2015-03-01

【Aiden in English】

        Today I just went to a piano audition for the Golden Key Music Festival of USA in Princeton, NJ and played Sonata in G Major, Op. 49 No. 2 1st Movement by Beethoven. I didn’t write about it because there wasn’t much to mention about. Sure I was nervous, and my judge took forever to write her comments about the previous performance. But I don’t want to talk about it, in case of jinxing me.

        After a one on one, face to face encounter with a professional judge and performing to her, I felt good. Not that I played well. No, I would never say that because Karma certainly bites back sometimes. I felt good because I was still alive and didn’t mess up. A burden that had tormented me for the past two hours were gone, replaced by excitement, for mom was taking me to a dim sum restaurant called Shanghai Park. 

        On the first impression outside, I’d say it was an amazing restaurant. The restaurant took up a lot of space, and pillars stood in front for decoration to help up an overhead roof. Mom and I walked inside and were taken to a cozy table by a waiter. The restaurant was well lit with beautiful chandeliers that I couldn’t find, and also each divider between booths had carvings of dragons. The ceiling was sort of concave, with the sides decorated with recessed lights. The waiter led us to a corner booth where we found menus already sitting there, waiting to be read and considered.

        As usual, mom just had the dumb person on the side that said “yes” to about everything. “Aiden, do you want noodles?” “Yes.” “How about some tofu?” “Yes.” “With hot sauce?” “Yes.” “Aiden, did you forget to brush your teeth again?” “Yes.” Something of sorts. What we ended up ordering was Cruller; Shanghai-style Noodles; Uncongealed Tofu in Salty Sauce; two different types of stuffed buns: Pan-seared Pork Bun and Crab Meat with Pork Steamed Juicy Bun; two various breads: Crispy-fried Scallion Pancakes and Leavened Flatbreads; Braised Pig's Knuckle in Brown Sauce; and Marsha Taro with Dried Fruits. 

        The cruller looked really simple and was roasted to crisply golden brown. No wonder why it was also literally called deep-fried dough sticks.

        The Shanghai Noodles were bolded and stirred with the marinated pork and spinach in soy sauce. Mom was so crazy about it and always ate this staple of Shanghai cuisine. It tasted so authentic that I quickly finished all. 

        Mom passed me the Crab Meat with Pork Steamed Juicy Bun, and juice squirted out like a water gun when I took a chomp. The inside was warm, filling me like the morning sun. Not that we had any morning sun because it was snowing 24/7 these days. 

        The Crispy-fried Scallion Pancakes tasted good, mostly due to the greasiness. If Chinese food had pizza, this would come pretty close. However, Lai Lai Garden in PA had made the one with multiple delicate layers and made its flavor much tastier. The Leavened Flatbreads also became my favorite because of its saltiness.

        I slowly sipped Uncongealed Tofu in Salty Sauce which looked like a soup and didn’t really have much flavor. However, mom loved its texture and flavor. It reminded her of lovely memories when she lived in China 25 years ago.  

        Mom carefully gave me a large piece of Braised Pig's Knuckle in Brown Sauce The sauce was not only dark and brownish, but also dominated the flavor. Sweet tanginess and salty garlic combined was already as big as Santa’s. I took a bite, then moved on so I could grab a bit of everything.

        Among nine dishes today, the Marsha Taro with Dried Fruits was the only one still intact. The taro was meshed with red beans and sugar. Mom and I fixed it by grabbing the spoon that arrived with the dish and breaking off a piece. It felt fluffy as I was eating a cloud of sweetness. This delicacy gave us nutty flavor enhancing ingredient and became mom’s favorite desert in particular. When we left, the sweet sensation was still tingling at the tip of our tongues. 

        The weather may be bad. When you walk into Shanghai Park, however, have a bite and the day will suddenly seem a lot brighter than usual.

