解放碑的酸辣粉

□文/高兴明

解放碑的酸辣粉

□文/高兴明

很长时间没有去解放碑了，今天再也按捺不住内心的渴求，吃过午饭我对夫人说，下午去解放碑吧！她说好热哟，气象台预报的今天是高温40.3C°哟！她见我主意已定，只好陪我冒着高温酷暑，去了趟解放碑。说是很长时间没去，其实也就一个来月，这些时间我一直在下乡或是出差。以前我几乎是每半个月左右就要去一次的，不为别的，就为吃碗酸辣粉。想想我吃酸辣粉的成本要比别人的花费得多，搭公交车从新牌坊出发至解放碑，来回4元，外加6元酸辣粉钱和5元的鹅肝或是鹅翅膀，等于说我去吃一碗要10几块钱。但非去不可，馋啊！只有那里的酸辣粉最对我的口味，最正宗。

外地人来重庆没有不去解放牌的，去解放牌的没有不去“好吃街”的。这里有林立的高楼、繁华的街道、穿梭的车辆、拥挤的人群、各式各样的店铺，与别的城市的街市似乎并无两样。但再往前走几步，数家店铺前会聚集争先恐后的人群。细看，摊位上垂挂的木牌上诱人的名小吃、滴油泛光的卤味串串、清凉爽口的五色刨冰、口味众多的奶茶甜品，都暗示了这条街的主题——吃。这儿几乎每天都是人挤人、人挨人，全奔重庆名小吃而去，简直就成了解放碑的一道独特风景。而其中最为壮观的又要数“好又来”酸辣粉店铺，这家店铺就开在好吃街顶头一点儿，从好吃街开街那一年，就在那儿了，经常是排队的人甩开去十几米，蜿蜒如长龙。男女老少中有来自全国各地的，也有不少的外国朋友，端着酸辣粉专用纸盒的人遍布街道两边，个个吃得认真投入。卖纸巾的老大娘也趁机穿梭于“吃客”之中，经营起自己的业务。这家店铺的口碑一直很好、名声很大。我相信，凡是去过解放牌的人，没有人没去吃过；凡是去吃过的人，没有一个人不说是一绝！

其实，无论是四川也好，或是咱们重庆也罢，酸辣粉并不稀奇，许多商圈、街道、区县、甚至乡场都有它的踪影，并不鲜见。但解放碑“好又来”这家酸辣粉具有鲜明的个性，麻辣擅长、清香并重，让人感觉麻辣鲜香充满豪放，麻得到位，辣得彻底，畅快淋漓，堪称美味中的佳品！去逛解放碑不吃一碗酸辣粉，那就是白去，对本地人是这样，对外地人更是如此！

每次去解放碑，都会排上好一阵长队，买上一碗酸辣粉，在接踵摩肩与嘈杂人声中体味特有的热闹与火辣。今天夫人没吃，去逛商场了。我只身来到“好吃街”，虽然天气很热，但“好又来”酸辣粉店铺前依然还是排着长队。我排了一会儿，买了张票。排在我前面的一个人紧张地张望前面的人，又看了看表，穿到店铺前，操着中原口音对服务员说：“麻烦能不能先给我的10碗打个包，我要去坐飞机回河南。”排队的人都很理解地把他看了看。只见服务员麻利娴熟地分袋打好包，河南人拿着一边说谢谢，一边急匆匆地离去。

终于排到我了，只见打调料的人动作麻利娴熟，十几个调料碗、十几个调料勺，一出手一勾划，短短几秒便一气呵成了。我还是和往常一样，让服务员多加了两小勺子辣椒，端着碗酸辣粉四处找地方，有抢到了石板座椅细嚼慢咽的，有就着花坛站着狼吞虎咽的，有在商店大门的台阶上垫张报纸席地而坐“呼哧呼哧”吃的，光看遍地吃的人，就是一道亮丽的风景啊！我不好容易在空出来的一棵树脚根下，避着当空40C°的烈日，蹲下开吃。在我旁边站着的是两位外国朋友，蓝眼睛，高鼻梁，高个儿。只见他们一边与女翻译细声地嘀嘀呱呱说笑，时不时又擦擦汗水，张着嘴，用手往里扇风，接着又吃。虽然我听不懂，但从他们的笑容和吃的投入上，我分明感觉到他们对重庆酸辣粉独特风味的惊讶！对中国饮食文化的博大精深的惊叹！我打望四周，窈窕淑女、西装绅士，白发老人、天真孩童，甚至还有赤膊壮汉和身穿体恤脚踏拖鞋的新潮美女以及象我一样独自在角落里默默享用的，几乎人手一碗，有的埋头苦干，有的仰天喝汤，有的细嚼慢品，有的狼吞虎咽，大家都酣畅淋漓。此情此景，纯粹的一幅饮食文化的原生态画卷！

我吃的要比别人的辣，从头发根冒出的大汗顺着额头和两颊直往下趟，也没工夫顾得去擦。吃完了干的，又去旁边的卤菜摊儿买了串鹅肝，和着剩下的酸辣粉汤，呼噜呼噜几下子一扫而光。这才慢慢地掏出纸巾，抹去嘴边的油污，擦去脸上的汗水，点上一支香烟，深吸一口，烟雾经腹腔周游一圈后从鼻子嘴巴喷射出来，那种麻辣鲜香和着淡淡的烟雾，心头爽极了，精神也为之大振！

