50 Things to Eat Before You Die: Kangaroo and Oysters

Kangaroo is lean and tasty meat from Australia. It is very low in fat, so it is quite healthy. Here is how some people make kangaroo steak sandwiches

Despite the tail and the Chinese name 袋鼠 (dayshuu/dɑ̀ishǔ: Literally "pocket mouse"), kangaroos are not related to mice. Instead, they are marsupials 有袋類, related to koalas, and they both live in Australia:

Eastern_grey_kangaroo--CC-BY-NC, fir0002, flagstaffotos

Koala_climbing_tree--CC-BY-SA, DAVID ILIFF

Fresh oysters are eaten raw (uncooked) with lemon juice. Many people believe they are aphrodisiacs (春藥):

Oysters--CC-BY-NC-SA, Etsuko Nakamura.jpg

50 Things to Eat Before You Die: Meat Pies and Scallops

There are many types of meat pies. In France, people like to eat quiche /kiʃ/:

Quiche (chicken sausage, bacon etc) CC--BY-NC-SA, AlyssssylA--331041679_66edcc51f0.jpg

 In Australia, meat pies are much simpler (similar to Cornish pasties, made in Cornwall):

Scallops are a delicacy in many countries. One unusual feature of these shellfish is that they have many blue eyes:

Scallop--CC

You can see the eyes better in this photo:

Scallop eyes CC--BY-NC-SA, The Hantu Blog--3765052506_aeb5fd981f.jpg

50 Things to Eat Before You Die: Shark and Guinea Pig

Shark and guinea pig. Should people eat this kind of meat? You decide.

Roasted guinea pig (eaten in Ecuador, Peru's neighbor to the north)

Guinea pigs have a strange, misleading name. First of all, Guinea is a country in Africa, but guinea pigs are not from Africa. They are not pigs, either. The Chinese name 天竺鼠(tianjwushuu/tiānzhúshǔ: literally "Indian Mice") is half-correct: guinea pigs are not pigs, but mouselike creatures. Their teeth show this quite clearly:

Guinea pigs are mouselike animals from Peru, a country in South America.

Peru--CC--BY-SA, Addicted04, Connormah

So why are they called "Guinea pigs?" One explanation: They are called Guinea pigs because (1) They come from South America (Columbus thought he was going to India, so the people in South America are called "Indians") and (2) Guinea pigs make a sound similar to pigs.

Drinking in Europe

On my language learning blog, I have mentioned that people in different parts of Europe enjoy drinking different types of alcoholic beverages. Chinese students should pay special attention here:

Wine ≠ 酒！

Wine is made by fermenting (發酵) grape juice. Beer is NOT Wine, and whiskey is NOT wine either. Here are different types of glasses used for drinking  brandy, whiskey and champagne.

Brandy (also called cognac) is often drunk in a snifter:

Auld Lang Syne, Haggis & Burns Suppers

The most famous Scots poet is Robert Burns, and his most famous poem is called Auld Lang Syne. Scots English is quite different from standard English (but quite attractive). Here is a version of Auld Lang Syne with a standard translation after each line:

Here is a beautiful version sung by Julie Andrews:

50 Things to Eat Before You Die: Haggis and Caviar

Haggis is the most famous dish from Scotland. In Scotland, people have a special ceremony (accompanied by poetry and bagpipe music) to pay honor to the haggis before they eat it.

Glenmorangie House--CC-BY-NC wbayer.com

Haggis at the Dunbar Center--CC-BY-NC--Duncan Brown (Cradlehall)

Caviar is a rich man's food. The most expensive caviar comes from the Beluga sturgeon:

Beluga sturgeon

Caviar--CC-BY geishaboy500

If you want to try caviar in Taipei, you can go to

How to Translate Chinese Menus

Please think carefully and choose the best translation of menu items. Remember that good translations should be:

A) CLEAR: a foreigner should be able to look at/hear the name and guess what it is. Transliteration/romanization should be avoided. If possible, try to modify an existing word with a similar meaning, such as: "Chinese ravioli" (因為在歐美社會ravioli 是家喻戶曉的義大利名菜，所以取不太邏輯的名稱「中國的義大利餃子」)

B) ATTRACTIVE (the words should sound good): alliteration, rhyme & rhythm: 狗不理包子 Tianjin Boss is Busy Buns)

C) CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE to English-speaking foreigners (e.g. "fungus" ~ "mushroom," but "mushroom" is much more acceptable, so 木耳 should NOT be translated as "tree fungus" (聽起來很噁心！). 木耳＝"tree mushroom" (可能好吃，外國人可以接受)