I have a recipe for 鱼香肉丝 in one of my cookbooks and there it is said that in former times this dish had been made with fish. So it describes more the style how it was prepared with what kind of additional ingredients, less the taste or smell.

hahahah there are vast areas of china that aren't exposed to the sea...... hahaha I love it. I don't ask questions with things that taste that good, I just assume there is a reason. Maybe in China assuming there is a reason is the biggest mistake you can make.

Been here 4 months after visiting twice but have been able to avoid culture shock this time somehow and I am around mostly non-English speaking Chinese. Xiamen seems to be a magnet for young 义工 drifters from Guangdong and Sichaun which balances everything out. Sure there are tiny things but everything feels a lot better when a local who doesnt speak English is with you shaking their head with you. Face has yet to become an issue, just small instances of it which were avoided thanks to all my conflict-avoidence training in Japan. Have you guys been here? Is it just me or is it suspiciously not China.

Echo has accomplished a lot for a 10 year old.

Funny lesson, cheered up my afternoon! This was exactly my everyday life for several years... until I moved out of China. Listening this lesson all those past restaurant experiences just popped into my mind and I can remember few more funny patterns in addition to those you mentioned:

- me talking to waitress in Chinese and her clearly understanding everything, but then replying to my Chinese-looking wife sitting next to me, because she somehow things that I'm only able to speak Chinese but not listen and comprehend. Even when I had just commented on something she had said. This never failed to piss off my wife who would rather not have any communication with the restaurant staff. 你跟他说吧，不要跟我说！And then she would whisper 不好意思，我不会说外语！It all sounds funny now, but back then it was sometimes getting on our nerves big time.

- me speaking to bunch of Chinese people in Chinese. Everybody else understands perfectly what I'm saying, except this one poor soul whom I'm talking to, just doesn't get any of it... and she then says to her friends 我不懂英语 and only after her friends have repeatedly told her that I'm actually speaking Chinese she finally might start to understand something (but is usually by then too frozen to function anymore and there's no chance to get the business done right). I've also met many waitresses who would just shy out and literally escape before I even get to open my mouth.

I've had several happy moments of observing the confusion that I've just caused when some random Chinese dude comes to talk to my Chinese friend (whom I was just having discussion with in Chinese) and asks him, right in front of me, 他会讲国语吗？and before my friend says anything, I bluntly reply on his behalf 不会，但是英语没问题。 And countless Chinese have asked me 你是外国人吗？Like what the heck is that supposed to mean? One has to be seriously pissed drunk to mix my scandinavian looks with 新疆人, not to mention other Chinese races. The obvious answer to this brilliant question is of course 不不不，我不是外国人，我是芬兰人

murrayjames, I've had so many experiences similar to yours and it's always quite upsetting, no matter who is doing it. On normal day I could just Zen it out, but if this happens on bad china day I would definitely get mad about it.

That was the most enjoyable lesson I have listened to in a long time!

Greetings from Texas, where we have a similar issue to "yu xiang". I hope it's not more than you want to hear, but, here in Texas we often talk about "chicken fajitas". This is because nowadays the word "fajita" refers to the way a meat is marinated. However, the word "fajita" originally referred to a specific cut of beef, "skirt steak" I believe. So, technically there is no such thing as a chicken fajita, but everyone says it. My guess is that "yu xiang" has the same history. It was probably a sauce or style of cooking that was originally used for fish and since the sauce tastes so good, it was then used for red meats too, not to mention eggplant, I really like yu xiang qiezi.

BTW, I really liked the "bu qing chu" at the end too.

@minghan,

The meanings are the same. Using "吗" sounds more colloquial. I think people in the South use "没有" more.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com

@joemillerzh,

You are welcome! Glad to hear you like this lesson :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com

@mike_underhill,

Hahaha, sounds like an idea. We'll see if we can make a dialogue with it.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com

jaq.james - yes, it's fine.