又中又英 - Outdoor food festivals | 褚簡寧

　　Many cities have their own version of annual outdoor food festivals. When I lived in Seattle years ago, family members and I went to the annual Bite of Seattle, which features numerous food stalls, live music, and performances. It is held at the Seattle Center cultural hub which includes the landmark Space Needle tower with restaurants and panoramic views. When I lived in London, I went to the annual Notting Hill Carnival, an outdoor food fair and music festival. Lan Kwai Fong has several food fairs a year.

　　I have yet to find my feet in Taipei after several extended stays here. The expression “find your feet” means to become familiar with and confident in a new situation. I am still unfamiliar with Taipei. That's why I was blown away when a friend told me about a food fair featuring stalls run by Hongkongers. To be blown away means to be very impressed. The last food fair I attended was in Lan Kwai Fong before the Covid pandemic. When I went to the Taipei fair last Saturday, I was pumped up to see that all 60 stalls were run by Hongkongers.

　　To be pumped up means to be excited. Many Hong Kong tourists came for the two-day fair. A Hong Kong couple, Sam and Jeans, who runs Mount 77, a small Taipei cafe, was doing brisk business selling milk tea, pineapple buns, and egg tarts at their stall. Alice, who runs an ice cream shop called Ice Green, sold croissants instead because the park’s electricity wasn’t strong enough for her ice cream equipment! Bruce and Catherine, who own Next Coffee, were selling pastries. I saw old friends and made new friends at the fair.

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　　許多城市都有他們自己年度戶外美食節。我多年前住西雅圖時，我和家人們都會到一年一度的西雅圖美食節Bite of Seattle，那裏有無數的食檔、現場音樂與表演。它在西雅圖中心舉行，是個文化中心，包含地標太空針塔，有餐廳和全視野景觀。我住倫敦的時候，也有去一年一度的諾丁山嘉年華，那是個戶外的美食會和音樂盛會。蘭桂坊每年都有幾個美食節。

　　即使已有幾次延長逗留在台北，我還未真正在這地find my feet——習語find your feet是指漸能熟習新的環境，自信能立足。我對於台北仍然很不熟悉，因此當有朋友告訴我，有一個美食節主打香港人營運的食檔時，我是blown away——to be blown away是指很是欽佩。上一個我去的美食節是新冠疫症前在蘭桂坊的。我上星期六去了台北美食節，見到全部60個食檔都是由香港人開設的，感到pumped up。

　　To be pumped up是指非常興奮。許多香港遊客都來到這一連兩天的市集。營運細小台北咖啡店赤峰77的一對香港夫婦Sam和Jeans，在自己的攤檔售賣奶茶、菠蘿包和蛋撻，生意很興旺。營運雪糕店Ice Green的Alice，卻改賣牛角包，因為公園的電力不足以負荷她那些製雪糕的電器！擁有「下一杯咖啡」的Bruce和Catherine，則在賣西式糕點。我在市集遇見老朋友，也認識到新朋友。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