Microwave rotating plate
Microwave turntables typically use a permanent magnet single phase synchronous motor, no capacitor, as they're cheap.

For a perfectly symmetrically manufactured motor, the startup direction depends on chance. In a real motor, asymmetries might favour one direction over the other, so it may show a preference for going in one direction. 

For the purpose of turning severe hot and cold spots into less severe hot and cold rings, it doesn't matter which direction it goes in, so there's no effort or cost spent in getting it to go one way.

When this type of motor is used in clocks, a common mechanism is a small spring that gets wound up if the motor starts in the wrong direction. The motor stalls against the spring, which then flicks the motor the right way.