# There are no fortune cookies or takeaway boxes in China.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161 "2011-11-07T12:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/61 "2011-11-09T19:29:41Z")
I’m from the DC area. I go to school in Chicago. There is usually curry on the menu. The cheap takeout places give you the little white foldy boxes, sometimes with handles. The authentic places in Chinatown do not. But they give you fortune cookies! ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/62 "2011-11-09T20:28:26Z")
I’m going to slide this over to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/63 "2011-11-09T21:07:54Z")
I’m Japanese-American, and lived most of my life in Asian-majority areas of the US, and I’m totally fascinated by this variation in “Chinese” food, particularly the curry and Irish-Chinese three-in-one thing. It doesn’t look at all like any fried rice I’ve ever had. I would never guess it was sold as Chinese food. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/64 "2011-11-09T21:15:06Z")
I can’t say I’m terribly surprised that the Irish found a way to put a potato in Chinese food. 😃 Around here, (Northern California) the only Chinese place I’ve ever seen selling french fries is a place that specifically advertises itself as selling “London-syle” fish and chips - plus the standard Chinese-American restaurant menu. The contrast is usually good for a double take from people who see it for the first time. The oyster buckets are pretty much de rigeur for any Chinese take-out around here, too. I suspect the same is true down in L.A, which would go a long way towards explaining their ubiquity in film and TV. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/65 "2011-11-09T21:38:39Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Fortune cookies are ubiquitous here, but Chinese take-out comes in [round styrofoam, cardboard, or shallow foil containers](http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/gvictoria/gvictoria0902/gvictoria090200089/4371192-chinese-food-delivery-or-takeout-aluminum-covered-containers-on-bamboo-placemat.jpg). The only place I’ve seen the US-style boxes is in a specific Thai fast-food chain. I agree that the “oyster pail” is very limited, although I’d add regular clamshell styrofoam boxes to your list and I personally haven’t actually seen the foil container used for a while (they were ubiquitous when I was a kid, though). ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/66 "2011-11-10T00:37:42Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Not in the US. First of all, you generally can’t even order fries at a chinese takeout in the US unless it is an EXTREMELY cheap, nasty, shop as one would expect to find in a really crappy dangerous ghetto. The sort of place where you order through a bullet-proof-proof window. Second of all, Chinese restaurants in the US don’t serve curry. (on very, very rare occasion, you can get “singapore style” ie curried, stirfried noodles, but not in sauce). > > I think the US equivalent is the “combo meal” which is rice (fried with pork or white) plus an entree - stirfried meat+veg - and an eggroll or a small container of soup - and the options are ALWAYS eggdrop, wonton, and hot&sour. :dubious: Here in the Greater SF Bay Area, I don’t think I have been to a chinese restaurant that _doesn’t_ serve fries unless we are talking about white tablecloth places, and usually they have a full range of ‘american’ food as well. They just want to maximize their earnings- the fries and such aren’t very good… Several of them have curries as well, although that isn’t as prevalent. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161/67 "2011-11-10T09:54:26Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I would say that fortune cookies are quite unknown outside the USA. You would say wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-no-fortune-cookies-or-takeaway-boxes-in-china/602161.md?page=3)