Chinese Menus Retranslated for Olympics

Government mandates names as squeamish tourists descend
By Sam Biddle,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 25, 2008 11:05 AM CDT
Chinese Menus Retranslated for Olympics
The Chinese government hopes to avoid confused or repulsed tourists by retranslating a number of traditional dishes.   ((c) edseloh)

The Chinese government is issuing a list of revised names for some of the country's more obliquely translated dishes in preparation for the wave of tourists the Beijing Olympics will draw this August, the New York Times reports.

  • A disconcerting plate of “husband-and-wife lung slices” will be rechristened as a slightly more appetizing "pork lungs in chili sauce"
  • The bizarre "ants climbing up a tree" will now be a more straightforward “sautéed vermicelli with spicy minced pork”


  • The enigmatic “three fresh things from the ground” will finally be revealed as “sautéed potato, green pepper and eggplant”
  • “Saliva chicken,” which some restaurants used to suggest watering mouths, will be renamed “steamed chicken with chili sauce.”
  • "Pock-marked old lady’s tofu" proved impossible to translate. It'll instead be transliterated as "mapo tofu"
(More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X