Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - hot topic｜又中又英

When you go to an expensive restaurant for dinner with your other half, do you both choose the exact same meal? This has become a hot topic in the US on social media, television shows, and in newspapers. Even British newspapers have made it a hot topic. Whether couples should choose the same meal in a restaurant is on everyone’s lips after US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden ordered the same meal last week. They went to the Red Hen, an expensive Italian restaurant in Washington DC. They ordered two plates of rigatoni, chicory salad, grilled bread and butter, and several glasses of Barbera wine.

The expression “other half” means a person’s husband or wife. When something is a hot topic, it means everyone is talking about it. It is similar to “on everyone’s lips” which means many people are talking about an issue. Rigatoni is a type of pasta. The dish the Bidens ordered had red sauce, sausages containing fennel (a seasoning), and grated cheese. Chicory is a type of plant. The leaves are used for salads. Nuts, other ingredients, and different types of salad dressings can be used in a chicory salad. Barbera is a type of Italian red wine.
The Red Hen’s owner said the rigatoni Biden and his wife ordered is a signature dish in his restaurant. A signature dish is a dish unique to the chef or restaurant but many food experts said the couple should have chosen different dishes to try and share. To me, couples ordering the same dish became a hot topic only because the US President and his wife did it.
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當你跟你的另一半（other half）去一間昂貴的餐廳共進晚膳，你們二人會選一模一樣的餐食嗎？這在美國的社交媒體、電視節目以至報紙上成了熱話（hot topic），就連英國的報章也將它變了做熱門話題（hot topic）。上星期，當美國總統祖．拜登和第一夫人吉爾．拜登點了同一款餐食之後，人們就議論紛紛（on everyone’s lips），夫婦在餐廳應否選同一款餐食。他們去的是「紅母雞」，一間在華盛頓特區的貴價意大利餐廳。他們點了兩碟長通心粉（rigatoni）、菊苣沙律（chicory salad）、烤麵包和牛油，以及幾杯巴貝拉紅酒（Barbera wine）。

習語“other half”是指一個人的丈夫或妻子。當某事是個hot topic，意即那是人人談論的熱話，這跟“on everyone’s lips”類近，就是許多人也在議論着同一個話題。Rigatoni是意大利麵食的一種。拜登夫婦點的一碟是紅汁的長通粉，內有肉腸、茴香（fennel，一種調味料）及碎芝士。Chicory是菊苣，是一種植物，它的葉可製成沙律。在菊苣沙律（chicory salad）裏，可以加上果仁、其他食材，以及不同種類的沙律醬。Barbera是一種意大利紅酒。

「紅母雞」的東主說，拜登和妻子點的那道長通粉（rigatoni），是他店的signature dish——一個廚師或餐廳的signature dish就是其獨家招牌菜。然而許多飲食專家卻說，一對夫婦應該選不同的菜去試食和分享。對我來說，是否該點同一味菜足以成為熱話（hot topic），僅僅因為他們是美國總統先生夫人罷了。
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中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