il Giardino Romantico

Remember the meal on my flight over to Manchester? (published in this article)  It was so delicious that once I'd had a bite, I'd forgot about all the tears I shed over saying farewell to my loved ones.  Well, this time, I thought the meal would just be as good.  After all, I've always had pleasant experiences with Thai Airways.  I mean, what other airline is capable of offering the comfort from my second home other than this one?  Well, so I thought.

不知道大家還記不記得新航機餐一文中提到說飛到曼城那趟機餐有多麼好吃。好吃到我才吃一口，就忘了不到半小時前才哭哭啼啼的跟心愛的人告別。這次我以為機餐也會很棒。畢竟以前多次飛過泰航從來沒有過不好的經驗，再說，有什麼比泰航還要更適合這次回程的航空公司呢？不過，事實並非完全如我想像。


*Vegetarian meal requested upon purchasing of ticket.  Served first during meals.

在上一篇『新四川』提到因為有了那次的聚餐，才會讓我想到要再安排一次。其實原因很簡單，因為煮出來兩份泰式料理都被我室友稱讚不已。而今年這群朋友聚餐好像還沒吃過泰國菜。當然就想趁離開前辦一次。不過其實原本看中的是一加新開的。風評非常的好。怪就怪我拖太久。等到人數確定後要定位，他們竟然跟我說『客滿了喔！』所以只好再上網找另外一家。不過這幾家我都沒吃過，很怕帶大家採到一顆大地雷。還好夜晚結束後大家都對當晚的餐點還滿意。我也終於鬆了一口氣。

In my last article, which was published only in Chinese, I mentioned that the meal was the inspiration for me to organise another dinner.  The reason was simple:  my flatmate loved the two simple Thai dishes I made, and on top of that, I don't think they have been to a Thai restaurant, yet, this year.  So I wanted to make use of the opportunity to devour Thai food and spend quality time together. However, I originally planned on booking a newly opened restaurant.  Due to my immense amount of work, plus some delay in confirming the number of people attending, I called only to find out they were fully booked.  Therefore I had to make a contingency plan, and hope that the food will be just as good. 

『新四川』，又稱Chilli Chilli，是利物浦知名的中國餐館。名氣大的原因除了菜色之外，當然還有更重要的原因 - 二樓的KTV包廂！早在過農曆年的時候，有一位華裔朋友就邀約一群好友相伴來這吃飯唱歌。不巧那天正好有活動，所以錯過了晚餐。但還是趕的上唱歌。對於那次印象挺深刻的。因為西方人眼中的"karaoke"是鬧著玩的。而很不巧的，天仙那天點了一首國語歌，讓全場的外國人拍手叫好，然後驚覺說原來『歌，不是這樣唱低！！』。

不過拉回來今天的重點 - 這天朋友約了再來這兒聚餐。不過上回那位華裔朋友還沒回到利物浦。因此點餐他們得靠自己。原本我在猶豫要不要來，因為正好這天白天我上了整天班。沒一口答應是怕自己累了不想出門。不過下了班之後發現經歷還夠，加上飯還是得吃啊。所以就跟著去。我的好友之前在我還沒決定要不要去之前一直說我一定得去。原因是：只有我會點餐。我回說：不是都有英文的嘛？朋友回說：可是好料都在中文菜單裡啊。這時候我才發現，原來這攤我會被邀請的原因是這樣啊！(誤)

這間就是利物浦球隊副隊長卡拉格開的餐廳[分店]。卡拉格開的這間餐廳主旨是為了讓一家人能夠有個輕鬆看各類球賽的休閒餐廳。這間express算是比較小的分店。位於利物浦市中心的Liverpool 1。距離就在LFC Superstore不遠處。這天，天仙帶了兩個利物浦球迷來到這兒用餐。幸好兩位朋友心中有想來這間餐廳用餐的念頭。因為每次只要有朋友來，天仙最懊惱的地方就是不知道該帶去哪裡用餐才好呢。

This is Jamie Carragher's restaurant.  He is the vice-captain of Liverpool Football Club.  The theme of the restaurant is to provide a healthy and clean atmosphere for families to come and watch sports together.  It is located in the city centre, in Liverpool 1.  It's roughly about a two minute walk from the nearest Superstore, also in Liverpool 1.  I brought two LFC fans to come dine here.  It was a good thing they had this in mind, as I always have a hard time trying to figure out where to take my friends to dine when they come for a visit. 


