Fun with the menu…

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Ok, so do you like the new look of the blog?

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And here’s tonight’s bit of comedy, true story:

Husband and I went out for dinner (father’s day and all that), to a chicken restaurant in the neighbourhood.

The menu was in both English and Malay.

Husband (to waiter, in English): I’ll have the pepper roast chicken

Waiter (mixing his languages): Steak or nasi (rice)?

Husband (puzzled): Not steak, chicken.

Waiter: Yes, with steak or nasi?

Husband: Yes, nasi. But not steak –I want chicken.

This part of the conversation was repeated with varying degrees of incomprehension on both sides. So I look back at the menu. It was divided into two, with Malaysian on one side and English on the other.

  • Ayam Panggang (Lada hitam atau madu) / nasi ayam. Roast Chicken (Black Pepper or honey) with rice
  • Stik Ayam panggang Roast Chicken Steak

That was when I cottoned on. Stik = stick. Roast chicken on a stick (served without rice). But the English translation on the menu was Stik = Steak.

Now the really, really funny thing about this is that Stik is not a Malay word. It is, well, literally “stick” given a local spelling!

I pointed to “steak” and said in Malay to the waiter. “Steak is red meat (daging), not chicken.”

But by this time the poor fellow was totally confused…

We waited until he had disappeared into the kitchen before we started to laugh…


Comments

Fun with the menu… — 7 Comments

  1. Funny that. Does that mean you have different restaurants for different foods? You said a chicken restaurant? I wondered why Noramly didn't speak in Malay in the first place.

    Yup, blog site looks good, I was wondering about trying different things myself. I don't like black backgrounds much, they are difficult to read.

  2. All the main dishes are chicken in some form or another.

    I also find the black backgrounds difficult, but they seem to be popular. But you can chose something other than black for the various new options available…

  3. Great new look – the palette is more gentle on the eyes and easier to read.

    In mixed language restaurants it is often easier to have the selections numbered on the menu.
    "No. 5 please".

  4. An alternative explanation is that chicken 'steak' is chicken fillet ie large piece of meat with minimal bones.
    Still rather funny though
    Smathi

  5. I definitely like the new look – it loads much faster and is much easier on the eyes.

    I'm still trying to figure out what americans refer to as chicken-fried steak!!??

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