Why is it so hard for restaurants/butchers here to tell the difference between lamb, sheep and goat? Generally it seems like menus say mutton, which doesn’t really say much except that it shouldn’t be lamb, but sometimes it is.
It makes it impossible to know what to eat/buy here and with the locals having only one word for all three… :loco:
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Why is it so hard for restaurants/butchers here to tell the difference between lamb, sheep and goat? Generally it seems like menus say mutton, which doesn’t really say much except that it shouldn’t be lamb, but sometimes it is.
It makes it impossible to know what to eat/buy here and with the locals having only one word for all three… :loco:[/quote]
Sheep is 綿羊.
Goat is 山羊.
Lamb from sheep are usually imported from Australia or New Zealand. You can find them in supermarkets or Mayfull.
Goats are usually raise locally. There are restaurants specializing in it, some hotpot places in particular. The Halal shop near Guting MRT station slaughter their own goats.
[quote=“TheLostSwede”]Why is it so hard for restaurants/butchers here to tell the difference between lamb, sheep and goat? Generally it seems like menus say mutton, which doesn’t really say much except that it shouldn’t be lamb, but sometimes it is.
It makes it impossible to know what to eat/buy here and with the locals having only one word for all three… :loco:[/quote]
As I understand it, Taiwan has hardly any sheep, so if it says 羊肉 yang2rou4, that’s going to be goat by default, although Dragonbabe tells me that sometimes 羔羊 gao1yang2 is written on the menu if it’s kid, e.g. in some hotpot places.
Taiwan is too hot for sheeps. I do recall, on TV, that some Taiwanese farms have wool-shearing show as an attraction.
羔羊 could means baby sheep or goat, still being fed with milk only. To those restaurants, the emphasis is that they are serving something worthy of their higher price.
Well, the Indian restaurants I’ve been to here all lists Mutton on the menu, but when you ask what if it’s goat, sheep or lamb, the answer is that they don’t know. How can they not know what kind of meat they’re serving?
Same with the hallal butcher, saw some meat there, asked if it was lamb, sheep or goat, they had no idea what kind of meat they were selling.
I understand that they don’t breed sheep here, but you can still buy meat from both lamb and sheep, right? I don’t want the latter and I really don’t want goat…
it’s very annoying as I quite like lamb or mutton and can’t stand the stench or taste of goat meat.
Linguistic chabodouism. Like when someone says ‘this pen is out of water’ or ‘I saw a big mouse’ as opposed to ‘ink’ or ‘rat’.
Or the lack of distinction between lemon and lime…
it’s all goat here. people are appalled when i ask. they say we (the human race) don’t eat sheep. i said i beg to differ. they say we don’t because their wool is more valuable.
don’t even get me started on the lemon/lime thing. trying to convince someone that a lemon is yellow and not green will drive anyone crazy.
It’s not all goat, it’s possible to get lamb here, Costco has it 
And I’ve had lamb in Italian restaurants here, but it’s harder elsewhere and Costco doesn’t have the cuts I want.
Try Mayfull
You can make custom orders, just beware you have to pay. If you own a restaurant, I am pretty sure they will give your a much better deal.
[quote=“kaikai34”]
don’t even get me started on the lemon/lime thing. trying to convince someone that a lemon is yellow and not green will drive anyone crazy.[/quote]
Try to convince someone that mustard is yellow and wasabi is green and you get the same cognitive dissonance.
Peter, your link is broken http://www.mayfull.com.tw/en/home_e.html
Sorry, but you’re off the mark on this one.
Lemons in Taiwan are green.
Imported lemons are yellow.
Limes are a different fruit, you don’t see them that often, but they’re a known different fruit, and have their own Chinese name (which I forget 
) and the guy on the street may not be that familiar with them, but proper cooks/bartenders certainly know the difference.
I don’t really see this one as being particularly deserving of peeve-osity, go up to your average Joe (or Sven) on the street in Des Monies (or Visby) and ask about mangoes, you’re going to draw a blank there, too.
yup. remember the GREEN oranges in TAiwan ? Ask mucha man bout them.
