User Comments - sushan

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Beijing

That soup in Xian is 羊肉泡馍. The Hungry Traveller should definitely stop by there too!

Posted on: Stopped at the Gate

保安 I thought was a person, not 'security' like a department.

there are definitely deep cultural gaps between ideas of privacy and freedom. when I was apartment hunting I refused to consider places where the security was too 'guan' because I dislike having my guests interrogated but the real estate agents had a very hard time understanding this.

Posted on: My Foreign teacher

Any plans for more advanced levels of video lessons? So far the video lessons are strictly for beginners and elementary.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Beijing

At the park today, the candy was one yuan/stick. It may be  more expensive in Beijing proper though.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Beijing

Well, I found another lesson where a female is addressed as 师傅, but the transcript translates that as "Sir,..." so the mystery deepens.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Beijing

check out dianping.com to see the price of Quanjude duck. I was alone when I went, and managed a half duck. I've only ever had Korean zha jiang mian; have never seen it in Chengdu.

I have noticed that chains in China are not very consistent, unfortunately. For example, there is a very famous restaurant in Kunming for the great Yunnan specialty 过桥米线 called The Brothers Jiang. There are a couple of branches of this place in Chengdu...but their 过桥米线 is not very good.

Similarly, there is a chain in Chengdu called Long Chao Shou for the famous 抄手 dumplings and other snacks, but the food at one branch is not anywhere near as good as another.

I also want to know if you can call a woman 师傅。 If not, what would you say?

Posted on: Do you have a menu?

Hot pot is  火锅 in Sichuan and spicy is the only way to go。 If you are chili-shy I recommend a two section pot with one half spicy and one half not, or 鸳鸯火锅。 You can cook things on the mild side and then give your ingredients a brief bath in the flavour so the 麻 and 辣 do not overwhelm.  If you really don't want spicy at all, ask for 白味火锅.

Posted on: Interview with Cassie

Cassie's comments, questions, and video clips have definitely added value to many lessons. Very happy to hear from her first hand!

Posted on: Salt and Pepper

Sichuan-accented Mandarin is known as 椒盐 普通话.

Posted on: Rating Restaurants on Dianping

Four out of the five top rated places in my city specialize in 兔头 (rabbit heads), unfortunately.

It's pretty easy even for those with limited Chinese ability to use the site - the language used is quite repetitive. I find the ranking criteria interesting - 口味 (flavour) , 环境 (interior/surroundings),  服务 (service), then the per capita cost. Many Chinese people pay particular attention to the 环境 when dining out.

Even at the elementary level you may not be able to get all the details from the reviews but you can check the rankings and find good places in your area and price range and use translators to decipher recommended dishes.