Cantonese Intermediate Course – The Four Biggest Chinese Cuisines

A: néih jūng mh jūng yi sihk jūng choi a?
B: hóu jūng yi a! chā mh dō múih go sēng keih dōu sihk yāt chi!
A: gám néih yauh jī mh jī jūng gwok choi yáuh gēi dō júng nē?
B: wa! hóu chíh hóu dō wo! bāt gwo yāt gong yáuh gēi dō júng jauh jān haih mh jī wo!
A: néih jī mh jī jūng gwok dī sei daaih choi haih haih dī mē nē?
B: nē go ngóh jauh jān haih jī! haih chyūn choi, lóuh choi, yuht choi tùhng wàaih yèuhng choi!
A: sāi leih! gám néih yauh góng há kéuih deih yáuh mē dahk sīk a?
B: chyūn choi yāt bun béi gaau laaht, lóuh choi béi gaau hàahm, yuht choi béi gaau ching daahm, wàaih yèuhng choi yáuh síu síu tìhm.
A: gám néih yauh yáuh móuh lám gwo dím gáai wúih haih gám nē?
B: mh jī wo!
A: dáng ngóh wá néih jī lā! sei chyūn nē go deih fōng béi gaau sāp, sihk laaht hó yíh heui sāp, lóuh choi béi gaau hàahm, yān wàih bāak fōng dūng tīn hóu dūng, seng yaht dōu yiu chóu dī sihk maht, só yíh gwo dī yéh yīu yuhng yìhm bóu chìh sān sīn, yuht choi béi gaau ching daahm, yān wàih gwóng dūng yàhn sihk hóu dō hói sīn, hói sīn yáuh hóu dō yìhm, só yíh choi jauh wúih lohk síu dī yìhm, wàaih yèuhng choi jīk haih seuhng hói choi, béi gaau tìhm, hó nàhng tùhng kéuih deih sāang wuht béi gaau fu yuh yáuh gwāan!
B: wa! yùhn loih néih sīk gám dō ga!
A: gám néih jeui jūng yi bīn júng choi nē?
B: ngóh jeui jūng yi chyūn choi!
A: ngóh dōu haih! ngóh jeui jūng yi gwo júng fó laaht ge háu meih!
B: hóu yéh! ngóh deih gām máahn héui sihk fó wō, néih gwok dāk dím?
A: hóu a! séuhng chi néih chéng jo, gam chi dou ngóh chíng, bāt gwo mh hóu sihk taai dō, sihk taai dō laaht go tóuh mh syū fuhk wo!

A: 你鍾唔鍾意食中菜啊?
B: 好鍾意啊, 差唔多每個星期都食一次.
A: 咁你又知唔知中國菜有幾多種呢?
B: 嘩, 好似好多喎, 不過一共有幾多種就真係唔知喎.
A: 你知唔知中国的四大菜系係啲咩呢?
B: 呢個我就真係知。係川菜、鲁菜、粤菜同淮扬菜。
A: 犀利, 咁你又講吓佢地有咩特色啊.
B:: 川菜一般比較辣, 魯菜比較咸, 粤菜比較輕淡, 淮扬菜有少少甜.
A: 咁你又有冇諗過點解會係咁呢?
B: 唔知喎.
A: 等我話你知啦, 四川呢個地方比較濕, 食辣可以去濕, 魯菜比較咸, 因為北方冬天好凍, 成日都要草啲食物, 所以果啲野要用盐保持新鮮, 粤菜比較輕淡, 因為廣東人食好多海鮮, 海鮮有好多盐, 所以菜就會落少啲盐, 淮扬菜即係上海菜比較甜, 可能同佢地生活比較富裕有關.
B: 嘩, 原來你識咁多架!
A: 咁你最鍾意邊種菜呢?
B: 我最鍾意川菜。
A: 我都係,我最鍾意果種火辣嘅口味。
B: 好野!我地今晚去食火锅, 你覺得點?
A: 好啊,上次你請佐, 令次到我请, 不過唔好食太多, 食太多辣個肚唔舒服喎!

A: Do you like eating Chinese food?
B: Very much like, I eat almost once a week.
A: Do you know how many cuisines does it have?
B: Oh, it seems a lot, but I don’t really know how many in total.
A: So do you know what are the biggest 4 cuisines in Chinese food?
B: I know this! They are si chuan food, Beijing food, Cantonese food and Shanghaiese food.
A: Great! So maybe you can talk about their characteristics?
B: Si chuan food is a bit spicy, Beijing food is salty, Cantonese food is a bit light, Shanghaiese food is a bit sweet.
A: So have you ever thought about why is like that?
B: I have no idea.
A: Let me tell you then, Si chuan the place is a bit humid, so people eat spicy food to get rid of the humid, Beijing food is salty, because Beijing is cold, and people keep food for winter use, and salt can keep it fresh, Cantonese food is light, since they eat a lot of seafood, and seafood is salty itself, then they put less salt when they cook other dishes, Shanghaiese food is sweet, maybe because they used to be wealthy.
B: Woa! You know a lot!
A: So which is your favorite?
B: Sichuan food is my favorite.
A: Me too. I enjoy the hot and spicy flavor.
B: Great! How about we go for a hotpot dinner?
A: OK. Last time you treated me, It’s my treat this time, but don’t eat too much, it’s not good for stomach.