Talk:Mein gon

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[edit] Move proposal

  • Move to Fried chow mein noodles, Crunchy chow mein noodles, or Crispy chow mein noodles. The Cantonese name is not used in most English-speaking areas where this is served. Badagnani 20:36, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Biscuit

The term "biscuit" should not be used. This is primarily a British term referring to "cookies." In the U.S., it refers to soft, round biscuits that are served hot with gravy. They are simply deep-fried medium-width noodles made from wheat flour. Badagnani 20:38, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Photo

The photo doesn't depict any kind of crispy chow mein noodles I have ever seen in the U.S. (and they are served at most "American-style" Chinese restaurants as an appetizer. The noodles should be flat, golden in color, and blistered in appearance, not like round bread sticks or crackers as they appear in this photo. Badagnani 20:38, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

They should look like this:

Photo 1 Photo 2

Badagnani 20:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

I am pretty positive the round thin sticks are the right ones. Some are straight, others are curved. I see them all the time in the US in quite a number of restaurants. If anything I have never seen the flat ones. Photo1Photo2Photo3. Benjwong 14:58, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

As I stated earlier, any kind of round, thin Chinese sticks are absolutely unknown and never served in North American Chinese restaurants. On the other hand, the flat ones depicted in the photos above are served in nearly every Chinese restaurant in North America. Also, as mentioned earlier, the Cantonese name "mein gon" is unknown in North America except to Cantonese, while the names "fried chow mein noodles" (and other synonyms given above) are the well known names this food is known by. The article should reflect these differences between the noodles you know in HK, and the ones we know in American Chinese cuisine. Badagnani 16:33, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

I have just looked at the photos you gave above and can confirm that, unlike what I said just above, these thin, round crunchy noodles are widely available in North America, and are called "crunchy chow mein noodles" or similar names. The flat ones must be a different item, then. Should the flat ones have their own article? The thin round ones are available in supermarkets for when people make their own chow mein at home, and may also be available in restaurants. Badagnani 16:36, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

This photo is the iconic image of these noodles that all Americans know:

photo.

Badagnani 16:41, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

So what are the flat ones called, then? Badagnani 16:41, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

This recipe says that the wide deep-fried noodles are actually strips of egg roll wrappers. That makes perfect sense because that's what they look and taste like. So, is this the same noodle or should it have its own article? Badagnani 16:49, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

I think you had me confused there. Are you questioning the name or the picture? "Mein gon" the name you are welcome to change it to the best English name there is. The picture, however, I believe is correct for mein gon or crunchy noodle. The question is, what are the flat ones called? Benjwong 17:17, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Let me clarify. I agree with you that the thin, round noodles are used in Chinese cuisine and American Chinese cuisine. But the name of this food in English is "chow mein noodles" or "crunchy chow mein noodles," or something similar. Since this is English Wikipedia, we ought to move this article, if it's about this type of noodle. I feel that this photo looks more like the ones we know in North America but the photo you added isn't the way they look here (the American ones are not as straight; they're more irregularly shaped, slightly curvy). If there are two sub-types, we should have a photo of the HK kind (the photo that's up now) and the North American kind (the kind in [this photo.

I don't know what the flat ones are called, and maybe they were invented in the U.S. by Cantonese, maybe in the 1950s? They are always served in American Chinese restaurants, when you sit down to eat, as an appetizer, with duck sauce and hot Chinese mustard. You don't get them there? Badagnani 19:39, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Feel free to just move the page to anything you like. We should just include pictures of both to be safe (assuming there isn't some other Chinese name for the flat one???). Even the picture I uploaded is from the US. If you can find a picture of the flat one with the right license, feel free to upload that too. Benjwong 19:52, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

I'll ask some restaurant people for the Cantonese name for the flat one. It's usually not on the menu, so it might be hard to find the name in writing. Getting a free license isn't hard if you write to people on Flickr; 95 percent of the time they say "Sure!". Badagnani 20:55, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

I think the wide crunchy ones might be called "crunchy wonton noodles." Badagnani 10:16, 11 November 2007 (UTC)