Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About
    • About Me
    • Tiny Urban Kitchen’s Favorite Equipment
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Asian
      • Chinese
      • Taiwanese
      • Thai
      • Malaysian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
    • Appetizers
    • Soups
    • Salad
    • Pasta
    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Vegetarian
    • Meat
    • Sweets
      • Baking
      • Ice cream
      • Cookies
    • Misc
    • Kawaii (Cute)
  • Travel / Restaurants
    • United States
      • Boston
        • Jen’s Picks
        • Boston
          • Allston
          • Back Bay
          • Brighton
          • North End
          • South End
        • Cambridge
          • Kendall Square
          • Inman Square
          • Central Square
          • Harvard Square
          • Porter Square
          • North Cambridge
        • Somerville
          • Davis Square
          • Union Square
        • Greater Boston
          • Brookline
          • Arlington
          • Belmont
          • Watertown
          • Newton
          • Lexington
          • Concord
          • Burlington
          • Natick
        • Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Berkshires
      • Vermont
      • Maine
      • New York
      • Washington DC
      • Philadelphia
      • Orlando
      • Chicago
      • Las Vegas
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
        • Napa
        • Sonoma
      • Seattle
      • Hawaii
    • Canada
      • Montreal
      • Canadian Rockies
      • Toronto
    • Argentina
    • Europe
      • United Kingdom
        • London
        • Oxford
      • Italy
        • Rome
        • Piedmont
      • France
        • Paris
        • Bordeaux
      • Spain
        • Madrid
        • Barcelona
        • Catalonia / San Sebastian / Girona
      • Germany
      • Belgium
        • Brussels
      • Switzerland
      • Greece
      • Finland
      • Norway
      • Denmark
    • Japan
      • Japan Guide
      • Tokyo
      • Osaka
      • Kyoto
    • China (Mainland)
      • Beijing
      • Chengdu
      • Shanghai
      • Shaanxi
      • Shenzhen
      • Xiamen
      • Yunnan
    • Singapore
    • Hong Kong
    • Malaysia
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Australia/New Zealand
  • Michelin
    • Formerly had a star
    • Michelin Recommended
    • 1 Star
    • 2 Stars
    • 3 Stars
  • Jen’s Eating Guides!
    • Boston Restaurants
    • Boston Dishes
    • Tokyo
    • Hong Kong
    • Las Vegas
    • Napa / Sonoma
    • Taiwan (night markets)
    • Taiwanese (casual eats)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part I)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part II)
    • Kitchen Equipment
  • Trip Reports
    • All trip reports
    • Around the World Trip Report
    • New England
    • New York
    • Washington DC
    • Las Vegas
    • California
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • Florida
    • Japan
    • China

China: Lost in Translation

October 12, 2010 by Jennifer Che 9 Comments

_1050093-1

One of my favorite things to do when I visit a new country is to visit its grocery stores. It’s the furthest thing from a majestic tourist site, yet I love going because I feel like I’m really getting a taste of the local culture. I love seeing what kinds of cookies, snacks, and packaged foods they eat. It’s also fascinating to see the local produce, especially if it’s very different from what I can get where I live. When I lived in Japan for a summer, I would spend countless hours perusing the aisles of the supermarket. I was often tickled at how things were adapted to fit the local culture.

One thing that makes browsing Chinese supermarkets especially fun is the added dimension of the English words on the packaging. It could be a funny brand name, or just a translation that went awry. Sometimes you wonder, “how in the WORLD did they come up with this one?”

Bryan and I had a field day with our cameras this one afternoon while we were shopping for some drinking water at a local market. Check out some of our favorites.
_1050132-1
Can you believe it? Lays chips with braised pork belly and mustard greens flavor (mei gan kou rou). The Stax with Kiwi is kind of weird too, because it’s still salty!
_1050094-3
Pringles also had their fair share of interesting flavors. Aromatic crispy chicken or seaweed anyone?

Product names that never would have made it past the marketing department in the US
_1050095-4
Enough said.
_1050092-1
Ditto.
_1050096-5
Read the fine print.
_1050097-6
Is old aged soybean actually older? Or is it for older people?
_1050098-7
Mmm . . . red blood cells anyone?
_1050112-1
Huh?
_MG_5280-1
One all-beef patty special sauce lettuce cheese tomatoes on a Scallion Pancake Bun!

Likelihood of Confusion
Under US trademark law, there is this standard called the “likelihood of confusion” standard. Essentially, in order to prove trademark infringement, you have to demonstrate that there is a likelihood of confusion between the infringing mark and your own trademark.

