Menu - 面mian油you- Face Oil?
The title of this section Menu - Face Oil as the Chinese characters which render the English word menu sounds similar to "mian you" in Chinese, literally meaning 'face oil'. It illustrates the cut throat world of Chinese-English translation via the exotic medium of culinary delights. Or rather how machine translation is dangerous for your health.
Warning: This webpage contains words which may offend. Please leave now if you think you may be upset by words like fuck or even the very idea of it!
The pictures in this part of the site aren't mine, nor do I know where they come from, that is, the person or people who actually took the photgraphs initially. I first encountered them when my sister came over for a stayover in January. Someone had posted the photos to her and we had a side splitting time. I would be remiss if I didn't do some internet search to see when the first instances of these menus occured, but the earliest hint of such things existing is due to a post by tissot on 28 July 2005, but there weren't any photographs there. A small list of items were given and the hint that they originate in a restaurant in Heyuan county, Guangdong Province.
See www.candameet.com
tissot 2005-07-28 23:48
绝对原创，这是我今天出差在广东河源一餐厅吃饭时看到的菜单译文，大家看了别笑喷了啊！
干炒牛河：Fuck to fry the cow river
新西兰牛扒：The cow of NewZealand pick
特式鸳鸯扒：Pick with the type mandarine duck
日式鳗鱼饭：Day type eel rice
猪扒意粉：The pig picks the idea powder
猪扒饭：The pig picks the rice
综合寿司：Synthesize Sushi
日本花寿司：Flower in Japan sushi
扁豆炖龙骨：The hyacinth bean braise the main beam of boat
生熟地炖龙骨：Living to braise the main beam of boat familarly
鸡骨草炖龙骨：The chicken bone grass braise the main beam of boat
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From the websources that can be linked directly to, there seemed to be a gap in time before the next mention, but the webpage didn't have the pictures to support the webauthor's claim of having taken some photos with "Fuck to fry the cow river" in. From December 2nd 2005 we see the whole lot being shown at dean and linda's site.
There are photographs from at least two different menus, so there seems to be more than two notoriously badly translated menus extant in China somewhere. When next you visit, be prepared for:
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What would 先生XianShengSir be ordering, today? May I suggest the
The chicken hates the soup of as an excellent starter followed by
Burn the beef sand and for a light meal, how about
The pig picks the elder brother a cloth followed by
Butter many privates or indeed the excellent
The bureau swallows to take the fish idea powder or our specialities
Fuck to fry the cow river or may be the
Fuck a spring chicken instead?
We always send coffee or milk teas.
....
Very good, then Sir, enjoy!
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Below, the picture which tells a thousand words is given to the left, followed by what I think ought to be the true English translation. Below each picture, I've given notes on the particular characters, ingredients, or dishes mentioned.
Menu 1
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(奉送咖啡或奶茶 feng song ga fei huo nai cha all with coffee or milk tea)
湯类 tang lei Soup
罗宋汤 luo-song tang Bortsch
粟米汤 su-mi tang Sweetcorn Soup
周打鱼汤 zhou da yu tang Fish Chowder
牛尾浓汤 niu wei nong tang Oxtail Soup
鸡茸忌廉汤 ji rong ji lian tang Cream of Chicken Soup
西班牙海鲜汤 xi ban ya hai xian tang Spanish Seafood Soup
是日例汤 shi ri li tang Soup of the Day
沙律 sha lü Salad
田园沙律 tian yuan sha lü Salad
鸡蛋沙律 ji dan sha lü Egg Salad
吞拿鱼薯仔沙律 tun na yu shu zi sha lü Tuna Fish and Potato Salad
鲜果沙律 xian guo sha lü Fresh Fruit Salad
厨师沙律 chu shi sha lü Chef's Salad
烧牛肉沙律 shao niu rou sha lü Roast Beef Salad
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Notes 1
From the English, it is possible to recreate the original text at the top of this menu extract. The word 送 does indeed mean 'send' but it also has the connotation of being 'included' with the meal, Hence 奉送 (all with) 咖啡 (coffee) 或 (or) 奶茶 (milk tea) as the extra 's' is unnecessary, but students of Chinese know that nouns aren't modified to indicate number. Or more simply coffee or tea included. Note that tea in the east rarely uses fresh milk. A type of evaporated milk makes the tea there overly creamy and this is contrasted with the tea being brewed strongly.
湯类 literally means 'soup types' or 'types of soup', for which bortsch and chowder are examples.
罗宋 may be another spelling of 吕宋 a placename 'Luzon' in the Phillipines. One wonders if this is where Chinese first encountered Russian Bortsch. The translation "The soup of Sung" only translates the latter two characters, i.e. 宋汤.
Maize is of course sweetcorn, but sweetcorn would probably be more appropriate.
周 does in fact mean 'a week' in time, and 打 does in fact mean 'beat' and 鱼汤 does mean 'fish soup'. But, together 周打 is a Chinese phonetic rendering of the English word 'chowder'. As Chinese doesn't have definite or indefinite articles in its grammar, some padding of the English has taken place.
牛尾 is indeed ox-tail and 浓汤 is a thick soup. In Chinese the subject-predicate sentences prevail, so one could see it as "the oxtail's thick soup". Some unlucky translator may have thought the English the preposition 'in' was appropriate to pad out the sentence and avoid using the apostrophe... Just a guess.
