Let's face it: I'm American. And in America, summer means eating big juicy hamburgers fresh off the grill. While I've been enjoying the Beijing lifestyle immensely, I couldn't help missing that one thing from back home. So my colleague and I went off in search of it: the best American hamburger Beijing has to offer. Watch video
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讓我們面對這樣一個事實:我是美國人。在美國,夏天意味著可以吃到剛從烤架上取下的熱乎乎的大漢堡,汁多味美。當我已經(jīng)開始盡情享受北京的生活方式時,我還是不由自主地想念家鄉(xiāng)的漢堡。于是我和我的同事開始尋找北京城里最好的美國漢堡。[視頻]
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We were a little surprised by how few of our Chinese colleagues had ever eaten a hamburger. Apparently, it just doesn't sound all that tasty to them. Besides McDonald's, no one even knew where to go to get one. Well, after a little research, it turned out that Beijing does have a burgeoning hamburger subculture, mostly maintained by laowai. After compiling a list of places with the best reviews, we were ready to have us some hamburgers. First stop: Blue Frog. |
中國同事中沒有幾個吃過漢堡,這著實令我們有些吃驚。顯然,漢堡對于他們來說不是那么美味。除了麥當勞,沒有人知道哪里還可以吃到漢堡。經(jīng)過一小番搜尋,漢堡風潮在北京方興未艾,主要歸功于那些生活在此的老外。我們編制了一份最受好評的餐館名單,準備親自考察一番。第一站:藍蛙。 |
Blue Frog got its start 10 years ago in Shanghai and has since expanded to Macau and Beijing. We went to the Sanlitun branch in The Village (there's another in the Europlaza in Shunyi), which is one of the places for expats to be. Stepping amongst its buildings makes you wonder if you're even in China anymore. Blue Frog wasn't trying to put you back in, either.
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10年前,藍蛙在上海開業(yè),隨后在澳門和北京有了它的分店。我們去的是The Village分店(另一家北京分店位于順義區(qū)的歐陸廣場),位于外國人的聚集區(qū)三里屯。這里的建筑不禁會讓人懷疑自己是否還在中國,藍蛙餐館給人的感覺也是如此。 |
"Mostly it's just a little escape from China," said the manager of Sanlitun's Blue Frog, Lee Mitchell, about the restaurant. "It's just going to be a little piece of home."
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藍蛙的經(jīng)理李?米歇爾說,藍蛙讓在北京生活的外國人找到了家的感覺,它就像家的一角。
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Still, Amber Hsiao, Blue Frog's communications executive, said the place attracts both expats and locals in equal numbers. Their menu is in both English and Chinese, and their staff is fluent in both languages, as well. As a caveat, Hsiao added that their customers are usually white-collar professionals who live in the area, people who are more educated and familiar with Western customs. And, yes, lots of locals who come do order their hamburgers.
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藍蛙的公關部主管,Amber Hsiao介紹說來他們這里的外國人和中國人一樣多。菜單有中英文對照,服務員中英文都很流利。Hsiao特別補充道他們的客人通常是居住在這一帶的白領,往往受到良好的教育,熟悉西方習慣。當然,許多光臨藍蛙的中國客人也會點漢堡。 |
Ling, the head chef who trains all other Blue Frog cooks, explained how he makes Blue Frog burgers while I watched him make my Montana BBQ burger: "We always import beef from Australia, so the beef quality is really good…Meat quality is very important." So is temperature: "When you make the temperature really [high], you…let all the juices in the burger not go out; so when you eat the burger, it's really juicy." Medium is the rarest they go (like North Carolina!), and they char-grill their patties. |
林是藍蛙的廚師長,負責培訓店內的其他廚師。他一邊制作我點的蒙大納烤肉漢堡,一邊向我講解藍蛙家的漢堡是如何做成的?!拔覀兊呐H庖恢笔菑陌拇罄麃嗊M口的,這是牛肉如此之好的原因……牛肉品質非常重要。”溫度也同樣重要,“如果用高溫烹飪,……可以提高肉的濃汁度。這樣,當你一口咬下去,汁香四溢?!彼{蛙的牛肉很少做成5分熟(就像在北卡),肉餅通常是炭烤的。 |
"We've been using the same recipe for years," Mitchell said. "Because we've been open for 10 years, it's given us plenty of time to get that recipe right." |
“這個烹飪方法,我們使用了好多年。10年的經(jīng)驗讓我們擁有非常好的烹飪法?!泵仔獱栒f。 |