A while back I went for dinner at a vegan restaurant called 唤觉 huàn jué.
The food was great and I ended up doing a casual interview with the chef!
Watch this video to practice your Chinese listening skills and pick up some good food vocabulary.
Interview Dialogue Breakdown
Angel:
你好！
nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
怎么称呼你？
zěn me chēng hū nǐ？
How should I address you?
Master Chef Jia:
姓贾。西贝，贾。
xìng jiǎ. xī bèi, jiǎ.
My last name is Jia. Xi Bei, Jia.
Angel:
贾大厨，你好！
jiǎ dà chú， nǐ hǎo！
Hello, Master Chef Jia.
Angel:
你是哪里人？
nǐ shì nǎ lǐ rén？
Where are you from?
Master Chef Jia:
我是西安那边。
wǒ shì xī ān nà biān.
I'm from Xian.
北方的。
běi fāng de.
From the north.
Angel:
你可以说一下这家饭店的背景吗？
nǐ kě yǐ shuō yī xià zhè jiā fàn diàn de bèi jǐng ma？
Can you tell me a little bit about the background of this restaurant?
Master Chef Jia:
这家饭店就是从太原九江那么搬过来。
zhè jiā fàn diàn jiù shì cóng tài yuán jiǔ jiāng nà me bān guò lái.
This restaurant was moved from Jiujing, Taiyuan.
原来也是个吃素的开的。
yuán lái yě shì gè chī sù de kāi de.
It was originally opened by a vegetarian.
Angel:
好的。
hǎo de.
All right.
现在在中国流行吃素吗？
xiàn zài zài zhōng guó liú xíng chī sù ma？
Is it popular to eat vegetarian food in China right now?
Master Chef Jia:
就是南方这边很流行。很多素食馆嘛。
jiù shì nán fāng zhè biān hěn liú xíng. hěn duō sù shí guǎn ma.
It's popular in the south. There are lots of vegetarian restaurants in the south.
有…有好多人吃素
yǒu…yǒu hǎo duō rén chī sù.
There are lots of people who eat vegetarian food/are vegetarian in the south.
北方稍微少一点。
běi fāng shāo wēi shǎo yī diǎn.
There are fewer vegetarian restaurants in the north.
Angel:
那我想问一下为什么大家这么喜欢吃素呢？
nà wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià wèi shén me dà jiā zhè me xǐ huān chī sù ne？
Well, may I ask you why people like eating vegetarian food so much?
Master Chef Jia:
吃素健康啊！
chī sù jiàn kāng a！
Eating vegetarian food is good for your health.
不杀生啊！
bù shā shēng a！
No killing/taking lives.
好...好多美女在这吃啊。
hǎo... hǎo duō měi nǚ zài zhè chī a.
A lot of beautiful women eat vegetarian food here.
Angel:
很好.
hěn hǎo。
Good.
Master Chef Jia:
吃了…吃了那个…
chī le…chī le nà gè…
Eating...eating that...
苗条嘛 ！哈哈…啥呀哈的！
miáo tiáo ma ！ hā hā…shá ya hā de！
can keep them slim! Haha... etc.
Angel:
那你可以说一下这家饭店的装饰吗？
nà nǐ kě yǐ shuō yī xià zhè jiā fàn diàn de zhuāng shì ma？
Can you tell us a little bit about the decoration of this restaurant?
Master Chef Jia:
我们装饰就是...
wǒ men zhuāng shì jiù shì...
Our decoration...
有环保材料。
yǒu huán bǎo cái liào.
contains environmentally friendly materials.
就是老建拆下来的。
jiù shì lǎo jiàn chāi xià lái de.
It's from an old building that was demolished.
都是废旧物再利用嘛。
dōu shì fèi jiù wù zài lì yòng ma.
It’s all about recycling old and "wasted" things.
Angel:
很好！很环保！
hěn hǎo！ hěn huán bǎo！
Cool! It's really environmentally friendly!
我想问一下这里最受欢迎的是哪道菜？
wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià zhè lǐ zuì shòu huān yíng de shì nǎ dào cài？
I'd like to ask "what are the most popular dishes here"?
Master Chef Jia:
有...
yǒu...
We have...
豆腐啊，
dòu fǔ a，
tofu,
杂锅啊，
zá guō a，
mixed hot pots,
茄子啊，豆角啊... 好多啊！
qié zi a， dòu jiǎo a... hǎo duō a！
eggplants, beans... lots of popular dishes here!
Angel:
那我想问一下这些素菜的原材料是什么？
nà wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià zhè xiē sù cài de yuán cái liào shì shén me？
I'd like to ask what the raw ingredients for these vegetarian dishes are.
Master Chef Jia:
原材料…原材料就是…
yuán cái liào…yuán cái liào jiù shì…
The raw ingredients... raw ingredients are...
新鲜蔬菜啊，大豆制品啊
xīn xiān shū cài a， dà dòu zhì pǐn a
fresh vegetables, soy products
啥啊…呵呵！
shá a…hē hē！
etc. Hehe!
Angel:
那我想问一下你个人最喜欢吃哪道菜？
nà wǒ xiǎng wèn yī xià nǐ gè rén zuì xǐ huān chī nǎ dào cài？
I'd like to ask you "what dishes do you personally like to eat"?
Master Chef Jia:
我喜欢吃面食啊，包子啊，馒头啊…呵呵呵！
wǒ xǐ huān chī miàn shí a， bāo zi a， mán tóu a…hē hē hē！
I like to eat noodles, steamed stuffed buns, steamed bread...hehehe!
吃菜就是吃…吃些豆腐啊，
chī cài jiù shì chī…chī xiē dòu fǔ a，
The dishes that I like to eat are tofu,
豆角，啥… 这些东西。好！谢谢！谢谢！
dòu jiǎo， shà… zhè xiē dōng xī.
string beans etc... This type of thing.
Angel:
好！谢谢！谢谢！
hǎo！ xiè xiè！ xiè xiè！
That's great! Thank you! Thank you!
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