When I was a kid living in Vancouver, BC, we used to go to any Chinese restaurant and order chicken chow mein, it would be all the same. When I go for a visit now, I cannot find it. From reading Wikipedia it sounds like its Hong Kong style chicken chow mein or plain chow mein, and there is no sauce that is typical in the US. In the the US there are a lot of blank looks when I explain what the dish looks and taste likes. I am looking for a recipe for this dish which also has a distinctive flavour. Here is Wikipedia's explaination:
Canadian westernized Chinese restaurants may offer up to three different types of chow mein, none of which are identical to either style of American chow mein. Cantonese style chow mein contains deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles, green peppers, pea pods, bok choy, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, shrimp, Chinese roast pork (char siu), chicken, and beef, and is served in a thick sauce. Plain chow mein is similar to other Western chow meins but contains far more mung bean sprouts; some recipes may be up to one-half bean sprouts. In Canada, Hong Kong style chow mein is similar to plain chow mein but is always served on a bed of deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles.
Canadian westernized Chinese restaurants may offer up to three different types of chow mein, none of which are identical to either style of American chow mein. Cantonese style chow mein contains deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles, green peppers, pea pods, bok choy, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, shrimp, Chinese roast pork (char siu), chicken, and beef, and is served in a thick sauce. Plain chow mein is similar to other Western chow meins but contains far more mung bean sprouts; some recipes may be up to one-half bean sprouts. In Canada, Hong Kong style chow mein is similar to plain chow mein but is always served on a bed of deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles.