How to translate the Olympic menu 奧運菜單

China's restaurateurs ponder how to translate their menus into English: graphic literal description, or toned down for western tastes?

The culinary delights of China are tantalizing selection to tickle your taste buds, but what does it all mean? Beijing's restaurant menus have been given a linguistic makeover in a bid to tempt visitors to the Olympic host city to eat the local cuisine, but some of the descriptions seem to have left some frustrated, let alone famished. This restaurant's specialty is steamed hair-fish, but foreign customers might puzzle over the English description, "Six must occupy cooks in a covered vessel the hairtail". While steamed chicken is described as the intriguing chicken without sexual life.

China's capital has taken great pains to prepare the city for an influx of Olympic visitors especially in the Food Department.

Chinese cuisine has developed over a long period of time. Chinese food is rich and varied.

But this boomerang of a measure has some officials worry. An official booklet has now been issued to restaurants containing rather more bland English translations for local dishes. Some restaurants have gone against the grain, preferring their own quirky translations, offering delicacies, such as wonderful fragrant fat cow.

Foodies think bland translations will stop visitors from experiencing real Chinese food.

You should first let people try this type of food, so that they realize how good Chinese food is, then they should go to go-street and try the more genuine flavors or even better food cooked in a Chinese home. That's the most genuine Chinese food.

So, although "The clever and dexterous woman rips the cabbage" may not appeal to the less adventurous eaters, there's hope the good sports won't mind a little food lost in translation.

Suranjana Tewari Reuters.

參考中文翻譯：

中國餐館在翻譯菜單方面左右為難：是按照字面生動的翻譯還是簡單的迎合西方風格？

中國的美食非常誘人，但是那些菜名是什么意思呢？最近北京的餐館為了吸引游客到他們餐館就餐而在文字方面絞盡腦汁。但是有些菜名的描述讓游客非常沮喪，更不用說餓肚子了。這個餐館的特色菜是蒸帶魚，但是外國顧客對這道菜的描述非常困惑：“廚師必須在一個蓋著的容器里煮這條帶魚六個小時”，而蒸雞的翻譯更有趣“沒有性生活的雞”。

中國首都在歡迎奧運會游客方面做了非常多的努力，尤其是飲食方面。
中國飲食源遠流長，中國美食更是多種多樣。

但是方式不當的惡果引起官方的憂慮。現在官方已經向每個餐館發放了官方手冊，上面印有當地美食的比較溫和的翻譯。但是有一些餐館偏偏反其道而行之，以為他們自己的翻譯更能吸引顧客，更能提供美味佳肴，比如“芳香肥牛”。

美食家認為，比較溫和的翻譯會妨礙游客品嘗真正的中國美食。顧客必須“食為先”，才能整整領略到中國飲食的美味，才會走上街頭去品嘗更多地道的美味，或者中國的家常菜。那才是最地道的中國飲食。

所以，雖然“巧婦手撕包菜” 可能不會吸引那些不愛冒險的食客，但是仍然希望成功的奧運會不要介意菜單翻譯方面小小的失敗。