A Chinese Food and Culture Tour Through London倫敦的中華美食文化之旅

梅甘·伊夫斯　黃媛/譯

I miss China. Its been three long years since I was last there and the itch for street noodles， speedy trains and the wafting scent of temple incense has become overwhelming.

我想念中國。距我上次的中國之行已有三年之久。對炒粉、高鐵和寺廟香火味的渴望已變得難以抑制。

Luckily I live in London， a city with historical ties to the Middle Kingdom. With lockdowns lifted here， I set out to get my China fix1 in the British capital.

所幸我生活的倫敦與中國頗有歷史淵源。這里的疫情封控解除，我在英國首都開啟了中華美食之旅。

My first stop is Bell Lane， in East London， where it is possible to do a short noodle crawl2. Noodle and Beer provides a tongue-numbing Chongqing xiao mian but before I move on to a dinner of Guilin-style mifen at Chew Fun a few doors down， I am distracted in Spitalfields Market by pearl milk tea and someone serving savoury jianbing pancakes from a food stall. I return home and fall into an early food coma.

我的第一站是倫敦東區(qū)的貝爾街，在這兒可以來一次短暫的面條之旅。“彼兒小面”家的重慶小面讓人嘴辣舌頭麻。到距離不遠(yuǎn)的“吃范兒”享用桂林米粉之前，我還嘗了嘗斯皮塔爾菲爾茨市場的珍珠奶茶和小吃攤上的美味煎餅。吃飽了回家就犯困，早早睡去。

Another day， another lunch3， this time at Xi Home Dumplings， near Trafalgar Square， where I fill up on jiaozi and an accurately rendered roujiamo pork sandwich. Years ago， a friend pointed out that roujiamo sounds like “Roger Moore4” and now I cant order one without also craving a martini.

又是新的一天，又是一頓午餐，這次是在特拉法爾加廣場附近的“喜家餃子店”。我點(diǎn)了不少餃子，還吃了一個口味地道的肉夾饃。幾年前，一位朋友提到，肉夾饃聽起來像“羅杰·摩爾”，以至于現(xiàn)在我只要點(diǎn)了肉夾饃，就還想來杯馬提尼酒。

That evening， I sit down with a fellow Sinophile at The Alma， near the Angel tube station， with London-brewed One Mile End IPAs5 and giant bowls of Yunnanese “crossing-the-bridge” rice noodles （guoqiao mixian）. The warming bone broth is speckled with bright， red goji berries and fresh chrysanthemum petals. Heaven in Angel！

當(dāng)晚，我和一位也喜歡中國的朋友在天使地鐵站附近的“阿爾瑪”餐廳坐下，喝著倫敦釀造的One Mile End牌印度淡色艾爾啤酒，兩人都吃著大碗的云南過橋米線。熱乎的骨頭湯點(diǎn)綴著紅紅的枸杞和新鮮的菊瓣。簡直是天使的天堂！

For my next culinary trip， I round up a friend who has just returned from a few years living in China. We visit Silk Road， in Camberwell， which purports to serve Xinjiang-style food. The spicy lamb skewers6 take me straight back to a street table in Lanzhou， drinking Huanghe beer to a soundtrack of passing mopeds7.

下一站的美食之旅，我找來一位在中國生活了幾年剛回國的朋友。我們來到位于坎貝爾韋爾的“絲路”飯館，那里說是供應(yīng)新疆風(fēng)味的美食。麻辣羊肉串把我直接帶回蘭州街頭的一張餐桌，伴著駛過的機(jī)動自行車上飄來的音樂，暢飲“黃河”啤酒。

I am invited for an evening of finery at China Tang， the upmarket restaurant and bar inside the Dorchester Hotel. Dressed in our best， my companion and I descend into the art-deco lounge styled like a 1930s Shanghai speakeasy8， where we are handed small bottles of Tang Tea Punch9， a potent blend of gin， osmanthus tea， hibiscus syrup and jasmine bitters produced in-house. One sip and I cant help recalling another night， some years ago in Shanghai， sipping a gin cocktail in the lush bar at the Ruijin Hotel.

