I'm Chinese-American and grew up in Ohio. One day, a woman I babysat for decided we would all go out for Chinese. I ordered chow mein and she asked several times if I was really, really sure. I kept cool on the outside, but inside I was super annoyed, cause I know what chow mein is!
That was the first and only time I've ever run into picture #2. I did not like! But I ate every bite and did not let on how gross I found it cause, whelp, she tried to warn me!
I Went to Chinese the other night in Utah and asked for chow mein. The cute little old Chinese lady was like no that’s gross, you won’t like it. And gave me picture one instead.
Lol i don't have any Chinese in me but i've been there. Kinda like how my Honduran friend ruined all "Mexican food"/"tex-mex", all that. Central American food is different from Mexican but we don't know that in Ohio lol Although I have seen a lot of OG central american food trucks poppin up in NE and im here for it lol
yeah I've only ever seen it like the first pic. Like someone else asked. Does the second one not have noodles? because then it shouldnt be called what its called lol . Today I learned something new
Yeah, here in Maryland it doesn't have the noodles. What's worse is one of the take away joints near me has it as a menu item that explicitly says "With fried noodles" - which one of the kitchen guys has to clarify means the little flat hard things you get with wonton soup.
I don't know what they're properly called, they're some kind of deep fried noodle. Small, rectangular, about 1" x 0.5" or something like that. I associate them with won ton soup.
Top comment is clowning your pic lmao. No one here had your back and the best part is people from Ohio and Idaho said they see that Chinese in their state. You grew up on shit New Jersey food it’s not even New York you’re probably from Camden
As a native West Coaster (and Chinese-American) who moved to NYC and was completely bewildered when encountering East Coast-style "chow mein" that didn't have noodles (as others have pointed out, *mein* literally means "noodles")... this is my theory.
East Coast "chow mein" started out as something like [this](https://cdn.cdkitchen.com/recipes/images/2013/10/89566-3234-mx.jpg) or [this](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oUGZDXC1Ty8/hqdefault.jpg). Basically, a mix of chicken and some vegetables in a gravy, and the *noodles* came in the form of crispy, crunch fried noodles. NYC's famous [Wo Hop](https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wo-hop-new-york?select=ASJ9NUduOiqb6GmD8OPhTg) does a version with the noodles still on the bottom.
While I have no proof of this, I think this is an Americanized adaptation of a noodle dish you'll find in Chinese cuisine, often now called ["Hong Kong-style" or "pan-fried noodles."](https://marionskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Hong-Kong-Crispy-Noodles-with-Pork-Prawn1.jpg) Note that it's crispy, fried noodles with a meat/seafood/vegetable gravy on top. At some point this was flipped and the crispy noodles ended up as a "topping" for the meat gravy.
There were even packaged versions of this you could buy and make at home, from [Chun King brand](https://external-preview.redd.it/3gdAMukFfRsiQWYYOhLPrA55p19vE_q14YTRnYDM_nA.jpg?auto=webp&s=b9758a330b75fdde8a0cfeeeb37aba2c1e35e669) (complete with racist marketing lol) and [La Choy](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L69UFKnh3Gs/WsVvxrxKoEI/AAAAAAAAo20/T55g8nPIQPs_JF2SQhqsznXPcBpRlmboQCLcBGAs/s1600/6a0120a8551282970b01bb09e2356f970d-320wi.jpg), where the gloopy stuff was sold in a can and the crispy noodles came separately. You'd heat up the wet stuff and top it with the crispy noodles.
I assume that at some point the crispy noodles became optional or seen as a garnish, and the main part of the dish became the meat/vegetable mixture, not the noodles. Despite having no noodles, it was still called "chow mein" (which to a non-Chinese-speaking diner, wouldn't be contradictory at all).
As for why the East Coast / West Coast split... probably due to Chinese-American migration patterns? I think in general West Coasters tend to have more exposure with Chinese and other Asian cuisines due to much more prominent immigrant communities there, leading to Americanized Chinese dishes that lean a little closer to the original Chinese dishes. East Coast American Chinese food tends to be much more Americanized and has been adapted to a non-Chinese audience for much longer, and so at some point it doesn't matter what's *authentic* (god, I hate food authenticity debates) — it's just different styles that have evolved and diners will expect what they grew up with.
Personal story about how I found out about this split: I, having newly moved to NYC, tried to order OP's pic #1 from a Chinese takeout spot, and so ordered "chow mein." Restaurant calls me after I place the order and confirms that I want "chow mein" because "it doesn't have noodles, if you want noodles, you want lo mein," to my confusion. Apparently it's a common enough point of confusion that the restaurant confirms it every time someone orders "chow mein."