Here’s a coffee shop I saw in China at the airport.
_1050162-10
Confusing? I sure did a double take.

And finally, some translated signs in Shanghai.
_1050164-1

_MG_4878-1

_MG_4883-2

Hope you enjoyed our fun little series. Up next – Beijing!

It’s not to late to vote for this blog for Project Food Blog, Round 4. Voting is open until Thursday. You can check out my post and vote for me here.

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Beijing, China, Shanghai, World Travel

« Voting for Project Food Blog Round 4 is open!
Tiny Urban Tidbits #16 – CHOPPED! »

Recent Posts

  • Mono Hong Kong May 23, 2022
  • Summer Palace Iconic Wine Lunch – Hong Kong April 29, 2022
  • Lucciola – Italian food at The Hari Hotel in Wan Chai March 22, 2022
  • Studio City by Cali-Mex Causeway Bay Hong Kong March 17, 2022
  • Petrus Hong Kong March 8, 2022
  • Ichiran Tonkotsu Ramen Hong Kong March 6, 2022
  • James Suckling Wine Central – Hong Kong March 2, 2022
  • Birthday at Roganic Hong Kong February 23, 2022

Latest Chinese recipes!

Comments

  1. Andrea @ High/Low says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:03 pm

    My brother brought back the same chips for me from his trip to China! in addition to Kiwi, he brought back Blueberry and Rib-Eye steak. They were all very interesting! Can’t wait to see more from your trip! http://www.highlowfooddrink.com/2010/06/food-brings-world-together-china.html

    Log in to Reply
  2. christinefreshlocalandbest says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:08 pm

    Oh my goodness! This is hilarious! I especially like those seat that are designated for the old and weak.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Deena says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    This is hilarious. I love this post. I do the same thing in every country I visit, and I come home with more boxes of cookies, chips and wierd food items than souvenirs. China is especially odd.

    Log in to Reply
  4. Damaris says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    I want some seaweed pringles now! That sounds sooooo good.

    Log in to Reply
  5. FitMamaEats says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:12 pm

    Big chuckles!! 🙂

    Log in to Reply
  6. Elina (Healthy and Sane) says

    October 23, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    Hehe, awesome. I always go to grocery stores when I travel too. I still have a picture of KIND bars in Singapore that were called something completely different – like WELL bar or something. And the flavor combos are always the best.

    Log in to Reply
  7. ChubbyChineseGirl says

    October 26, 2010 at 8:20 pm

    you reminded me!!! i still haven’t posted about my chips night! i brought back all sorts of chips from China LOL aren’t they so cool?

    Log in to Reply
  8. Gio says

    February 6, 2011 at 11:29 am

    we have pringles soft shell crab here in the philippines. haha. do you have it in China/the US?

    Log in to Reply
  9. Nura Medina says

    August 30, 2017 at 11:17 pm

    NICE

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Categories

Awards

Saveur
PFB

BostonGlobe

Most Recent Posts

Mono HK

Mono Hong Kong

Summer Palace Hong Kong Iconic Wine Lunch

Summer Palace Iconic Wine Lunch – Hong Kong

Lucciola The Hari Wan Chai

Lucciola – Italian food at The Hari Hotel in Wan Chai

beef quesadilla

Studio City by Cali-Mex Causeway Bay Hong Kong

Petrus Hong Kong

Petrus Hong Kong

Ichiran Hong Kong Ramen

Ichiran Tonkotsu Ramen Hong Kong

James Suckling Wine Central Hong Kong

James Suckling Wine Central – Hong Kong

Roganic Hong Kong

Birthday at Roganic Hong Kong

Caprice Hong Kong

Caprice Hong Kong – Four Seasons

Majordomo Los Angeles – David Chang’s Foray into the West Coast

France!

Restaurant Le George Paris
Yam'Tcha Paris
David Toutain Paris
Divellec Paris
Breizh Cafe Paris

Kawaii! (Cute)

Norway!

logo
Food Advertisements by

Chinese Recipes

Okra with Chicken
logo
Food Advertisements by

Shop & Support us!

Spain!

Girona Spain
Amelia San Sebastian

Japan!

Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Sukiyaki Imafuku Tokyo
Sushi Ishimaya Tokyo
Disney Sea Tokyo
Tempura Fukamachi Tokyo
Shinjuku Gyoen

Cambridge restaurants

logo
Food Advertisements by
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress