The Best Thing About Chinese Take-Out [General]

2008 Feb 16
Earlier this week we ordered Chinese (Canadian) Take-out. It was a brutually cold night, and I just wanted to sit in front of the tv. Besides Delivery, which is always a bonus on a crazy cold winter evening, for me the best part of take-out chinese food is a wonderful bowl of soup. The soup sets the pace for the rest of the meal. My favourite is Hot & Sour (although I do love Won Ton too, it reminds me of my childhood and my first encounters with chinese restaurants). From the moment the package is delivered, I can feel the heat and smell the spices. Then I open those hot steaming bowls and all seems right. No matter what the rest of the dishes turn-out like, the soup has set the standard.

So many people talk of their love of eggrolls / springrolls, but is anyone else in love with soup? And if so which is your favourite?


2008 Feb 16
Hi my name is Fresh Foodie and I'm in love with soup. :-)

I love most all soups, especially the Chinese or Vietnamese ones. My favourite Chinese soup is Crab Meat and Fish Maw (fish maw is sometimes called sea foam). Soup

The best Won Ton soup I've had in Ottawa was at Jo Moon Ting (ottawafoodies.com).

2008 Feb 17
For me, Chinese (Canadian) take-out is all about two things: egg rolls and Cantonese chow mein.

People swoon at great lengths about the egg rolls at Golden Palace. I'm all over the ones at Welcome Back. They're the platonic ideal egg roll for me.

It's been a while since I've had a really good hot and sour soup, so I don't order soups so often.

Now, if we're talking about non-Canadian Chinese take-out, it's all about Ging Sing's Szechwan-style crispy beef!

2008 Feb 17
My bold comment - Royal Treasure's Hot & Sour soup is the best in the city, hands down.

2008 Feb 17
Momomoto, I'm with you on the egg rolls at Welcome Back trouncing those at Golden Palace. I'm a relative newcomer to egg rolls though, so don't have years of analytical experience. ;-)

I noticed that the chow mein in Ottawa is 80% bean sprouts. I prefer the kind I grew up with in Victoria... it has equal parts of bean sprouts and those thick fried noodles (like the Taipan brand you see in the grocery stores). The noodles aren't crunchy because they're stir fried in with the bean sprouts. Most (all?) Ottawa places sell stir fried bean sprouts with a topping (or side) or crispy noodles, and call it chow mein. This is totally messed up! Ref: en.wikipedia.org

2008 Feb 17
Momomoto & Fresh Foodie -- When I first moved to the deep west end 25 years ago the it seemed the ONLY chinese food somewheres beyond the lights of Carling Avenue ;-) was in Bells Corners at either Welcome Back or Gows. Back then Gows had a buffet and it was decent food, a good place to go as a family with a toddler. (Couldn't speak of them now, haven't been there in probably 20 years). For take-out though it was always Welcome Back! And once I discovered Welcome Back, there was "ONLY looking BACK". Over the years I've lived in various places in the west end, and still find myself making the drive to Bells Corners a couple of times a year for their chinese food. It is always fresh and fast, and you are right the egg rolls are fantastic!

BTW, When I first discovered them, I thought the name was kind of wierd, not your regular chinese restaurant name at the time, but now I really love it, because it says it all... Welcome Back.

Fresh Foodie -- I believe I know the type of chow mein you are referrig to. "The Man" is a chow mein fan, I'm sure he orders that item from one of the take-outs in the Nepean area. I will check and get back to you.

2008 Feb 17
A well made, good tasting eggroll. It can seperate the men from the boys.

Tell me, are the eggrolls at Welcome Back open on the ends, like Golden Palace ? or are the sealed on the ends, like most places ?

I usually perfer the closed end stylee. The open ended ones can have a 'burnt cabbage' twang on them. The frying oil seems to permeate the open end ones, as well.

Best egg rolls I ever had ..... were the ones I made myself. Ground pork version, Chopped shrimp version, veggie-only version, and since the oil is already heated up I'll make spring rolls at the same time.

I've only made them a couple of times because I rarely deep fry at home.

My fave Chinese Take-out is Ging Sing. See ottawafoodies.com/vendor/338

As noted by others, their hot and sour soup can be pretty tastey and thick , without being glue-py.

If ya wanna try a rib-sticken dish from the Ging Sing, try the #133 Stir Fried Eggplant Szechwan Style. The dish must weight damn near 4 pounds. Yes, it's oil ladden, but soooooo tastey.



I'll end with a question.... Getting back to eggrolls.

Open ended or close ended style eggrolls .... Which ones do you perfer ??

2008 Feb 17
I'll eat them any way, but I'm hooked on the "open ended style" like Golden Palace's. There's a Cathay takeout on Woodroffe that the misses and I order from to get our Canadian-Chinese fix, they do the open ended style egg rolls quite well.

In April I'm headed to California for business and I'm excited to checkout San Francisco's Chinese food offerings...

2008 Feb 17
Captain Caper, Welcome Back's egg rolls are open ended like at Golden Palace...

2008 Feb 17
I'm a fan of the open ended ones.

Monty - enjoy the eats in SF, I had a very awesome Chinese meal there while walking towards City Lights bookstore & Kerouac's old watering hole. Lots of seafood... it's insane. Also, there's a Japan-town, like Chinatown, where you can get some of N.America's best sushi. Also, my profile pic is a photo of SF's Chinese BBQ offerings, MASSIVE KRAKEN LIKE BBQ... I was totally blown away over the variety of BBQ in some of those stores.