Translating Chinese New Year's Menus, Part 1: Empero Taste

By Jonathan Kauffman Mon., Feb. 15 2010 at 1:16 PM

Categories: Behind the Menu, Holiday Meals

Click to enlarge.

All hail the arrival of the year of the metal tiger! This week, in celebration of Chinese New Year, SFoodie drove around town picking up Chinese New Year banquet menus, then asked Adobo Hobo's Ed Chui and his parents to translate. We'll be rolling out the menus on SFoodie over the course of the week.

Rawr.

Call nine of your friends and book a table ― these specials should be good for the next week or two.

First up: Empero Taste in the Outer Richmond, which wins the award for best menu name. Click on the banquet menu above to enlarge (English translations are embedded in the image). Or scroll through the English text version (after the jump).

Year of the Tiger Stimulus Plan ― Stock Market Increase Meal
$228 for 10 people

Premium appetizer platter
Shredded chicken and shark fin soup
Crispy fried chicken
Oysters and sea cucumber
Braised dried oysters and pigs feet over fat choy (black moss)
Stir-fried seafood over mixed greens
Ginger-scallion lobster
Steamed sea bass
Ham, dried scallop, and egg white fried rice
Red bean soup with glutinous rice balls

You can read more about the wordplay, visual puns, and customs buried within the menu listings here and here.

Empero Taste 4052 Balboa St. (at 42nd Ave.), 876-3298. Definitely call for reservations.

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