鸡茸忌廉汤 I would have translated this literally as 鸡 chicken 茸 puree 忌廉 cream 汤 soup。 忌廉 is another rendering from the English 'cream' or french 'crème'. However, chicken soup is usually made with a chicken stock, rather pureed chicken, so I'm inclined to believe that they may do things differently at this food establishment, if the menu hasn't already warned you already...
西班牙 is the Chinese rendering of 'Spain' or possibly España. 海鲜literally means 'fresh from the ocean' or 'ocean fresh' referring to products harvested from the sea such as crabs, lobsters, fish, prawns, shellfish and molluscs, etc.
是日例汤. The sense of 是 is in the classical sense 'this, that'. Why they chose that translation, is anyone's guess.
沙 means 'sand' 律 was just ignored. Unfortunately for the translator, it also appears in other salads.
田园 means pastoral, garden, green fields. It is likely that this is a salad of garden vegetables or greens, such as lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots etc.
鸡 means chicken or hen, 蛋 is an egg.
吞拿 is the Chinese rendering of 'tuna', 鱼 is fish, 薯仔 means potatoes despite the diminuitive zi.
鲜 fresh 果 fruit
厨师 kitchen master, i.e. chef.
烧 means to roast, or burn. 牛肉 means beef or literally cow/bull/ox/heffer meat.
Menu 2
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扒类 pa lei Steaks and Chops and Cutlets
黑椒猪扒 hei jiao zhu pa Pork Chops with Black Pepper
特级西冷牛扒 te ji xi leng niu pa Prime Quality Sirloin Steak
洋葱猪扒 yang cong zhu pa Pork Chops with Onions
米兰猪扒 mi lan zhu pa Pork Chops a la Milan
猪扒哥顿布 zhu pa ge dun bu Pork Chops Cordon Bleu
美国T骨扒 mei guo T gu pa American T Bone Steak
意大利香草羊扒 yi da li xiang cao yang pa Lamb Chops with Italian Sweetgrass
伦敦大什扒 lun dun da shi pa London Mixed Grill
咖喱 ga li Curry
咖喱鸡扒饭 ga li ji pa fan Curried Chicken Leg with Rice
咖喱牛肉饭 ga li niu rou fan Beef Curry with Rice
咖喱海鲜饭 ga li hai xian fan Seafood Curry with Rice
咖喱石班饭 ga li shi ban fan Curried Garoupa with Rice
咖喱什菜蛋饭 ga li shi cai dan fan Curried Mixed Vegetables with Egg and Rice
咖喱牛腩饭 ga li niu nan fan Curried Brisket of Beef with Rice
世界美食 shi jie mei shi Delicious Dishes from around the World
星州炒饭 xing zhou chao fan Singapore Fried Rice
三文治 san wen zhi Sandwiches / 多士 duo shi Toast
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Notes 2
扒 chops and cutlets 类 types. However, 扒 is also homophonous with 耙 a type of rake, so one wonders if the translator had in mind a pick axe of some sort...
黑 black 椒 capsicum, peppers, peppercorns, chilli peppers. 黑椒 is black pepper or black peppercorns. 猪 means pig 扒 cutlet. Since pork is usually written 猪肉 zhu rou, 肉 is left out when it is clear from the context that some sort of pig meat product is being reffered to. It seems that throughout the menu, 黑椒 only has the initial word 黑 translated.
特 special 级 grade: i.e. prime quality. 西 west 冷 cold is a Chinese rendering of English 'sirloin' 牛扒 literally cow/ox/bull steak = beef steak. Perhaps the animal source of the meat is present to tell patrons what type of meat is for being cooked as a Sirloin. Many southern Chinese rarely eat beef.
洋葱 refers to onions, where yang cong literally means foreign onions or scallions, in the sense that the roundish western onion was probably unknown in China until relatively recently (say since western interaction via the early Spanish enclaves such as Macao etc... or from the european colonialists era.
米兰猪扒 Pork Chops a la Milan or Milanese pork chops, 米 uncooked hulled rice 兰 orchid : being a Chinese rendering of Milan.
哥 older brother 顿 pause, suddenly, stamp (v), arrange settle 布 cloth :a Chinese rendering of the words "Cordon Bleu". It sounds good enough to eat!
美 beautiful 国 country, state : Chinese rendering of A*me*rica as Miguo. T 骨 bone 扒 steak
意 meaning, intent 大 big 利 sharp, interest: Chinese rendering of 'Italy' 香 fragrant 草 grass : xiang cao refers to sweetgrass, or perhaps vanilla. 羊 sheep, lamb, goat.
伦 logic, peer, human relationship, ethics 敦 honest, sincere : Chinese rendering of 'London'. 大 great, big, large. 什 mixed.
咖喱 Chinese rendering of 'curry'
鸡扒 usually refers to the leg of the chicken, the chicken drumstick, or quarter portion of a whole chicken. However, in China and Hong Kong, it would seem the leg and thigh or brown meat portion is more usual.
牛肉 literally cow/bull/ox meat, ie. beef.
海鲜 sea fresh, ie. fresh seafood.
石班 usually translated as 'garoupa', although there are several type, this is the one with the large band across its body.
什菜 mixed veg 蛋 egg 饭 rice - one isn't sure if this is a fried egg on top, or whether it is egg fried rice. As there are dishes below with fried rice with the word 炒 (stir fried) this latter would seem unlikely.
牛腩 is the brisket of beef. It is usually stewed until it falls apart.
世界 world 美 beautiful 食 eating : ie. Delicious Dishes from around the World, or International menu.
星 start 州 prefecture, state. This is a shortened name for 星加波 Singapore. 炒 fried 饭 rice.
