4 ms·

The founders of Chipotle started Shophouse which they describe as "the bold flavors of Southeast Asia," so you're on to something. Takeout food is generally un

The founders of Chipotle started Shophouse which they describe as "the bold flavors of Southeast Asia," so you're on to something. Takeout food is generally unhealthy, though. The pho I've eaten has off the charts amounts of sodium, but it does have plenty of vegetables.

viewer5 11y ago
> Takeout food is generally unhealthy, though. The pho I've eaten has off the charts amounts of sodium Is there something takeout places usually put in it that people who make it at home don't?
- jedrek 11y ago
  Most people have trouble adding MSG directly to their food, restaurants have no such qualms.
  - greggman 11y ago
    MSG is not unhealthy AFAIK. Wikipedia covers that for one. For anecdata see Japan. Highest life expectancy, most msg usage. And it's commonly used in home cooking
    - gtk40 11y ago
      It's just salt and glutamic acid (naturally occurring in mushrooms, tomatoes, etc), and it immediately dissolves to each of those components in water. Usually the problem isn't with MSG but with too much salt at places that also add MSG.
    - kbart 11y ago
      Arguably, MSG itself isn't unhealthy (in limited doses), but it enhances taste so much, that it's often used to cover up for poor quality or even expired products. For example, lower quality hot dogs without MSG and other additives are basically inedible, for the same reason junk food is tasty as well.
- wmil 11y ago
  You can mask poor ingredients by dumping salt and sugar into dishes. Sugar actually stops you from tasting all the salt.
donretag 11y ago
I spent almost two months in Vietnam and ate tons of pho (the easiest thing to order since most restaurants have no menus and spoke no English). The amount of vegetables, if any, was very small.
- rdlecler1 11y ago
  I'm not sure where you were, but my wife and I just returned from 14 days in Vietnam. There was so much diversity in the food: Lemon grass, garlic, ginger, morning glory, two types of basil, onions, two types of cilantro, carrots, three types of peppers, lettuce, green onion, peanuts, sesame, shallots, cucumber, tomato, mint, banana flower, cabbage, papaya, mango, dragon fruit, breast fruit, lime. I'm sure I'm still missing a dozen.
  - donretag 11y ago
    I was referring to pho specifically. But in general, vegetables are harder to find if you are away from the tourist areas. I traveled the entire length of the country, over 2000 miles on a motorcycle, from the Cambodian border to the south, to the "North Pole" (border with China). If you saw a menu, then you ate at touristy places. At one point, while in the extreme north, I might have eaten dog once or twice. Who knows? No one spoke English and Vietnamese is a very difficult language. Of course, no menus.
jrochkind1 11y ago
I've never seen pho with any appreciable vegetables.

viewer5 11y ago

> Takeout food is generally unhealthy, though. The pho I've eaten has off the charts amounts of sodium Is there something takeout places usually put in it that people who make it at home don't?

jedrek 11y ago
Most people have trouble adding MSG directly to their food, restaurants have no such qualms.
- greggman 11y ago
  MSG is not unhealthy AFAIK. Wikipedia covers that for one. For anecdata see Japan. Highest life expectancy, most msg usage. And it's commonly used in home cooking
  - gtk40 11y ago
    It's just salt and glutamic acid (naturally occurring in mushrooms, tomatoes, etc), and it immediately dissolves to each of those components in water. Usually the problem isn't with MSG but with too much salt at places that also add MSG.
  - kbart 11y ago
    Arguably, MSG itself isn't unhealthy (in limited doses), but it enhances taste so much, that it's often used to cover up for poor quality or even expired products. For example, lower quality hot dogs without MSG and other additives are basically inedible, for the same reason junk food is tasty as well.
wmil 11y ago
You can mask poor ingredients by dumping salt and sugar into dishes. Sugar actually stops you from tasting all the salt.

donretag 11y ago

I spent almost two months in Vietnam and ate tons of pho (the easiest thing to order since most restaurants have no menus and spoke no English). The amount of vegetables, if any, was very small.

rdlecler1 11y ago
I'm not sure where you were, but my wife and I just returned from 14 days in Vietnam. There was so much diversity in the food: Lemon grass, garlic, ginger, morning glory, two types of basil, onions, two types of cilantro, carrots, three types of peppers, lettuce, green onion, peanuts, sesame, shallots, cucumber, tomato, mint, banana flower, cabbage, papaya, mango, dragon fruit, breast fruit, lime. I'm sure I'm still missing a dozen.
- donretag 11y ago
  I was referring to pho specifically. But in general, vegetables are harder to find if you are away from the tourist areas. I traveled the entire length of the country, over 2000 miles on a motorcycle, from the Cambodian border to the south, to the "North Pole" (border with China). If you saw a menu, then you ate at touristy places. At one point, while in the extreme north, I might have eaten dog once or twice. Who knows? No one spoke English and Vietnamese is a very difficult language. Of course, no menus.

jrochkind1 11y ago

I've never seen pho with any appreciable vegetables.