How to translate the Olympic menu 奥运菜单

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.

参考中文翻译：

中国餐馆在翻译菜单方面左右为难：是按照字面生动的翻译还是简单的迎合西方风格？

中国的美食非常诱人，但是那些菜名是什么意思呢？最近北京的餐馆为了吸引游客到他们餐馆就餐而在文字方面绞尽脑汁。但是有些菜名的描述让游客非常沮丧，更不用说饿肚子了。这个餐馆的特色菜是蒸带鱼，但是外国顾客对这道菜的描述非常困惑：“厨师必须在一个盖着的容器里煮这条带鱼六个小时”，而蒸鸡的翻译更有趣“没有性生活的鸡”。

中国首都在欢迎奥运会游客方面做了非常多的努力，尤其是饮食方面。
中国饮食源远流长，中国美食更是多种多样。

但是方式不当的恶果引起官方的忧虑。现在官方已经向每个餐馆发放了官方手册，上面印有当地美食的比较温和的翻译。但是有一些餐馆偏偏反其道而行之，以为他们自己的翻译更能吸引顾客，更能提供美味佳肴，比如“芳香肥牛”。

美食家认为，比较温和的翻译会妨碍游客品尝真正的中国美食。顾客必须“食为先”，才能整整领略到中国饮食的美味，才会走上街头去品尝更多地道的美味，或者中国的家常菜。那才是最地道的中国饮食。

所以，虽然“巧妇手撕包菜” 可能不会吸引那些不爱冒险的食客，但是仍然希望成功的奥运会不要介意菜单翻译方面小小的失败。