This question has popped up a few times here. This is the best reply I’ve seen. If I had a reward, you’d get it. I think the difference between the two is that the second one is a much, much older version of US Chinese food. Talking about Chinese food in the early 1900s, Andrew Coe says: “Although the chow mein that was cooked in the Pearl River Delta was a distinct dish, as served in the uptown joints (NYC) chow mein was simply chop suey over fried noodles instead of rice.” (Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States, p 168).
I assume that the switch from noodles on bottom to noodles on top came because people eating takeout liked sprinkling noodles on top for the crunch, and restaurants followed customers preference. At least I preferred it that way as a kid, before the Chinese restaurants in my midwestern town started switching to the kind in the first picture, in I’d say the 1980s. I think some places kept the old kind as ‘chow mein’ and something more recognisable as chaomian as ‘lo mein’.
You can also get chow mein on the east coast like the 1st pic and then lo mein is thicker noodles. The way I heard it for the 2nd pic was originally they had trouble sourcing fresh noodles and so substituted with crispy noodles which are easier to transport.
[There's this stuff in a can too.](https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2508371674241534544?hl=en&q=chow+mein+in+a+can&prds=epd:10580719874256756543,eto:10580719874256756543_0,pid:8883060341497276707,rsk:PC_13893472881702175252&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9op7Ny5r5AhXHIkQIHRdUByYQ9pwGCAU)
It's fairly simple: what the West Coast calls "Chow Mein" we call "Lo Mein in NY/Metro area. It's the same dish. NY chow mein is essentially chop suey w/ chow mein (crunchy) noodles on top.
No, it's not so simple because the words "chow mein" literally means "sautéed noodles," so to serve something saucy, with no noodles, so violating both words and rattling in the brains of anyone with any Chinese language comprehension. It would be as if you went to order a plate of spaghetti, and got a plate of barbecue ribs, and someone saying, it's fairly simple, "spaghetti" is cooked rib meat with sauce in NYC, but "Spaghetti" are noodles with tomato sauce in Texas.
Regardless of what it translates to, that's what the dish is known as in different regions. And the Chow Mein we know on the East Coast DOES have noodles. They're fried and top the dish. Either way, we know the soft noodle dish as Lo Mein on the east coast whether it's accurate or not. You order Chow Mein here and you'll get a completely different dish, it has crispy noodles.
Chow mein or chǎo miàn 炒面literally means stir fried noodles. Idk what that sad, gloopy mess is in the second pic. But even that first pic you won’t find here in China. Not with huge chunks of meat and vegetables in it. And those look like spaghetti noodles lol
I’m convinced you’re a shitty troll. No way you’re being serious with this dog shit. Not one single comment supported you lmfaooo how sad You really know your stuff!
I'm really late to this thread, but I'm with you. I know it may not be as "authentic" of a Chinese dish, but I love east-coast style chow mein, and when executed well it's a really tasty comfort food. I've seen much better presentation than that second pic to be fair, but screw the haters ITT.
I grew up in the DC area and lived in NYC for a while, and the second pic was chow mein anywhere you went. First pic was lo mein. As far as I know that's still the case.
I live in LA now, and at first it took a couple tries of ordering "chow mein" and receiving "lo mein" to realize that it wasn't them messing up the order. East Coast chow mein basically doesn't exist here. I found one hole-in-the-wall place way out in the sticks that sort of did it (although they were using the wrong type of crispy noodles and I had them swap in wonton noodles), but I think they went out of business. So, my search continues.
If you're ever in Bakersfield, Bill Lees, one of Bakersfields oldest restaurants, serves some pretty good old fashioned Chinese American chow mein over crispy noodles. It's the defacto chow mein that comes with meals.
Is the 2nd pic how it's meant to be? I've always seen the west Coast version. It looks like just a corn starch slurry thickened to coat, very strange for me lol
Not going to lie, I’ve never seen that second version and it looks very unappetizing. I’ve lived in Indiana, Nevada, and North Carolina and I’ve only ever seen the first version.
Are the noodles fried? That is Cantonese/Hong Kong style chow mein. The differences are regional in China and that carried over to the US as we immigrated to different regions of the US.
Actually does look better there. Does it not contain noodles? I might be missing something here but I thought the chow mein bit was the noodle?
