You are learning advanced topic-comment: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (advanced topic-comment structures), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Jesse Restaurant (茂隆餐厅), a beloved Shanghainese home-cooking restaurant on Tianping Road
茂隆餐厅在天平路上,外面看起来很普通,但一到饭点就排满了人。本帮菜,这家做得最地道。红烧肉、油爆虾、腌笃鲜——每一道都是老上海的味道。
老板娘亲自来招呼我们。她说:「今天的红烧肉,火候特别好。」我点了红烧肉、一盘油爆虾和一碗腌笃鲜。本帮菜,酱油是灵魂。老板娘说他们用的酱油,是特别定制的,比普通酱油甜一点。
红烧肉上来了。颜色是深红色,不是黑色——这是火候到位的标志。我夹了一块,入口即化。肥肉不腻,瘦肉不柴。旁边的上海阿叔说:「这个红烧肉,肥瘦比例是三七开,多一分太腻,少一分太柴。」
本帮菜,看起来简单,但每一个细节都有讲究。甜,要甜得恰到好处。咸,要咸得有层次。浓油赤酱,听起来重口味,但吃起来一点都不腻。这就是本帮菜的功力——重而不腻,甜而不俗。