chinese take out: Americans have our favorite "Chinese" foods and those who operate restaurants know this. It's a lot cheaper to order menus from supply houses than it is to go to a printer. Therefore, Chinese restaurants use the pre-made menus that they order with their other supplies. It's the same with Mexican restaurants.|||cultural food like most american places have burgers genius|||Most of them are their Famous dishes...|||Yes, those are the dishes that sell! Realistically, go to any style of resturant and it will be very similar to all the others of that genre. In italian places, people want pizza, risotto, pasta etc. Chuck a curry on the menu and no one buys it, because if they wanted a curry, they'd have gone to a curry house!|||Most popular items. And the menu will be cheaper, they just change the logo and the phone number. For take out, it must have something that cook easy and fast. Instead of creating something new and unique, which will induces more explanation to customers. They just go with the most common dishes which almost every chef knows how to make.|||Yes. First it isn't Chinese Food. It's Chinese'ish Food. Second, it's what sells. They put on their menus what people buy, and what people expect to find. Seriously, businesses actually have to put up items on menus that are rarely ordered in order to validate themselves to potential customers. In the case of a video rental outlet, they call all those old movies that consist of less than 5% of thier revenue but take up huge space, Wallpaper.. and they need it. Anyways, it's not a Chinese thing.. It's a business thing. ;)|||All the American menus have hamburgers and steaks listed..because that is considered American food.|||yeah I noticed that phenomenon too!!! I ate chinese buffet in arkansas, and then I ate at different chinese buffets in Texas and all the places had the exact same food.....prawns, dry salmon, just to name a couple|||moment_in_passing is right the food is NOT chinese, it is fake and they just want to earn ur money!!! no difference with "Panda Express" chinese ppls never go there, hav u noticed? don't go there, try something else (shanghainese food rox!) mail me if u hav questions!|||i dont think they are always the same|||What about the chinese zodiac placemats? WTF?!?!?|||Just a theory because I've noticed this before too and thought about it. All the Chinese restaurants are controlled by the chinese mob. They all have to buy their products, menus, soy sauce, batter, food, etc. from the mob controlled companies. That's why no matter where you go the food is all the same and tastes nearly the same. Look at the sauce packets and fortune cookies, no matter where you eat they come from the same place.|||Poor thing! Don't get out to eat much, do ya !x? Pizza places and hamburger places have much the same thing, too. The Chinese research the taste of each country and grow menus to the taste of its market. The Chinese have providers for most of their food-stuffs as well as menus and chopsticks. Bulk buying is the same engine driving China. The Chinese are much more organized when it comes to feeding the masses. Chinas' illustrious longevity came with wisdom not lost on such an Imperial Nation.|||Yes, they are all China men.|||i found out in austin tx, the same people own 10 diff restaurants and pretend like they are competitors, i caught one doing that when the menu had the same typo on it!