China Standardizes Menu for Olympics: No More 'Government Abused Chicken'
In preparation for the impending Olympics, the Beijing municipal government has released a 170-page book of standardized menu translations that eschews the strange literal translations of over 2,000 Chinese dishes and instead features names that make a little more sense. No longer will you order "pock-marked old lady's tofu" and "government-abused chicken" (that's mapo tofu and kung pao chicken, respectively). The less-than-palatable translation "husband and wife's lung slice" will now more helpfully be tagged as "beef and ox tripe in chili sauce."
Translating the names of certain Chinese dishes into English can be tricky—unlike Western dishes, which are usually named after their ingredients and cooking methods, Chinese dishes are more often named for their appearance rather than composition. Props to China for making food-ordering a little bit easier for foreigners. Still, you've got to admit that it does take a bit of fun out of perusing some creatively-translated Chinese menus. [via Cha Xiu Bao]
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1 Comment:
I ate "Husband and Wife" in Beijing. I always wondered what it really was....now I know. : 0
mascan at 10:21AM on 07/01/08