2015-02-25

【Aiden in English】

        Birthdays are accounted for holidays to those who celebrate them. Everyone has a birthday, and everyone celebrates it in a different way, large or small. So for my 12^th birthday, mom and I went back to Lai Lai Garden for another delicious meal.

        Considering we have been to Lai Lai Garden two times in the past week, we know pretty much what to order for our dinner. The very first thing we put on our list was the Dan Dan Noodles, simply because I absolutely loved it. It’s so chewy and spicy, and tasted just so good. The other dishes seemed problematic though. The first two times mom picked a ton of dishes since a lot of them sounded good to her. After picking most of the appealing stuff, today we stuck without any really tempting options. Beef? Well, been there tried that. Seafood? Had too much of fish and shrimp for the past few days. So what happened for about ten minutes was a constant question and answer between mom and me. Finally, I just told mom to stop asking for my opinion, because most of time I didn’t even know what food we’re talking about and so I wasn’t helping at all. In the end, I settled with the items mom selected. 

        There was obviously the Dan Dan Noodles, which barely lasted more than a minute against my appetite. Then on came an enormous bowl of soup or West Lake Beef Chowder. I could identify egg, bits of beef, peas, and tiny chopped up pieces of other veggies. It washed down some of the chili oil from the Dan Dan Noodles. 

        Moving on came the main courses of Wild Mushroom with Hot Pepper and Sautéed Lambs with Cilantros, which contained a plate of mushrooms and lamb, both having large and sliced bell peppers. At first glance, the bell peppers looked bitter and intimidating, and my background knowledge backed the thought up with an image of my grandma’s cooking. After being forced by my mom to eat once, however, I noticed that I was still alive. It wasn’t so bad, and the mushroom gave flavor to the bell peppers. I tried one of the large mushrooms after, and it literally lit my mouth on fire. Seriously, I stuck my tongue in my water for a minute or so before I took it out. Then, I shoveled up three mouthfuls of steaming rice. But instead of moving on to the lamb, I ate a few more. The mushrooms were actually delicious. I liked the spice of it all, and the texture was nice, smooth, and chewy. The flavor wasn’t too shabby, either. Sautéed Lambs with Cilantros looked very simple and salty, and tasted like the ordinary meat but not as spicy.  The lamb was tender and juicy, and there was sauce drizzled on top. It was full of taste and wonderfulness. But without the spicy stuff, the lamb seemed so different from the mushrooms. I couldn’t believe how making something spicy could change it so dramatically. It appeared to change the entire recipe. 

        When my stomach was about half full, on came a surprise main course of Sautéed Fresh Snake Gourd with White Fungi and Fresh Garlic contained some green stuff. Mom stated that the “green stuff” was snake gourd that became one of Chinese favorite veggies, and my appetite vanished at a glance. It looked like a cucumber, sliced into sections, but squishy like a sponge. I took one of them and cautiously nibbled on the edge. Now, I don’t believe dirt has a taste, and this might be because of my hate of veggies, but this veggie fit the description of the taste of soil perfectly. It was slightly bitter, stringy, and as squishy as a worm. It’s not that Lai Lai’s cooking is bad, but because I don’t understand how the world could create such a fiend to people’s taste buds. This was even worse than having my tongue lit on fire, and its taste will be a lot harder to take away than just by putting my tongue in water. 

        Birthdays are celebrated in many different ways, whether it’s dining at a restaurant or a party. It’s a time to relax but not with snake gourd.

【紅霞譯文】

        在乎生日的人常把這一天當節日來過，其實誰都有自己的生日，無論規模大小，人人選擇慶生的方式不盡相同，而我本人十二歲生日則是在媽媽的陪伴下再次返回“來來花園”酒家同享美饌佳餚。

        鑑於上周曾兩度光臨“來來花園”，我們對本店晚餐烹飪秘籍早已瞭如指掌，“擔擔麵”必選無疑，我喜歡得要命，原因就這麼簡單，其麵條筋斗，麻辣味道刺激，真可謂根根香濃意猶未盡。至於其它飯菜，誰也拿捏不准。嗨，怪就該怪頭兩回媽媽為了尋味舌尖上的鄉愁，一口氣幾乎嘗遍肆筵野肴，結果剩下可供今晚選擇的菜譜屈指可數。現在我們只好跟着感覺走，矬子裡面拔將軍。牛肉？嘿，咱已在這兒打過牙祭；海鮮？嗬，這兩天淨跟魚蝦打交道。足有十分鐘光景，彼此大眼瞪小眼，腦袋糊成一鍋粥，說不清該吃不該吃，我拜託媽媽當機立斷，千萬不要指望本人來扭轉乾坤。

        “擔擔麵”天下絕倫，端上來後沒過多久就被我一掃而光。接着，一大碗“西湖牛羹湯”綻放誘人的芬芳，雞蛋、牛肉末、豌豆、菜片清腸刮肚，至少可以緩解擔擔麵帶來的油膩麻辣之感。

         “小椒炒山菌” 和“香菜小椒羊肉”陸續上台，兩道菜都有大量青椒。乍看上去，“小椒炒山菌”的青椒苦得可怕，憑我個人經驗判斷，烹飪手藝很像外婆，媽媽逼我嘗試一口，吃後我發覺沒什麼大不了的，味道說得過去，蘑菇豐富了青椒的清香，我接連吃下幾大塊蘑菇，辣得我滿嘴冒火。說正經的，我不得不先把舌頭伸進水裡浸泡一兩分鐘，然後趕緊吞下三口米飯平息灼燒的感覺。在吃羊肉之前，我忍不住又多夾了幾筷子，蘑菇特別給力提味。“小椒炒山菌”非常好吃，辣椒令人饞涎欲滴，蘑菇因柔軟平滑耐嚼而大大提高了這道菜的質感，味道一點都不單調。“香菜小椒羊肉”雖說簡單但有滋有味，羊肉與普通肉沒什麼區別，溫辣肉嫩汁多外表勾芡，吃起來質地鬆軟味道咸香，因為“香菜小椒羊肉”不及“小椒炒山菌”那麼刺激，所以口感大不相同。不知為什麼麻辣具有如此奇效，能夠直接影響到烹調配方。

        吃到這裡，我已達到半飽，最後一道“蒜茸清炒銀耳絲瓜”方才出鍋端上桌面，媽媽事先強調的“綠色食品”原來不過是中國人愛吃的長絲瓜，我剛瞧它一眼，頓覺食慾全無。從外表上看，被切成小段的絲瓜跟黃瓜差不離，但本身粘乎乎像塊海綿。我夾上一塊沿周邊咬了一口，怎麼吃出泥巴的味道，也許因為自己一向討厭蔬菜，否則絕不會平白無故地把它倆聯繫在一起。絲瓜味苦質地粘稠，軟了吧唧像條蠕蟲，我絲毫沒有抱怨“來來花園”手藝欠佳的意思，而是想抒發內心的疑惑，世上竟然有如此苦澀的食物，吃後感覺比火燒火燎的舌頭更加難受，水能消除麻辣，但卻難以沖淡苦澀。

        慶生的確有很多方式，不管在飯館還是派對上聚餐，壽星們圖的是輕鬆的心情而非絲瓜的薰陶。