I'm Not Illiterate, I Just Can't Read

Decided to mix it up a bit this evening for dinner...tonight, Japanese. The last couple nights have been Subway...not because it's American food. It's right across the street from my apartment complex here in Wuxi, it's fast, and it's NOT KFC.

No, but tonight, before I get on yet another teleconference (and subsequently three other calls after that as it's now 2am) I'm going to venture out and grab a bite at a local restaurant. The neighborhood where my apartment is could easily be called the "Little Korea" or "Little Tokyo" of Wuxi. There are about 10-15 of each Korean and Japanese restaurants within a couple blocks of my apartment. Now, if it's not hard enough to understand Mandarin script, throw in a few signs in Korean and Japanese...what's the difference, I can't read any of them.

So, for us Western illiterate types who can't read any of the signs, some restaurants have figured out that we can generally figure out what the food is by pictures. So, many restaurants add photos to their menus so we can go. Some are even so kind as to put photo menus outside of their restaurant to help us avoid the embarassment of getting all the way into a restaurant, sitting down, handing us a menu with no English words or photos, and wondering why we promptly close the menu, shrug the shoulders, and walk out.

So, upon my second attempt at feeding myself dinner, I give up and go to a Japanese restaurant that I have been to with some locals, and know that the menu has pictures. Aparently, the translator of the menu was not as wild about the cook or Japanese (not sure which), because I found this meal on the menu...

[text is "Japanese Rotten Cook"]