副隊長的照片到處可見。

我在英國其實有很多朋友。這些朋友，除了到了才認識的之外，還有許多以前小學至高中的同學，目前剛好都在英國發展中。早在我抵達利物浦時，我這位住在曼城的朋友就一直催我說一定要找機會去曼城找她。其實原本我挺猶豫到底要不要找她的。因為她其實是我姊姊的同學。當時在學校因為年齡差距的關係，其實很少有交集。但是因為許久沒見面，加上正好都在英國，既然距離這麼近，想說既然都計畫要到曼城，當然不能錯過見見老朋友的機會囉。

不過因為我選在禮拜一到曼城玩，所以E小姐她只能利用短暫的午休來陪我閒聊。於是我在十一點抵達後，自己先跑去Visitor Centre一探究竟，等到E小姐午休時間一到，就在走到我們約好的地方見面一起吃午餐。好巧不巧，E小姐說當天進辦公室，正好收到一張Pizza Express的2 for 1午餐優惠。於是我們就選在這兒解決午餐。雖然是連鎖店，但是餐廳裝潢挺不錯的。價目算是中等。平常我不可能會奢侈來吃這個，但是看在2 for 1的份上，£7-£8 的午餐，還算是可以接受的囉！


E小姐點的 Giardiniera。有蘑菇、蘆筍等美味好料。

英國人說懶也是懶得可以。反正閒著也是閒著。寫論文寫到悶寫到煩，怎麼都不會想到要出來透透氣來聚會一下哩？前幾個禮拜我就發出email問大家什麼時候有空。回傳給我的人附上了日期就決定在某天出來聚一聚。其實我的要求不高。你們看文看到現在也應該發現，除非是我一個人單獨行動才會對地點有所要求。如果是跟朋友，因為有他們的陪伴，去哪裡做什麼我都比較不會太在意。[除非是太花錢或是我真的沒興趣想做的事情... ]

English people can be quite lazy sometimes.  Even when they have nothing to do, or if they get so fed up with their dissertation, they wouldn't even think about getting a small group together for some fun.  I sent off an email a couple of weeks ago to arrange this.  After getting people's replies, I set out a date for us to meet and catch up. You should know by now, that it is only when I'm alone, when I'm more picky about where I go.  If I'm with friends, I really don't mind where we go or what we do, unless of course, if it costs too much or if they intend to do something I have absolutely no interest in doing... ]

結果這天下午我們約了五點見面。我臨時被找去做校園導覽，怕五點來不及到，事先跟他們講好說我會晚點到。後來約在校園的pub碰面聊了兩小時後，肚子也餓了，就來去吃東西去。我們幾個現在都正處於水深火熱狀態。當然不可能有多餘的時間去賺更多零用錢，所以只好找一家好吃又便宜的簡餐店。說真的，不用太期待會有多好吃，但是事實上，因為少了這份期待，往往結果都會出乎你的預料之外唷！

這個餐廳的名字我已經忘了。不過就位於Albert Dock內。非常的好找。其實在做完黃色鴨鴨艇之後，我們姐弟兩人本來只想簡簡單單的吃一餐。但基於小弟那龜毛『餐餐都要有湯』的習慣，簡單的一餐也變成正式的一餐了。我本來想點soup of the day，但又怕自己已經被撐大的肚皮，光是喝湯一下就餓了。後來看到這家餐廳的炸魚薯條『兒童餐』的價錢與soup of the day差不多，我就想來試試看這一家的炸魚薯條。因為在此之前我只有在簡單的外賣店吃過。好吃歸好吃，但看到這家餐廳的氣派還不錯，就想說應該會吃到更好吃的炸魚薯條吧！

I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, but it's located inside Albert Dock, and it can't be difficult to find.  After our adventure on the Yellow Duck Marine, we were actually looking for a quick meal.  However, since my friend insisted on having soup with every meal, a simple meal became a full meal.  I was going to order soup of the day, initially, but seeing that my appetite had vastly expanded, I didn't want to risk becoming hungry too soon.  I thought I'd try their fish and chips, children's meal, since the price was pretty much the same.  This was not the first time I had fish and chips, but seeing that this restaurant had a good atmosphere, I thought they would probably serve better quality food.


