Chinese restaurants buying meat from shooters

[Crowstalker]

During the day at work the topic of Chinese restaurants buying or serving questionable meat came up. There was no shortage of stories where rumours were rife of one takeaway buying shot foxes for £20 and another of one customer finding a dog chip in thier meat or another who stated he thought He found what he called rat Brains in his curry.

To be quite honest I do have doubts about what meat is being served in my local after finding really questionable rubbery "chicken", but I also have some skepticism about foxes for example being served.

I am sure everyone here has heard the same sort of rumours but has anyone actually got first hand experience of this?

I have heard enough today by the way to put me off Chinese food maybe even for good.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Late 1980's friend of mine used to sell ferreted rabbits to a Chinese takeaway,15/20 brace at a time iirc.
Only ever chicken on the menu, make what you want of that
Wouldn't have a problem with that myself, love a rabbit pie.

 

[Smellydog]

I was in a Chinese restaurant once and the waiter came over to ask how my meal was.
I told him it's rubbery. He said " ow, fank you vewwy much....."!

 

[Apthorpe]

Unlikely that they use foxes. It's too much effort to prepare and inconvenient to collect. I'd be more worried about them collecting from the undertakers.

 

[Stevie/P]

I wouldn’t eat food from any takeaway Chinese Indian Thai home cooked food for me every time that way I know what I’m getting.

 

[VSS]

Why would any Chinese (or other) takeaway in the UK bother with the hassle and risk of using meat of questionable origins?
There's no need for them to do so, and no reason why they would.
Some people just thrive on spreading stupid stories.

 

[sauer]

Fair number of sheep thefts up here lately local lad in CID reckons a market for the kebab shops in bigger cities

I remember as a teenager we used to fish and catch saithe / coley by the carrier bag full! & go to the Chinese thru would buy whatever we got … what they did with em I’ve no idea

Paul

 

[Tim.243]

During the day at work the topic of Chinese restaurants buying or serving questionable meat came up. There was no shortage of stories where rumours were rife of one takeaway buying shot foxes for £20 and another of one customer finding a dog chip in thier meat or another who stated he thought He found what he called rat Brains in his curry.

To be quite honest I do have doubts about what meat is being served in my local after finding really questionable rubbery "chicken", but I also have some skepticism about foxes for example being served.

I am sure everyone here has heard the same sort of rumours but has anyone actually got first hand experience of this?

I have heard enough today by the way to put me off Chinese food maybe even for good.

Wong's from Maldon were caught with a whole skinned Alsatian in their freezer 50 years ago, cats were sold in the 50's skinned as "Spring Hare" on the black market

 

[Tim.243]

Fair number of sheep thefts up here lately local lad in CID reckons a market for the kebab shops in bigger cities

I remember as a teenager we used to fish and catch saithe / coley by the carrier bag full! & go to the Chinese thru would buy whatever we got … what they did with em I’ve no idea

Paul

When we dived out Shoreham we picked all sorts of shellfish and pulled in to the Chinese on the left just out of the town.
Gave the owner loads of it and he came out with a platter of it with done in the wok with
noodles rice all sorts we didn't care so hungry..

 

[kenbro]

Several years ago there was some prosecutions for the wholesale and retailing in butcher shops of horse meat around Lancs.

Ken.

 

[Dave_45]

If you’ve eaten from a road side snack bar or whatever kind of takeaway the chances are you’ve eaten a meat that wasn’t officially on the menu.

 

[eggy74]

Not the one by the Albion pub on brighton road ???
@ Tim.243

 

[Smellydog]

Why would any Chinese (or other) takeaway in the UK bother with the hassle and risk of using meat of questionable origins?
There's no need for them to do so, and no reason why they would.
Some people just thrive on spreading stupid stories.

It's in their culture. Something you maybe overlooking my friend.

 

[Pedro]

Around 1980 or so, in my previous life I was driving around in a Panda when a bobby on foot flagged me down to come and look at something. We went into a premises that had just been vacated by a Chinese takeaway that had moved to an adjacent street. For whatever reason, he'd found it insecure (in the days when cops on foot would go around checking doors were secure at night). We went in and in the cellar he showed me what he'd found. Lines strung across the room with dead pigeons hanging from them like they were pheasants on a shoot day. So that's some first hand knowledge of "alternative chicken" being used.

Not quite first hand, but from a colleague who knew an undertaker, in another town, the old man of the family that lived above the Chinese died. When they came to take him away they noticed underneath the (death) bed were beansprouts merrily sprouting.

I really can't say how widespread this sort of thing is or was although perhaps today, they've got better monitoring procedures in place. But you've got to wonder about all that lovely looking street food you see in oriental holiday destinations on the telly.

 

[glasshalffull]

We used to sell river eels we'd caught to Chinese proprietor's of our local takeaway, this was in the 1980s but they were for their own consumption. We also took one of them out lamping foxes a few times and found him to be a top bloke. Don't know what he did with the foxes he shot, he took them home, but hey ho don't knock it until you try it. Love a good chinese meal myself

 

[jb1]

I dont think there is anything you can do to fox meat to make it taste anywhere near close enough to eat, even stuffing it with 1000 garlic gloves and 1000 Scotch Bonnet chilli's.
Its really RANK Smelling.

 

[glasshalffull]

I dont think there is anything you can do to fox meat to make it taste anywhere near close enough to eat, even stuffing it with 1000 garlic gloves and 1000 Scotch Bonnet chilli's.
Its really RANK Smelling.

So is goat but it makes a good curry

 

[nun_hunter]

It's in their culture. Something you maybe overlooking my friend.

The amount of meat on a fox for £20 wouldn't be worth anyone's time when cheap chicken is less than that. It's not like getting hold of free dogs in the UK is easy or any other meat for that reason compared to wholesale intensive farmed meat. It's even cheaper if you buy frozen from abroad. As VSS says, it's just rumours and old fashioned banter which should have been left in the past.

 

[paulbshooting]

Yes from my travels in China i remember being told that the only thing with four legs they dont eat is a table

 

[MarinePMI]

Hmmm...really depends on the Chinese in question. Some wouldn't even think of eating some of the stuff mentioned here. Others, from the lower classes, would (and do) eat just about anything (which happens when you're hungry).

Largely though, Chinese people, especially two or three generations after immigrating, wouldn't eat a fox/dog. As mentioned, why would you with the relatively low cost of industrialized meat available? Eels? Deer? Shellfish? Sure. Dogs, cats, rats? Uh-uh...

And for the record, I'm half Chinese, so I kinda know of what I speak...and grew up eating quite a bit of traditional Chinese food (and not that crap you find in a takeaway or sit-down Chinese restaurant).