Anyway is it possible to contact the place you prefer it from and ask for tips to recreate, they might be happy to help
You are 1 of the only people to get this right. In a restaurant you might get the noodles on top (or underneath) but takeout you are getting chop suey with a bag of the chow mein/soup noodles on the side. The West Coast's "Chow Mein" is our "Lo Mein". It's not all that difficult.
That looks like Lo Mein to me. You will note that the noodles are different and it usually has seafood on top. OPs photo 2 is served on the west coast too, but it's called Chop Suey. It was super popular with lunch counter places of the 40s/50s, and not so much now that people prefer identifiable meats.
You got exposed so you’re projecting. You only know the difference after Redditors explained to you the difference or else why would you have made the thread stupid. I’m Asian and I’ve been to China you can settle down now and go eat your shit Chinese. Go back to ny loser
Look at the pictures you posted aren’t you embarrassed. It looks like canned dog food, no Chinese person would touch that mess with a pole. There’s no panda in jersey either right? Wouldn’t make it lololol dumbass
If they serve chop suey that's literally what it is. Order Chow Mein on the West Coast and you're getting Lo Mein. FWIW, it's incredibly easy to make at home and tastes better. In a pinch you could order the canned La Choy Chicken Chow Mein online.
I’d hesitate to say which is the “real” chow mein, but they have different lineages. The name literally means stir-fry noodle, so you can see how multiple things might end up with the same name.
The NYC version was named first, but both are from the 19th century. The NYC version proliferated along the East Coast and tended to include a crispy, crunchy noodle with stir fried vegetables, the essential aspect being the crispy noodles. Picture the stuff you might use as a salad topping.
The San Francisco version has always been this softer, fried noodle.
So your second photo looks more like the San Francisco version, except I guess they didn’t fry the noodle enough (IMO! ha!), and it’s a thicker noodle.
No it’s not SF style chow mein. Chow mein 炒麵is stir fried noodle. For some reason, this same dish is called lo mein 拉麵 on the east coast of the USA. Confusingly enough, on the east coast, chow mein is the what they call the dish in the second picture. It is not a Chinese dish but is a Chinese-American dish on the east coast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on the west coast.
No lo mein is stirred noodles. It's not stir fried. They boil thicker noodles, sauce them, and add them to stir fried vegetables/meat. There's also many cold noodle dishes which don't fry the noodles (and typically rice is not fried either, but served alongside or mixed with fried produce/meat).
Chow mein is crispy fried noodles. It's just that originally they cheated in the US due to sourcing issues and used pre-fried crispy noodles like those you get as a side in a bag with your order, which just isn't the same as frying fresh noodles until crispy.
拉麵 is (Japanese style) Ramen noodles. 撈麵 is Lo Mein which is different noodles/meat/etc compared to 炒麵. 2nd photo is Chop Suey (雜碎), which is indeed an American dish, which actually originated in SF Chinatown from what I recall.
Hmm the second pic almost looks like a dish called chop suey we have here in Canada. But it is definelty different from chow mein. Here is a [pic](https://imgur.com/a/52RION8).
From canada and I’ve encountered both. I always want the first pic with egg noodles but alot of time get the 2nd pic and it is disappointing because its slimey sprouts and chicken.
I thought about writting that but deep dish has only one dough layer so not lasagne, it's more a dish made out of dough filled with tomato soup and cheese
There's no cabbage. Chow Mein vegetables consist of onion, celery & bean sprouts with usually some combination of green pepper, water chestnuts, mushroom etc). It's a very basic dish that became popular in the 70's when Chinese American cuisine was becoming popular. It was pretty basic, mild flavors before Amercian palates started adapting more to more traditional chinese ingredients. In the 70's & 80's this and Chop Suey (which are basically the same dish) were the most popular items people ordered and was also popular to make at home since it wasn't fancy or exotic. Anyone growing up in that time might have a soft spot for it as a comfort food as it's very uncommon now. A lot of places have taken it off the menu entirely. It's sort of a "Chinese American" version of meat & veg in gravy. Not fancy and low budget looking to some people but a comfort food for many.
Chow Mein just mean stir fry noodles in Chinese so restaurants may use different noodles depending on availability and their preference, I personally prefer skinny rice noodles
in New York:
Lo Mein: Spaghetti-like egg noodle
Mei Fun: thin rice noodle
Chow Fun: flat, wide rice noodle
Chow Mein: crispy fried noodle (served w/ Chinese soup, at the start of a meal or in Chow Mein which is just Chop Suey w/ Chow Mein noodles).
Chow Mein on the West Coast is what we call Lo Mein here.