Menu 3
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三文治 san wen zhi Sandwiches / 多士 duo shi Toast
牛油多士 niu you duo shi Buttered Toast
千富特色三文治 qian fu te se san wen zhi Chef's Speciality Sandwich
法兰西多士 fa lan xi duo xi French Toast
薄牛扒三文治 bo niu pa san wen zhi Thincut Beef Steak Sandwich
扒芝士火腿三文治 pa zhi shi huo tui san wen zhi Cheese and Ham Sandwich
(火腿,烟肉)餐肉蛋三文治 (huo tui, yin rou) can rou dan san wen zhi (Ham, Smoked Ham) Luncheon Meat and Egg Sandwich
世界美食 shi jie mei shi Dishes from the World
星州炒饭 xing zhou chao fan Singapore Style Fried Rice
印尼炒饭 yin ni chao fan Indonesian Style Fried Rice
生炒牛肉饭 shang chao niu rou fan Freshly stirfried Beef Fried Rice
扬州炒饭 yang zhou chao fan Yangchow Fried Rice
拿破仑炒意粉 na po lun chao yi fen Neapolitan Style fried Pasta
焗吞拿鱼意粉 ju tun na yu yi fen Baked Tuna Fish Pasta
焗肉酱意粉 ju rou jiang yi fen Baked Spaghetti Bolognaise
吉列猪扒饭 ji lie zhu pa fan Chilli Pork Chops with Rice
焗猪扒饭 ju zhu pa fan Baked Pork Chops with Rice
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Notes 3
三 three 文 text, classical canons/writings 治 cure, rule, govern : Chinese rendering of 'sandwiches'. 多 many 士 soldier, private in the army : Chinese rendering of 'toast'.
牛油 cow/ox/bull oil : Chinese for 'butter'.
千 thousand 富 rich : Chinese rendering for Chief or perhaps Chef. 特色 special. Chef's Speciality Sandwich
法 law 兰 orchid 西 west : Chinese rendering of 'France', hence french toast.
薄 thin 牛扒 beefsteak.
扒 cutlet; 芝 sesame 士 soldier, private in the army : Chinese rendering of 'Cheese'. 火 fire 腿 thigh : basically a roasted joint like roast ham.
火腿 ham, 烟 smoke 肉 meat: smoked meat - smoked ham. 餐肉 may be a shortening for 午 midday 餐 meal 肉 : luncheon meat;
世界 world 美 beautiful 食 eating : ie. Delicious Dishes from around the World, or International menu.
星 start 州 prefecture, state. This is a shortened name for 星加波 Singapore. 炒 fried 饭 rice.
印 stamp, chop 尼 Budhhist nun. 炒 pan fry or stir fry 饭 cooked rice
生 raw, give birth 炒 fry 牛 肉 beef 饭
扬州 Yangzhou = Yangchow a placename in China.
拿 take in the hand, grasp 破 break open, destroy 仑 human relationship : Napolean, Neapolitan, Napoli. 炒 stirfry 意 idea, meaning, desire, wish : Abbreviation for 意大利 Italy/Italian. 粉 powder abbreviation for 面粉 or rather 麵粉 wheat flour made noodle type foodstuffs. Hence 意粉 refers to italian pasta.
焗 to bake; 吞 swallow 拿 grasp 鱼 fish : tuna fish 意粉 pasta
焗 to bake. 肉 meat 酱 sauce : bolognaise sauce 意粉 spaghetti, pasta
吉 prospitious, lucky. 列 to arrange, to line up, row, file, series : may be a Chinese rendering of Chilli from the homophone 激烈 ji lie = intense sharp fierce accute.
Menu 4
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干炒牛河 gan chao niu he Beef with Riceflour Pasta Stirfry
炸酱面 zha jiang mian Noodles in a savoury (meat) sauce
上汤云吞 shang tang yun tun Wanton Soup
上汤水饺 shang tang shui jiao Meat Dumpling Soup
日式海鲜汤乌冬 ri shi hai xian tang wu dong Japanese Style Seafood Udon Noodles in Soup.
猪扒汤面 zhu pa tang mian Pork Chop with Noodle in Soup
餐蛋汤公子面 can dan tang gong zi mian Luncheon meat and Egg with Doll Noodle in Soup.
牛腩捞河粉 niu nan lao he fen Stewed Beef Brisket with Riceflour Pasta
三丝汤意粉 san si tang yi fen Italian Pasta with three types of Shredded Meat in Soup.
窝蛋牛肉粥 wo dan niu rou zhou Beef Congee with Egg strands
冬菇滑鸡粥 dong gu hua ji zhou Shitake Mushroom with Tender Chicken Congee
田鸡粥 tian ji zhou Frog Congee
黑椒牛柳丝炒意粉 he jiao niu liu si chao yi fen Black Peppered Sliced Beef shreds fried with Italian pasta.
日式炒乌东 ri shi chao wu dong Japanese Style Fried Udon Noodles
三丝炒公子面 san si chao gong zi mian Doll Noodle Fried with Three Types of Shredded Meat
干炒意面 gan chao yi mian Pan fried Italian Pasta
咸鱼鸡粒炒饭 xian yu ji li chao fan Salt Preserved Fish with Chicken Fried Rice
西式炒饭 xi shi chao fan Western Style Fried Rice
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Notes 4
干 is the simplified character for 幹 which has the slang connotation seen in the menu for 'fuck', but my mild mannered dictionary [1] says 'offend'. The other meaning of 干 is dry with the traditional character being 乾. 炒 stir fry. 牛 cow. 河 river : the Chinese rice pasta known as 沙河粉 comes from a place in Guangdong called Sha-he 沙河, i.e. the Sha-he noodle would be fairly reasonable translation. It is abbreviated to just 河, which can be dry stirfried without sauce, or 湯河/汤河 meaning it is in a soup or broth.
