【新译Z世代】No. 51 在享乐至上的香港，一份平平无奇、售价4美元的盒饭正大受追捧

The lines begin forming before lunchtime and wind on well into the night, with customers outside craning their necks for views of the day's selection through the window.

午餐尚未开始，人们早已大排长龙，从白天排队至深夜。食客们在玻璃窗外望眼欲穿，只为一睹今天的菜品。

It is not a newly anointed Michelin bistro or the latest photogenic, Instagram-friendly confection that has captivated Hong Kong, a famously epicurean city. It is a humble takeout box of white rice and two precooked main dishes of the diner's choosing. The price: around $4.

香港是一座以享乐主义闻名的城市。令它为之倾倒的，不是新晋摘星的米其林酒馆，也不是拍照好看、适合发朋友圈的甜点。而是一款平平无奇的外卖盒饭：一份白米饭，搭配两道提前做好的自选菜；价格在4美元左右。

The food itself hardly seems worth the attention. The offerings are standards of Cantonese cuisine, with options like stir-fried tomato and eggs, sweet and sour pork, or braised beef and turnip. They are ordered cafeteria-style, by pointing or shouting one's order to an expectant worker with a ladle. Even the name given to these establishments is as no-frills as their menus: "two dishes and rice."

食物本身着实没什么看头。可供选择的，也只是普通的广东菜，有番茄炒蛋、咕咾肉、萝卜炖牛腩。人们用茶餐厅的方式点餐，大声喊出菜名，或向持勺等待的服务员指出想要的菜品。这种餐点的名字也跟菜单一样朴实无华：“双拼饭”。

But that plainness is the point.

但这份朴实无华正是重点所在。

Two dishes and rice is not new to Hong Kong. But it had long been overlooked, or dismissed as the realm of broke students or the working class. Then the pandemic hit. Hong Kong's world-famous restaurant scene was left limping along. So the types and numbers of people who can appreciate a cheap, filling meal widened considerably. 

双拼饭并不是最近才在香港兴起的，但长期以来都被忽视掉了，或被认为是穷学生和蓝领的专属。然而，疫情突如其来。香港举世闻名的餐饮行业举步维艰。因此，各色人群都开始珍视这种便宜又饱腹的餐点，需要它的人也一下子多了起来。