the quest for a good chinese takeaway

I tend to write about things on this 'blog that aren't specifically Irish-- that is, things that happen in my life, but aren't unique to Ireland, or to being an American abroad, or anything like that. This is because my life really isn't all that interesting, most of the time. Yes, I live in Ireland, but much of day-to-day life here isn't all that different from life in the U.S. (I walk to the store and look right-left-right before crossing the street, instead of left-right-left. How exotic!) But lately I've been experiencing something that is rather different from my experience as a college student in the U.S. This is, of course, the quality of the Chinese takeout in Galway.

Now, don't get me wrong-- I have had some truly delicious Chinese and Asian fusion meals in this town. But those are generally found at nicer sit-down type restaurants. I'm talking about the kind of Chinese food that comes in paper box, from a place that's open until 3am and has a neon dragon sign in the window. I'm a big fan of Chinese takeout, and in college Jim and I tried every Chinese restaurant that was within walking or delivery distance of MSU. Recently, I've begun doing the same here... with disappointing results.

In the U.S., a dish like (for example) chicken and black bean sauce would be a stir-fry of thin pieces of chicken with things like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corns, and bean sprouts, tossed with the appropriate sauce. Over here, it seems to be more like: steamed pieces of chicken and steamed red bell peppers, green peppers, onions, and carrots, tossed with the sauce. Steamed veggies and chicken, while undoubtedly healthier, are also much more bland than stir-fried... and bell peppers and onions are not exactly uniquely Asian vegetables. This is something I've encountered at three separate restaurants. Sometimes the sauce is very good, which makes it a decent meal, but it's not what I'm looking for in a Chinese takeaway. (And sometimes the sauce is bland and watery and gross, which makes the whole thing a huge disappointment.)

Basically, I can get better stir-fry veggies frozen at the grocery store. And the store also has a nice selection of stir-fry sauces. So, I think I've come to the conclusion that if I'm craving Chinese food, I'm better off making it myself. Which isn't helpful for those days when you really don't feel like cooking.


In other news, I made a sudden impulse purchase yesterday, and consequently have acquired an awesome new hobby. I'm not going to go into details yet, because I'm an absolute beginner, but suffice to say that the fingertips of my left hand are really sore right now...