又中又英——distant relatives

　　It’s been years since I went to a Turkish restaurant. I faintly remember going to one in Hong Kong’s Soho district eight years ago. If you faintly remember something, it means you don’t have a clear memory of it. Last week I went to a Turkish restaurant in New York City for dinner with distant relatives I had never met before. My younger brother, who likes to keep in touch with distant relatives, invited them. Close relatives are people such as parents, sons, daughters, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Distant relatives are people not closely related, such as cousins, second cousins, and great aunts. We went to Bodrum, a pricey (expensive) Turkish restaurant in Manhattan.
　　It is so popular you must call several days ahead for a table. There were seven of us. Luckily, my younger brother paid the pricey bill. The Manhattan apartment I now live in also belongs to him. They don’t live in the apartment and gave me the keys! We sat outdoors at Bodrum in an area with an overhead covering which has heating lamps. New York City has many outside seating areas with heating lamps to keep customers warm in the winter. Customers like to sit outside for better protection from the coronavirus. Turkish food is very similar to Greek food. The two countries are next to each other but have vastly different religions.
　　I, of course, started with a martini, my favourite drink. The others all had red wine. I ate a coriander pan-fried salmon with ratatouille. Ratatouille is a French dish of stewed vegetables. It is available in some Hong Kong restaurants. Listen to my Popnews for the pronunciation of this French word. Try it with a martini or red or white wine. You will like it. My brother, his wife, and my distant relatives had interesting Turkish dishes. I will explain these mouth-watering dishes in my next column. If food is mouth-watering, it means it is delicious or appetizing.
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　　我上次到一间土耳其菜餐厅进膳，已是多年前的事了。我隐约记得（faintly remember）八年前到过香港苏豪地区的一间。若你faintly remember something，意即你对某事的记忆有点模糊、依稀、不大清楚。上星期我跟一个我素未谋面的远房亲戚（distant relatives），去了纽约市一间土耳其菜餐厅吃晚餐。弟弟喜欢跟远亲（distant relatives）保持联络，他们就是我弟弟邀请过来的。Close relatives就是近亲，例如父母、子女、兄弟姊妹、姨妈姑姐、叔伯舅父和祖父母等；distant relatives则是远房亲戚，例如疏堂老表、父母堂表的子女，以及伯婆叔婆姨婆舅婆姑婆⋯⋯那些。我们去了「博德鲁姆」，一间在曼哈顿很贵价（pricey）的土耳其菜餐厅。
　　这间餐厅的受欢迎程度，是你必须早几天打电话去订枱。我们一行有七人，幸好，那张昂贵的（pricey）帐单由我的弟弟埋单。我现下住在曼哈顿的那个单位，也是他持有的物业。他们并不住在那单位，给了我单位的钥匙！我们坐在博德鲁姆的半露天座位，那儿有有盖遮篷，还附设热灯。纽约市有许多附热灯的户外座位，在冬天之时给客人保暖。顾客也喜欢坐在露天区域，能更好抵御新冠肺炎病毒传播。土耳其菜跟希腊菜非常相似，两个国家互相毗连，却有着截然不同的宗教信仰。
　　我当然是以我最爱的饮品——马天尼作起始。其他人全都喝红酒。我吃了芫荽煎三文鱼，伴的是ratatouille。Ratatouille即普罗旺斯炖菜，是法国菜，在香港某些餐厅也能吃到。你可去我在Popnews的专栏听听这个法语字的发音。伴酒的话，可以试试用马天尼、红酒又或白酒，相信你会喜欢。我弟弟、弟妇和我的远亲（distant relatives）都点了一些很有趣的土耳其菜式，我会在下一篇文章中说说这些令人流口水（mouth-watering）的菜式。若食物是 mouth-watering，意即它非常美味开胃，令人垂涎欲滴。
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中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