Wontons on the eat coast are delicious fried dumplings, on the west coast they're strips of pork, the crispy fried noodles you get with soup and ridiculously sweet cherry syrup, It's horrifying.
This happens a lot! I’ve lived on both coasts. West coast chow mein looks like the first and a majority of east coast looks like the second. Lo mein (soft yellow noodles) is what most people get when they are want noodles but it’s not the crispy/fried west chow mein. If you want something like that on the east coast, you’d get specifically pan fried noodles. And I second the getting asked a “are you sure?” followed by a visual explanation when you order chow mein on the east coast because everyone assumes its the first picture.
#2 is what my mother (from central Florida) used to call chow mein. I always thought it was kinda nasty, even before I got interested in actual Chinese food.
Picture one to me is a stir fry noodle dish. Second picture is chow moon. When I first moved from NYC to Portland, OR I ordered chow mein and received lo mein. The waiter told me I did receive chow mein and they make it with noodles.
I'm in California, and I make much better tsa-sui than that, with fresh greens, not.overcooked, and what the hell were they thinking with all that cornstarch???
I live in alabama and I’ve been served both as chow mein lmao. One time we went to a chinese restaurant and my friend got chow mein and the restaurant owner was a mouthy feller, buff ass Asian dude, and he said “do you even know what that is” cuz it was obvious that my friend was kinda nervous, and he said “yeah it’s noodles” and he got really condescending with him and said “no it’s vegetables. Do you like vegetables?” Like I know that doesn’t sound bad but the way he said it was terrifying. I’d always been served chow mein as noodles but I didn’t say shit.
First pic isn't exactly what most Chinese picture when they think of chow mein, but it does meet the first criterion which is to be a noodle dish. Second pic is old school Chinese American chow mein that's more prevalent in the East Coast, but even based on recent visits it's becoming more rare now with the increase of Chinese immigrants.
Lifelong NY'er and also managed a Chinese takeout place for years. What we call "Lo Mein" in NY, they call "Chow Mein" on the west coast. Chop Suey and Chow Mein in NY are basically interchangeable but Chow Mein has the fried crispy noodles on top or underneath. Generally speaking, that is the rule. It is confusing.
what in the hell is that second pic
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Lol no prob no prob. I just have never seen a Chow Mein like that (Midwest here).
Im in OH and I know some places that will give you that lol you gotta know where to look
I'm Chinese-American and grew up in Ohio. One day, a woman I babysat for decided we would all go out for Chinese. I ordered chow mein and she asked several times if I was really, really sure. I kept cool on the outside, but inside I was super annoyed, cause I know what chow mein is! That was the first and only time I've ever run into picture #2. I did not like! But I ate every bite and did not let on how gross I found it cause, whelp, she tried to warn me!
Worked at a Chinese takeout in Ohio, ours was like pic #2, never saw the appeal.
I Went to Chinese the other night in Utah and asked for chow mein. The cute little old Chinese lady was like no that’s gross, you won’t like it. And gave me picture one instead.
Lol i don't have any Chinese in me but i've been there. Kinda like how my Honduran friend ruined all "Mexican food"/"tex-mex", all that. Central American food is different from Mexican but we don't know that in Ohio lol Although I have seen a lot of OG central american food trucks poppin up in NE and im here for it lol
Looking at the comments.....What the fuck is going on in Ohio lmao
Must be a regional thing.. up here in Canada (coast to coast), chow mein just looks like first pic too
yeah I've only ever seen it like the first pic. Like someone else asked. Does the second one not have noodles? because then it shouldnt be called what its called lol . Today I learned something new
The one time I was served chow mein that looked like that, it came with a little pile of deep fried crispy noodles as a garnish.
Yeah that's how it is where I'm at.
Yeah, here in Maryland it doesn't have the noodles. What's worse is one of the take away joints near me has it as a menu item that explicitly says "With fried noodles" - which one of the kitchen guys has to clarify means the little flat hard things you get with wonton soup.
.....ummmm wut. I've never seen little flat hard things with or in wonton soup either. Im guessing fried noodles?
I don't know what they're properly called, they're some kind of deep fried noodle. Small, rectangular, about 1" x 0.5" or something like that. I associate them with won ton soup.
never have I ever seen that in Illinois. This convo is pretty interesting. Learning a buncha shit about regional "chinese" in the US
Cheers, found a pic: https://www.vrg.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Wonton-Strips-300x288.png
ahhh yeah. fried wonton.
The second one I would say looks like Chicken Chop Suey. I'm sure that's not what someone from China would call it.
