2015-02-21

【Aiden in English】

        The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) wasn’t just a learning opportunity but also a daily exercise. Walking and standing for three hours really get you tired, you know. So prior to our grand finale of a concert in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, we decided to have a delicious dinner to refill my batteries.

        Chinese cuisine gives a ton of energy to those who seek it and carve for food. The Chinese restaurants in NYC are large and small, delicious, and…… not-so-good.  They spread absolutely everywhere, even outside of Chinatown. Out of the entire city of Chinese restaurants, mom was able to strategically pick one. I always trust mom’s judgment unless it comes to school and learning related stuff. 

        We took a taxi for thirty minutes or so, passing enormous skyscrapers slowly turning on their lights as night crept closer. It was snowing mixed with icy rain, and the huge gusts of wind blew the snow so hard that it seemed almost as if they were flying horizontally. The tax pulled over to the side of 65^th Street in Midtown Manhattan, and there it was the Shun Lee. The entrance looked small, but stood out like a sore thumb. The restaurant unlike the dull buildings that surrounded had a dark, colorful hue to its windows, doors, and decorations. Inside was similar, with dark red and purple colors dominantly on the walls, chairs, and furniture. Even the light seemed to have and posses a darker variation. The narrow path led to a large hall with booths lining the walls, and there seemed to be a slope towards the center of the hall where more tables were located. On the outer wall, multiple dragons were suspended, glowing brightly yellow and creating a contrast of dark light. 

        The four of us were seated in a booth, and menus were passed out. Now we preferred a Szechuan style to other cuisines. The kind contained the fiery spicy food, just like Lai Lai Gardens in Blue Bell, PA. So I felt pretty comfortable eating here already. The menu also proved to pass our expectation levels by quite a bit, giving over a hundred dishes. All I wanted was some Dan Dan Noodles, and I was set. I handed the menu over to mom, and my friend Kevin and I plopped ourselves into the world of gaming. A few hours or what seemed like hours on my iPad, my noodles arrived and were all steamy and hot, accompanied by other luscious dishes. I recognized a familiar entrée of Hunan Country Lamb with Fresh Peppers, green disgusting veggies of Buddha’s Delight (as usual), some Shanghai Steamed Juicy Buns, Tangy and Spicy Jellyfish, and a huge bowl of Steamed Seafood with Tofu. By the looks of all, I wouldn’t need a mid-night snack. 

        Since the Dan Dan Noodles were the most favorite to me, I served myself a big helping. Now I don’t know about you, but I like my noodles without three table spoons of peanut butter (PB). This plate of noodles probably even used four or five table spoons. The noodles were covered with PB and had an ugly taste. The noodles also weren’t the same type as Lai Lai Garden’s. The remaining noodles were laid in the bowl, untouched. 

        The lamb reignited my appetite with explosions of pepper and salt. The spice numbed the edge of my tongue, only making it taste better. Mom then scoped out servings of the veggies, which I didn’t touch except for the water chestnuts. Jellyfish were slowly plucked from the plate, spicy and piquant but not brittle at all. As Shirley, Kevin’s mom said, it should be pre-treated with hot water before served on the table. Everyone also received a stuffed bun with juicy pork inside. My first bite ended me up with an explosion of flavor and juice all over the table. The bun had contained so much juice that it could be considered soup, and it drowned out the flavor of the pork. Finally, we tried to finish a seafood stew with a slice of tofu. The stew was refreshing and really cleared up all the oil and grease. I drank bowl after bowl, spoonful after spoonful. Boy, tonight mom’s gonna hear a lot of flushing toilet sounds.

        The Shun Lee boosted my enthusiasm and satisfied our night in NYC. It also gave a memory that would last a while. 