炸 fried, 酱 sauce : name of a sauce made of a pan fried meat sauce. 面 face, a simplification of 麵 'noodles'. See here and here.
上 upper 汤 soup : 'superior soup' or rather a rich consomme or soup base. 云 cloud 吞 swallowing : Wonton - a type of Chinese ravioli which has a savoury meat filling wrapped in chinese egg pasta made of wheat. It is boiled, and the loose folds of pasta seem like 'clouds' being swallowed when eaten.
上汤 : consomme. 水 water 饺 dumpling. These are like wonton, but made differently and in a soup base.
日 day 式 style : Japanese style. 海鲜 seafood 汤 soup. 乌 black 冬 winter : Chinese rendering of Udon noodle, the thick Japanese style noodles with a bit of chew in them.
猪扒 pork chop 汤 soup 面 face/noodle (see above).
餐 meal, abbreviation of 午餐肉 or luncheon meat. 蛋 egg 汤 soup. 公仔 doll 面 noodle : famous amongst the far east as being the 'instant noodle'. The packet had a picture featuring two dolls with eyepatches on them.
牛腩 beef brisket 捞 scoop up 河粉 rice pasta akin to tagliatelli
三丝 three types of shreeded meat 汤 soup 意粉 Italian pasta (spaghetti)
窝 nest 蛋 egg : may be the egg is whisked and stirred in to the congee to form strands like the texture of 燕窝 yanwo birds nest hence the 'nest'. 牛肉 beef 粥 congee
冬 winter 菇 fungus : the shitake mushroom. 滑 slippery, smooth 鸡 chicken : tender chicken
田 paddy field 鸡 chicken : a figurative name for a type of a type of edible frog
黑椒 black pepper 牛柳 beef slices 丝 strands, shredded meat 炒 stir fried 意粉 italian pasta
日式 Japanese style 炒 stir fried 乌东 Udon noodles
三丝 three types of shredded meat 炒 stirfried 公子面 doll noodle
干 dry ： a simplified character which ought to be 乾. In this context, the pasta is stir fried without sauce. 炒 stirfried 意面 italian pasta.
咸鱼 simplified characters for traditional 鹹魚 meaning salt cured dry fish. 鸡粒 chicken pieces 炒饭 fried rice.
西式 Western style 炒饭 fried rice!
Menu 5
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干锅，煲仔，水煮类 gan guo, bao zi, shui zhu lei Wok Braised , Claypot Casseroles and Poached dishes
干锅鱼头 gan guo yu tou Wok Braised Fish Heads
锅子双冬肚条 guo zi shuang dong du tiao Braised Pig Bag with Shitake Mushrooms and Winter Bambooshoots
干锅童子鸡 gan guo tong zi ji Wok Braised Spring Chicken
干锅墨鱼仔 gan guo mo yu zi Wok Braised Cuttlefish
巴渝酸菜鱼 Ba-yu suan cai yu Fish cooked with Sour Pickled Cabbage Bayu style
干锅牛蛙 gan guo niu wa Wok Braised Bullfrog
干锅腊肉茶树菇 gan guo la rou cha shu gu Wok Braised Chinese Sweetcured Dried Ham with Black Poplar (Pioppino) Mushrooms
水煮里脊片 shui zhu li ji pian Poached Tenderloin Slices
水煮鳝片 shui zhu shan pian Poached Eel Slices
牛肉粉丝煲 niu rou fen si bao Beef and Mung Bean Vermicelli Casserole
鱼香茄子煲 yu xiang qie zi bao Fish and Eggplant (Aubergine) Casserole
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Notes 5
干 dry simplified version of traditional character 乾. 锅 is usually known as a wok.
'Dry wok' cooking technique described by the first two characters probably refers to braising, whereby the ingredients are allowed to soak up most of the sauce or cooked until there is a rice thick gravy but not swimming in a thin soup.
煲 earthenware pot with a cover usually and a handle, 仔 diminutive， i.e. a small pot or small casserole with a handle.
水 water 煮 to cook 类 types of stuff, i.e. poached dishes.
鱼 fish 头 head. Fish heads aren't considered much of a meal in the west, being mostly bone, skin, scale, eyes, and whatever fish heads contain. However, they have a long tradition outside of European cuisine as being something that is mundanely edible. Some people savour the meat in the cheeks, some people like the consistency of the jelly around the eyes, or the flavour of the fish head and bones.
锅 wok 子 diminutive, ie. little wok. 双 double 冬 winter, refers to two foodstuffs with that have the character 'winter' in their names, i.e. 冬笋 winter bambooshoots 冬菇 shitake mushrooms. 肚 stomach, even in England you can buy pre-cooked tender pig bag or pigs stomach in the market, along with chitterlings (intestines) and tripe (cow stomach). May not sound appealing, but they aren't wasted in the west either. 条 strip, numerical counter for things which are long and relatively thin. So, the pig stomach is cut up into strips before cooking with the other ingredients. For those thinking that the pig stomach is as tender as you find in England, leave that notion behind. Like chicken, Chinese like them chewy and with flavour.
童子 child 鸡 chicken, ie young, therefore 'spring chicken'.
