# Enough with the Chinese menus! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 5, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830 "2007-06-05T13:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/41 "2007-06-07T22:26:20Z")
We get menus occasionally (every year or so), but that’s mostly because there’s a Chinese restaurant by us cooks any Chinese dish you have a taste for to order for either take out or delivery. [Don’t believe me?](http://yellowpages.superpages.com/profile~SRC_portals~C_Chinese+Food~LID_%2BtUuk1zc%2BWhTvvQKiXZJBg%3D%3D~lbp_1.htm) But what’s in a name… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/42 "2007-06-07T22:30:25Z")
[QUOTE=Count Blucher] But what’s in a name… 😃 [/QUOTE] [What indeed?](http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/841388/millbrae_ca/fook_yuen.html) ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/43 "2007-06-07T22:47:24Z")
[QUOTE=Obsidian] San Francisco has a huge variety of excellent cuisines, including some of the best Chinese and Japanese food you can find in the US. Great bread. Great seafood. We can _not_ do pizza (or bagels). [/QUOTE] /me drags **Obsidian** by the ear to Little Star at either Divis & Fulton or Valencia & 15th. It’s Chicago style, not NY, but if you say SF can’t do pizza after that, then the problem lies with you. The closest I’ve come to NY pizza is Deja Vu on 16th at Guerrero, but it’s not that close. I’ve heard Go Getters on Gough at Market is good NY style, but mine sure wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/44 "2007-06-07T23:17:18Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Big Time Hijack. So why is it that Asians generally have so much trouble with plurals? My SO seems to think that because their language is so tonal, it’s not necessary a sound they even recognize. She speaks a little Arabic and she explained that there are like 4 different ways to pronounce an “H.” Sounds plausible to me, I guess, but it doesn’t explain the written mistakes. [/QUOTE] Atleast in Chinese, there are no plurals/possessions. If you want to say that someone is someones something or another, you just saying Such and Such Mother. Liyou gege; Liyou ganlan; Liyou pengyou.. etc. With Liyou being a name, everything else is translated like Liyou older brother/Liyou olive/Liyou friend. The relationships are assumed, there is no verb “to be” (is). You also dont say Liyou’s pengyous. (Liyou friends) You either count them, Liyou qiu pengyou (Liyou’s 7 friends) or give their exact names or whatever. Although, I only know the basics of Chinese and don’t really understand all the little aspects. That’s the general idea though. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/45 "2007-06-08T08:37:47Z")
Japanese isn’t tonal but still doesn’t have many plurals. There is a few endings _tachi, ra_ which is used to create plurals, but this is mainly used for people (you, us). Most nouns cannot be made into plurals, so if you say _hon_, book, it could mean one or a library. Back to the OP, sort of, in my previous apartment I used to get far too many menus, although mostly for a much different type of delivery service. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/46 "2007-06-08T14:08:33Z")
[QUOTE=Obsidian] I don’t have anything against Noah’s. I eat their bagels here, they just don’t have the same taste/texture (especially texture) as the ones back east. Baked goods can be highly regional. Maybe it’s climatological? God knows there isn’t really good sourdough for any price in NY. [/QUOTE] You can’t get good sourdough anywhere but the SF region. ☹ My parents live close to the old Colombo bakery off of 880 in Oakland. I used to love going to the bakery outlet store with Ma as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/47 "2007-06-08T14:21:34Z")
[QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] You also dont say Liyou’s pengyous. (Liyou friends) You either count them, Liyou qiu pengyou (Liyou’s 7 friends) or give their exact names or whatever. [/QUOTE] Huh. I understand French is much the same. But I never get French menus under my door. ---
**Author:** ![MTRG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@MTRG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTRG)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/48 "2007-06-08T14:41:13Z")
[QUOTE=catsix] I get my Chinese takeout at a Chinese restaurant that has no name. They have 3 tables, but no one has ever actually been seen eating at one. They have a menu, but they get mad if you spend time looking at it. I guess they figure you should just know what you want when you enter their restaurant. I live in Pittsburgh. [/QUOTE] where is this place, I’m from pittsburgh and thought that I knew most of the dives ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/49 "2007-06-08T15:31:01Z")
You complain about all the Chinese menus now, but one of these Halloweens when you’re trying to put together a totally awesome werewolf costume and they’re nowhere to be found, who are you going to cry to then, huh? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/50 "2007-06-08T15:44:45Z")
😛 I was just coming in to mention how when I skim the thread titles lately, I get that song stuck in my head! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/51 "2007-06-11T13:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] With the menu of Happy Dynasty Dragon Star being nearly identical to that of China Jade Panda Taste Garden, and Lucky Peking Great Wall Kitchen #2, only one menu is really necessary. **YES THIS ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET. YOU EAT TOO MUCH. THAT ALL YOU CAN EAT. YOU STOP.** [/QUOTE] This is the funniest thing I’ve read all day. ( You forget **Oriental Asian Forest Buffet** Yeah, Oriental Asian.) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830/52 "2007-06-11T22:37:11Z")
[QUOTE=catsix] What part of Pennsylvania doesn’t have Chinese food? I live in Pittsburgh. [/QUOTE] The PA Dutch reference would lead me to believe that **Boggette** is talking about Amish country, but there are actually [more than a few](http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&channel=s&hl=en&q=chinese+restaurants&near=Lancaster,+PA&fb=1&view=text&cd=1&ie=UTF8&sa=N&start=0) Chinese restaurants in the Lancaster area. > [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > We get menus like that at work all the time. Since I work at a government contractor we have a lot of security, like those badge scanners on our doors. I’m in the same boat (contractor, security, badge scanners), and though I’ve never seen a menu ninja even try to get through, the damn things show up anyway, along with the ubiquitous and poorly-designed Asian-girls+fast-cars calendars tacked to walls in the break rooms. My theory? Red Chinese spies have infiltrated our government. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-chinese-menus/406830.md?page=2)