2014-06-01

【Aiden in English】

        It is time to celebrate a well deserved party for surviving another Chinese School Year, especially on International Children's Day 2014.

        I love Szechuan cuisine and its food is very attempting like Fresh All the Way Soup, Slice Fish in Hot Chili Oil, Beef & Tripe in Chili Oil, Cold Spicy Noodles, Wonton Soup in Szechuan Style, Ma Po Tofu, Cumin Lamb, Shredded Beef with Green Peppers, Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce, etc. It's as simple as that.

        When I galloped with my schoolmates to the Bamboo, a Szechuan restaurant on Germantown Pike, PA where I had dined for several rounds before, I had no idea about what we ate this time. However, there were a few of dishes I wasn't crazy about. In fact, I didn't know if "Red Revolution Fish Fillet" was edible. And something told me that the other kids didn't like it either.

        The least favorite about the food here would probably be the oil. Everything looked so oily that it was glistening. The texture of food and healthy diet appeared to be less important than they should be. The Salt and Pepper Fish Fillet had a ton of bones. The plate of "Blow-You-Mind Spicy Chicken" was covered with a blanket of red dry peppers and kept completely untouched.

        A huge surprise to our parents was that we loved the Dry Sautéed Green Beans. They were tasty and crunchy, but most of all, weren't greasy. We asked for it again and, well, the second plate of green beans disappeared in seconds. It was absolutely delicious. The other food was not comparable at all. We even allowed the adults to steal ours like Tea Smoked Duck, Dongpo Pork Shoulder, and many more. I really wonder how they eat it without throwing it all up later.

        Sometimes, when facing hunger, kids go to extreme measures to eat their fill.

【紅霞譯文】

        終於熬過中文學校全學年結束，特別值得大塊朵頤好生慶祝一番，更何況又適逢2014年“六·一”國際兒童節這麼歡天喜地的日子。

        我喜愛四川菜系，原因非常簡單，一罐香湯、水煮魚、夫妻肺片、擔擔麵、龍抄手、麻婆豆腐、孜然羊肉、青椒牛肉片、魚香肉絲……，美味佳餚色香誘人。

        當與同伴們一路小跑匯聚“蜀苑”時，我搞不清到底要吃些啥玩藝，儘管之前來過幾回位於賓州日耳曼大道上的川菜小館。說來有幾道菜我確實不敢恭維，天曉得“新派魚片”能否入口，看得出其他孩子也有同感。

        這裡最大的問題就是油膩，每樣食物油光閃閃，不太講究材料質地和控制健康飲食。椒鹽魚片裡骨頭剔得很不徹底，辣子雞上覆蓋厚厚一層紅彤彤的干辣椒塊，嚇得大家敬而遠之，無人敢碰。

        完全出乎爹娘意料之外，我們偏愛香脆可口的干煸四季豆，最關鍵的是這道菜油花不多。我們吃完之後又叫上一盤，眨眼功夫，第二盤干煸四季豆很快就被一掃而光，真的好吃極了，其它拼盤根本無法與之相比。我們洋洋得意，任各位家長大人明搶豪奪桌上擺放的樟茶鴨、東坡肘子等等，他們咽下去並無噁心之感，令我百思不得其解。

        有時咱哥們姐兒往往飢不擇食，為了填飽胃口塞滿肚皮，平常毫不感冒的東西吃起來也會津津有味。