墨 ink 鱼 fish 仔 diminutive: refering to the cuttlefish which of course has a lot of cuttlefish ink.... Don't confuse with squid, which is known as 鱿鱼 you yu.
巴渝 is a placename in Szechwan or Sichuan. Therefore, as with other Sichuan style food, it may hint at the hot chilli content. 酸 sour 菜 vegetable : this is a preserve. In the west, you have sauerkraut, or at least the Germans have the upper hand there. 鱼 fish. A fish dish cooked with sour vegetables with hot chilli sauce, probably...
牛 bull 蛙 frog. Well, the French do like frog's legs.
腊肉 Chinese savoury cured meat. My dad used to make it, using fresh belly pork soaked in salt, sugar, crushed aniseed, dark soya sauce, and brandy. It is hung up to dry, literally. As it is drying, oil is rendered out, and the fat goes slightly transluscent. The brandy adds to the flavour as well as the other spices. This is usually sliced and cooked, having a sweet flavour, with an interesting texture to the fat. Therefore, I've named it a Chinese sweetcured dried ham. 茶 tea 树 tree 菇 mushroom. After some looking on the internet, the latin name of this mushroom is called agrocybe aegerita, the pioppino or black poplar mushroom, although it grows on other trees. When fresh it looks to be a meaty mushroom, but as with most fungus used in China, they are often dried for use at some other date. They are reconstituted by soaking in water， rather like dried shitake mushrooms.
里脊 tenderloin 片 slices.
鳝 Eel
粉 powder, flour 丝 silk, threads : fensi a type of Chinese vermicelli made from mung bean flour. It is soaked first and when cooked it goes opaque or translucent.
鱼 fish 香 fragrant 茄子 aubergine, eggplant.
Menu 6
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矿泉水 kuang quan shui Mineral Water
朱古力 zhu gu li Hot Chocolate
阿华田 a hua tian Ovaltine
好立克 hao li ke Horlicks
鲜奶 xian nai Fresh Milk
鲜奶加蛋 xian nai jia dan Fresh Milk boiled with Egg
冻柠七 dong ning qi Iced 7-Up with Lemon
冻柠乐 dong ning le Iced Coca Cola with Lemon
冻柠蜜 dong ning mi Iced Lemon Tea with Honey
鸳鸯 yuan yang Yuan Yang
什果冰 shi guo bing Mixed Fruit Slush Puppy
參茶 san cha Gingseng Tea
硬中华 ying zhong hua Ying ZhongHua Cigarettes
芙蓉王 fu rong wang Furongwang Cigarettes
三个五 san ge wu 555 Cigarettes
万宝路 wan bao lu Wanbaolu Cigarettes
红双喜 hong shuang xi Red Double Happiness Cigarettes
好日子 hao ri zi Haorizi Cigarettes (?)
小熊猫 xiao xiong mao Little Panda Cigarettes
三字头中华 san zi tou zhong hua Zhonghua No. 3 Cigarettes
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Notes 6
矿 ore, mine 泉 spring, aquafer 水 water: mineral water.
朱 vermillian, red, 古 ancient 力 strength, power, energy : zhu-gu-li Chinese rendering of 'chocolate'
阿 (a phonetic character), flatter, 华 Chinese, flower, 田 field, paddy field. a-hua-tian Chinese rendering of "ovaltine"
好 good, to like 立 set up, to stand upright, 克 subdue, restrain, to overcome, gram : hao-li-ke Chinese rendering of 'horlicks'
鲜奶 fresh milk 加 add 蛋 egg
冻 cold, to freeze 柠 first character of 柠檬 "ning-meng" 'lemon', 七 seven, first character of 7起 or 7-up.
冻柠 iced lemon 乐 happiness : an abbreviation of 可口可乐 ke-kou-ke-le or Coca Cola.
冻柠 iced Lemon Tea 蜜 Honey
鸳鸯 Yuan Yang is a pair of mandarin ducks, both the male and the female. It is traditionally a symbold of marriage. In the context of a drink's name, it refers usually to a mix of tea and coffee.
什 mixed, ten 果 fruits 冰 ice. Crushed ice is probably used to make a slushy or slush puppy type drink.
參 Mandarin pronouncedcan1 means to take place. Pronounced shen1 it means ginseng. The traditional character is 蔘. 茶 Tea
硬 hard refers to cigarettes with nibs. 中 middle 华 China, flower : China, Chinese
芙 lotus 蓉 lotus : hibiscus 王 king :
三 three 个 (classifier) 五 five : three fives, ie. 555
万 10,000, myriad 宝 treasure 路 road :
红 red 双 pair, double 喜 happiness : For Chinese, red is a lucky colour.
好 good, well, to like 日 day, sun 子 son, diminutive : days of leisure
小 little. 熊 bear 猫 cat. xiongmao are pandas.