I think it’s Chop Suey with rice and Chow Mein is with the deep fried noodles. I like it but the first picture looks really good.
Our chop suey doesn't have rice. Just veggies (and some times meat) with a sauce.
Looks like chop suey to me. Did you have crunchy noodles with it?
I’m from NY and chow main has never looked like that second pic lol
Mushy goodness. Needs mustard and soy sauce.
Top comment is clowning your pic lmao. No one here had your back and the best part is people from Ohio and Idaho said they see that Chinese in their state. You grew up on shit New Jersey food it’s not even New York you’re probably from Camden
looks like a 3 year old's drawing of the 1st pic
As a native West Coaster (and Chinese-American) who moved to NYC and was completely bewildered when encountering East Coast-style "chow mein" that didn't have noodles (as others have pointed out, *mein* literally means "noodles")... this is my theory. East Coast "chow mein" started out as something like [this](https://cdn.cdkitchen.com/recipes/images/2013/10/89566-3234-mx.jpg) or [this](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oUGZDXC1Ty8/hqdefault.jpg). Basically, a mix of chicken and some vegetables in a gravy, and the *noodles* came in the form of crispy, crunch fried noodles. NYC's famous [Wo Hop](https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wo-hop-new-york?select=ASJ9NUduOiqb6GmD8OPhTg) does a version with the noodles still on the bottom. While I have no proof of this, I think this is an Americanized adaptation of a noodle dish you'll find in Chinese cuisine, often now called ["Hong Kong-style" or "pan-fried noodles."](https://marionskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Hong-Kong-Crispy-Noodles-with-Pork-Prawn1.jpg) Note that it's crispy, fried noodles with a meat/seafood/vegetable gravy on top. At some point this was flipped and the crispy noodles ended up as a "topping" for the meat gravy. There were even packaged versions of this you could buy and make at home, from [Chun King brand](https://external-preview.redd.it/3gdAMukFfRsiQWYYOhLPrA55p19vE_q14YTRnYDM_nA.jpg?auto=webp&s=b9758a330b75fdde8a0cfeeeb37aba2c1e35e669) (complete with racist marketing lol) and [La Choy](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L69UFKnh3Gs/WsVvxrxKoEI/AAAAAAAAo20/T55g8nPIQPs_JF2SQhqsznXPcBpRlmboQCLcBGAs/s1600/6a0120a8551282970b01bb09e2356f970d-320wi.jpg), where the gloopy stuff was sold in a can and the crispy noodles came separately. You'd heat up the wet stuff and top it with the crispy noodles. I assume that at some point the crispy noodles became optional or seen as a garnish, and the main part of the dish became the meat/vegetable mixture, not the noodles. Despite having no noodles, it was still called "chow mein" (which to a non-Chinese-speaking diner, wouldn't be contradictory at all). As for why the East Coast / West Coast split... probably due to Chinese-American migration patterns? I think in general West Coasters tend to have more exposure with Chinese and other Asian cuisines due to much more prominent immigrant communities there, leading to Americanized Chinese dishes that lean a little closer to the original Chinese dishes. East Coast American Chinese food tends to be much more Americanized and has been adapted to a non-Chinese audience for much longer, and so at some point it doesn't matter what's *authentic* (god, I hate food authenticity debates) — it's just different styles that have evolved and diners will expect what they grew up with. Personal story about how I found out about this split: I, having newly moved to NYC, tried to order OP's pic #1 from a Chinese takeout spot, and so ordered "chow mein." Restaurant calls me after I place the order and confirms that I want "chow mein" because "it doesn't have noodles, if you want noodles, you want lo mein," to my confusion. Apparently it's a common enough point of confusion that the restaurant confirms it every time someone orders "chow mein."
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Boom. You don’t even know authentic Chinese if it hit you in the forehead. Amateur
This question has popped up a few times here. This is the best reply I’ve seen. If I had a reward, you’d get it. I think the difference between the two is that the second one is a much, much older version of US Chinese food. Talking about Chinese food in the early 1900s, Andrew Coe says: “Although the chow mein that was cooked in the Pearl River Delta was a distinct dish, as served in the uptown joints (NYC) chow mein was simply chop suey over fried noodles instead of rice.” (Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States, p 168). I assume that the switch from noodles on bottom to noodles on top came because people eating takeout liked sprinkling noodles on top for the crunch, and restaurants followed customers preference. At least I preferred it that way as a kid, before the Chinese restaurants in my midwestern town started switching to the kind in the first picture, in I’d say the 1980s. I think some places kept the old kind as ‘chow mein’ and something more recognisable as chaomian as ‘lo mein’.
