Thoughts on Food

Mocha Latte.............................. Longan Almond Jelly ..............................Mint Tea

Food was never a big affair for me like most Chinese (of any regions). The expense and trouble of getting/preparing good food (in the UK) is enough to put me off. Afterall, it was just something to fill up my stomach.

For that reason and for economical consideration, I was able to live through the first half of my year in Durham buying the most basic and un-Chinese ingredients from the local supermarkets and lived through my days without salt, garlic, oyster sauce or soya sauce.

I missed movies more than I missed food from hometown then. Neither do I miss any Chinese festivals or festive food. And definitely, there is no way for me to pay 6GBP for a bowl of noodles in Chinatown that is nowhere near the taste from home......until a Chinese moved into my floor. She claimed that she was lazy to cook but she had with her oyster sauce, spring onions, chilli paste and stuffs.....There was an occasion when she shared with me her precious rice dumpling with peanut fillings that she has bought. The pandora box was thus opened.

Now I swear by soya sauce, sesame oil, spring onion and shallots in my cooking.....and the list is still expanding.

This is my fourth year away from home. I notice that each time I got the chance to travel out of the UK to anywhere, and practically anywhere, I will appreciate the food at the new place with a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude.

To be honest, it is difficult to get any satisfaction eating out in the UK. Any ultility that you get from quality food will be eroded by the price that you have to pay. And definitely, fish and chips (french fries) is not my cup of tea.

I am baffled at times to be confronted with a sudden pang for some food/drinks--pork floss, almond jelly with longan, steamed toufu, soya bean milk, sushi and green tea flavoured snacks. And strangely enough, I even crave for things like spicy potato chips which I am not especially fond of even back home. And the worst thing is--out of nowhere, I developed this craving for iced mocha latte which I haven't even tried before! And now, a day can't pass by without a glass of chilled mocha latte.

It seems like that the novelty of living abroad is wearing off.....or much to my fear, it has worn down already.

Tea Egg

原

Gold Prize: Straw straw /Name of designer: Yuki Iida (Japan)

"Found" means picking out that special something in objects by altering context and finding new applications for them. That is to say, what is called into question in the capacity for making choices in terms of rediscovering things that already exist. MUJI AWARD is not just a competition of ideas with the expectation of "producing them on a commercial basis". The grand prize and every other prize decided serve to act as verification of the thought, the idea that MUJI sheds light on things in such a manner. In this respect, I believe that works symbolic of this were chosen.

The gold award-winning straw caught me off guard. Because in times past, "straw" was just that - straw. But wheat straw was replaced with synthetic materials, with an accordion section that allowed it to be bent at will, while the tip was fashioned into a small spoon; and so with this excess of functions, the central meaning started to diverge. And so it was that we came to completely forget the "originality" inherent in straw. The shock of the real beginning of something having been "Found" being "Found" once again. That's what our assessment focused on here.

策划德国

德国巴伐利亚有很多很多漂亮的中世纪城镇。

巴伐利亚也有很多很多城镇在世界第二次世界大战遭联军摧毁。有些城镇的破坏程度高达百分之八十到九十之间，例如纽伦堡（Nuremberg）、乌尔斯堡（Würzburg）以及在巴伐利亚边缘的乌尔姆（Ulm）。因此，这些所谓的中世纪城镇看起来都很新。与此同时，这也见证了德国人战后重建的决心以及城市规划的心思。

一些中世纪城镇在保留古旧韵味的同时也不忘向前看。于是，古建筑与新颖的建筑并立，奇妙的是，却能给人一种协调的感觉。

乌尔姆的漂亮在于新与旧调和得恰到好处。中世纪的半木制楼房有各自的木制图案以及颜色，即使老旧也充满活力；很多新建筑采用了大量的玻璃，给予这个城市一种现代感。乌尔姆的街道安排似乎都很有牌理，建筑的排列也似乎别有用心。如此一来，每一街道都能呈现漂亮的角度。这是城市规划的结果，还是一时凑巧？