【紅霞譯文】

        今天我去新澤西州普林斯頓參加全美金鑰匙音樂節鋼琴視聽表演，彈了《貝多芬·G大調奏鳴曲作品第四十九號第二首第一樂章》，暫時不想揮墨渲染海選比賽，確實沒啥好說。我心情緊張再所難免，尤其碰到這麼一位評委慢條斯理，好半天才把上一位參賽者的評語打發完畢。算了，話多必有失，咱暫且在這兒打住，以免剋星纏身。

        經過一對一面對面給專業評委表演之後，我感覺良好，當然並非意味着本人發揮出色，況且咱一向不敢妄自胡言，否則當心報應。之所以說感覺良好，是因為我慶幸自己大難不死，而且在表演中能夠保持陣腳不亂，歷經折磨的兩個鐘頭好不容易熬了過來，取而代之的是無言的快樂，因為終於輪到媽媽帶我去“大千美食林”享用上海風味午茶。

        從外表乍看上去，“大千美食林”氣場誘人，占地面積挺大，門柱頂天立地。我和媽媽走進餐廳，服務生徑直帶位到舒適的桌前。只見室內華彩齊放燈火通明，隔間內外雕梁畫棟甚為養眼，天花板凹凸起伏壁燈高吊。待我們坐定，菜單早已擺在面前。

        猶如老調重彈，媽媽開始向我這個對什麼都張口閉口稱“是”的木頭人發問，“兒歌，吃麵條嗎？”“吃。”“豆腐呢？”“好。”“帶辣味的？”“成。”“兒歌，早起忘了刷牙了吧？”“對。”諸如此類炒蹦豆的話題你問我答。不大工夫，油條、上海炒麵、咸豆腐腦、兩種包子：生煎包及蟹黃豬肉小籠包、兩種麵餅：蔥油餅和發麵餅、走油元蹄、麻沙芋頭果脯糕等各種風味小吃一一呈上桌面。

        油條看起來非常簡單，兩根麵筋被炸得酥脆金黃，是名副其實的油煎餜子。

        上海炒麵無非就是粗麵條與紅燒豬肉和新鮮菠菜烹燴一氣，可媽媽愛的就是這口，每逢下上海館子，肯定忘不了來碗正宗粗炒麵。這裡做的確實不錯，我風捲殘雲，很快吃得乾乾淨淨。

        媽媽遞上蟹黃豬肉小籠包，我大口一咬，包子裡面的湯汁像水槍似的朝我猛射，肉餡熱乎乎的，宛若初生的朝陽。如今賓州一周七天每天廿四小時皚皚白雪，滿世界看不見太陽的影子。

        蔥油餅不錯，主要歸功於油煎深炸帶來的香味，假如中餐菜餚里有比薩一說，蔥油餅肯定是首選對象。不過賓州“來來花園”酒家做的蔥油餅略勝一籌，餅薄層多，更加可口耐吃。我也非常喜歡這裡的發麵餅，因為比較咸，啃上去有滋有味。

        我慢慢品嘗咸豆腐腦，說實在的它看上去更像一碗湯，沒什麼味道。不過媽媽卻非常欣賞這道家鄉美饌，細嫩而不松、鹵清而不淡、油香而不膩、肉鮮而不腥、辛辣而不嗆，禁不住回想起廿五年前在中國生活的甜美時光。

        媽媽小心給我夾來一塊走油元蹄，調料黑乎乎油膩膩，但口感不錯。特別添加的甜鹹蒜味大大提高了這道上海菜餚的品味，而肥嘟嘟的外表甭提有多像聖誕老人。我小試大廚的烹調手藝，情願留點胃口好吃下面其它東西。

        在今天九道食譜中，麻沙芋頭果脯糕依然保存完好。它由芋頭與紅豆沙和糖攪拌在一起，我和媽媽用調羹大勺蒯進嘴裡，質地蓬鬆，像吃了棉花糖似的，甜絲絲軟綿綿香噴噴，尤其讓媽媽愛不釋口，直到我們開拔之際，殘留在唇齒之間舌尖之上的甘醇余香久久未消。

        也許天公不作美，但只要跨進大千美食林吃上爽口熱乎的家鄉飯，準保叫你心情敞亮開來。