User Comments - RJ
RJ
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 15, 2011 at 8:13 AMThanks, that finishes answering all the questions I had. I really had trouble hearing the girl say 这里就有啊, even though its kind of what I expected her to say. At the end I got the 最划算 so clear but by watching the ad, I thought he was making two separate statements, one about the coffee and the last about the sandwich. So many curve balls here.
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 14, 2011 at 10:24 AMSo Brent, be honest now, how much of something like this can you understand at first or second listen? I know some Chinese guys that speak fluent English, but still cant follow TV in the US very well. It can be very discouraging. Just wondering after 2 years in TW, how it goes for you in this regard?
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 14, 2011 at 10:20 AMah, thanks for fixing that. Where I got JC I dont even remember. Is he in your scrapbook? (just kidding).
Posted on: Rice First
March 14, 2011 at 9:19 AMOh I get it if I am ordering. The problem is training my Chinese colleagues. When someone else is ordering its hard to get them to remember. If you dont ask, the waiter doesnt ask you. Sometimes they bring the beer but the guy with the bottle opener comes 10 min later. hehe. Believe me, I have my work-arounds.
Posted on: Rice First
March 14, 2011 at 9:02 AMBodawei,
I think you said it well. I thought you might tell us that in "Bizarro China" rice was served first :-). The only time I eat rice is in the factory cafeterias but that is because the food there is usually so bad. Any place where you have to bring your own bowl is suspect in my book. Some customs are regional of course. Up north soup is last, but in Guangdong, soup is first.
Posted on: Rice First
March 14, 2011 at 8:48 AMOk, since you mentioned it, that is one thing that drives me crazy in China. In the US, they take drink orders first. I also like to relax with a beer before I eat, and while I look at the menu. It gives me an appetite, and yes, the food tastes better. In China, tea may come first but food is always ordered before they even mention the beer. Usually they are also slow to bring it, and food starts to arrive first. All that time wasted while we decide what we want to eat. The server could be bringing the beer! In the US its also a matter of economics. The profit margins on drinks are huge. That's why they push them first.
Posted on: Rice First
March 14, 2011 at 1:20 AMYes its at the end of the meal and they always ask me, do you "need" rice. It seems to me that rice is only used to fill whatever hole may be left after you have eaten everything else. Kind of like insurance against leaving the table less than full. Of course I never "need" it. I am always full by the time we get to rice.
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 14, 2011 at 1:15 AMHey Brent,
zhe yang! Makes sense. Never occurred to me. Thanks. TV is tough.
Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底
March 13, 2011 at 9:49 PMheres another McDonlalds ad. The guy in the first ad is evidently Johnny Chan - a TW singer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNLiGB0NBpE&feature=related
Posted on: Rice First
March 15, 2011 at 8:41 AMI had trouble with warm beer at first, but I always specify "bingde". I have found that lately most places keep some cold or at least semi-cold beer. They have gotten used to that request, at least in the big cities. Early on in my travels, I would order cold beer and it wouldn't come for 45 min. Why? They were chilling it. Quick warm beer is sometimes better than slow cold beer, once you get used to it. But you are right, beer is optimally served at about 2 deg C.