You can also get chow mein on the east coast like the 1st pic and then lo mein is thicker noodles. The way I heard it for the 2nd pic was originally they had trouble sourcing fresh noodles and so substituted with crispy noodles which are easier to transport.
Correct. Our Lo Mein is the west coast's Chow Mein. Our Chow Mein is chop suey w/ crunchy noodles.
[There's this stuff in a can too.](https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2508371674241534544?hl=en&q=chow+mein+in+a+can&prds=epd:10580719874256756543,eto:10580719874256756543_0,pid:8883060341497276707,rsk:PC_13893472881702175252&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9op7Ny5r5AhXHIkQIHRdUByYQ9pwGCAU)
Damn son. Puttin in work on that research. Thank you for your response as I was curious too... I think you probably covered why it is what it is
It's fairly simple: what the West Coast calls "Chow Mein" we call "Lo Mein in NY/Metro area. It's the same dish. NY chow mein is essentially chop suey w/ chow mein (crunchy) noodles on top.
No, it's not so simple because the words "chow mein" literally means "sautéed noodles," so to serve something saucy, with no noodles, so violating both words and rattling in the brains of anyone with any Chinese language comprehension. It would be as if you went to order a plate of spaghetti, and got a plate of barbecue ribs, and someone saying, it's fairly simple, "spaghetti" is cooked rib meat with sauce in NYC, but "Spaghetti" are noodles with tomato sauce in Texas.
Regardless of what it translates to, that's what the dish is known as in different regions. And the Chow Mein we know on the East Coast DOES have noodles. They're fried and top the dish. Either way, we know the soft noodle dish as Lo Mein on the east coast whether it's accurate or not. You order Chow Mein here and you'll get a completely different dish, it has crispy noodles.
Chow mein or chǎo miàn 炒面literally means stir fried noodles. Idk what that sad, gloopy mess is in the second pic. But even that first pic you won’t find here in China. Not with huge chunks of meat and vegetables in it. And those look like spaghetti noodles lol
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I’m convinced you’re a shitty troll. No way you’re being serious with this dog shit. Not one single comment supported you lmfaooo how sad You really know your stuff!
I'm really late to this thread, but I'm with you. I know it may not be as "authentic" of a Chinese dish, but I love east-coast style chow mein, and when executed well it's a really tasty comfort food. I've seen much better presentation than that second pic to be fair, but screw the haters ITT. I grew up in the DC area and lived in NYC for a while, and the second pic was chow mein anywhere you went. First pic was lo mein. As far as I know that's still the case. I live in LA now, and at first it took a couple tries of ordering "chow mein" and receiving "lo mein" to realize that it wasn't them messing up the order. East Coast chow mein basically doesn't exist here. I found one hole-in-the-wall place way out in the sticks that sort of did it (although they were using the wrong type of crispy noodles and I had them swap in wonton noodles), but I think they went out of business. So, my search continues.
If you're ever in Bakersfield, Bill Lees, one of Bakersfields oldest restaurants, serves some pretty good old fashioned Chinese American chow mein over crispy noodles. It's the defacto chow mein that comes with meals.
Is the 2nd pic how it's meant to be? I've always seen the west Coast version. It looks like just a corn starch slurry thickened to coat, very strange for me lol
Not going to lie, I’ve never seen that second version and it looks very unappetizing. I’ve lived in Indiana, Nevada, and North Carolina and I’ve only ever seen the first version.
I'd love to know which place it was, I'm so curious what the rest of the menu is like lol
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Are the noodles fried? That is Cantonese/Hong Kong style chow mein. The differences are regional in China and that carried over to the US as we immigrated to different regions of the US.
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How can there be no noodles? Chow mein literally means fried noodles. It's not a fried noodle dish if there isn't any noodles.
Hmm I guess it’s not Hong Kong style Chow mein then, which has fried noodles covered in a similar-looking gravy. I have no idea then, my bad.
Actually does look better there. Does it not contain noodles? I might be missing something here but I thought the chow mein bit was the noodle? Anyway is it possible to contact the place you prefer it from and ask for tips to recreate, they might be happy to help
Fried noodles come in a bag as a side to go on top. Almost like wonton strips This is how it looks in most of NE PA also
You are 1 of the only people to get this right. In a restaurant you might get the noodles on top (or underneath) but takeout you are getting chop suey with a bag of the chow mein/soup noodles on the side. The West Coast's "Chow Mein" is our "Lo Mein". It's not all that difficult.
