Chinese Restaurant

I'm visiting relatives this weekend and I know this will involve Chinese food. I need some ideas of what I could order that would make fairly good sense. No seafood however. Thanks!
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Replies

  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
    Broccoli and beef is usually a pretty good bet.
  • cwilber1
    cwilber1 Posts: 30 Member
    Thank you. Thought maybe steamed dumplings - not as bad as I thought.
    Just a bit nervous at the thought of dining out. Its been a while.
  • jdlobb
    jdlobb Posts: 1,232 Member
    Kung Pao chicken with a side of steamed veggies is a good choice
  • unigirl143
    unigirl143 Posts: 126 Member
    chicken and veggies, steamed veggies
  • chrissywelsh10
    chrissywelsh10 Posts: 66 Member
    Steamed prawns in garlic & boiled rice
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
    I would look up a few ideas in the data base before going out. I see a lot for PF Changs and although maybe not exact, it will give you an idea. I always do that when I know I am going to a restaurant or fast food.
  • Steamed veggies and steamed rice
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Look up the menu ahead of time. At many places you can also ask the cook to prepare food in a lighter fashion, with less sauce or oil, for example.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    edited September 2017
    Most chinese places will happily provide steamed chicken and vegetables (or any protein for that matter) with no sauce/sauce on the side.

    Assuming you go with chicken, they'll maybe use 6 oz of breast meat in the entire dish (~300 calories). Add 195 grams of white rice to that (~200 calories) and you have a very filling large meal for somewhere on the order of 500-600 calories.

    If no plain steamed dishes on offer, then most of the stir fries with a basic brown or white sauce are very manageable. The only thing you really need to stay away from General Tso's or any other dish that contains fried components, or that uses a very sweet/sticky sauce (for example, those delicious spare ribs). Also, fried rice and noodle stir fries are deceptively high in calories. Stick with plain white/brown rice instead.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    Soup + egg roll or steamed dumplings

    Steamed veggies and meat with sauce on the side

    Beef, chicken or shrimp w. broccoli or Hunan shrimp/chicken (similar brown sauce, with more vegetables like peppers, sometimes baby corn, mushrooms, carrots - varies a lot from restaurant to restaurant). I like to get this for take-out and put it on a big pile of shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw - the hot+cold and crunchy texture is nice :)

    Steamed dumplings and chicken satay or other skewered/grilled protein appetizer

    Portions are important here! Cooked white rice can add up quickly (1 cup = 200 calories) if you're also getting a stir-fry that's heavy on the oil.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    My restaurant offers a "special diet menu". It's steamed veggies and protein with rice on the side and sauce on the side. I usually either skip the rice or eat a little bit and have a minimal amount of sauce for flavor.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    Moo Goo Gai Pan and Beef and Broccoli are my go-tos. My biggest challenge is the rice and limiting myself to a small amount.
  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
    Panda Express!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Steamed chicken and shrimp and steamed veggies, sauce on the side. I usually have rice too.

    How tasty the chicken tastes greatly varies on the place though.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited September 2017
    If they have a live fidh tank, steamed whole fish w/ginger and scallions would be my choice.

    Just ask them NOT to top it off w/hot oil to finish the dish if you're worried about cals. This is a traditional way to finish steamed fish but not every restaurant does it. So, don't be surprised if the waiter doesn't understand why you are making this request.

    Add a veggie dish like bok choy & mushrooms or Chinese broccoli topped w/oyster sauce plus rice and you've got great meal for 2-4 depending on the size of the fish.

    Just cut back on the rice (or skip it altogether) if you're concerned about too many cals. At Chinese banquets, it's customary to NOT serve or eat any rice to avoid getting too full to eat the real food.
  • Fitnessgirl0913
    Fitnessgirl0913 Posts: 481 Member
    Some great suggestions above, just be aware that Chinese food 9 times out of 10 has a lot of sodium so if you weigh daily you may see an increase, I hope you have fun with your family!
  • cwilber1
    cwilber1 Posts: 30 Member
    Thanks all! Wish me luck!
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    CHicken with garlic sauce and Mongolian Beef are two of my favorites.

    There are a lot of chicken dishes that come with the chicken fried. Once my family went to P. F. CHangs, and my brother ordered the sesame chicken with I think he called the Velvet Chicken. It wasn’t battered or fried. I LOVED IT!!! Since then, anytime I go for Sesame Chicken, I ask for that.

    Stick with either brown rice or steamed rice. I typically don’t eat much of it though. Having the protein, onions, peppers etc. is so much better. THe sesame chicken at PF CHangs had some roasted bell peppers in it that were YUM-MY!!

    Make sure you drink LOTS of water to counter act the amount of sodium though.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    2 scoops and put the rest away for leftovers.
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
    It depends on what kind of chinese restaurant it is (ordering from a menu or a buffet house, and if it has a hibachi grill), since buffet houses tend to have other dishes as well as chinese food. It also depends on if you're watching your sodium levels or not since, as stated above, a lot of chinese dishes are very high in sodium. Limit dishes with heavy sauces (sesame chicken/general tso/coconut shrimp/etc) since the calories and salt in these are usually the highest in the restaurant. Soups are usually a safe bet, especially if they serve hot & sour soup, which is typically just veggies and tofu cooked in a broth. If the restaurant does have a hibachi, then go with that since you can control the ingredients that goes into your food.