2017-01-27

【Aiden in English】

        The Lunar New Year is the biggest festival in China. While American school kids often complain about their short week of Christmas and New Year's breaks, Chinese students are at home, taking a month of rest.

        Yet in America, where there are many Chinese immigrants, most schools barely recognize the Chinese New Year as a holiday. At my school today, no teacher, student, or personnel in the building said "Happy Chinese New Year" or some weird pronunciation of "Gong Xi Fa Cai." The only hint of Chinese culture was evident in the cafeteria, where the lunch line served "sweet and sour chicken." I hate that stuff. It's so bad that I think it offends the name of Chinese food. If Americans want to get rid of Asian stereotypes, they should start by dealing with their misinterpretations.

        Luckily, my family is 100 percent Chinese, so I have a 100% chance of celebrating Chinese New Year. My favorite thing about Chinese New Year is the food, because not only is it always delicious, but I also don't know many other ways to celebrate. American culture has somewhat diluted the significance of this time, so there is not much extreme celebration associated with this holiday. I may argue that the Christmas tree also shows the Chinese New Year, but my family was too tired to take it down after Christmas.

        This New Year's, Mom decided to try a new restaurant. Noodle 88, a well-known Chinese restaurant in the area, was gaining popularity around town. As I mentioned, I have a passion for food. However, when people try to serve Americanized Chinese food that tastes like chicken in our cafeteria, I can't help but think that it is not worth anything. Noodle 88 has nothing to do with "bad food," so I loved it.

        I enjoy the fact that the outside looks nothing like the interior. For one, I didn't even know it was a restaurant from the outside looks. But the inside rooms felt cozy, like a small house, which it pretty much was. The food was terrific, and for once, I won't go into much detail about it. I'll say the Chow Mein is quite something special.

        Instead of discussing taste, I want to focus on quality. Before ordering, the owner, Roy, gave us a brief lecture about the ingredients used in the food. The restaurant's motto was Healthy first, then the taste. I don't care about the ingredients as long as they are tasty, but it's reassuring to know that the food is pure and contains no artificial flavors or preservatives. He even went into detail on how they used certain oils and vinegar. I believe this holds a great deal of symbolism, and for the next year, I hope to be as pure as possible. And like the food, I hope it tastes just as well.

【紅霞譯】

        農曆新年是中國最為隆重的傳統佳節，在美國頑童齊聲抱怨迎聖誕慶元旦一周冬歇期來去匆匆的同時，國內學子吃香的喝辣的，一個月寒假悠哉游哉。

        美國雖有大量華裔僑胞，但多數教育部門鮮少把春節當作節日對待，今天我所在的學校竟然沒有一位老師、同學或者工作人員祝賀“新年快樂”，哪怕蹩腳的“恭喜發財”也聽不到，實際上唯一有所表示的就是食堂午餐供應“甜酸雞”，我討厭這道菜，太不着調，而且有損中餐名聲，假如美國佬真要擯除對亞裔人固有偏見，當該先糾正自身錯誤概念。

        幸好我家是不折不扣的華人家庭，言外之意一定不遺餘力來慶祝中國新年，要知道春節於我少不了吃的東西，不單單因為民以食為天，除了吃我實在找不出什麼更好的慶祝方式。今年美國文化多少打擊點我的積極性，所以本人沒打算大操特辦慶祝活動，興許推說延用聖誕樹烘托春節氣氛，但實不相瞞我家人懶，到現在還未清理聖誕樹。

        今年春節媽媽決定嘗試新餐廳，去當地一家相當不錯的中餐館── “八八麵坊”，其聲譽傳遍小鎮內外。如前所說，我喜好飲食，然而對於所謂的美式中餐，也就是像學校食堂甜酸雞之類的食物，我情願避而遠之，“八八麵坊”講究正宗烹飪，因此正合我意。

        “八八麵坊”外表完全不如內部搶眼，乍看上去，我竟然一下子未能認出是家中餐館，它的室內面積不大但小巧玲瓏，令人感覺舒適自在，菜餚有股家的味道，這裡暫且不作詳細評論，我只想說炒麵非常特別。

        撇開傳統風味，我願意趁機談些飲食質量話題。點餐之前，朱老闆向我們簡單介紹該店食材組成，他們的理念是健康第一，味道第二。其實只要可口，我並非真正在乎菜譜成分，不過弄清楚下咽的東西符合純天然無添加劑或防腐劑食品標準會讓人心裡舒服好多。他還如實講解具體使用的食油和香醋，由此反映出自己所奉行的職業操守，明年希望再接再厲，飯菜更加色艷香濃形美味鮮。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2016 Super Bowl on the CNY's Eve(中國除夕與2016年超級碗)

2015: Chinese New Year Eve @ Lai Lai Garden(來來花園春節年夜飯)

2011: 喜從雪降(Sent From Above)

2009: 哥倫比亞卡塔赫納—魅力之城(Cartagena the Magic City, Colombia)

2008: 吃在遊輪(Cuisine on Carnival Destiny)

CNY Eve Feast (除夕年夜飯 01-27-2017)

三拼冷盤、湯包、四喜烤麩、台式香腸炒麵

紅燒牛肉撈麵、走油蹄膀、紅燒豆腐魚、店面

Crosslinks(相關博文):

2015: Mei Ting Asian Fusion(梅婷亞洲風味)

2015: Margaret Kuo's Dragon's Lair(郭夫人龍園)

2014: Fiery Dinner @ Bamboo Szechuan Cuisine(蜀苑麻辣晚宴)

2011: 除夕這一天(CNY Eve)

8th Grade(初中三年級)