三 three 字 character, word, letter 头 head : number 3. 中 middle 华 China, flower : China, Chinese
Menu 7
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卤水鸭肾 lu shui ya shen Savoury Brine Cured Duck's Gizzard/Kidney
卤水拼盘 lu shui pin pan Savoury Brine Cured Meat Selection Platter
卤水猪肚 lu shui zhu du Savoury Brine Cured Pig Bag
卤水掌亦 lu shui zhang ji Savoury Brine Cured Duck's Feet and Wings
粟米汤 su mi tang Sweetcorn Soup
跟牛油餐包 gen niu you can bao Buttered Breadroll
大什扒 da shi pa Big Mixed Grill
奉送咖啡或奶茶 feng song ga fei huo nai cha All with coffee or tea included
美国特级西冷牛扒餐 mei guo te ji xi leng niu pa can American Prime Quality Sirloin Steak Meal
罗宋汤 luo song tang Bortsch
跟牛油餐包 gen niu you can bao Buttered Breadroll
特级西冷牛扒 te ji xi leng pa Prime Quality Sirloin Steak
奉送咖啡或奶茶 feng song ga fei huo nai cha All with coffee or tea included
|
Notes 7
From the style of the English, and the following dishes, it was possible to reconstruct the original Chinese characters 卤水 is described below. 鸭 duck 肾 gizzard, sometimes erroneously called the kidney. Duck's gizzard are cleaned and the yellow layer is removed leaving a tough meat which is sometimes dried. The gizzard is considered a delicacy， sliced thinly, it has a crunchy meat texture, unlike any other types of meat.
卤 brine : simplified character to traditional 鹵 or 滷 meaning brine. 水 water: 鹵水 or 滷水 is not just salty brine but includes fragrant herbs and spices (not hot as in chilli) that is used to marinade meat, such as pork, duck and chicken. 拼 piece together, spell, join togerther. 盘 dish, tray, platter : simplified character to traditional 盤. Hence this is a platter of mixed fragrant brine marinaded meats. Most of the meats in this platter are eaten cold.
猪 pig 肚 stomach : Pig bag as it is called in England.
掌 palm, often referring to feet of a duck. 亦 ought really to be 翼 yi, referring to the wings. So this dish comprises of both the feet and wings of a duck which have been marinated in a savoury brine solution and then cooked. Sometimes duck's feet, or chicken's feet are referred to as 'paw' in the English translation.
跟 follow. 牛油 butter. 餐 dinner. 包 bag, wrap, bun : short for 面包 or more properly 麵包 meaning 'bread'.
大什扒 see above
奉送咖啡或奶茶 see above
美国 America 特级 top quality, prime 西冷 sirloin 牛 beef 扒 steak 餐 meal
罗宋汤 see above
跟牛油餐包 see above
特级西冷牛扒 see above
奉送咖啡或奶茶 see above
Menu 8
|
顶级蓝山 deng ji lan shan Top Quality Blue Mountain Coffee
巴西 ba xi Brazilian Coffee
曼特宁 man te ning Mandheling Coffee
意大利 yi da li Italian Coffee
哥伦地亚 哥伦比亚 ge lun bi ya Columbian Coffee
碳烧 tan shao Charcoal Roasted Coffee
|
Notes 8
From the English, a guess at the Chinese characters 顶级蓝山 yields a result via websearch for sites which sell coffee such as this. 顶 summit, peak, crest 级 class, level, grade, rank, step 蓝 blue, indigo 山 mountain.
巴西 Chinese rendering of 'Brazil', hence "Brazilian"
曼特宁 Chinese rendering of 'Mandheling'
意大利 Chinese rendering of 'Italian' hence "Italian"
哥伦地亚 spelt incorrectly should be 哥伦比亚 Chinese rendering of 'Columbia', hence 'Columbian'
碳 carbon, charcoal. 烧 burn, roast
Sources
[1] 现代汉英词典 A Modern Chinese-English Dictionary 外语教学与研究出版社 (1999) ISBN 7-5600-0486-5
[2] 汉英词典 - 按罗马字母 顺序排列 ABC Chinese-English Dictionary Ed. John Defrancis, Curzon.(1999) ISBN 0-7007-1190-2
Web Sources
I wish to thank Tak To who posted the following message at sci.lang.
See here for the thread in context.
The following post is not available on some newsserver,
probably due to the erroneous date.
----- -----
Dylan Sung wrote:
> Tasty dishes and the hilarious consequences of machine translation.
>
> "Fuck to fry the cow river", anyone?
> How's about a "The pig picks the elder brother a cloth "
>
> http://www.dylanwhs.ukgateway.net/menu/index.html
Quite good!
Some comments:
Menu 1
> ["奉送咖啡或奶茶"] The word 送 does indeed mean 'send' but it also has
> the connotation of being 'included' with the meal, Hence 奉送 (all
> with) 咖啡 (coffee) 或 (or) 奶茶 (milk tea) as the extra 's' is
> unnecessary, but students of Chinese know that nouns aren't modified
> to indicate number. Or more simply coffee or tea included
While 送 can mean "to send", it is closer to “to give a gift” in this
context. 奉送 is to offer very respectfully. I.e., coffee or tea are
free.
-----
> 湯类 literally means 'soup types' or 'types of soup', for which
> bortsch and chowder are examples.
类 means category or type. 湯类 here means "the soup category"
(the category which comprises soups) -- i.e. "soups", not "soup
types".
Borscht.
-----
> 罗宋 may be another spelling of 吕宋 a placename 'Luzon' in the
> Phillipines. One wonders if this is where Chinese first encountered
> Russian
罗宋 is simply a transcription of "Russia". The similarity to
吕宋 is coincidental.
------
> ["鸡茸忌廉汤"] I would have translated this literally as 鸡 chicken 茸
> puree 忌廉 cream 汤 soup。 忌廉 is another rendering from the English
> 'cream' or french 'crème'. However, chicken soup is usually made
> with a chicken stock, rather pureed chicken,
Cream of chicken.
-----
> 海鲜 literally means 'fresh from the ocean' or 'ocean fresh' [...]
海鲜 Can be nicely translated as "fruits de mar" in this context.
-----
> 是日例汤. The sense of 是 is in the classical sense 'this, that'.
