Stereotypical Chinese food takeout containers in American movies - are they real?

[EugW]

This is minor, but nonetheless it's been bugging me. In every American movie or TV show when people order Chinese take out, I see they come in these things:

I live in Canada, and I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Certainly not in the last 25 years anyway.

Is this actually a normal thing in the US? If so, are they more common in the big city or in small towns?

I do see that horrible wonton font from time to time, but never at the better restaurants in bigger cities. Maybe that's one reason I don't see those boxes? I almost never go to Chinese restaurants that use the wonton font.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I have seen those but not in at least 10 years. Now I see that exact box without the handle and with no branding or decorations... There's also plastic containers but I actually prefer the coated paper boxes..

 

[EugW]

I have seen those but not in at least 10 years. Now I see that exact box without the handle and with no branding or decorations...

OK they're real then.

I guess some restaurants would have different branding I guess. Truthfully I've seen cardboard cartons at some (non-Chinese restaurants), but they are a different shape and different construction.

In a way the Chinese takeout boxes remind me of those red plastic party cups, although we have those in Canada too. I read online that some Europeans think they're pretty weird.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

OK they're real then.

I guess some restaurants would have different branding I guess. Truthfully I've seen cardboard cartons at some (non-Chinese restaurants), but they are a different shape and different construction.

In a way the Chinese takeout boxes remind me of those red plastic party cups, although we have those in Canada too. I read online that some Europeans think they're pretty weird.

View attachment 1998034

They work very well for beer pong?

 

[glenthompson]

The place closest time for takeout uses them for some orders. Usually the rice and small servings. Large sized servings are in plastic containers. We like the large size for leftovers. I’m in Virginia USA.

 

[NoBoMac]

Been ages for me as well personally seeing one of these style containers.

Where I have seen them in use is on cooking shows, menus, restaurant reviews, etc where they are being used in a "whimsical" manner to serve up food. Catering/buffet situations. Snack mix/nuts at casual functions.

For example, the buffet at the Cosmopolitan hotel/casino puts their Asian influenced dishes in these:

 

[MBAir2010]

there was a conflict between the USA and China last centuryish
David letterman, (tv host, Late nite) claimed China will retaliate by
making these container more-leakier!

Chicken Lo-Mien never tasted batter in these containers.

 

[Juicy Box]

The place closest time for takeout uses them for some orders. Usually the rice and small servings.

Same for my closest local place. Now that I am thinking about it, most of the local non-chain places have boxes like this.

I am not too far from you in Maryland. Maybe it is common on the east coast or maybe just in the Delmarva Peninsula.

Chicken Lo-Mien never tasted batter in these containers.

It is weird, but it seems like that way for me as well. It always taste better in the box.

Some places near me have moved to plastic or styrofoam for large portions, and they never seem to be as tasty when served that way.

Probably just in my head.

I almost never go to Chinese restaurants that use the wonton font.

Why not? They have the best food in my experience.

 

[Juicy Box]

Now I see that exact box without the handle and with no branding or decorations...

I have seen this as well, but at American food restaurants. Maybe the construction is a little different, but like you said, no metal handle and nothing printed.

Boring looking....

 

[EugW]

Why not? They have the best food in my experience.

I live in Toronto, and the Chinese restaurants which still have the wonton font here are a dying breed. They're American-Chinese / Canadian-Chinese food which I'm usually not particularly fond of, and they are often not very good quality either (at least around here). Toronto has a large Asian population and the better quality restaurants frequented by Asians would not have the wonton font. They're either newer restaurants that appeared after the influx of more wealthy Asian immigrants in the 1980s/1990s/2000s, or else they are restaurants that have undergone makeovers to compete.

BTW, I decided to look up wonton font just now, and came across this article. In there were some interesting points, including from Apple's previous lead typographer. I don't want to get into political discussion here but it I think it does illustrate how this font has lost its popularity.

Karate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop suey' fonts

For years, the West has relied on so-called 'chop suey' fonts to communicate "Asianness" in food packaging, posters and ad campaigns. But such fonts perpetuate problematic stereotypes.

www.cnn.com

Beyond chop suey

As diverse and modern as Asia is, its prevailing typographic representations remain stuck in a bygone era. So, can we ever escape chop suey font?

"In light of the tensions in the US around race and racial stereotypes in 2020, (these fonts are) not the kind of thing I would want to be developing today," said Tom Rickner, creative director at Monotype, a 134-year old digital foundry with several chop suey fonts in its catalog.

Recalling the lone Chinese restaurant in the town he grew up in during the 1970s, Rickner explained that the foreigner-friendly chop suey fonts helped proprietors attract diners, much like the first wave of immigrant Chinese business owners in San Francisco in the 1930s. "Back then, a menu item like Peking duck was considered avant-garde and completely new and different, but we've gone so far beyond that," he said, adding that we now have alternatives to worn-out typographic tropes.

Rickner, who was once Apple's lead typographer, points to the flourishing of non-English digital typefaces in recent years. For example, there's Caspar Lam and YuJune Park's elegant serif Ming Romantic, commissioned by Vogue China and Google's open source Korean fonts, created by a team of Korean type designers, including E Roon Kang, who spoke on the challenges of creating digital fonts in the language.

 

[TSE]

They are absolutely 100% real in New York City still, and growing up in the Midwest they were real. I would say they are not AS common anymore, but still used frequently enough to call it a thing.

 

[EugW]

So it seems that this was already a meme 3 years ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/9jms8z

 

[Juicy Box]

They are absolutely 100% real in New York City still, and growing up in the Midwest they were real.

Yeah, I haven't travelled much in the past few years, but I am thinking about it, and I think they are pretty common all over the US, or at least the eastern part.

