Terminological inexactitude

[redbird]

The Chinese (and Japanese) restaurant we sometimes get to deliver dinner has two very similar dishes on the menu, "beef with orange flavor" and "orange-flavored beef." The difference between the two is that one is sauteed and the other is breaded and deep-fried: they have the same sauce, spicy and with dried orange peel. The menu does not explain the difference, so when we call to order, they ask whether we want the sauteed, and we say yes.

This evening, when the person on the phone asked, cattitude asked which was which. I heard him try to explain the question three or four times. He did not get an answer; it seemed that the person didn't quite understand the question. Either that, or Empire Szechuan (or this outpost of the empire) doesn't distinguish the two in English, perhaps because they don't believe their Anglophone customers will remember the distinction.

Comments

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

There is an orange-flavour beef-- appearing under various titles, which however also disappoint us by meaning something else-- which is neither sauteed nor deep-fried, but sort of desiccated. It is one of my holy grails. (The mockeries I regularly encounter are invariably of the sauteed type. I have yet to encounter a breaded deep-fried version, which sounds like a very sordid knockoff of my grail dish.

I can make a second-best version of it, but it takes hours. Maybe I need some soon. :D