Anyone else struggle to eat a full take away? Had Chinese for 4 last, Four mains and 4 rice, there's half left (plus side is we have tea tonight sorted).
Are we in a minority or could portion sizes shrink without people really caring. I know a lot of takeaways are really struggling with double whammy of energy costs and reduced consumer spending.
Always considered they’re designed to be shared.
Nope
/end of thread
(In all seriousness don’t get reheating the rice)
Had Chinese for 4 last, Four mains and 4 rice,
I'd struggle to eat that, I'd manage, but it would be a struggle.
Nope, if anything I eyed my last curry takeaway, as it'd was definitely smaller than normal (still admittedly lots). Ours rarely sees the next day, unless it's after a skin full... then take away breakfast is the food of the gods (rice nuked to hell and back, as I'm aware reheated rice CAN BE nasty )
Edit: You don't mention how many of there were you.. we assume there was four, but was this you doing an impression of Mr Creosote?
My problem is with a "small" portion of chips. What the **** is a large portion - a whole bleedin sack of potatoes??
Had a 'kin monstrous haddock & chips last night - not really claiming that it was good value at £12, mind !!
At a push it could've done two people, especially with the mushies
Dammit, I want fish and chips now!
Nope.
Huge locally to me.
Nope. Current fav is Istanbul BBQ, 1 chicken kebab, 1 lamb, rice, chilli cheese poppers, onion rings.
No pud, I don’t want to be greedy.
I can eat, but takeaway portions blow my mind.
In these times of rising costs for businesses and families, smaller portions would be better maybe.
(Indian or Chinese for us tonight. Just for research purposes, obviously)
@ernielynch, the chippie in helmsdale gives generous chip portions. I reckon it must easily be over 1kg of tatties
No, portion sizes in both my local indian and chinese have got smaller,with the rice halving in size.
(rice nuked to hell and back, as I’m aware reheated rice CAN BE nasty )
If your takeaway rice is potentially nasty, nuking it next day won't help as the problem is poisonous chwmicals put there by bacteria that multiplied while the rice was being kept warm/ at room temp. What you need to make sure you do is whack it in the fridge immediately after the meal. If you didn't get food poisoning from the initial meal, this should ensure you don't get it from the re-heat either.
Parmo from the chippy in a friend's village is nearing a challenge to finish in one, not counting the salad based decorations that are discarded by default. Comes in a box bigger than the plate.
Local takeaways really vary, some the rice is big enough for 3, others barely feed 1.
in all my years i have never found a takeaway portion too big.
with chinese, i have a starter, a main and dry spare ribs.
Well I'm off to enjoy my Chinese Takeaway part deux, dodgy rice or not (we did put it all in the fridge last night, sometimes even freeze extra rice and have it with a homemade stir fry, never knowingly been ill from it).
The rice thing is such a strange myth. I wonder how much is ignorance and how much pure racism?
As for portions, I tend to buy a generous meal (that way we get more dishes to dip into) and eat it twice, reheated rice and all, the second time is more likely a modest lunch than a huge blow-out though.
Most definitely takeaway portions from our favoured places more than feed the numbers they guide for.
Indian. Meal for 1 feeds 3 of us with ease. £18.95. And it's very good.
Kebab. Special mix wrap for one gets cut in 2 and feeds 2. Mixed kebab also feeds 2. £12 for each.
Chinese. Main and rice with a side will again feed 3. Under £20.
Pizza - Aldi sourdough smacks the likes of Domino into the distance. Under £5 each with rocket to share.
Fish & Chips. Mmm..I sense £12 for haddock and chips each. 2 will feed 3. Whilst good, the thought is often better than the reality.
Agreed, though I still somehow manage to polish of a chow mein that should last two meals in one go. Can't stop once started.
My problem is with a “small” portion of chips. What the **** is a large portion – a whole bleedin sack of potatoes??
Agreed, we normally have two fish, one small(est) portion of chips and the biggest possible pot of mushy peas. Oh bread and butter too of course, to put the chips on.
The rice thing is such a strange myth. I wonder how much is ignorance and how much pure racism?
I would tend to trust the NHS website not to peddle myths (see link above). Food poisoning from rice is a thing, albeit a rare thing. I regularly eat re-heated rice but follow the guidelines. As for the racist jibe, give us a break ffs.
Depends, post ride, ordering for 1, I can absolutely eat a main and a rice.
Ordering for 2+ so there's starters, popadoms, naan, sides etc, it's definitely saving some for lunch.
Our local kebab vans portions are crazy, I've never ordered anything bigger than a small when I was a meat eater, and his veggie option is about half a pound of halloumi! The medium you could probably share, large is definitely a w person dish and the XL must be to feed a family of four!
Parmo from the chippy in a friend’s village is nearing a challenge to finish in one, not counting the salad based decorations that are discarded by default. Comes in a box bigger than the plate.
Mmmmm... Parmo with garlic sauce! Hotshot ftw! I'll be having one when I'm home (near Saltburn) next weekend complete with the salad. I just eat direct from the box, no need for a plate 🤣
Re. Reheated rice I've ended up in hospital due to someone doing that and giving it to me. I was so bad with pain and nausea they thought I had appendicitis.
The only time I reheat it now is when making egg fried rice, so it has to be cooked and cooled first.
Research concluded - sweet and sour king prawn balls, mixed veg chow mein, duck in orange sauce and a small egg fried rice for the two of us.
Half the rice left over, just having the last of the prawn crackers with a beer.
