Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - To find a needle in a haystack｜又中又英

Searching for a good pizza in Hong Kong is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are very few authentic（genuine）pizza restaurants in Hong Kong. Most are chain store pizza restaurants that make mediocre（not very good, average）pizzas. As readers may know, I love pizzas but limit how much I eat because they are very high in calories. When I was living in New York a few months ago, finding a good pizza was not like finding a needle in a haystack. New York is famous for its pizzas. There are good New York-style pizza restaurants everywhere.

To find a needle in a haystack means trying to find something that is almost impossible to find. A haystack is a large pile of hay（dried grass）. That's why it's impossible to find a needle in a haystack. A typical New York-style pizza is a thin crust pizza with basic ingredients including tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil, and one or two toppings such as pepperoni. Most New Yorkers fold the pizza slice and eat it with one hand. After leaving New York I went to my elder sister's house in Indianapolis. I left Indianapolis a week ago for San Diego in California. This is my third time in San Diego. I wrote about the different types of restaurants and places to visit during my previous trips here.

San Diego is well-known for its thin crust wood fired pizzas. A wood fired pizza is a pizza cooked in a brick oven using burning wood to cook it instead of gas or electricity. This method can cook a pizza in about a minute. Another well-known San Diego dish is Carne Asada Fries. The Spanish word“carne”eans meat. Carne Asada Fries is a dish made with chopped steak, melted cheese, avocado cream, and pico de gallo. These ingredients are put on top of French fries that have been seasoned. Pico de gallo is made with chopped tomatoes, onions, lime juice, and coriander. I must try Carne Asada Fries even though it's high in calories!
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在香港，要找到好吃的薄饼，如同大海捞针（a needle in a haystack）。香港只得几间正宗的（authentic）薄饼餐厅，其余大多属连锁薄饼店，做着平庸普通（mediocre）的薄饼。我几个月前住在纽约时，寻觅一块好吃的薄饼，并非如大海捞针。纽约的薄饼非常闻名，处处皆有不错的纽约式薄饼餐厅。

To find a needle in a haystack，意即去寻觅一样近乎不会找到的事物。A haystack是干草（hay）堆，因此要在干草堆中找一根针是不可能的。典型的纽约式薄饼，是在薄皮的薄饼上，铺上基本的食材，包括番茄酱、水牛芝士、罗勒叶，再加一或两样配料，如意大利辣肉肠。离开纽约以后，我去了我姊在印第安纳坡里斯的家。一个星期前，我又离开了印第安纳坡里斯，前往加州的圣地牙哥。这已经是我第三次踏足圣地牙哥了，之前到访此地时，便写过不同类型的餐厅和值得游览的地方。

圣地牙哥的薄皮wood fired薄饼，亦是相当出名的。A wood fired pizza，就是把薄饼放进砖窰烤炉内，以木柴火所烤制而成，取替用煤气焗炉或电焗炉焗制。另一款知名的圣地牙哥菜，叫做Carne Asada Fries。西班牙文“carne”，即指肉类食物；Carne Asada Fries是墨西哥风薯条，用牛肉粒、热熔芝士、牛油果酱和番茄莎莎酱（pico de gallo）制成，这些材料会倒在已调味的薯条上。Pico de gallo是用番茄粒、洋葱、青柠汁和芫荽制成。我一定要试这个墨西哥风薯条（Carne Asada Fries），即使它的卡路里相当高！
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中译:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