Wednesday, August 13, 2008

What's on the Menu?

In preparation for the Olympics, China has officially released a list of suggested English translations for Chinese dishes for the hungry tourist. This master list aims to help restaurants translate their menu from the awkward, downright strange English to the more palatable translation.

But not everyone agrees. Some think this is robbing a few dishes of its cultural heritage by taking away its literal translation and unintended humor.

So, what’s on the menu? Below is a list of quirky translated Chinese dishes and their new English version.

红烧狮子头: Braised Lion’s Head. Now aptly names as Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce.
清蒸童子鸡: Chicken Without a Sexual Life. Poor chicken. Its new name is Steamed Spring Chicken.
夫妻肺片: Husband and Wife Lung Slices is now Pork Lungs in Chili Sauce. I wouldn’t eat that if I saw the old translation on the menu.
蚂蚁上树: Ants Climb Up a Tree is appropriately called Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork.
怪味鸡丝: Strange Flavored Shredded Chicken is renamed Special Flavored Shredded Chicken. Who would want to eat something strange?
口水鸡: Saliva Chicken or Chicken which Causes You to Salivate is now Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce.

So, anybody hungry?

1 comment:

Linda said...

We make Lion's Head from the Chang's Aust. website and love it.