LIME = pronouced Li Moo (ask Chris for the right chinese and pinyin spelling ) 
Lime is lai1mu3 (萊姆)
There is a specialty shop on the corner of Jinhua and Yongkang St in Taipei that sells limes (and lime juice etc) from the family farm in Miaoli. His lime juices are to die for in this weather. Pure unadulerated heaven.
tw.myblog.yahoo.com/0922143157/a … l=a&fid=90
As the other posters have noted, Shanyangrou (goat) and yangrou (mutton) are both referred to as yangrou in Taiwan and in most places, it’s going to be goat.
And that goat is damn tasty in a liquor stew in the winter months washed down with some of Taiwan’s finest. That’s eatin’. MZY is the best I know of in Taipei ( I’m sure there are others).
Thanks Charlie. That was a typo in URL. Just corrected it. Happens when stay up so late, with a few drinks too much.
The english pages does not have any product information. You should check the chinese pages for what retail customer can buy. They do accept order for custom cuts. But the price will have to be negotiated.
Here are what I found on their list:
NZ Lamb Frenched Rack $750/kg
NZ French Cut Shoulder $450/kg (6 month old lamb)
NZ BBQ Lamb Slice $230/500g
NZ Hotpot Lamb Slice $115/250g
There are so many varieties of lemons, oranges, etc. available here.
Lime is 萊姆, but grocers here don’t seem to know this word, and if they do they may point you to a green lemon. If you go to the market and wish to buy real Persian (aka Tahitian) limes (the kind most commonly usually used in the US, and the standard in bars), you need to ask for 無籽檸檬 (wu3 zi3 ning2 meng2 - “seedless lemon”).
It’s possible the differences in ages and varieties of animals such as sheep and cattle are expressed fully in Taiwanese. I had this conversation with a meat supplier two weeks ago but naturally I have forgotten the words themselves. Written Chinese doesn’t make much of a distinction. What is the specific Chinese written term for “mutton” for example?
And “mian yang” doesn’t tell the whole story either. Some sheep are bred for their wool, and some for their meat. And of course some for both. But they tend to stop growing wool after you’ve eaten them. “Mian yang” just means “sheep” in Chinese as far as I can tell.
There are so many varieties of lemons, oranges, etc. available here.
Lime is 萊姆, but grocers here don’t seem to know this word, and if they do they may point you to a green lemon. If you go to the market and wish to buy real Persian (aka Tahitian) limes (the kind most commonly usually used in the US, and the standard in bars), you need to ask for 無籽檸檬 (wu3 zi3 ning2 meng2 - “seedless lemon”).[/quote]
In China, limes are sold as 青檸 if I remember correctly, but that term won’t get you very far here. In Trader Vics they have a sort of hybrid from Tainan that is almost a lime. I have never seen a real key lime for sale in Taiwan, and I have been told by countless grocers and bar owners here that you can’t get them. I even brought some back from Thailand to confirm it wasn’t a language issue.
I guess my next step is to find a Thai chef and ask them how they make Thai food without limes.
If I can’t get them I might import them myself from Hong Kong or Thailand. That’ll be pretty difficult I’m sure.
Chris, are you in Taipei? If you could tell me what market you went to I’d be very grateful as I’d really like to get real limes.
[quote=“Lord Lucan”]It’s possible the differences in ages and varieties of animals such as sheep and cattle are expressed fully in Taiwanese. I had this conversation with a meat supplier two weeks ago but naturally I have forgotten the words themselves. Written Chinese doesn’t make much of a distinction. What is the specific Chinese written term for “mutton” for example?
And “mian yang” doesn’t tell the whole story either. Some sheep are bred for their wool, and some for their meat. And of course some for both. But they tend to stop growing wool after you’ve eaten them. “Mian yang” just means “sheep” in Chinese as far as I can tell.[/quote]
All this sheep/goats talk, watch out, Snadman will be in here soon and then the whole thing gets jacked over to D&R…
[quote=“the chief”]
All this sheep/goats talk, watch out, Snadman will be in here soon and then the whole thing gets jacked over to D&R…[/quote]
I fear for the integrity of Almas John, to be quite honest.