Chinese restaurant menu translations?

[shanrina]

Okay, I'm looking up Chinese restaurant menus online and I came across a couple of very interesting dish titles. I'm very curious as to what the actual Chinese words mean because the translations are, well, kind of odd

Comments

[hametsuenorondo]

I think this is Vietnamese actually.

[shanrina]

Huh. I was kind of wondering about the Nguyen because I've only seen that show up in Vietnamese names, but this is definitely a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, which is why I thought it was Chinese even if it's not. Thanks!

[muckefuck]

There were a lot of Chinese living in Vietnam before they got kicked out by the Communists. Many of them settled in the USA; the Chinatown near my old house was established by them and trilingual menus (Chinese, Vietnamese, English) are commonplace there. Just because there's no Chinese on the menus at the place you visited doesn't mean it's not Chinese people who own the place.

[shanrina]

Hm, interesting. I don't know that much about recent Chinese history, but I can see that.

[tsubasa_en11]

I'm a Chinese and I can't read them. lol I think it's Vietnamese. :)

[mshollie]

Looks like Vietnamese to me.

[80s_child]

I am pretty convinced like the above posters that it is, in fact Vietnamese, but unfortunately I don't know enough of it to translate these to you.

[muckefuck]

I'm stuck on the first word in the first dish, but the next three are "vegetarian tofu". I would assume some sort of Buddha's Delight (羅漢齋).

With the second, are you sure the first word isn't "tôm" instead of "ton"? Because "tôm hấp" means "steamed shrimp". Among the many meanings of "nguyên" is "entire, whole" and "con" is a measure word for animals. So the translation would be "Steamed whole shrimp".

[pne]

I'd never heard of Buddha's Delight, but judging by the Wikipedia article, I imagine it's the same as the "buddhistische Fastenspeise" (Buddhists's Fasting/"Lent" Meal) that's a staple on Chinese restaurant menus in Germany.

[muckefuck]

It's really a generic term for "fancy vegetarian meal". Instead of just tofu cubes and a vegetable, you more than one form of tofu combined with reconstituted veggies like mushrooms and lily blossoms to add complexity of flavour and visual interest. The exact combination of ingredients is up to the whim of the chef.

[shanrina]

Hm, interesting. I eat at a lot of different Chinese restaurants but I've never come across anything like that before. It sounds good, though.