Absolutely stuffed
Portions are always more than I should eat and rarely more than I can eat.
I spoke to a microbiologist about rice once. The risk of reheating is actually a little complicated but if you were to get sick from eating reheated rice you could get properly sick. But it's unlikely to turn evil in the fridge a day later.
I’d say most Indian restaurants / takeaways I’ve tried locally are a bit sparse on meat in the curry’s.
Chinese is about right on the main course - although the rice can be a bit too much.
Nando’s is about right.
Fish and chip shop chip portions are daft big. Can’t get through a regular chips between 2 of us - they could definitely cut the size of these.
If we order for 4, we generally have enough left over for two lunch portions.
We did a pickup from our favourite Malaysian restaurant last week, and a selection of strters and two mains were enough for 3.
On the other hand……eating out (sat down dining) portions seem to be shrinking by the week whilst the prices climb. Had several posh pub meals over recent weeks where you just sense the accountants rather than the chefs have been counting out the serving to the extent that I am still peckish at the end of the meal, and quite a few bob poorer.
Yes. Almost every takeaway I have is split over 2 meals….living dangerously with reheated rice.
Please don't think 'the rice thing' is a myth. I can't even joke about it, even 20 years later.
I genuinely thought I was going to sh1t myself to death. Picked up from a buffet that must have re-used the rice.
Kicks in quickly and by god do you know about it, Bacilus food poisoning is something else, the ferocity of expulsion both up and down.
😳
@pictonroad yeh as I said I got a trip to hospital due to it. Obviously me and you were just very unlucky eh
It's from keeping rice a long time at a warm temperature, not from chilling and reheating it. According to wikipedia the specific bacillus (cereus) grows on multiple foodstuffs other than rice and it is also not generally possible to distinguish its effects from other common causes of food poisoning. A buffet could easily have numerous contaminations including directly from other customers or staff rather than incubated in the food itself.
But yeah, believe it was from reheating rice if it makes you happy.
thecaptain
Free Member
The rice thing is such a strange myth. I wonder how much is ignorance and how much pure racism?
thecaptain
Free Member
It’s from keeping rice a long time at a warm temperature
So it's not a myth then. If you keep rice at a warm temperature for a long time it can make you very ill.
All day on a buffet table at the height of summer?
I have no idea how racism came into the argument. Was it Uncle Ben's rice?
It’s from keeping rice a long time at a warm temperature
...
But yeah, believe it was from reheating rice if it makes you happy.
How on earth do you conclude 'racism' from that?
I'm not really sure what point you're trying to prove. Of course it can grow on other foods, of course buffets can be contaminated by other things.
I had diagnosed bacillus food poisoning a few hours after eating rice that was being kept warm in a canteen ban marie style thing. A load of us were ill from the same rice.
It was the rice, it's well known for it.
If you choose not to believe the NHS website and personal experience that's your choice but you're wrong and I'm not really sure what you stand to gain. 🤷♂️
I've no idea about the detailed specific issues with reheating takeaway rice but having had Bacillus poisoning from rice it does play on my mind.
I’ve no idea about the detailed specific issues with reheating takeaway rice but having had Bacillus poisoning from rice it does play on my mind.
Greyspoke made the point I believe - it's the toxins produced by the bacteria which makes you ill, not necessarily the bacteria itself, so reheating makes no difference.
Indian and kebab shop are both one portion between 2, comfortably.
I’d say most Indian restaurants / takeaways I’ve tried locally are a bit sparse on meat in the curry’s.
This. To be fair we've all but given up on ordering in curry. Every time we think we've found a good one we get a colossally disappointing meal next time.
Home made wins virtually every time. If we've got time home made onion bhajis are dead easy. We don't do anything massively complex.
Can’t get through a regular chips between 2 of us – they could definitely cut the size of these.
Definitely wrong approach. Reheat left overs with a dab of butter in the microwave. 🙂
@pictonroad, so now you're agreeing it was probably nothing to do with reheating rice, just keeping food for a long time at the wrong temperature. That's quite reasonable, buffets are notorious for it whether or not they have rice.
I'm curious as to how the bacillus was diagnosed as it's common in many foods other than rice, and (again according to wikipedia) cannot be readily differentiated from other causes of food poisoning. It also says that rice is most usually vomiting and diahorrea most often other foods.
I found statistics for the USA: about 60,000 cases of bacillus from rice each year. Oooh, scary scary rice! Um, but 50 million cases of food poisoning generally. That makes rice 0.1% of the total. 99.9% of food poisoning is caused by something else. Why it gets so much attention in the UK is just frankly bizarre.
@Cougar, if you've never heard the rice thing used as an anti-Chinese trope, then I'm genuinely happy for you. Surprised, but happy.
I certainly have never equated the concern over reheating rice with being an anti-Chinese trope. It could apply equally to Indian, Thai and many other foods.
I guess it's a commonly known 'thing' because rice is very commonly a part of a lot of British takeaway food and as attested to by many above, often gets left over and reheated the next day.
Also, I usually justify the cost of a takeaway in my own mind, due to the fact I get two shots at it.
Indian curry invariably tastes better the next day, after sitting in the fridge overnight and being micro-nuked the next day.
Mmmmm, curry........
Nando’s is about right.
I'd hope so, since there isn't a Nando portion. I mean, a quarter, half or full chicken? 3, 5 or 10 wings? It's too big, too small and about right all at the same time!
Question then is - what's about right for you, and what heat level? Half for me at medium but then a bit of hot sauce added. But I do wonder if full would be better for next day leftovers.
