對於外人來說，新加坡眼花撩亂的美食實在令人難以招架。每當漫步於這座籠罩在熱帶高溫的城市裡，就不免因競相打你胃口主意的露天美食中心、咖啡廳與餐廳而停下腳步。
一旦踏進設有空調的購物中心避暑，就會看見延伸極廣的地下美食街，看起來似乎穿越了兩座地鐵站之間的距離。
Dining out is a way of life in Singapore. One in four residents says they eat out daily. Many choose food centers, which aren』t your typical variety mall food courts but keepers of a proud local cuisine and tradition cobbled by generations of the city’s Chinese, Indian and Malay inhabitants.
詞語點擊
resident n. 居民；住戶
外食在新加坡是一種生活方式。該國居民每四人就有一人表示自己每天外食。許多人都選擇美食中心——這不是一般你熟知的那種多元購物商場美食街，而是持續了由這座城市世世代代的華人、印度人與馬來人居民共同造就出來的一種引人自豪之當地料理與傳統的捍衛者。
You can choose between world-class satay, chicken rice, curry laksa, prawn noodles, fish ball soup, dim sum, Indian prata, chicken biryani, beef rendang or Cantonese barbecue — all for about the same price as a six piece Chicken McNugget meal at McDonald’s.
詞語點擊
satay n. 沙茶醬烤肉
你可以選擇世界級的沙嗲、雞飯、咖哩叻沙、蝦面、魚丸湯、港式點心、印度布拉塔煎餅、雞肉香料飯、牛肉仁當或港式燒臘——而且這些餐點的價格都與麥當勞的六塊雞套餐差不多。
There were the piquant chili crab and salted egg yolk prawns at the East Coast Seafood Center that looks out onto the Singapore Strait where, at night, the tankers and cargo ships are anchored so close together they look like a neighboring city.
詞語點擊
piquant adj. 辛辣的；開胃的
cargo n. 貨物
面對新加坡海峽的東海岸海鮮中心有辛辣的辣椒蟹與金沙蝦球。夜裡，海峽里的油輪與貨輪密集停泊在一起，看起來有如一座鄰近的城市。
At Golden Mile Food Center, I took my first bites of Peranakan food, a centuries-old cuisine born out of the intermarrying of Chinese and Malays. The cuisine, which requires meticulous preparation, is slowly fading from fashion along with the few remaining chefs who know the recipes by heart.
詞語點擊
cuisine n. 烹飪；風味
在黃金坊熟食中心，我首度品嘗了峇峇娘惹餐點，這是一種有數百年歷史、起源於華人與馬來人通婚的料理。這種需要精心準備的料理已逐漸退流行，以致少數幾位熟知這些料理食譜的廚師也慢慢凋零。
Hawkers typically specialize in one thing, like a Hainanese chicken rice or bak kut teh, a pork rib soup, and rarely charge more than $4 a portion. Their artisan’s way of cooking sets standards high, making it hard to find a bad meal in this island nation.
Hawkers are the descendants of itinerant street food vendors who predate Singapore’s founding in 1965. After nationhood, they were licensed and housed in pavilions located in or near public housing, where 80 percent of Singaporeans live today.
詞語點擊
specialize v. 專門研究（或從事）；專攻
descendant n. 後裔；後代；子孫
小販通常專精一種菜肴，例如海南雞飯或是肉骨茶這種豬肋湯，而且一份餐點的價格極少超過四美元。他們匠人式的料理法建立了高標準的口味，所以在這個島國里很難吃到一頓難吃的餐點。
小販是新加坡在一九六五年建國之前的那些街頭流動小吃攤販的後代。新加坡建國之後，政府為他們發放證照，並且把他們安置在國民住宅裡面或附近的大型棚頂下。今天，百分之八十的新加坡人都居住在國民住宅里。
