What I learned today...
henning
September 09, 2007 at 11:50 PM posted in General DiscussionPicking up on last year's series, I will once again bother you with some of the vocab that impaced me during the day:
脊柱 jǐ zhù
spine
摇篮歌 yáolángē
lullaby
goulnik
October 07, 2007 at 11:00 AM
as to 臭豆腐 (chòudòufu) I does taste pretty much as it smells, a little more subtle maybe?
Question is, is it harder for 西方人 to tolerate than is French camembert, definitely 臭奶酪 (chòunǎilào) to every one else?
goulnik
October 07, 2007 at 10:56 AM
AuntySue, while this is the same 麻 as hemp，it's also the 麻 in 芝麻 （zhīma) sesame，麻婆豆腐 （mápó dòufu），or even 麻烦（máfan）！ not sure what the derivation is
goulnik
October 07, 2007 at 10:52 AM
thanks henning. I checked this malatang business, and it is 麻辣烫 (tàng) indeed, not 汤 (tāng), yet it is soup
henning
October 07, 2007 at 08:09 AM
Yv,
I see you arrived the moment I returned back to Good Old Europe...
Have Fun!
goulnik
October 07, 2007 at 02:37 AM
Actually, I did see it written 麻辣烫 on a signboard outside the hotel this morning, so I guess spellings work. BTW, still quite a few 石库门 (shí kù mén) and 弄堂 (lòngtáng) left in this neighborhood just south of 延安东路 with lots of little eating places and music shops, though who knows for how long
Kyle
October 07, 2007 at 01:12 AM
麻辣烫 is great. There are 3 what-seem-to-be traveling 麻辣烫 joints that line up outside of the supermarket around 5 every night. Really good stuff.
goulniky, you're right about the 我不会说英语 bit. It works everytime. =)
goulnik
October 07, 2007 at 12:24 AM
oops, thx Man2Toe, it is 麻辣汤 (tāng), a basic version of 火锅 (huǒguō) shabu-shabu / hotpot
AuntySue
October 06, 2007 at 08:38 PM
麻辣烫 ... let's look them up... oh, I see, it's hot spicy hemp. Did you get stoned?
azerdocmom
October 06, 2007 at 07:04 PM
"... skewers that found their way into a broth, with several sauces added." Mmmm, that sounds yummy.
rich
October 06, 2007 at 05:08 PM
Seaurchin 海胆 is literly sea-guts? Interesting... What about sea-cucumber? How is that said in Chinese anyway? I actually don't mind it in one of my favorit dishes, 八珍豆腐
goulnik
October 06, 2007 at 03:42 PM
and BTW, 对不起，我不会说英语 or the less polite 算了，我不会说英语 do work wonders! Depending on the circumstances and how much harrassment or smiles I get, I must have been using both a dozen times today! It's a little frustrating at times, like at the hotel when trying to explain that my computer is uh, rebooting so the guy has to wait before I can check the network cable...
goulnik
October 06, 2007 at 03:38 PM
麻辣烫 （málàtàng）is what I had last night in a tiny little joint not far from my hotel. I didn't know what that was at first, just picked up a bunch of skewers that found their way into a broth, with several sauces added.
While eating I heard other people talk and then asked the kid preparing it if what I just had was malatang and yes it was - that's got him beaming too!
henning
October 04, 2007 at 09:51 AM
海胆
That is what I had for lunch today.
http://labs.chinesepod.com/?q=node%2F4&search=%E6%B5%B7%E8%83%86
goulnik
September 10, 2007 at 04:34 AMcontinuous singing may be what led grand-parents of that woman to stick 26 缝衣针 (féngyīzhēn) sewing pins in her when she was a little girl :-( uh, 开玩笑 （just joking）
henning
October 07, 2007 at 11:01 AMHope Taifun "Krosa" does not affect your vacation too much. Be warned: those 10块 umbrellas are not capable of surviving even smaller winds, let alone a full blown Taifeng...