發表評論-兒歌薈萃-萬維博客-萬維讀者網（電腦版）

The Chinese Lunar New Year is fantastic because it's a holiday that lasts around 23 days. You know what it means: more food, fun, and video games—this night combined Grandma's, Mom's, my birthday, and the Lantern Festival. Although the night is unique, I wish all these occasions were spread out more so I could enjoy everyone separately.

Bamboo Szechuan Restaurant is extremely popular in the Greater Philadelphia area. It isn't because it is so good that everyone needs to eat there, but because it is one of the few nice Chinese restaurants. To be honest, there aren't any fantastic Chinese restaurants within Mom's driving range, which eliminates all possibilities of the city. Anyway, we're stuck with "Chinese" food. Bamboo, in all honesty, was good. To me, anything that is spicy is good. Mom ordered stir-fried lotus root, a plate of beef and tripe in chili oil, a mixed pot of fried items with hot peppers, stir-fried flounder fillet with distilled grain sauce, and a tofu-pig-ox intestine mix in a gallon-ish of chili oil. In all, there were a ton of spices inside the food, and I thought it was terrible for your health.

You know that the day was special when Mom touched a piece of food with over fifty calories. She ate her fill tonight, and so did I. I went a little overboard. I love Chinese food, but the experience matters more than getting stuffed. I would rather experience hunger and the satisfaction of eating than not need to eat at all. The feeling of the tingling on the tongue from spicy Chinese food just can't be beaten, especially when it's at this level, where everything is so good that you don't know what to eat. The fried pot of chili stuff is fantastic and provides a bit of the famous Szechuan numbing spice. The pot of oil and stuff was also excellent, lighting my mouth on fire like braces.

Well, I am turning thirteen now, and as they all say, thirteen marks the beginning of the teenage years. They also say 13 is an unlucky number, but I'll try not to think of it that way. I am thinking about what life will be like now that Mom has officially been given permission to do as much work as she can. She always says that I'm a "grown-up" and should be "more mature." I'll work it out somehow, and really, it feels good to be 13.

【紅霞譯】

中國農曆新年實在叫絕，人們歡天喜地慶祝春節前後長達23天之久，你知道這意味着不光是無休無止的吃喝玩樂，還有拿得起放不下的電子遊戲。今晚非同尋常，外婆、媽媽以及我個人生日慶典適逢正月十五元宵節，真是無巧不成書，假如一年一度的大喜日子分開來逐個消受該有多好。

“蜀苑”可謂賓州大費城地區遐邇聞名的川菜餐廳，並非因為其烹飪技術高明到叫人流連忘返的地步，而是因為附近難得一見正宗道地的中餐館。在這裡咱不得不提及一下單憑媽媽駕車水平，費城的飲食業基本上被打入冷宮，既然注重“中式”美味，蜀苑堪稱貨真價實。其實對我來說，但凡麻辣的東西全都可口好吃，難怪媽媽點的夫妻肺片、素炒蓮藕、麻辣香鍋、滑熘魚片、豬牛下水毛血旺等不是麻就是辣，殊不知這些佐料對身體健康危害不輕。

要知道正因為今天是個特殊日子，媽媽才對50熱卡以上的食物網開一面。事實上，今晚不但她茶足飯飽，我也大快朵頤，最後有點撐得夠嗆。我偏愛中餐，並且常常吃得肚歪，應該完全歸咎於個人喜好，說到底我寧願餓着肚子去吃自己想吃的東西，而非對吃毫無食慾。中餐麻在舌尖辣到舌根那種別有滋味的感覺簡直無以倫比，尤其美食當前誘惑難擋，麻辣香鍋可真是一鍋香氣，將巴蜀川菜土家風味中的麻味表現得淋漓盡致，表面厚厚懸浮的油層又大大提升了這道佳餚質感效果，宛如我口中配製的矯形牙套，無不叫人獅子大開口，難掩貪吃的饞癮。

沒錯，現在我快要13歲了，如世人所說，13歲青少年時期是走向成年的開始。同時大家也覺得“13”並非是個吉利的數字，但我儘量不這麼看。當務之急我要考慮的是今後的道路該怎麼走，媽媽有言在先，現在我長大了，應該努力向上，像個大孩子那樣。我會積極面對未來，話說回來，13歲豆蔻之年確實令人神往。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2015: Silk Road Ensemble w/ Yo-Yo Ma(馬友友絲綢之路民樂隊)

2015: Shun Lee Palace, NYC(紐約順利宮)

2015: Serafina Fabulous Pizza, NYC(紐約六翼天使巨無霸披薩店)

2015: MMA-2, NYC(紐約大都會藝術博物館之二)

2015: MMA-1, NYC(紐約大都會藝術博物館之一)

2016-02-21_Alice Bakery 愛麗絲麵包坊-10001.jpg Alice Bakery (愛麗絲“高貴”麵包坊 02-21-2016)