S: Wo shi Stuart. 今天我们学第五十三课, di wu shi san ke.

M: Therefore, 所以, Ming tian women xue di wu shi si ke, lesson 54, di wu shi si ke.

S: But, 但是, what will we do now? 但是，现在我们干什么, xianzai women gan shenme?

M: 现在我们点菜, xianzai women dian cai. And then, we eat! 然后，我们吃饭, ran hou, women chi fan.

S: Dui, women chi fan.

S: First, we’ll learn the names of the main regional schools of Chinese cuisine, and how to say things like ‘sweet’ and ‘salty’.

M: Hao, women kai shi.

S: 小姐，我们点菜, women dian cai.

WTRS: Mei wenti. 你们想吃什么, nimen xiang chi shenme?

M: Do you have Sichuan food? 你们有四川菜吗, nimen you Sichuan cai ma?

WTRS: Look at the menu, we’ve got everything. 看看菜单, 我们都有, kankan caidan, women dou you.

S: Sichuan cai, or, Chuan cai. Sichuan cai, chuan cai, yi yang.

M: And there’s .. 还有, hai you, Cantonese. 广东菜， Guangdong cai.

S: Hai you, Shandong cai.

M: Shandong cai, also called, ye jiao zuo, lu（鲁）cai. Shandong cai, lu cai, yi yang.

S: Hai you, 北京菜, Beijing cai.

M: Hai you, 上海菜，Shanghai cai.

S: Chuan cai, Shanghai cai, Beijing cai, Guangdong cai, Shandong cai.

M: Enough dishes, and enough new words: 菜足够了，生词也足够了, cai zugou le, sheng ci ye zugou le.

S: So let’s look at them.

S: Ok. I said to ML, What will we do now? 现在我们干什么?

M: xianzai women gan shenme? 干GAN gan, 4th tone, means ‘to do’. So what does, 你干什么，ni gan shenme, mean? Dui le. ‘What are you doing?’ Ni gan shenme. Say it, ni gan shenme?

S: Now imagine someone’s trying to nick your bike, be shengqi, angry, and say, ‘what are you doing’!? ….. Right. Ni gan shenme!

M: Calm down Stuart. Ok, let’s go back to the restaurant. Wo zai dian cai.

S: Ok. And then, we eat! 我们吃饭, women chi fan.

M: Dui le, And our waitress said:

WTRS: ‘we everything have’. 我们都有, women dou you. Chuan cai, Guangdong cai. Hai you Shanghai cai, Beijing cai.

S: Enough! 足够了, zu gou le.

M: wo tongyi. Zu gou le.

S: Now, it’s ‘homework time’, 功课时间, gongke shijian.

M: Practice saying, ‘I like ….,’ wǒ xǐhuān, ‘I really like …’, wǒ hěn xǐhuān, and ‘I don’t like …’ , wǒ bùxǐhuān, all the different cuisines we’ve learnt, including zhongcan and xican.

S: So, hao hao xuexi!

M: Ming tian jian.