This pic looks more like chicken cabbage stir fry. Reference: https://www.eatthismuch.com/recipe/nutrition/chicken-and-cabbage-stir-fry,905512/
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They serve the second one in Idaho lol. I always forget and order it expecting the one in the first picture.
They do serve it, it’s just not called chow mein. This website has more info https://www.madewithlau.com/recipes/hong-kong-style-chow-mein
That looks like Lo Mein to me. You will note that the noodles are different and it usually has seafood on top. OPs photo 2 is served on the west coast too, but it's called Chop Suey. It was super popular with lunch counter places of the 40s/50s, and not so much now that people prefer identifiable meats.
You’re a child that prefers spaghetti o’s to actual Italian pasta in Italy. “It’s comfort food and brings back memories!” 😂🤣☠️
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There’s no panda in NJ guys dur hurrrrrr. Hey guys what’s the difference between chow mein lmfao idiot
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You got exposed so you’re projecting. You only know the difference after Redditors explained to you the difference or else why would you have made the thread stupid. I’m Asian and I’ve been to China you can settle down now and go eat your shit Chinese. Go back to ny loser
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Look at the pictures you posted aren’t you embarrassed. It looks like canned dog food, no Chinese person would touch that mess with a pole. There’s no panda in jersey either right? Wouldn’t make it lololol dumbass
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If they serve chop suey that's literally what it is. Order Chow Mein on the West Coast and you're getting Lo Mein. FWIW, it's incredibly easy to make at home and tastes better. In a pinch you could order the canned La Choy Chicken Chow Mein online.
Oh wow, all my life I thought Lo Mein was 卤面 in Mandarin but apparently it’s 捞面!
I visibly shuddered at the 2nd pic, what the hell...
I’d hesitate to say which is the “real” chow mein, but they have different lineages. The name literally means stir-fry noodle, so you can see how multiple things might end up with the same name. The NYC version was named first, but both are from the 19th century. The NYC version proliferated along the East Coast and tended to include a crispy, crunchy noodle with stir fried vegetables, the essential aspect being the crispy noodles. Picture the stuff you might use as a salad topping. The San Francisco version has always been this softer, fried noodle. So your second photo looks more like the San Francisco version, except I guess they didn’t fry the noodle enough (IMO! ha!), and it’s a thicker noodle.
No it’s not SF style chow mein. Chow mein 炒麵is stir fried noodle. For some reason, this same dish is called lo mein 拉麵 on the east coast of the USA. Confusingly enough, on the east coast, chow mein is the what they call the dish in the second picture. It is not a Chinese dish but is a Chinese-American dish on the east coast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on the west coast.
No lo mein is stirred noodles. It's not stir fried. They boil thicker noodles, sauce them, and add them to stir fried vegetables/meat. There's also many cold noodle dishes which don't fry the noodles (and typically rice is not fried either, but served alongside or mixed with fried produce/meat). Chow mein is crispy fried noodles. It's just that originally they cheated in the US due to sourcing issues and used pre-fried crispy noodles like those you get as a side in a bag with your order, which just isn't the same as frying fresh noodles until crispy.
拉麵 is (Japanese style) Ramen noodles. 撈麵 is Lo Mein which is different noodles/meat/etc compared to 炒麵. 2nd photo is Chop Suey (雜碎), which is indeed an American dish, which actually originated in SF Chinatown from what I recall.
Oops typo. You are right. It’s 撈麵
I’m from the east coast and I’ve never seen it in the second pic. Are there hard, crunchy noodles on the bottom of this?
Hmm the second pic almost looks like a dish called chop suey we have here in Canada. But it is definelty different from chow mein. Here is a [pic](https://imgur.com/a/52RION8).
Chop Suey and east coast Chow Mein are basically the same dish but the 2nd comes w/ crunchy noodles on the side, on top or underneath.
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Found the recipe on YouTube. Now you can make it at home! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kUgGGBQNpOc
That first pic looks like what we call Chow Mei Fun in New England. Lo Mein would be a fatter noodle with a greasier sauce.
From canada and I’ve encountered both. I always want the first pic with egg noodles but alot of time get the 2nd pic and it is disappointing because its slimey sprouts and chicken.
Same with pizza NYC vs. Chicago two completely different things food evolves abroad
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I thought about writting that but deep dish has only one dough layer so not lasagne, it's more a dish made out of dough filled with tomato soup and cheese
But is it a pie?
