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Lost in Translation

Last week, Marian made a run over to Lumpkin Road for an Asian staple - fish sauce or green curry paste or something. She brought me home a surprise. From the photo on the front of the package, it appears to be a bag of small clods of dirt. My Mandarin is a little rusty so I'm thankful to find the a label in English on the reverse. Here's what it says ....

Chongqing strang-taste horsebeans produced by Chongqing Jin Yun Food factory in 1958. The producte have special taste, fragrant and sweet and crisp, numb and sore, salty and fresh, comfortable and tasty and refreshing, it likes Mulberry tree's fruit color and lusterris Moise. Since the producte being to market, it is loved deeply by lots of people and sales very good for more forty years, it be recorded 1988 on <<Chinese famous food encyclopedia>> and is good for travel, recreation and gift.

Having read that, I'm still not sure what I've got.

Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2008 by Registered Commenterdeb in | Comments6 Comments

Reader Comments (6)

Numb and sore?
May 25, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterviv
i am sure we all know that numb and sore do not go with salty and fresh.
May 25, 2008 | Unregistered Commentermarian
'strang-taste'.....hmmm...

It's nice to know it is good for recreation as well.
May 27, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMartha
Can we assume since there are no recent comments from you that you tried them and are currently somewhere numb and/or sore?
May 27, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJane in Vail
you know what jane? she took them and i haven't seen them since! i don't think she even tried them, since i haven't heard anything about it... i think they would go great with my evening cocktail! i will check on this and soon everyone will now what that "strang taste" really tastes like!
May 27, 2008 | Unregistered Commentermarian
I went to this new Chinese supermarket and on the shelf was the most bizarre dessert - wait, no, food product - me and my husband had ever seen. It said, "Forest Frog Oviduct Dessert". What the...? We thought it was a bad translation. I looked it up online, they are not kidding, it is really from a frog and it helps to "replenish the kidney essence, to nourish yin, and to moisten the lung." Not sure if I'm brave enough to buy it...
August 4, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMichelle T

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