User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Spring 2011 News

We had lectures at uni on prostitution in China - if you Google you will find some academic papers, maybe a book or two on the subject. But that is not what you meant I guess.. :) I think I second your suggestion for a lesson on the language & culture of prostitution.

Perhaps this is not the best segue, but the TV news last night reported that 'gay rights' have recently been enshrined in the Chinese constitution. I was kind of surprised that had not been done before this; China has a law for most things.

Posted on: Inside the Baozi Business

Thanks for the update on the term 'pot stickers' - I have only seen the expression in books written by Americans and on ChinesePod - I have never heard the term used by foreigners in China, perhaps I hang around the wrong foreigners. The 锅贴 I have seen is bread fried on a flat hot plate.

As svik notes above 煎饺 jiānjiǎo (fried dumplings) are shallow fried. As opposed to deep fried I guess. :) 煎 can indicate anything shallow fried in a wok. The other common way of cooking dumplings is boiling and these are referred to as 水饺 shuǐjiǎo.

Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底

' I know some Chinese guys that speak fluent English, but still cant follow TV in the US very well'

Yeah, this is a leveller. I have also watched the English-language news here in China with fluent English speakers and they cannot tell me what the story is about. It's a bonding exercise.

Posted on: Rice First

I can imagine you carrying your own bottle opener, or perhaps ripping the cap off with your teeth? :) Actually that seems to be the party trick in China.

Posted on: Rice First

'The only time I eat rice is in the factory cafeterias'

Yes I know this kind of place. :) At uni you get in a 'rice' line and order either 一两 (50g) or 二两 (100g) - there is a line for each so you have to be alert. Usually (but not always) the women are in the 一两 and men in the 二两 line. Actually there is a subsidised teachers' area where you don't have to line up for rice, but what fun is that?

Posted on: Rice First

RJ - here's a suggestion: just order the beer. Walk in and order the beer. After the beer comes, order the food. The thing in China is that they do what you ask them to do, okay sometimes a little slow. But generally the consumer is king. Worth a try? If that fails just walk over to the crate or the frig and get the beer yourself.

Posted on: Food Poisoning

Hi waiguoren

Well it is a pretty decent theory that Western restaurants are high risk and cheap Chinese (as long as it's busy) are low risk, so your experience fits the theory. Generally if it is busy, high turnover, you are assured that most people don't get sick and there is lesser likelihood of food hanging around too long and spoiling. Western food restaurants sometimes offer the opposite: not too busy, and so food hanging around too long, possibly being kept at the wrong temperature because they are not familiar with the food. Possibly keeping ingredients too long because they are expensive and don't want to toss them out.

Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底

Baba

I haven't heard the ad (we are protected from such decadent ways) but when I go to KFC (oh, I'm past help) I have a 经典的 jīngdiǎnde (classic) coffee so I think you have this right.

It sounds so .. classic .. but I buy it because it is the cheapest.

Posted on: Rice First

I don't think that there is a simple explanation to the 'rice last' tradition - the reasoning has changed through time. Even where you are eating and whether there is a host may affect the answer.

I was told that because there was a time when the people ate much more rice (and less meat and vegetables), now to relegate rice is a sign that China has become more prosperous. This is close to Dilu's explanation that you don't want to waste time eating rice if you are eating out - you can do that at home.

There are other dynamics however - frequently I see rice brought out at the end of the meal to eat while you drink beer or wine. Soaks up the alcohol? Mainly men do this.

If you eat at someone's home you may be offered rice at the end of the meal (to fill up) - I take up the offer if I know the people well, but if eating there for the first time I think it is more polite to decline the rice as a sign that the other dishes were quite sufficient.

In restaurants eating by ourselves we have pretty much given up asking for rice - generally the server needs a number of reminders to bring it early. By which time it is no longer early. Now I see the sense of not getting it early and just enjoy the dishes without rice.

Posted on: Getting to the Bottom of 到底

There will be a host of sites if you Google or Baidu but try www.danwei.org for some classic adverts.