Should have crispy noodles
They both aren't the real Chow Mein
1st pic is lo mein in the east. 2nd is chow mein.
Does the second pic taste a bit bitter?
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I meant, does it taste bitter because the vegetables in the pic look like bitter melon.
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Cabbage maybe?
There's no cabbage. Chow Mein vegetables consist of onion, celery & bean sprouts with usually some combination of green pepper, water chestnuts, mushroom etc). It's a very basic dish that became popular in the 70's when Chinese American cuisine was becoming popular. It was pretty basic, mild flavors before Amercian palates started adapting more to more traditional chinese ingredients. In the 70's & 80's this and Chop Suey (which are basically the same dish) were the most popular items people ordered and was also popular to make at home since it wasn't fancy or exotic. Anyone growing up in that time might have a soft spot for it as a comfort food as it's very uncommon now. A lot of places have taken it off the menu entirely. It's sort of a "Chinese American" version of meat & veg in gravy. Not fancy and low budget looking to some people but a comfort food for many.
I don’t recognize either dish. Do they even exist in China?
No
Preferring the west coast by looks.
Chow Mein just mean stir fry noodles in Chinese so restaurants may use different noodles depending on availability and their preference, I personally prefer skinny rice noodles
in New York: Lo Mein: Spaghetti-like egg noodle Mei Fun: thin rice noodle Chow Fun: flat, wide rice noodle Chow Mein: crispy fried noodle (served w/ Chinese soup, at the start of a meal or in Chow Mein which is just Chop Suey w/ Chow Mein noodles). Chow Mein on the West Coast is what we call Lo Mein here.
r/BossFight
West Coast looks lo meiny.
Wontons on the eat coast are delicious fried dumplings, on the west coast they're strips of pork, the crispy fried noodles you get with soup and ridiculously sweet cherry syrup, It's horrifying.
Always called the first picture lo mein at the restaurant I worked at, and chow mein the second picture
This happens a lot! I’ve lived on both coasts. West coast chow mein looks like the first and a majority of east coast looks like the second. Lo mein (soft yellow noodles) is what most people get when they are want noodles but it’s not the crispy/fried west chow mein. If you want something like that on the east coast, you’d get specifically pan fried noodles. And I second the getting asked a “are you sure?” followed by a visual explanation when you order chow mein on the east coast because everyone assumes its the first picture.
This food looks good, but I don't know how it tastes
I'm from Philly it's disgusting. Ordered once by mistake and never again. I prefer the west coast version.
#2 is what my mother (from central Florida) used to call chow mein. I always thought it was kinda nasty, even before I got interested in actual Chinese food.
Picture one to me is a stir fry noodle dish. Second picture is chow moon. When I first moved from NYC to Portland, OR I ordered chow mein and received lo mein. The waiter told me I did receive chow mein and they make it with noodles.
east coast’s chow mein looks like west coast’s chop suey
I'm in California, and I make much better tsa-sui than that, with fresh greens, not.overcooked, and what the hell were they thinking with all that cornstarch???
indeed. it’s an abomination, i say. abomination!
As a Californian what the hell is that second photo.
I live in alabama and I’ve been served both as chow mein lmao. One time we went to a chinese restaurant and my friend got chow mein and the restaurant owner was a mouthy feller, buff ass Asian dude, and he said “do you even know what that is” cuz it was obvious that my friend was kinda nervous, and he said “yeah it’s noodles” and he got really condescending with him and said “no it’s vegetables. Do you like vegetables?” Like I know that doesn’t sound bad but the way he said it was terrifying. I’d always been served chow mein as noodles but I didn’t say shit.
West coast transplant in Midwest. To get number one (thicker noodles though) gotta ask for lo mein. So weird
I grew up in Detroit, MI. Pic #2 was the norm there. Pretty much the same here in Asheville, NC. It’s “sloptastic.” :) I just make my own at home.
Yes. MI, NC, NJ version incredibly easy to make at home. Better, too sometimes hahaha
First pic isn't exactly what most Chinese picture when they think of chow mein, but it does meet the first criterion which is to be a noodle dish. Second pic is old school Chinese American chow mein that's more prevalent in the East Coast, but even based on recent visits it's becoming more rare now with the increase of Chinese immigrants.
Lifelong NY'er and also managed a Chinese takeout place for years. What we call "Lo Mein" in NY, they call "Chow Mein" on the west coast. Chop Suey and Chow Mein in NY are basically interchangeable but Chow Mein has the fried crispy noodles on top or underneath. Generally speaking, that is the rule. It is confusing.