每日一湯。Soup of the day.

不知道你們有多少人記得這篇舊文 ，不過剛來的那段日子第一次在遙遠的英國吃到的蛋炒飯，就是在這間老蜀人吃到的。前前後後差不多來的次數五根手指頭都數的出來。不過這不是因為他不好吃。而是因為太好吃了，反而捨不得常常來。因為越吃會越想家呀！

這天我陪伴著一位我看著他長大，已經十多年沒回到台灣的小弟來到這間餐廳。為什麼要強調他這麼多年沒回到台灣呢？因為他很讓我欽佩的一點是，已經脫節這麼久了，居然還是可以如此的『台』！實在是愛國愛到一種令人很難以置信的地步。問他想吃什麼？Pizza？Kebab？Fish and chips？他只回我一句：中國菜。原本帶他來這間餐廳是因為他們的炒飯好吃又便宜。沒想到吃完以後隔天我們又回到這裡。而且這次點的菜還挺豐盛的(以兩個人來說)。


啥名字我忘了。反正就是什麼辣子豆腐的。

攝於Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet

這是在英國常見到的『小吃攤』。賣的其實花樣當然不比台灣多啦！頂多就是可麗餅、熱狗、三明治之類的。要說好吃嘛，能多好吃？頂多就是肚子餓了至少可以充飢一下。既然來到outlet已經要花很多＄＄了，不如就隨便吃點東西，補充一下熱量，看一下美女，然後在繼續血拼囉！

This kind of food stall is ubiquitous in England.  The variety is not as impressive as the food stalls found in Taiwan, obviously.  You can expect them to serve crepes, hotdogs, chilli dogs, sandwiches, and things like that.  You can't expect them to serve quality food.  After all, they are just stalls.  However, it comes in handy when you happen to be hungry during your walks.  We happened to be at the outlet village, so it was a economic and convenient choice for us to fill our tummies in order to obtain enough energy for a longer shopping session!

就在我脫離苦海的那天，我的樓友臨時告訴我說當天下午他們要『烤肉』。其實我聽到的時候有點驚慌。因為剛交完最後一篇作業，因為壓力突然間消失，再加上連續兩個禮拜作息不正常身體其實非常的不舒適。臨時通知要烤肉，我實在沒體力走去市區買我的素食烤肉料。還好熱心的樓友知道我吃素，不知道是不是特別為了我還是她自己想吃，跟我說有準備素的食物。請我一起去共襄盛舉。太陽已經連續好幾天都出來玩耍。再不把握也不曉得和時會突然消失。因為身體不舒服已經整個早上窩在房間了，想說趁這個機會好好去晒晒太陽，攝取一些維他命D也好。就因此很不要臉的答應了她的邀約。

不過答應的另外一個原因，其實也是因為想再創下一個英國的『初體驗』。到了九月就滿一年了。還能累積多少次的『第一次』呢？難得的機會，當然要把握！現在就來看看英國人的烤肉都烤什麼！

On the day I handed in my last assignment, my flatmate told me that they were going to have a barbecue later that afternoon.  On such a short notice, I was actually quite taken aback at first.  This was because after having released the pressure built up during the past two weeks, plus having completely ruined my daily routine, I became quite ill.  I knew I wouldn't have the energy to walk around and find veggie stuff for the barbecue.  However, my very generous flatmate informed me that she had prepared some veggie stuff, and that I was more than welcome to join.  In addition to that, the sun had been out all week, and the first day of my release from hell, I had no choice but to stay in my room!  I honestly don't think even the Lord knows for how much longer the sun will be out.  Thus, being unable to find any excuse to turn down the offer, I agreed to join.