又中又英 | Packed to the brim | 褚簡寧
By the time you read this, the Metropol restaurant in Admiralty will have ceased business after 35 years as a popular dim sum place for lunch. The restaurant was often packed to the brim with office workers, shop assistants, and others during lunch hour. If a place is packed to the brim, it means it is at maximum capacity or completely full. One thing that made the Metropol such a drawing card was that it still served dim sum in traditional trolleys. So-called dim sum “aunties” wheeled trolleys filled with different types of dim sum in bamboo steamers from table to table where diners chose what they wanted.
If a place is a drawing card, it means it attracts a lot of people. A similar word is “crowd-puller”. During my days as a Hong Kong reporter, I sometimes went to the Metropol for lunch with friends because the dim sum trolleys reminded me of my younger days when many dim sum restaurants used trolleys. The City Hall’s Maxim’s Palace is one of the few remaining places that still use dim sum trolleys. I sometimes went there with relatives and friends when I lived and worked in Hong Kong.
It sometimes took me nearly an hour to get a table during lunch hour, but it was worth the long wait for the dim sum trolleys and the atmosphere, especially if I got a harbour view table. I hope it doesn’t cease its business! Dim sum trolleys are a dying breed, which means something that is becoming rare, such as dai pai dongs and bamboo scaffolders.
當你讀到這裏的時候，在金鐘有35年歷史，著名午膳飲茶的名都酒樓已經結業。這間酒樓在午飯時段，總是擠滿了（packed to the brim）辦公室員工、店舖售貨員以及其他食客。若一個地方是packed to the brim，那即是它已達到容納上限或已滿座。名都能成為吸引人的地方，其中一樣就是它仍然使用傳統點心車。那些「點心姨姨」會推着餐車，上面滿載各式各樣的竹蒸籠點心，經過一枱又一枱，讓食客可以挑選想吃的點心。
若一個地方是個drawing card，意即它能吸引許多人到來。類近的字詞是“crowd-puller”。我在香港當記者的日子，有時會跟朋友去名都午膳，因為那些點心車令我回想起年輕時代，許多茶樓都是用點心車的。香港大會堂的美心皇宮亦是碩果僅存仍然使用點心車的酒樓。我在香港居住和工作的年頭，偶爾也會跟親朋戚友到那裏用膳。
在午膳時段，有時要耗上近一個小時才能入座，但為了點心車和環境氣氛，特別是如果我能坐在有海景的座位，等得久也是值得的。我希望它不會結業吧！點心車是a dying breed，意即它越來越少，例如大牌檔以及竹棚架。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