解放碑，我难舍难弃的酸辣粉啊！！

I haven't been to Jiefangbei （the Liberation Monument）for a long time. Today I can’t curb my thirst to go there，so after lunch，I said to my wife: “Let’s go to Jiefangbei.” “It’s so hot outside； the weather forecast said the highest temperature today will rocket up to 40.3℃”，answered my wife. But she knew I have made my mind to go there，and then she went with me on such a hot day. Just now I have mentioned that I haven’t gone there for a long time，but it is just about one month when I was on business trips or went to the countryside. I am get used to going there once about half a month，with no other purpose but to eat a bowl of hot and sour rice noodles. To eat this kind of noodle also makes me pay a “high price” and I always spend much more money than other people in eating it，with 4 yuan’s bus fee transportation fee from Xinpaifang to Jiefangbei，6 yuan to buy a bowl of hot and sour rice noodles and another 5 yuan to buy goose liver or wing，almost spend 10 more yuan. But I love the hot and sour rice noodles there the most so I have to buy it no matter how much money it will cost.

There is no visitor that comes to Chongqing but won’t go to Jiefangbei. and when they go there，it’s a must for them to go to the “street of delicious food”，where tall buildingsstand on both sides，vivid images are presented in front of us，vehicles shuffl e back and forth，and all kinds of stores are full of customers，which seems like streets in other cities. But as you move forward，there are many people swarming into stores where all kinds of specialties，tasty food with attracting surface，water ice with several kinds of fruits，all kinds of milky tea and desserts are being presented in front ofeyes. Obviously，the purpose for people to go to this street is to eat. There are so many people who come here just for the special food in Chongqing，which absolutely distinguishes it from other places. and among all these popular stores，a store called “Hao You Lai” （which means that you will come back if you like food）selling hot and sour rice noodles is the most popular. It was set up during the fi rst year when this street was built and you will see it the moment you walk into this street. The people queuing up in front of the store may have several meters long. The old and the young，men and women from all over the world stand on both sides of the street with a bowl made of paper used to fi ll hot and sour rice noodles，eating their delicious noodles with a satisfactory smile in their face. an old woman will come here to sell her napkins in the crowds at this moment. and I always regard this store as the best one in the street. People who go to Jiefangbei will defi nitely go there and I believe they will agree with me.

actually，whether it is in Sichuan or in Chongqing，hot and sour rice noodle is by no means hard to buy. But I have to emphasize that the hot and sour rice noodle of “Hao You Lai”has distinctive features characterized not only by a spicy fl avor but also by a delicate fragrance. It’s so fresh that we can hail it as the most delicious in all kinds of food. For an outsider or a native in Chongqing，he/she simply hasn’t come to Chongqing at all if he/she doesn’t have a taste of hot and sour rice noodles.

Every time when I go to Jiefangbei，I always experience the lively atmosphere while standing in such a noisy crowd. Today my wife goes shopping in the mall，so I come to the “street of delicious food” alone. although it’s so hot outside，there are still so many people queuing up in front of “Hao You Lai”. after a long time，I fi nally got a ticket for the noodles. I noticed the man standing before me was watching the people before him nervously and continuously checking his watch，then suddenly he ran to the waiters and said with an accent of central area of China: “Would you please pack up my 10 bowls of noodles right away，because I will take a plane to go to Henan immediately.”at such an urgent time，everybody queuing up showed their consent to this proposal and the waiter packed up his noodles skillfully one by one. Holding these noodles in his hands，this man said thanks in his mouth and left in a hurry.

Finally it’s my turn. The chef，who takes in charge of seasoning，is skillful and quick in making seasoning，and dozens of bowls and spoons will be used to make seasoning in just a few seconds. as usual，I told the chef to give me two more spoons of pepper sauce. When my noodles are ready. I take it and fi nd a vacant place all around to sit down. There are people either sitting on stone benches or standing beside the fl ower bed to eat quickly，while at the steps in front of the gate of GOME，with a piece of newspaper in the steps，some people sit down to eat their noodles in a noisy way，which is really a unique phenomenon. after a long time，I eventually start to enjoy my noodles by squatting under a tree where a person finished his eating just now in order to avoid the burning sun. Beside me there are two tall but not fat foreigners with blue eyes and a Roman nose. They are talking with a female translator with smile； weeping the sweat in their face and opening their mouth with a hand to bring wind into it，they never stop enjoying their noodles. although I can’t understand what they are talking about because I don’t know any English，I can feel they are surprised at the distinctive fl avor of hot and sour rice noodles in Chongqing from their smiling face and their concentration on the food. They must be marveling at the extensive and profound Chinese cuisine culture. I look around and find that I am just in an original picture scroll of cuisine culture in which all kinds of people，ladies，gentlemen，old men，young children，even barebacked strong men and fashionable girls who wear T-shirts and slippers，and people like me，are squatting at the corner are either lowering their heads eating carefully or raising their heads drinking the soup.

Because I have asked the chef to give me two more spoons of pepper sauce，my noodle is spicier than others'，and thus my cheeks and hair are full of sweat. after eating up the hot and sour rice noodles，I have left some soup in my bowl，and I go to a store beside to buy a bunch of goose liver，eating it up with my soup quickly. Then I will take out a piece of napkin to wipe my face，and I will have a cigarette lighted and take a deep breath，then the smoke will be out of my mouth and nose after circling around in my abdomen. at such a time，I have a refreshing feeling of the mixture of delicate fragrance with light smoke. It’s awesome！

The hot and sour rice noodles in Jiefangbei，you’re my forever love！

Translated by Li Yunbi

Hot and Sour Rice Noodles in Jiefangbei

□Written by Gao Xingming