【紅霞譯文】

        紐約大都會藝術博物館參觀不只為你開拓視野，同時還逼你鍛煉筋骨。試想三個鐘頭內，你要麼來回走動，要麼連續罰站，撐到最後非累得腰酸腿痛不可。鑑於這種狀況，我們迅速落實下一步計劃，在進行最後一項活動即前往林肯表演藝術中心聽音樂會之前先用美食佳餚好好犒勞一下自己。

        對於追求刺激享受生活的人來說，中式名饌傳統小吃不僅能滿足味覺搞定腸胃，而且還可重新煥發青春的活力。紐約城上下唐人街內外大大小小好的差的中餐館遍及各處，無不慷慨地為我們敞開海選之門，媽媽慧眼識珠，一向拿捏得八九不離十。除了校內課業外，我從來不為吃喝拉撒操心費神。

        我們出門打的，慢慢穿梭在高樓大廈之間，隨着夜幕降臨，街上寒風呼嘯冰雪交加，不管三七二十一徑直地朝我們橫飛過來。大約卅左右，出租車悄然停在曼哈頓中城六十五街，“順利園”到了。“順利園”的門臉很小且突出樓外，不像周圍建築物死氣沉沉，其外部門窗主調黑色，極易博人眼球；而內部紅色牆壁與紫色家具遙相呼應，彰顯富麗堂皇的氣勢；餐廳里光線暗淡柔和，狹窄的走道兩旁大的餐桌居中小的隔間把邊，由外向內階梯式一層一層地朝大廳中心方向下降；外層牆壁上，幾條巨龍當空高掛金光閃亮，把整個餐廳襯托得耀眼輝煌。

        我們一行四人被帶進隔間，接過食譜單過目之後，毫無疑問地，川菜料理將主打今晚盛宴，甜酸麻辣苦香咸醇濃並重，堪與賓州藍鈴鎮備受本人稱讚的“來來花園”酒家相媲美，吃在“順利園” 我舉雙手贊成，雖然味道如何尚無發言權，但僅僅從數以百計的花哨名稱上來說，我們沒有虛度此行，況且只要來一碗“擔擔麵”，我便心滿意足。於是，我把食譜單遞給媽媽，與身邊的藝博全心投入到蘋果牌袖珍電腦電子遊戲世界中去。感覺過了很長時間，粘巴巴熱乎乎的麵條被端了上來，其它幾道菜餚也陸續與我們見面，有熟悉的“湖南羊”、令人倒胃口的“素什錦” （一直如此）、幾個“上海小籠湯包”、一盤“涼拌川式海蜇”和大碗“海鮮豆腐煲”。貓着眼前滬川湘席，我馬上意識到今晚用不着再吃宵夜。

        既然我是沖擔擔麵而來，那麼咱正好近水樓台順手夾上一大筷子先吃為快。不知你口味如何，反正我喜歡吃未加三大湯匙花生醬的擔擔麵，而眼前這盤大概足有四、五勺，被花生醬裹得里三層外三層的擔擔麵要多難吃有多難吃，這可不是我在“來來花園”吃的那口，難怪剩下的擔擔麵沒人願意再多碰一下。

        “湖南羊”的辣椒與鹹度叫我重新找回了失而復得的味覺，麻辣鮮香大大提高了肉質本身細膩滑嫩的口感。接着，媽媽不失時機地給我送來“素什錦”，要不是因為偏愛其中的荸薺，我對蔬菜一向金口難開。“涼拌川式海蜇”略帶麻辣味道，吃起來一點不脆，根據曉麗阿姨的經驗之談，海蜇皮應該事先用熱水處理一下，只有這樣才會保持脆爽的口感。“上海小籠湯包”含有大量豬肉汁液，我第一口剛咬下去，灌湯四處外溢，濺滿了整個桌面，真是名副其實的湯包，這下子，豬肉餡反倒失去了慣有的風味。最後面對“海鮮豆腐煲”，大家只能盡力而為，這道菜味道清香，可用來清洗方才吃下的油膩食物，我一口氣喝了好些湯湯水水。天呀，今晚媽媽不知得聽見多少次沖馬桶的聲音。

        “順利園”中餐館激發了我滿腔熱情，令人充分感受到紐約之夜的歡樂氣息，這種美好的瞬間將銘刻在我的記憶中。