> Why they chose that translation, is anyone's guess.
是日 means “today” and 例 "regular, routine" in the current context.
"是日例湯" is the idiomatic term for "soup of the day".
-----
> ["厨师沙律"]
Note that "沙律" is a Hong Kong/Cantonese style transcription.
In Beijing, for example, it would be "沙拉".
> 厨师 kitchen master, i.e. chef.
厨师 is closer to "cook" than "chef".
----- -----
Menu 2
> 扒 chops and cutlets 类 types. However, 扒 is also homophonous with
> 耙 a type of rake, so one wonders if the translator had in mind a
> pick axe of some sort...
Using 扒 for steaks/cutlets in Cantonese goes way back (early 20th
century?) but the exact etymology is unknown. A rack of lamb does
look like a rake somewhat.
-----
> 意大利香草羊扒 Lamb Chops with Italian Sweetgrass
> [...] 香 fragrant 草 grass: xiang cao refers to sweetgrass,
> or perhaps vanilla.
More likely rosemary or mint. I would think "意大利" (Italian)
here applies to the entire dish rather just "香草", since most of
the other dishes in this category are named after places.
-----
> 牛腩 is the brisket of beef
A cut from the flank or belly, with the a sheet of ligament
(I think) which is very tough and has to be stewed for a long
time. Since the ligament is white in color, 牛腩 is also
called 牛白腩 ("beef white belly").
-----
> 星加波 Singapore
星加_坡_
----- -----
Menu 3
> ["三文治"]
Another Hong Kong style transcription. In Beijing it would be
三明治.
-----
> ["薄牛扒"]
Probably London broil.
-----
> ["扒芝士火腿三文治"] 扒 cutlet; 芝 sesame 士 soldier, private in the army :
> Chinese rendering of 'Cheese'. 火 fire 腿 thigh : basically a roasted
> joint like roast ham.
The word 扒 seems to be entirely superfluous here. Probably a typo.
While 芝士 means "cheese" and 芝麻 is "sesame"; 芝 by itself is a
magical grass.
The 火 ("fire") in 火腿 ("ham") is from the red color of the cured
meat. It is nothing to do with roasting.
-----
> 烟 smoke 肉 meat: smoked meat - smoked ham.
Bacon.
> ["(火腿,烟肉)餐肉蛋三文治"] (Ham, Smoked Ham) Luncheon Meat and Egg
> Sandwich
> 餐肉 may be a shortening for 午 midday 餐 meal 肉 : luncheon meat;
... the most famous brand of which is SPAM.
The parentheses in the name are confusing. It is probably just
"Ham, bacon or SPAM Sandwhich".
-----
> ["生炒牛肉饭"] 生 raw, give birth 炒 fry [...]
生炒 is a particular style of Cantinese cooking that uses
a Ketchup-like sauce.
-----
> ["拿破仑炒意粉"] 拿 take in the hand, grasp 破 break open, destroy 仑
> human relationship : Napolean, Neapolitan, Napoli.
拿破仑 is the standard transcription for Napoleon [Bonaparte],
_not_ Naples. The standard transcription for the latter is
那不勒斯. I wonder if the designer of the Chinese menu mistook
one for the other.
OTOH, the flaky puff pastry "Napolean" is sometimes called
"Neapolitan" as well...
> 炒 stirfry 意 idea, meaning, desire, wish : Abbreviation for
> 意大利 Italy/Italian. 粉 powder abbreviation for 面粉 or rather
> 麵粉 wheat flour made noodle type foodstuffs. Hence 意粉 refers
> to italian pasta.
In practice, "意粉" is used only for spaghetti/linguini, never
other types of pasta. E.g., macaroni (elbows) are called 通心粉
(hollow pasta); (small) shells, 蜆殼粉 (clam shell pasta), etc.
-----
> ["焗肉酱意粉"] Baked Spaghetti Bolognaise
> 肉 meat 酱 sauce : bolognaise sauce [...]
The standard spaghetti in tomato sauce with minced meat. I
suppose few diners would take "Bolognaise" literally as the
true _ragù_alla_bolognese_.
Note that a lot of Hong Kong restaurateurs interpret
tomato based pasta sauce as something that tastes like
Campbell tomato soup.
-----
> ["吉列猪扒饭"] 吉 prospitious, lucky. 列 to arrange, to line up,
> row, file, series : may be a Chinese rendering of Chilli from
> the homophone 激烈 ji lie = intense sharp fierce accute.
吉列 is actually a transcription for "cutlet/côtelette".
----- -----
Menu 4
> ["干炒牛河"] 干 is the simplified character for 幹 which has the
> slang connotation seen in the menu for 'fuck', but my mild
> mannered dictionary [1] says 'offend'. The other meaning of 干
> is dry with the traditional character being 乾.
The literally meaning of 幹 is “to do/work”.
> [...] dry stirfried without sauce
As distinguished from "wet style stir fry", in which case the dish
would simply be "牛肉炒河". Actually, neither style has sauce mixed
in during the stir frying -- the sauce is added later. The "dry
style" uses more oil(*) and less water and the pasta is less moist
as a result.
(*) Thus, a "dry style" dish is traditional priced slightly higher
than its "wet style" counter part.
-----
> ["上汤云吞"] 云 cloud 吞 swallowing : Wonton - a type of Chinese
> ravioli which has a savoury meat filling wrapped in chinese egg
> pasta made of wheat. It is boiled, and the loose folds of pasta
> seem like 'clouds' being swallowed when eaten.
