2013-12-13

【Aiden in English】

        Today was the second day at sea. So I still had nothing to do. Because of it, I tried to spend some more time in the restaurant.

        My favorite dish of the day was an Italian plate of delight. I expected it to be awesome because Italian food, in general, had all the popularity in the world, such as pizza, pasta, bologna, ravioli, etc. If my dish was anything like that, I'd be happy.

        The dish I ordered was pasta called Penne al Ragu d'Anatra. The tube pasta was served with tomato onion sauce and duck ragu. A duck was marinated with wine and multiple dressings like black pepper, rosemary, bay leaves, basil, cloves, nutmeg, lemon, garlic, turmeric powder, etc. Later, it was cut into pieces. Fresh grated Parmesan cheese was also added to the top of the dish. It tasted a salty flavor with a slight tinge of sourness. I ate every last bit of it. This was cooked perfectly and became the best pasta of my life. So when I was finished, not a crumb could be seen. In fact, one could even see one's own reflection on a plate.

        Compared to the noodles in China, this pasta was ridiculously easy to make. Even so, it's better than all the other noodles I had ever eaten. But in a weird way, the pasta I had was strangely similar to the Chinese noodles. If only the pasta had a bit of sweetness, it would be almost impossible for me to tell the difference between the Chinese noodles and the Italian pasta. And it's so funny to see how two very different nations in different parts of the world had very similar food in taste. Therefore, food can act as a bridge between two different cultures.

【红霞译文】

       今天又是一整天在海上航行，我无所事事，因此准备拿出大把时间钻研餐厅食谱。

       最吊人胃口的当属意大利菜肴，对此我报以厚望，因为意大利菜系风靡全球，像比萨饼、面条、猪牛肉熏制粗香肠、馄饨等百吃不厌，所以只要能饱餐上述其中一种可口美食，我定会心满意足。

       我点了一份手工自制的意大利香鸭通心卤面，拌面卤子为切碎的洋葱末与打烂的番茄块爆炒而成的酱汁，鸭子经料酒、黑胡椒、迷迭香、香叶、罗勒叶、丁香、豆蔻、柠檬、蒜蓉、黄姜粉等腌制红烧后切成丁，并浇在卤面上头，就餐前再撒上薄薄一层新鲜削磨成丝的巴马臣奶酪，吃起来咸中带酸，恰到好处，这是我有生以来所尝到的最棒的意大利面条，我丝毫舍不得留下任何一点点残羹剩渣。说真的，从一个人的饮食习惯上不难看出他／她的性情爱好。

        与中国面条相比，意大利面条做起来出奇地容易。尽管如此，在我心目中，它仍然占据重要地位，其味道甚至可与中国面条相媲美。除了意大利面条略带甜味之外，我几乎尝不出两种面条之间的区别。极为有趣的是，两个底蕴不同的东西方国家竟然英雄所见略同，人们的口感味觉如此相似。就这个意义而言，饮食的确可以成为架在两种文化之间的桥梁。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2010: 二年级语文(2nd Grade Language Arts)

English Afternoon Tea (英式午茶 12-13-2013)

Grand Dining @ Nautica Oceania (“大洋·航海”号游轮——大餐厅)

Salad (沙拉)

Olive Oil (橄榄油)

Crosslink(相关博文):

Across the Indian Ocean(穿越印度洋)