禁不住想到英格兰中北部的城镇，让人深思的是，从战后到现在这段期间内，一些国家到底做了些什么？即使堂堂大城市如曼城有的也只是现代化的一种挣扎。

木制德国

这跟拥有大量的森林与否并没有直接的关系。这需要的是巧手以及想像，才能赋予一块木头新的生命和诠释。德国的木制手工艺品让人叹为观止。


这不仅是工匠们的手艺，更重要的是成品背后的乐观视角。乐观的视角塑造出想像的轮廓，通过巧手制造出一件又一件快乐的艺品。这股快乐的力量刻制出了人物或动物欢乐的轮廓。

不管是木制音乐盒还是旋转烛台也好，里头的人物和动物都有快乐的身体语言。特别是木制的天使合唱团，个个都是快乐的天使。

德国人的手工艺品常常让人出其不意。他们懂得将最平凡的材料变成可爱的成品。水草、核桃甚至是羽毛都可以刻制或编织成漂亮的物品或图案。

物质德国

从A点到 B点的理所当然

从曼彻斯特飞入法兰克福，如同从一个假想的先进国跨入了一个真正先进的国度里。才刚下飞机，一些人的行李早已直接输送到火车站，等待着物主从机场转搭地铁到法兰克福中央火车站继续上路。中央火车站那端则有飞机搭客事先在火车站把行李寄舱，轻松地完成接下来到机场的路程。

20：00，法兰克福中央火车站灯火如昼。不管续程或到点，都有温热的食物摊等着温暖搭客的胃。各处设置的电脑咨询服务绝对派得上用场。

不管周日周末圣诞节与否，只见交通系统运作如常。穿梭大城小镇，八天下来还未碰过火车误点；不管乘客多寡，车厢内都是清洁、安静的（有一回碰过几个吵闹的青年）。最神奇的是，覆盖面如此广的火车系统竟然能预知每一趟火车的到站月台。即使两个月前购买火车票，搭客都能预知火车到站的月台或转换的火车月台。

回到曼城的机场火车站时，星期一，17：10分。

车站如同鬼城。唯一的简陋咖啡座已打烊。该到站的火车预期误点十分钟。讶异的是，自己竟然对这样的事再也不感到讶异了。十分钟过了几个后才到站。届时搭客多得挤不上列车。地勤人员安抚挤不上车的搭客下一列车十分钟后抵达。照样过了几个十分钟仍不见火车的踪影。幸好有地勤人员过来告诉搭客到另一个月台上车。此时，你完全相信，这里的荧光屏上的资讯服务只是一种陈设而已。

诧异的是，英国火车局还是坚持他们的服务是物有所值的。


选择的权力
选择不一定只限于投票权而已。我肯定是在货源缺乏的环境里生活太久了。碰上德国的物品，可以用欣喜若狂来形容。如果到日本，我铁定会发疯。

书店：很少在火车上看到德国人阅读。可是，所经过的每一座城至少都有两家书店。于是，逛书店成了观光点之一。即使看不懂德文，光看书店的陈设也觉得很有意思。其中一家巧妙地运用了空间来制造现代感。与此同时还设置了一排拥有桌灯的阅读角落。


月历：想买月历就一定想到德国（台湾的诚品也不错）。各式各样的主题、日/月历以及各种摆放方式。选择多的烦恼和筛选的乐趣便同时出现。







巧克力：德国并不以巧克力著名，可是却拥有让我目不暇给的口味选择。神奇的是辣椒巧克力，更神奇的是不同辣椒口味的选择。














民以食为天
向来的旅行焦点都是在观光方面，对食品不为所动。近年来发现自己的焦点有所变动。德国并不是以食物著名的地方，可是这回到德国感觉如同解放似的，对食物特别嘴馋。特别是“北海”海鲜店更是成了我的最爱。北海本身的营业方式就很有趣，集合外卖、快餐、超市为一身。外卖部出售海鲜汉堡和寿司；超市部则售卖新鲜的海鲜和各种调味的海鲜，客人也可购买鲜蚝在餐厅内享用。餐饮部则让顾客点购各种海鲜菜肴。有海鲜沙拉、鱼汤、烤鱼、熏鱼、炸鱼片等的选择。以海鲜而言，北海的售价非常合理，即使一英镑兑换一欧元也是如此。英国环岛为海，奇怪的是竟没有像样的海鲜菜肴，除了炸鱼薯片（fish and chips）。

吃过一些甜腻到让我的味蕾麻痹的糕点，所以德国的奶油松软蛋糕更是让我如痴如醉。刚好的甜度配合适量的奶油让人轻易地吃完一整块蛋糕也不觉腻。

那年在黑森林区吃的黑森林蛋糕至今让我无法忘怀。