User Comments - sushan
sushan
Posted on: Street Food Buffet
September 20, 2008 at 3:40 PMI trust the safety of street food even more than restaurant food, since I can see the ingredients and preparation methods first hand, sniff the raw meat before they cook it, etc. I've gotten sick on restaurant food here but not street food, which I eat at least a couple of times a week. For the traveller, it is also very accessible across a language barrier since you don't have to read a menu and you can order and pay with hand signals.
My method of asking the filling is always 里面 是 什么? but maybe there is a more correct way to ask.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Sichuan
September 7, 2008 at 11:57 AMIf you ask Sichuanese guys about their favourite food most of them say 回锅肉。 There are a million variations - a couple of my favourites are 土豆 回锅 and 青椒回锅. 99% of it is made with pork though - 回锅牛肉 is mainly featured at Islamic places.
Posted on: At the Hair Salon
September 6, 2008 at 12:19 AMThought a straighten was 拉头、 can anyone confirm?
Posted on: Hanoi
September 5, 2008 at 1:07 PMI'm used to seeing pho advertised specifically as 越南 牛肉粉、 but I've never been to 越南.
发达 和 发展 有 什么 差别？
Posted on: Language Power Struggle
August 26, 2008 at 3:02 AM'This one really resonated' 怎么 说？你门 真 知道 选择 最 实际 的 话题。
Hilarious, and practical both for those living inside and outside Mandarin speaking areas.
Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics
August 25, 2008 at 11:49 PMRe airports, I came back through Beijing last week and security was tight but was pretty efficient. I was photographed at customs both leaving the country and returning, which surprised me. They added an extra bag scan before transferring luggage but there was not that big of a lineup. The new terminal is pretty impressive too.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Sichuan
August 24, 2008 at 3:10 PM担担面, dan1dan1 mian4.
Less famous but imho better is 燃面 ran2mian4 ('ignition' noodles).
Posted on: Morning at the Office
August 22, 2008 at 1:23 AMI was totally thrown the first time I was greeted with 老师好 (lao3shi1 hao3, hello teacher) by rows of bowing junior high students - I had no idea if I was supposed to say anything back and had to stifle the urge to burst out laughing. (Zao shang hao, ni hao, or nothing are all ok to say back, by the way)
Now I just tell them that most foreign teachers are not used to that kind of greeting and they can call me by name.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Sichuan
August 19, 2008 at 5:45 AMAi yo, can't imagine eating shui zhu yu, then a mouthful of la zi ji, then running out for ma la tang. (sorry, on a computer with no characters today) La zi ji flavoured peanuts are great though!
Ma la tang is also known as chuan chuan, since everything is usually on sticks. I think the second picture (bean sprouts, glistening cubes of blood,and no sticks or obvious puncture marks) looks a lot more like mao cai than ma la tang.
In the summer the late night eating is usually leng dan bei (cold, simple, glass) - basic food like steamed soybeans, qing jiao yumi, ribs, 5 spice pig ears and such served at street temperature with beer.
Posted on: Teaching English in China
September 20, 2008 at 3:50 PMIf you are a native English speaker with a pulse you have no problem getting work if you are already here. It's tough to pay bills back home on a Chinese salary though - even if you save half of your salary it doesn't add up to much. You aren't supposed to use Mandarin at all in the class. I definitely recommend taking a good TESOL program though; mine was only a couple weeks or so of classes and they did have an evenings and weekends option.