我受邀在多切斯特酒店內(nèi)的高檔餐廳兼酒吧“唐人館”度過一個精致的夜晚。我和同伴穿著最上檔次的衣服，走進(jìn)了具有裝飾藝術(shù)風(fēng)格的高級酒吧間，這兒的陳設(shè)就像20世紀(jì)30年代的上海“黑酒吧”。我們一人來了一小杯這家店特制的唐茶潘趣酒，這是一種由金酒、桂花茶、木槿糖漿和茉莉花苦啤酒調(diào)制而成的濃酒。抿一小口，便不由得回想起幾年前上海的一個夜晚，在瑞金酒店的豪華酒吧里，品嘗著以金酒為基酒的雞尾酒。

The punch having done its work， we sit at a white-linen-covered table in the formal dining room and order basket upon basket of delicate dim sum， washed down with a top-shelf 2013 Ao Yun red wine from Yunnan， while spying on someone who might be a famous rapper at a nearby table.

酒足微醺，我們移步至正式餐廳里一張鋪著白色亞麻桌布的桌子旁，點(diǎn)了一籃又一籃的精致點(diǎn)心，伴著產(chǎn)自云南的2013年份頂級敖云紅酒，一邊偷瞟附近桌可能是位著名說唱歌手的食客。

By now， it is time to explore the heart of Chinese culture in London： Chinatown10. I join a monthly walking tour led by a volunteer from China Exchange， a non-profit dedicated to fostering understanding and spreading appreciation of Chinese culture. She gives us the history of Chinatown， from its origins as a military ground owned by Charles Gerrard， Earl of Macclesfield （this explains about 25 per cent of the districts street names）， to becoming the home of the aristocracy in the 1700s， then declining into tenements by the 20th century， when Chinese immigrants and workers moved in from the docks at Limehouse11.

至此，是時候來探索倫敦中國文化的核心了——中國城。我參加了由中國交流中心一位志愿者組織的月度徒步旅行。中國交流中心是非營利組織，致力于促進(jìn)理解和傳播中國文化。志愿者向我們介紹了中國城的歷史。這里最初是麥克爾斯菲爾德伯爵查爾斯·爵祿擁有的軍事用地（中國城約1/4的街道名稱都與他的名字相關(guān)），18世紀(jì)成為貴族的居所，20世紀(jì)中國移民和工人從萊姆豪斯的碼頭搬過來后，逐漸成為廉租公寓。

Several dim sum restaurants were opened by Hongkongers in Chinatown in the 1960s， along with Londons first Asian supermarket—Loon Fung， which brought bok choy to Britain and now operates stores in five locations in the capital. By 1985， Chinatown was officially recognised on maps. The lamp posts were painted red and gold， fu dog12 statues were put up on Gerrard Street and Chinese translations were added to the street signs.

20世紀(jì)60年代，香港人在中國城開了幾家點(diǎn)心店，以及倫敦第一家亞洲超市——“龍鳳行”，這家超市把白菜帶到了英國，如今在倫敦有五個門店。到1985年，中國城終獲官方認(rèn)可，得以標(biāo)示在地圖上。燈柱刷上了紅漆和金漆，爵祿街上擺上了石獅子，路牌上增加了中文翻譯。

The tour finishes with a meal at Cantonese banquet restaurant Golden Phoenix.

游覽結(jié)束后，我們在粵式酒家“金鳳凰”用餐。

The following evening， I meet my Sinophile friend （somehow still not tired of being my sidekick） back in China- town， in front of the jade door of a Gerrard Street speakeasy. After a large bouncer13 checks my name against a list， we are let in from the bright spring evening to a dark stairwell.

第二天傍晚，我和那位喜歡中國的朋友（不知何故，依然開開心心地跟著我）約在中國城爵祿街一家“黑酒吧”的綠門前見面。一名大個子保安對照名單核對了我的名字后，把我們從燈火輝煌的春夜讓進(jìn)了昏暗的樓梯間。

Seated at a dark-wood bar， we squint through the glow of red lanterns at a menu of Asian-themed cocktails. I order a cocktail—an insane mix of Sri Lankan arrack， sake， chilli， vanilla， absinthe and osmanthus. Baskets of dim sum arrive; they might be tasty but the drinks are slipping down and the night is disappearing in a dim （sum） haze.