Or: "(fillings) swallowed by clouds". Note that the word 吞 is
used in the names of other dishes, e.g., 糯米吞鸡 (steamed
whole chicken filled with sticky rice -- and don't ask me why
it is not 鸡吞糯米.)
云吞 is sometimes written as 餛飩 (pronounced in
Mandarin), especially outside of Cantonese speaking areas.
However, there is sufficient regional variation of the
dumpling concept that so one might as well consider the two
to two distinct dishes.
Mixing egg into the flour when making the dough for the shells
is a particular to Cantonese dumplings only.
> ["上汤水饺"] 水 water 饺 dumpling. These are like wonton,
> but made differently and in a soup base
Note that "水饺" is a Cantonese dish and should not be confused
with "饺子", aka "Peking Revioli".
Traditionally, the difference between the Cantonese "云吞" and
the Cantonese "水饺" is that the former has minced pork for
filling and the latter has shrimp and bamboo shoots. The latter
is also bigger. (The soup is always the same.) Nowadays they
seem to be different only in size.
-----
> ["牛腩捞河粉"] 捞 scoop up
捞 in this case is not “to scoop up” but to “to mix together”.
The same character has two readings in Cantonese, [lau21]
meaning “to scoop up” and [lou11] meaning "to mix together”.
Only the first meaning exists in Mandarin. 捞X is boiled
pasta X served on a platter and mixed with a sauce; as
opposed to 汤X, pasta X served in a soup.
> 河粉 rice pasta akin to tagliatelli
A.k.a. "foon" in Chinatown menus.
-----
> ["窝蛋牛肉粥"] 窝 nest 蛋 egg : may be the egg is whisked and
> stirred in to the congee to form strands like the texture of
> 燕窝 yanwo birds nest hence the 'nest'.
窝蛋 is a raw or slightly cooked egg, served whole (sans shell),
suspended in the congee (or in the middle of a mound of rice, etc).
Any stirring is to be done by the customer. With an egg in the
middle, the surrounding congee/rice looks like a nest; hence
the name.
-----
> ["黑椒牛柳丝炒意粉"] 牛柳 beef slices 丝 strands
牛柳 is nominally beef tenderloin. However, the best and
most common cut of beef used in Chinese style stir fry
dishes is the flank steak.
丝: shreds.
-----
> ["三丝炒公子面"]
A typo here -- should be "公仔面". 子 and 仔 are homophonic in
Mandarin but not in Cantonese. Since 公仔 is a Cantonese
term not used in Mandarin, the mistake is a common one by
non-Cantonese speakers.
Evidently the designer of the Chinese menu is not Cantonese,
even though the text of the menu uses a lot of Cantonese regional
terms. (The entries are mostly Cantonse dishes and Hong Kong
interpretations of European/American cooking.)
-----
> ["干炒意面"] 意面 italian pasta
I suspect 意面 ( in Mandarin) is a typo of 伊面
(), short for 伊府面, a kind of traditional
noodle made with egg mixed with flour and then deep fried
(not unlike the modern day instant noodles). When
subsequently re-soaked and boiled or stir fried, the noodle
puffs up slightly and gives a distinct texture.
Also, "干(乾)烧伊面" is a traditional Cantonese dish.
The story is that 伊府 ("House of Yi") is after 伊秉绶,
a famous 18th century caligrapher.
----- -----
Menu 5
> 煲 earthenware pot with a cover usually and a handle,
> 仔 diminutive， i.e. a small pot or small casserole with
> a handle.
煲仔 is a Cantonese term, even though the same kind of clay pot
is used everywhere in China. A clay pot dish is served in the
pot, which is taken directly from the stove to the table.
-----
> ["水煮"]
水煮 is a particular Sichuan cooking style that uses a very
spicy broth.
-----
> ["巴渝酸菜鱼"] Fish cooked with Sour Pickled Cabbage Bayu style
> 巴渝 is a placename in Szechwan or Sichuan
Actually, 巴 and 渝 are two different historical names of the area
around Chongqing 重庆，the largest city in Sichuan.
I think 酸菜 is more likely made from mustard green rather than
from cabbage.
-----
> ["鱼香茄子煲"] 鱼 fish 香 fragrant 茄子 aubergine, eggplant
鱼香 is a particular Sichuan cooking style that uses a spicy sauce
that has sugar and vinegar in it. It probably started out as a
specialty sauce for cooking fish, but eventually used on other
things. There is no "fish" in the "Fish Fragrant" sauce.
This page says that the sauce was invented only decades ago.
http://www.sichuantour.com/custom/detail.asp?ID=4
----- -----
Menu 6
> ["冻柠七"] 冻 cold, to freeze 柠 first character of 柠檬 "ning-meng"
> 'lemon', 七 seven, first character of 7起 or 7-up.
The Chinese (Hong Kong) name for Seven-Up is 七喜. 喜 ("happiness")
is homophonic with 起 ("up") in Cantonese.
> ["万宝路"]
Marlboro (the US brand).
----- -----
Menu 7
> ["跟牛油餐包"] 跟 follow. 牛油 butter. 餐 dinner. 包 bag, wrap, bun
> : short for 面包 or more properly 麵包 meaning 'bread'.
餐包 is dinner roll, usually the "egg twist" variety.
I.e., dinner roll served with butter.
-----
You might want to use "(phonetic) transcription" instead of "rendering"
throughout.
Tak
© Dylan W.H. Sung 2006
This page was created on Sunday 19th March 2006.
It was last modified on Thursday 23rd March 2006.