Conversation A:

 

A: I know you’ve had Chinese food before, but I had to look all over town to find an authentic Chinese restaurant. I’m hoping this experience will be new and different for you.

B: It all looks delicious! I love the way they’ve stacked the dishes in the middle of the table. What's the dish in the middle making all the noise?

A: That's called tie ban niu rou. It’s basically strips of beef with onion, but it’s poured onto a heated iron dish, which acts as a grill. That’s why it’s sizzling; it’s literally cooking at the table.

B: So I guess it’s hot. What’s this dish here? Looks like a salad or something!

A: That’s cold dish. Believe it or not, we call it “Tiger Food” It’s green pepper, cilantro and cucumbers. I suppose we could consider that an appetizer. 

B: Is it hot?

A: Hot? It's cold. 

B: I meant spicy-hot.

A: It’s a little hot, but not too bad. For really hot, you should try the noodle dish in front of you. It’s called “Ants Climbing a Tree.”

B: What a funny name! I guess those little bits of pork are the ants. So what do Chinese people eat for dessert?

A: We don’t have dessert. We end our meal with some sort of staple food like rice or noodles. But I think if you are hungry for something sweet at the end of the meal, you can try some of these steamed buns. They’ve been fried just enough to be crispy and golden. You dip them into this sweetened condensed milk.

B: This food is just great! I don’t know how you manage to maintain a healthy weight with all this good food!