat practically anything, wasn't having it.

I have never tried it but just the look and smell of it is enough to stop me. No way would I eat that stuff before a flight.

 

[bcla]

Well if it was operated by Chinese people who practice dietary restrictions on pork (like the Uighar) I could definitely understand.

They're not necessarily ethnic (Han) Chinese though. One would be hard pressed to call Uighur culture/cuisine "Chinese".

That being said, there are Han Chinese Muslims who don't eat pork. I've been to a few restaurants like them in the San Francisco Bay Area. There's this one place near the San Francisco Zoo that's basically a northern Chinese restaurant where there's no pork on the menu. It's generally heavy on lamb, which isn't really all that common in Chinese cuisine, but is a staple of Chinese Islamic cuisine.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/old-mandarin-islamic-restaurant-san-francisco
https://www.yelp.com/biz/darda-seafood-restaurant-milpitas

 

[georgina]

Sure. It's interesting who eats at Taco Bell too. I also wasn't sure about Wienerschnitzel. Turns out it was a completely made up name, and Taco Bell was tangentially involved.

https://www.wienerschnitzel.com/wienerschnitzel-hot-dog-chain-will-start-serving-schnitzel/
Because of course a Wienerschnitzel isn’t a kind of hot dog — Wiener doesn’t mean “hot dog;” it means “from Vienna” — it’s a thin, breaded, fried cutlet traditionally made from veal.

The chain’s name, according to J. R. Galardi, executive vice president of the 330-unit chain and son of founder John Galardi, came from a suggestion at a dinner hosted by Taco Bell founder Glen Bell.

Galardi worked for Bell at the time and was trying to think of a name that would stick in people’s minds, which “John’s Hot Dogs” would not. Bell’s wife was flipping through a cookbook and said, “How about Der Wienerschnitzel?”​

There's a fast food restaurant called Wienerschnistzel? Never heard of it!

I always think of pork as the meat most likely to carry disease so avoid it when eating out.

 

[shoney]

There's a fast food restaurant called Wienerschnistzel? Never heard of it!

I always think of pork as the meat most likely to carry disease so avoid it when eating out.

That is a very antiquated view on pork. Restaurants now ask how u would like it cooked.

 

[bcla]

There's a fast food restaurant called Wienerschnistzel? Never heard of it!

I always think of pork as the meat most likely to carry disease so avoid it when eating out.

I remember the first time I had undercooked pork. Didn't get sick though. I don't specifically have a problem with undercooked or even raw meats and seafood (I'll eat raw oysters and sushi/sashimi), but I always heard about the possibility of trichinosis.

But yeah there's a hot dog chain called Wienerschnitzel. Apparently it means "Vienna schnitzel" but a lot of people around here think it's some sort of sausage. I've even heard it used as a slang phallic term.

https://www.wienerschnitzel.com

 

[Diznygrl]

Wow, all the Panda Express hate! I don't eat anything there except orange chicken, fried rice and chow mein so I dunno. I think it's pretty tasty. All the Chinese restaurants I've been to pretty much taste the same to me anyway.

 

[ronandannette]

One time DH and I split a combo plate from Panda Express at Chicago O'Hare airport. I think it was beef & broccoli, some kind of chicken, and lo mein. We took a bite or two each and threw 90% away. Even DH, who'll eat practically anything, wasn't having it.

It was just exactly like that when I last had it at IAH a few months ago. It looked OK (for that type of food) but it tasted shockingly bad - not bad like spoiled or dangerous, just very, very yucky.