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Thread: English menu??

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[quote=WINDENERGY,233493]Great question, Evening

Truth is that in the larger cities in China, most restaurants have pictures on their menus. Currently, I am living in a rural town in northeast Yunnan Province and none of the restaurants have pictures. It is impossible to order from a menu that is only characters, so I learned the "magic words", or phrase, in Chinese: "Nimen zheli de zhao pai cai shi shenme"? Which translates into "What are the specialties in your  restaurant"? This is usually the best way to taste some delicious Chinese food.

Every other place where I have lived has had at least one McDonald's and one KFC restaurant. When I am not with a Chinese-speaking friend, I'd usually resort to going there (at least I knew what I was ordering : ) ). Now, deep into rural China, it seems even my PuTongHua won't help me find answers. So, now I have a short list of some of my favorite dishes. If the waitress can understand my pronounciation, I usually have a good plate of Chow Mian or Chow Fan.

Local dialect weighs heavily on being able to order from a Chinese menu. In Yunnan Province they serve some excellent mashed potatoes, if they understand the words, "Lao nai yang yu", in Weixin, to order some noodles, I request, "Mi Xian".  Which isn't close to Wuhanese "Sa Mian". But the meal is the same thing!

Summed up, as a foreigner, you'd better have Chinese friends to dine with, or you'll end up living eating "junk food" or not know what you're eating at all.

__WINDENERGY__[/quote]

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