I live in Toronto, and the Chinese restaurants which still have the wonton font here are a dying breed. They're American-Chinese / Canadian-Chinese food which I'm usually not particularly fond of, and they are often not very good quality either (at least around here). Toronto has a large Asian population and the better quality restaurants frequented by Asians would not have the wonton font. They're either newer restaurants that appeared after the influx of more wealthy Asian immigrants in the 1980s/1990s/2000s, or else they are restaurants that have undergone makeovers to compete.

BTW, I decided to look up wonton font just now, and came across this article. In there were some interesting points, including from Apple's previous lead typographer. I don't want to get into political discussion here but it I think it does illustrate how this font has lost its popularity.

If the food is better, I can understand to one type of place over another, but you never know unless you try them.

Stereotyping a restaurant based off of the font they use wouldn't be the best way of determining the quality of their food, imo, and you might missing out.

As for the font, people can look at just about anything and say it is racist in some way due to something in history. It really takes the teeth out of the word. I think intent is everything.

Also, maybe look at who the font is bothering, probably mostly white people. Asian-owned restaurants are using it.

Saying that one likes to eat where the asians like to eat might worse than a font, as it is stereotyping people. It still doesn't bother me though, maybe I am not a sensitive as others, as I think intent is important.

This kind of reminds me of the people that say Hello Kitty is racist because it is a metaphor for delicate and submissive Japanese women. Sometimes, it is just a little much and people just need to relax and enjoy life, imo.

So it seems that this was already a meme 3 years ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/9jms8z

Probably like many other tropes, stuff like that adds the Americana vibe in movies. Other things like this are cheeseburgers, hotdogs, cookouts, French fries, baseball, football, large green lawns, big cars, white picket fences, those red solo cups that you already mentioned, etc.

 

[EugW]

Also, maybe look at who the font is bothering, probably mostly white people. Asian-owned restaurants are using it.

Nah. Around here they don't use wonton font at all if they want to attract Asian customers. The restaurants that use wonton font here are usually quite old and cater to non-Asian clientele. Even the small but newer mom-and-pop shops never use wonton font.

However, I do see wonton font in some predominantly non-Asian areas particularly in the suburbs or else in small towns nearby. It may be different in your area, but that's the lay of the land here in and around Toronto.

 

[rhett7660]

While I haven't seen this particular one, I have seen ones that are similar and some that look better! But the vast majority are the white carboard non-descriptive type of packaging.

 

[satcomer]

I love the Chinese restaurant especially the General Sows Chicken with Broccoli!

 

[EugW]

I just spoke to my wife about this, and she tells me they were a thing in Canada too, but a long time ago. The last time she saw one was in a Canadianized Chinese restaurant in suburban Montreal something like 40 years ago.

I'm sure they must still be around somewhere in Canada, but nonetheless I'm thinking this is more a US culture thing than for other countries.

BTW, the reason I asked was because I just saw a movie from 2022 on Netflix called My Spy which still had such a Chinese food takeout box.

P.S. This is not a great movie. However, it exceeded my low expectations, and I had a few laughs.

 

[jav6454]

This is minor, but nonetheless it's been bugging me. In every American movie or TV show when people order Chinese take out, I see they come in these things:

View attachment 1998005

I live in Canada, and I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Certainly not in the last 25 years anyway.

Is this actually a normal thing in the US? If so, are they more common in the big city or in small towns?

I do see that horrible wonton font from time to time, but never at the better restaurants in bigger cities. Maybe that's one reason I don't see those boxes? I almost never go to Chinese restaurants that use the wonton font.

Real, I have seen those in a friend's house for a local place.

 

[Killbynumbers]

Back in the late 70s and into the 80s, I worked at a Chinese restaurant in Aurora Colorado that had those same exact to go boxes. We would put the handle straight up and then bend it down in the center so it kept the lids closed as much as possible. I haven't seen those in years.

 

[icanhazmac]

Yup, a couple of my local places use those boxes for the sides of rice.

 

[NoGood@Usernames]

The majority of the Chinese food places around me use those boxes, mainly for rice. Some have similar printing/images on them, and some are just plain white but they are just like that, metal handle included. Most have switched to plastic containers for the actual meal/meat since they contain the sauce much better and are less likely to leak.

 

[Madhatter32]

These cartons are as common as a one dollar bill in the United States.

 

[Rafterman]

This is minor, but nonetheless it's been bugging me. In every American movie or TV show when people order Chinese take out, I see they come in these things:

View attachment 1998005

I live in Canada, and I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Certainly not in the last 25 years anyway.

Is this actually a normal thing in the US? If so, are they more common in the big city or in small towns?

I do see that horrible wonton font from time to time, but never at the better restaurants in bigger cities. Maybe that's one reason I don't see those boxes? I almost never go to Chinese restaurants that use the wonton font.

These containers are all I see.

 

[Juicy Box]

So it seems that this was already a meme 3 years ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/9jms8z

Probably like many other tropes, stuff like that adds the Americana vibe in movies. Other things like this are cheeseburgers, hotdogs, cookouts, French fries, baseball, football, large green lawns, big cars, white picket fences, those red solo cups that you already mentioned, etc.

Another thing that seems to be often shown in movies and TV, but I have yet to meet someone that has done it, is lamaze class for pregnant characters.

Not saying that lamaze classes do not exist, or that pregnant women don't go to them, but it is a very common troupe in media.

My daughter was talking about lamaze classes today, asking my wife about them. The way she was talking about it was as if everyone did lamaze, and I can only assume she thought that because of TV shows. It reminded me of this thread.

 

[Madhatter32]

This thread is making me hungry. I wish I had one of those containers right about now.