What I learned today...

你今天學到了什麼搖籃歌呢?

Hope 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...

沒學到新的中文搖籃歌嘛?

continuous 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）

海胆 That is what I had for lunch today. http://labs.chinesepod.com/?q=node%2F4&search=%E6%B5%B7%E8%83%86

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!

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...

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

"... skewers that found their way into a broth, with several sauces added." Mmmm, that sounds yummy.

我才自己唱了歌，给孩子们 唱了德国摇篮歌 。 然后我的小儿子继续唱了， 终于把我们都哄睡觉。

麻辣燙 or 麻辣湯?

oops, thx Man2Toe, it is 麻辣汤 (tāng), a basic version of 火锅 (huǒguō) shabu-shabu / hotpot

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. =)

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

Yv, I see you arrived the moment I returned back to Good Old Europe... Have Fun!

thanks henning. I checked this malatang business, and it is 麻辣烫 (tàng) indeed, not 汤 (tāng), yet it is soup

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

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?

麻辣烫 ... let's look them up... oh, I see, it's hot spicy hemp. Did you get stoned?