Learn how to read the Chinese menu

[almostwitty]

Despite being genetically Chinese, I have no idea how to read off the Chinese menu. So I’m reduced to ordering off the English menu – which is fine and great, but vaguely-remembered childhood delicacies are rather beyond me.

So thank goodness for kake’s guide on learning how to read off the Chinese menu, which I will study with great interest. And then never have the courage to use – because what self-respecting Chinese person doesn’t know how to order off the Chinese menu? And if I get it a little wrong, I’ll feel far more embarassed than if I’d never tried in the first place.

Incidentally, while searching for an appropriate video, I found a ton of videos which basically show white and non-white people talking fluent Cantonese. Why ?! I mean, I find it oddly fascinating but surely not everyone else does? We don’t see videos of Chinese speakers speaking English (or Russian) with aplomb…

Mirrored from almost witty.

Comments

[almostwitty]

It's generally full of things that Westerners wouldn't even know how to describe, let alone order or eat.

Even I don't get the Chinese menu, because generally they can tell that I'm not a proper Chinese person. Usually by the fact that I talk to them in English, and I usually walk in with non-Chinese people.

My Dad can get the Chinese menu - but he usually just orders what he likes from what he can remember!

[charlycrash.livejournal.com]

I would imagine that 1L Mandarin (or Cantonese) 2L English people are an awful lot more common than 1L English 2L Mandarin people, so the latter are more remarkable.

I seem to remember there's more English speakers in China than there are in the US, or something equally ridiculous.

[almostwitty]

Causing yet another international incident and embarassment for me...

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

not a proper Chinese person

You're an improper one? ;)

[almostwitty]

Pretty much!

[kake]

Hope it's OK to chime in here, but doesn't the "siu" (燒) in "cha siu baau" actually mean "cooked" or "roasted"? "cha" (叉) means "prong" or "to pierce/stab", so I think the literal translation of "cha siu" would be something like "spit-roasted". The fact that the thing being roasted is pork is left implicit — this kind of makes sense, since pork is the default meat in most Chinese cuisines, and if you're spit-roasting something then it's probably a big chunk of meat rather than, I dunno, mushrooms or something.

And I agree with your other comment above — I really wish that restaurants would translate their Chinese menus into English. It would make it a lot easier for people to become familiar with the good stuff. (Though I wouldn't want to see them only in English, since translations vary so much, and you can get information from the Chinese name that isn't always there in the translation.)