Ken wrote on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:32:06 -0700:

??>> blake wrote on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:58:48 GMT:
??>>
??>>>> Another thing I have wondered about that he mentions is
??>>>> the "Chinese Menu" that is sometimes recommended. What
??>>>> exactly are those? I don't suppose most of us can really
??>>>> read Chinese characters.
??>>
bm>>> just a guess, but i think he's talking about the list of
bm>>> specials in chinese that is sometimes appended to the
bm>>> menu (or displayed on the wall) in places with a heavily
bm>>> chinese clientele.
??>>
??>> I wonder what a person who knows no Chinese is supposed
??>> to do? Asking a waiter for a translation or any complex
??>> question often does not work in Chinese restaurants.

KB> Find someone fluent in both English and Chinese to help.
KB> Several years ago, I took home a copy of the Chinese menu
KB> in my favorite Chinese restaurant, and gave it my Chinese
KB> sister-in-law. She translated it for me, and from then on
KB> whenever I went to that restaurant, I brought my own menu
KB> with me.

A good idea if the assistance is available, tho' it's not for
me! Restaurant critics who say "Ask for the Chinese Menu" are
not contributing to anything but self advertizing, in my
opinion.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not