Any chinese takeaways not using MSG

weeslip

in the dundrum/sandyford area. Would be great to know if anybody has found one. Its a killer on the stomach.

Cheers

Riamfada

what is MSG?

Alun

Monosodium Glutamate ... a so-called "flavour enhancer".

Chalk

Magic Special Goo.
its what makes chines food taste nice.

derek27

the only chinese restaurant i know of anywhere in dublin that doesn't use msg is a place called YUM CHA. i cant think of the name of the street its on, but its in the city centre. however, they do really authentic chinese quisine... one of the dishes on the menu is 'stewed cows guts'. most of the customers are chinese peope. the food is good though. chinese restaurants generally dont serve real chinesae food believe it or not. that kung po or szechuan you get from one place to another is just a concoction of mainly irish available ingredients, with some basic chinese ingredients imported from asia by companies such as asia market and china co. in dublin. thats where the msg comes in. it gives every dish that includes salt too that good taste you get in those so called chinese dishes. without it, most of them would be things you may only try once and not get again because it'll taste bland. now, any chinese restaurant you go in to, if you order a dish and ask them to leave the msg out, they will do that no problem. just request. even for the fried rice, cos they put it in that too. if you really want a taste of china, try out the restaurant i mentioned earlier.

derek27

but to be honest mate, its hard to find salted products these days that dont have any in them at all. also known among manufacturers as flavour enhancer E621, its in nearly every brand of crisps you buy, and thousands of other products too. just check labels next time you are shopping to see how much it is used.

rubadub

Is it really that bad for you? say compared to salt?
I got a bag of it in a chinese shop, it is like caster sugar, tastes very bland on its own. I was in China in a non-tourist area and was surprised that some dishes were similar to what you get in a takeaway, not as much sauce as the dishes here. Kung-po chicken totally different, basically just red peppers and chicken on the bone, no sauce at all. Chow mein was the same.

Aromat is mostly MSG

derek27

rubadub wrote:

Is it really that bad for you? say compared to salt?
I got a bag of it in a chinese shop, it is like caster sugar, tastes very bland on its own. I was in China in a non-tourist area and was surprised that some dishes were similar to what you get in a takeaway, not as much sauce as the dishes here. Kung-po chicken totally different, basically just red peppers and chicken on the bone, no sauce at all. Chow mein was the same.

Aromat is mostly MSG

there have been many reports about the ill effects that msg in the diet can have, but the huge majority of these reports are unfounded. i think that the problem is with people rumouring what they have heard about it, and people just are not fully aware of what it is, and just decide to cut it out of their food if they can. the FDA thouroughly investigates every additive that goes into food and once they are happy that it is safe, they issue it with an E number, and may set certain restrictions on its use, such as the amount permitted to be added etc. i feel that chinese restaurants may not be adhering to the restrictions with msg; they put a level teaspoon of it into most dishes. i believe that msg is again under revie by the FDA, along with hundreds of other GRAS (generally regarded as safe) food additives and the result may see msg being cut from the list. i'm sure there are thousands of articles on the net about it atm, both good and bad.

Blub2k4

Parmesan cheese is the highest known naturally occuring source of MSG.

As far as I know most chinese restaurants will do MSG free on request.

quaalude

Interesting article about MSG from the Observer Food Monthly here - If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?

The Sweeper

MSG's a naturally occuring substance - basically, it's the stuff that makes food taste.

That's where the 'flavour enhancer' thing comes from - it doesn't taste of much itself, but it pulls every last bit of flavour out of whatever it's added to. It allows manufacturers and restauranteers to use poor quality ingredients without creating bland tasting food. I do believe it's over-used and people can have reactions to it, but sometimes I wonder if a bad reaction to what you've eaten is based on the amount of MSG in it, or just because it's poor quality crap.

rubadub

derek27 wrote:

there have been many reports about the ill effects that msg in the diet can have, but the huge majority of these reports are unfounded.

Thats what I would have thought, scaremongering like they do with drugs. Thats why I would like to see it compared to salt which also has lots of ill effects in reports, yet I cannot see it being banned by the FDA because it is too common place, like cigarettes, though they will ban newer less harmful drugs.

BaZmO*

Strange that I happened across this thread.

I was around in my local chinese the other night, The Victoria Palace in Clondalkin Village and while waiting for my food I noticed a sign up on the wall saying that they no longer use MSG in certain dishes (actually most of their dishes according to their list. And if requested and possible they would prepare dishes without it.

I rememebered thinking at the time that it was strange to advertise that they aren't using it in some dishes but they were in others. It kinda makes you wonder why are they drawing the customers attention to this fact? It's almost as if to say that it is bad, but hey, we only use it in some dishes.

To me MSG has always been that "more-ish" ingredient that they put in snack foods. Pringles-once you pop you can't stop (or more like, one the MSG kicks in you can't stop!), Pot Noodles and most savourly snacks are laced with the stuff.

B.