Saturday, October 15, 2011

Bad Menu Translations


Rio de Janeiro is getting more and more foreigner friendly these days. When a good friend and I stopped for a quick bite to eat in Copacabana we saw that the menu came in both Portuguese and English. Apparently they didn't pay too much for the translation. Here are some of the errors I found:







11 comments:

  1. I love mis-translations and misspellings. What just came to mind - but I have many - is an item on a breakfast menu in Bali: Toes and Jam.

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  2. Yeah - a hippie tourist with a laptop could finance their stay by going door to door and fixing the mis-translations (or so that was my fantasy when I first visited Rio...)

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  3. My favorite here in Macae is 'Jerk Off Chicken' for 'Isca de Frango'....

    Jim- A few people tried to do this in Macae but the owners always wanted to use the Google Translate version and couldn't understand why sometimes Google isn't right!

    Sara

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  4. I used to laugh because in New York's China town, the signs and restaurant menus has similar translation errors. Even the nail place in my neighborhood offered "Give Certificates" instead of "Gift Certificates."

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  5. LOL! Here are a few of our favorite menu translations:

    PENNE ALL'ARRABIBIATA
    Penne com alho, pimenta Calabresa, azeite extra virgem e molho de tomate
    Penne skipped on olive oil sauce along with garlic and chilli sauce

    PEIXES CRUS AO ESTILO MEDITERRÂNEO
    Sea raws fish at Mediterranean style


    RAVIOLI D"ARAGOSTA
    Massa verde recheada com lagosta, molho de queijo ‘‘Brie’’
    Green fresh lobster, ravioli, ‘Brie’’ cheese sauce

    Out of respect to our clients, restaurants shall remain nameless... ;)

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  6. Coming soon! MENUMIXX.COM A Restaurant Guide for the Savvy Traveler and Global Gourmet. 1st stop on our culinary journey... BRAZIL! Our online guide shall serve as a great tool for expats too! So stay tuned and follow us on Twitter @menumixxbrazil for restaurant news and updates on the launch of our website. Until then, BOM APETITE!

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  8. hahahahaha. I have got to start looking at more menus in English, if only for a laugh!

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  9. My favorite was the literal "Salty Biggie Dick" translation of Salpicão at a place in Downtown!!!

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  10. After reading this post I now read the English translated menus everywhere I go. I used to figure I was too obviously gringo when I was handed the English menu, now I don't mind so much as they are interesting in deed.

    I will name this location, because I know the mouth watering culinary delight they serve will delight those who inclined to favor this all meat dish. It isn't a hard place to find, on Princesa Isabel a short block off Atlantica. The Armazem Carioca has a very special special named.....T-Boner Steak.

    And, if you simply wander off to the Kiosk directly across Atlantica, you will find a "Fried Cheese Pasty", perhaps for the French girls who left their bikini tops at home.

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