Eating
in a restaurant (II)
nin2 yao4dianr3 shen2me5
您要点儿什么
?
What would
you like?
点儿 "dianr3"
is really 一点儿
"yi1dianr3",
but in thise case 一
"yi1" has been
omited.
一点儿 "yi1dianr3"
denotes a small quantity and is used to describe.
Its formula is:
一点儿 "yi1dianr3"
+ noun. For example:
wo3he1 yi1dianr3 ka1fei1
我喝一点儿咖啡。
Have a small coffee.
Wo3xiang3 chi1 yi1dianr3
shui3guo3.
我想吃一点儿水果。
I want to eat a small
amount of fruit.
Shao1deng3, wo3 kan4kan4
cai4dan1
稍等，我 看看
菜单。
One moment, I will look
at the menu.
看看 "kan4kan5"
is a duplicate verb. The efect of duplicating the verb is to strenthen
its meaning, in the sense of trying to do something.
Yao4 yi1ge4 gong1bao3ji1ding1,
yi1ge4 suan1la4 tang1
要一个宫保鸡丁，一个酸辣汤。
I want chicken with
nuts, a hot and sour soup.
Hai2 yao4 bie2de4 ma5
还要别的吗
?
Anything else?
Zai4 yao4 yi1ge4 zhi1ma2jiang4
you2mai4cai4
再要一个芝麻酱油麦菜。
Youmai with sesame sauce.
Zhu3shi2 yao4 shen2me5
主食要什么
?
What would you like to
accompany your food? (chinese bread or rice)
In China, people usually
order chinese bread or rice (white rice or mixed rice) after eating
a course and before eating desert. At home, the chinese eat bread or
rice from the start of the meal.
Lai2 yi1
来一碗米饭
A bowl of white rice.
Nin2 he1 shen2me5
您喝什么 ?
What would you like to
drink?
Yao4 yi1hu2 lu4cha2.
要一壶绿茶。
A teapot of green
tea
In China, the drink that
accompanies the food, apart from beer and soft drinks, can also be tea
or other hot drinks.
Different flavoured
Chinese dishes
When you are thinking
about going to a Chinese restaurant, you have to choose well because
Chinese restaurants specialize in different regions. The Chinese culinary
art has created a great variety of dishes with different flavours.
Some restaurants specialize
in the gastronomic school of Guangdong (Cantonese), others in Sichuan,
others in Huaiyang, others in Shandong... All of these give great importance
to colour, smell and flavour. The typical dishes of each school are
very different.
The Guangdong style dishes
(Cantonese), for example, don't usually have a lot of fat and aren't
heavily accompanied. There are more fish and seafood dishes. Sichuan
is usually more spicy and sharp. Huaiyang dishes are usually sweet.
In general, chinese food
has four different influences: sweetness from the South, saltiness from
the North, spicyness from the West and acidity from the East. Once you
have a general idea of Chinese food you can choose the restaurants that
correspond to your taste.
You should try, for
example, "crispy duck" and "lamb" cooked infront
of you - typical from Beijing, "whole roasted lamb" from Mongolia,
"slices of lung" and spicy meats cooked on the fire, etc.
Vocabulary
English
|
Chinese
(phonetic) |
Chinese
(written) |
| |
|
|
Wait
a moment |
Shao1deng3
|
稍等 |
To
look |
Kan4
|
看 |
To
take a look |
Kan4kan4
|
看看 |
Menu
|
Cai4dan1
|
菜单 |
Pieces
of chicken |
Ji1ding1
|
鸡丁 |
Chicken
with nuts |
Gong1bao3ji1ding1
|
宫保鸡丁
|
Soup
|
Tang1
|
汤 |
Acidic |
Suan1
|
酸 |
Spicy
|
La4
|
辣 |
Hot
and sour soup |
Suan1la4tang1
|
酸辣汤 |
Other
|
Bie2de5
|
别的 |
Sesame |
Zhi1ma2
|
芝麻 |
Sauce |
Jiang4
|
酱 |
Sesame
Sauce |
Zhi1ma2jiang4
|
芝麻酱 |
Green
chinese vegetable |
You2mai4cai4
|
油麦菜 |
Accompanying
food |
Zhu3shi2
|
主食 |
Boiled
rice |
Mi3fan4
|
米饭 |
Bowl
|
Wan3
|
碗 |
Teapot
|
Hu2
|
壶 |
Tea |
Cha2
|
茶 |
Green
tea |
Lu4cha2
|
绿茶 |
Chinese
Character of the day
