Join Planet Takeout's Scavenger Hunt!

Deadline for the Scavenger Hunt is August 15th. Submit all photos by that date and we will share our winners here!

I’m fairly new to Boston and as the Planet Takeout project has progressed, my sense of the city is being determined less by neighborhoods than by what Chinese takeouts are nearby. Don’t tell me you live in Egleston Square, tell me where you live in relation to Lucky Boston Chinese. Okay, you live in JP – closer to Food Wall or Charlie Chan’s?

It’s been a lot of fun to discover the neighborhoods of Boston through the lenses of its takeouts. To go to a neighborhood I’ve never been to before and finding the local takeout gives me a little stab of excitement and awakens in me the sense of discovery that is half the thrill of living in a city. It also give ms a peculiar sense of home, as many takeouts do bear some resemblance to each other. I like to see how that takeout has adapted to its neighborhood, but also pick out the elements that I've seen recur in many takeouts. 

Will this takeout have a gumball machine inside? A lucky animal, be it a pig, cat or three-legged frog? Will it have a hot pink menu carefully lettered by hand? 

How do I play?

We at Planet Takeout wanted to let you into that sense of urban adventure so we designed a photo Scavenger Hunt, which you can play at your favorite takeout -- or one that you discover in your travels around the city, country or world!

(1) At your favorite takeout, take a photo of as many elements as you can.
(2) If you use Twitter, Instagram or Flickr, tag them #planettakeout. Or email them to val@planettakeout.org. 
(3) Be sure to tell us the name and location of the takeout.

(Click the photo above to see more detailed instructions.)

The prizes for the hunt are glory and enshrinement in our Palace of Honors. Six out of six and you will be crowned the Emperor of Egg Foo Young. Even one photo will land you in the Palace, as a not-unrespectable Merchant of Moo Goo Gai Pan. Plus you will have our eternal thanks for helping us document this humble, ubiquitous and irreplaceable urban phenomenon!

About the project

Planet Takeout is a participatory documentary project that aims to turn local Chinese takeouts into spaces for community storytelling. The radio and multimedia project documents the lives of both the takeouts’ immigrant workers and their customers from the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the relationships between them. We hope the project will give some insights into the immigrant experience, as well as strengthen local neighborhoods.

Planet Takeout is a production of Val Wang, WGBH 89.7 and Zeega, with support from the Localore project from the Association of Independents in Radio.