2016-02-21

【Aiden in English】

        Chinese Lunar New Year is absolutely awesome because it’s a holiday that is around 23 days long. You know what it means.  More food, fun, and videogames. This particular night was a combination of grandma’s, mom’s, my birthday, plus the Lantern Festival. Although the night is super special, I sort of wish all these occasions were spread out more to enjoy every one separately.

        Bamboo Szechuan Restaurant is extremely popular in the community of the Greater Philadelphia Area. It isn’t because it is so good that everyone needs to eat there, but that it is one of the few nice Chinese restaurants around. To face it, there aren’t any amazing Chinese restaurants within mom’s driving skills, which basically eliminates all possibilities of the city. Anyway, we’re stuck with “Chinese” food. Bamboo, in all honesty, was actually really good. To me, anything that is spicy is good. Literally, mom ordered stir-fried lotus root, a plate of beef and tripe in chili oil, a mixed pot of fried stuff with hot peppers, stir-fried flounder filet with distilled grains sauce, and a tofu-pig-ox intestine mix in a gallon-ish of chili oil. In all, there was a ton of spices inside the foods, and I thought it was bad for your health.

        You know that the day was special when mom touched a piece of food that was over fifty calories. In fact, she ate her fill tonight, and so did I. Actually, I went a little overboard. I love Chinese food before you get stuffed, but it’s the experience that matters.  I rather experience hunger and the satisfaction of eating than not needing to eat at all. The feeling of the tingling on the tongue from spicy Chinese food really just can’t be beaten. Especially when it’s at this kind of level, where everything is so good that you don’t know what to eat. I mean, the fried pot of chili stuff is awesome and provided a tiny bit of the famous Schezuan numbing spice. The pot of oil and stuff was also awesome, lighting my mouth on fire like braces. 

        Well, I am turning thirteen now, and as they all say, 13 begins the teenage years. They also say 13 is an unlucky number, but I’ll try not to think of it that way. What I am thinking about is what life is going to be like, now that mom as officially gotten permission to give out as much work as she can and always say 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.

【紅霞譯文】

        中國農曆新年實在叫絕，人們歡天喜地慶祝春節前後長達廿三天之久，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，媽媽才對五十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，現在我快要十三歲了，如世人所說，十三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，十三歲豆蔻之年確實令人神往。