Sentence Help

[Coys1991]

How to ask: what is your favorite foreign food to eat?

 

你最喜欢吃外国菜什么？还是

你最喜欢吃什么外国菜？

[yhs31217]

你最喜欢吃什么外国菜？  (Y)

 

Or

 

你最喜欢吃的外国菜是什么？

[Coys1991]

So I was right with this one:
你最喜欢吃什么外国菜

[yhs31217]

definitely

[somethingfunny]

I've never heard any Chinese people talk about something called “外国菜”, the usual distinction is between 中餐 and 西餐.

[Coys1991]

@Somethingfunny I always been told if it's ok to say 外国 because it means outside country (foreign) so anything not Chinese related you can use 外国.  Kind of like when Chinese kids go around and saying 外国人。

[Coys1991]

@yhs31217: Thanks for the help 

[somethingfunny]

Yeah, I'm not saying its not "technically" correct, I'm just saying I've never heard a Chinese person say it.  In a Chinese person's mind there are two types of food: 中餐 and 西餐.  I'd be interested to see what a Chinese person would say if you asked them "你喜欢吃什么外国菜?"  I imagine their response would be something a long the lines of "西餐吗?" followed by a long discussion of how foreigners only eat beef and bread and guzzle milk and it must be very upsetting having such terrible food.

[yhs31217]

it depends

i'm living in Harbin

some people here would say 西餐, that may only means russian food

 

some people will point out 去俄罗斯餐厅， because 韩国菜 and 日式料理 are also popular here

and they are not 西餐 (for most chinese, 西餐 is the food form all foreign countries except japan, korea, thailiand and india)

 

the answer for 你最喜欢吃什么外国菜？ could be 

我喜欢吃日式料理

or specifically

我喜欢吃牛排

[somethingfunny]

I just don't like the term 外国菜, I'd actually rather go with "除了中餐，你还喜欢吃什么?"

[alvinfromchina]

In formal occasion, we say “中餐，西餐”，but in colloquial case, 外国菜 is suitable.

[somethingfunny]

Fair enough, I'm just saying in 4 years, I've never heard it.

 

Cue Baader-Meinhof...