我們坐在一張深色木制的吧臺前，透過紅燈籠的光線，瞇著眼睛看著亞洲主題的雞尾酒酒單。我點(diǎn)了一杯雞尾酒——由斯里蘭卡亞力燒酒、日本清酒、辣椒、香草、苦艾酒和桂花調(diào)制而成，這搭配相當(dāng)瘋狂。一籃籃點(diǎn)心上桌，也許美味，但酒已下肚，燈影昏暗，夜已朦朧。

The following day， still reeling from the kick of the cocktail， I seek fresh air in the wilds of East Londons Victoria Park. Here， in an unassuming spot， stands the Victoria Park Chinese Pagoda， a two-tiered tower surrounded by its own West Lake. Hangzhou-on-Thames！

第二天，仍在雞尾酒的后勁里暈頭轉(zhuǎn)向的我，來到位于倫敦東區(qū)的維多利亞公園，好在戶外呼吸新鮮空氣。在一處并不起眼的地方，矗立著一座名為“寶塔”的中式?jīng)鐾ぃじ邇蓪樱嘤凶约旱摹拔骱杯h(huán)繞，好一個泰晤士河畔的杭州！

The pagodas history stretches back to the Victorian era. Built in Hyde Park and moved in 1847， it fell into disrepair and was demolished in the 1950s. An exact replica was built by the local council in 2012， as part of a ?4.5 million （US$5.6 million） programme of major improvements in Victoria Park ahead of the London Olympic Games.

亭子的歷史可以追溯至維多利亞時代。它始建于海德公園，于1847年搬遷至此，后因年久失修，于20世紀(jì)50年代拆除。2012年，市議會把它列為倫敦奧運(yùn)會前維多利亞公園450萬英鎊（約合560萬美元）大型升級改造項(xiàng)目的一環(huán)，建造了一座一模一樣的亭子。

My local takeaway， in Honor Oak， seems as good a place as any to see out my project. The Golden Tigers yellow and red sign promises， “Peking， Szechuan & Chinese Cuisine” and its interior is a time capsule from a presumed 1990s heyday： grey-tiled walls with a five-page menu posted up with tape; scroll paintings slightly askew and browned from cooking grease; a solitary red lantern dangling from the ceiling; outdated Lunar New Year calendars; and an e-bike， parked inside， next to some Banana Leaf-brand boxes.

在霍諾爾奧克區(qū)，我住處附近的外賣店似乎是為這次美食之旅畫上句號的好地方。“金老虎”家黃底紅字的招牌上寫著“Peking， Szechuan & Chinese Cuisine”（京味、川香和中華美食），內(nèi)部裝潢是20世紀(jì)90年代的風(fēng)格，也許那時是這家店生意最紅火的日子。灰磚墻壁上用膠帶貼著五頁菜單。卷軸畫掛得稍稍有點(diǎn)兒歪，被油煙熏成了褐色。天花板上掛著一盞孤零零的紅燈籠。還有幾張老黃歷。一輛電動自行車停在里面，旁邊堆著一些“香蕉葉”牌的盒子。

Through a huge， Perspex14， anti-Covid screen， I order the most London of Chinese food options： Singapore fried noodles. Purportedly created in the 1950s or 60s by Hong Kong cooks， the dish eventually made its way onto every British takeaway menu. The hair-thin vermicelli noodles are seasoned with an unusual combination of curry powder and chilli， and outfitted with “a bit of everything” meat， tiny prawns， onions and token green peppers.

隔著一大塊旨在阻隔新冠病毒的珀斯佩有機(jī)玻璃，我點(diǎn)了倫敦最具特色的中餐：新加坡炒面。據(jù)稱，這是在20世紀(jì)五六十年代由香港廚師創(chuàng)制的菜品，最終榮登每張英國外賣的菜單。細(xì)如發(fā)絲的米粉搭配咖喱粉和辣椒來調(diào)味，口味獨(dú)特，配上肉、蝦皮、洋蔥（“各來一點(diǎn)兒”），再象征性地加點(diǎn)青椒。

The elderly proprietor takes my four one-pound coins， retreats to the back and relays my order to his wife in Mandarin： “Xinjiapo chaomian”.

上了年紀(jì)的老板收下我四枚面額為一英鎊的硬幣，退到后廚，用普通話向他的妻子轉(zhuǎn)述了我點(diǎn)的餐：“新加坡炒面。”

There is great Chinese food to be had in London， and a deep and long cultural history to appreciate. Even still， Im no less itchy for that next trip to the real China.

在倫敦，既可以品嘗中華美食，又可以欣賞悠遠(yuǎn)精深的文化歷史。盡管如此，我還是對下一次真正的中國之行充滿期待。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)撸?/p>