So I was at my favorite Chinese food place today eating one of my favorite dishes "Mongolian Beef", as I was chowing down the delicious deep fried beef strips, I thought to myself. How Do I know this is really beef that I am eating? For all I know I could be eating Mongolian cat and wouldn't know the difference. Chinese food scares me a little bit because Chinese people will eat just about ANY animal. Plus, I just read in the Wall Street Journal that it is illegal to serve Cat and Dog at restaurants in China BUT it is not inforced. SO If you've ever been over to china and eatin out at a lot of restuarants you would be Horrified if you REALLY knew what you were eating. Here in the states it is also illegal to serve cat or dog at Chinese food places, BUT how easy would it be to use cat in a chinese food dish and you would NEVER know the difference. There are so many sauces and spices in Chinese food that you could easily cover up the taste of dog or cat with special sauces.
Lat year I went to a REALLY RANK chinese food buffet in Downtown portland with a few friends, and let me tell you Something DID NOT TASTE RIGHT. The beef did not taste like Beef AT ALL! My friend and I both looked at each other and said the same thing "This does not taste like beef" For all we know it could have been Rat. Last week I was walking downtown and noticed that this nasty Chinese Food Buffet that I ate at last year was getting torn down by a bulldozer truck! Well, Im still alive, so whatever they served my friend and I, I t didn't kill us, so i guess I should be thankful for that.

I do sometimes wonder if the dish I've orderd is really beef and not some other animal. I'm not saying that all Chinese food places serve cat, BUT you sometimes have to wonder! Especially with gas prices the way they are, and the fact that the prices of food are skyrocketing. I think its the Mom and POP places you really have to worry about, I'm sure the "Chain" stores are really safe, BUT who the heck knows what the local mom and POP places are serving you!!! Beef and chicken are really expesive, and remember these places need to make a profit!
Eat at you're own risk!
I saw the best ad in a magazine the other day. It showed a picture of a half cracked fortune Cookie, with the piece of paper sticking out of the cookie that read "THAT REALLY WASN"T BEEF THAT YOU WERE EATING!

Justin said:

For all we know it could have been Rat.


Decisions, decisions . . . Panda Express (rat) or Taco Bell (poop) . . . I guess its McDonald's (dead cow) again for me.

Um, take a look at this. It will make you think twice for sure!
http://www.dailybubble.com/gossip/showthread.php?p=928

This isn't Chinese food...and it wasn't even featured on 'Dirty Dining:'

http://www.kptv.com/news/16508412/detail.html

Herb

http://singerm.singernetwork.com/humor/humor5.htm

Did you ever think, when you eat Chinese
It ain't pork or chicken but a fat Siamese?
Yet the food tastes great, so you don’t complain.
But that’s not chicken in your chicken chow mein.
Seems to me I ordered sweet-and-sour pork
But Garfield’s on my fork.
He’s purrin’ here on my fork.
CHORUS
There’s a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
The place that I eat every day at noon.
They can feed you cat and you’ll never know
Once they wrap it up in dough, boy.
They fry it real crisp in dough.

Chou Lin asked if I wanted more
As he was dialin’ up his buddy at the old pet store.
I said "Not today. I lost my appetite.
There’s two cats in my belly and they want to fight."
I was suckin’ on a Rolaid and a Tums or two
When I swear I heard it mew, boys.
And that is when I knew.

CHORUS
There’s a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon
I think I gotta stop eatin’ there at noon.
They say that it’s beef or fish or pork
But it’s purrin’ there on my fork.
There’s a hair-ball on my fork.

How's this for a Chinese Menu?

http://www.rahoi.com/2006/03/may-i-take-your-order/

I apologize if this sounds a bit rude, but why is it that criticism of virtually all aspects of the cultures of foreign people is off-limits, EXCEPT FOR THEIR FOOD? I'm just not comfortable with the implications that out of dishonesty and tightness, Chinese food places would substitute the meats that North Americans typically would eat with cat, dog, or rat. Nor do I like the implication that the Chinese don't have "enough sense" to know that these meats aren't edible (because people descended from European cultures deemed that they weren't).

As Skeptical and others have pointed out, if you want predictability in your food, stick with the chain places, like Panda Express.

My brother worked at a local mom and pop chinese food shop 6 years ago and I remember him telling me some pretty shady practices that were going on behind the counter. They never used Cat or dog in the meat,but to save costs they would use Grade F meat, the type of meat that is used in dog food! It is really expensive for resturaunts to buy high quality meat, like Grade A or Grade b meat. If you think that you are getting Grade A meat in your chinese food, you are CRAZY!

"Cat--The Other White Meat."™

;o)

'...because people descended from European cultures deemed that they weren't...'

I don't know about that. The Frenchies eat horse, tripe, headcheese and escargot.

Herb

That's my favorite Harry Chapin song!!!!!

well that and Taxi.....

And 30,000 pounds of bananas.

Guess this solves CJs problem from the other thread.

.....The beef did not taste like Beef AT ALL!....

Stick with the chicken......

I heard Fried Rat is very flavorful. Infact I heard that they chop off the Rats tail, and cut it into very small pieces and then throw it in Asian stew. Rat tail is a delicacy is some parts of the world!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/jmoorezx5/chickenhead.jpg

That's my favorite Harry Chapin song!!!!!

well that and Taxi.....

Roger, have you ever heard Sequel? It picks up where Taxi leaves off.

> '...because people descended from European cultures deemed that they weren't...'
>
> I don't know about that. The Frenchies eat horse, tripe, headcheese and escargot.

French cuisine is somewhat of an exception. I once tried frog legs and found them to be absolutely delicious. There is more meat in frog legs than I would have anticipated. Nonetheless, I hope that the basic point was communicated: our upbringing and the culture that surrounds us promotes the idea that certain animals are taboo to eat.

We eat Chinese about 5 times a year – and the last thing I want to think about is my local Chinese restaurant adding unmentionables to the recipe. The food we buy is good, usually take out, and we’ve never had a problem. Will I stop buying Chinese food, not on your life.

As for escargot; absolutely delicious!

" Guess this solves CJs problem from the other thread."

One problem of mine solved - 782 to go.

i thought chinese food was made out of chinese people.............

NAW, that would be "Soylent Green"!

"Soylent Green is People"