By Xu Wanyan

中國的夜宵社交

Late-night Snacks in China

By Xu Wanyan

吃夜宵的年輕人

雖然已經(jīng)吃過晚飯，也明白過了飯點加餐不是個好主意，然而到了晚上10點多，你還是會迫切渴望，甚至覺得必須得叫上你的朋友：“走，咱們吃點兒什么去！”

在中國，夏天的夜晚最適合吃小吃和夜宵了，各式各樣的燒烤——海鮮、雞翅、臭豆腐、麻辣小龍蝦都成了夏日主打菜。

這樣的夜宵算不上精致，多數(shù)夜宵都是含高脂肪的食物，有些餐館還存在衛(wèi)生問題，不過這些都阻擋不了食客們大快朵頤。

除了用食物來滿足自己，中國人吃夜宵也是一種社交和放松方式。

“夜宵一定要在外面吃，而不是在家里做?！?31歲的白領(lǐng)錢毛佳說，“我覺得夏天晚上穿著普通T恤、短褲、涼拖出去，簡直太放松了。這已經(jīng)成了我的一種習(xí)慣，而且我相信身邊的很多人都用這種方式來消暑?！?/p>

其實，世界其他地方的人們也有這樣的沖動。夜市在韓國、泰國等很多亞洲國家都很流行。在西方國家，商場很早（一般6點前）就關(guān)門了。而餐廳和酒吧通常會營業(yè)到很晚，為那些想要吃點夜宵、或者單純想跟朋友小聚的人提供服務(wù)。

以西班牙為例：在那里人們通常不吃夜宵，不過他們的傳統(tǒng)就是非常晚才會吃晚餐，一般在晚9點到午夜之間，類似晚餐與夜宵的結(jié)合。不像中國人晚上吃大餐，西班牙人則喜歡吃得比較簡單。通常包括一小塊魚肉、烤雞或烤羊肉，一份沙拉和一份白米飯。

（ChinaDaily 供稿）

You’ve already had dinner, and you’re fully aware that after-hours eating is probably not a smart choice. Yet you feel urged, even obliged, to say to your friend at 10pm-ish, “Let’s go get something to eat!”

In China, summer is the season of late-night snacks, or yexiao, with all kinds of barbecue – seafood, chicken wings and stinky tofu – and spicy crayfish dominating the menu.

It’s not fine dining – most of the food is high in fat, and some of the restaurants have dubious hygiene, but that doesn’t stop customers from chowing down.

Apart from sating your appetite for food, latenight snacks in China are also about socializing and relaxing.

“Yexiao should be eaten outside rather than cooked at home,” Qian Maojia, a 31-year-old white-collar worker said, “I feel so relaxed going outside late at night in the summer, in a casual T-shirt, shorts and slippers. It has become a habit of mine, and I believe many people around me in this city spend great summer nights this way.”

This impulse is shared by other places around the world. Night markets are popular in many Asian countries such as South Korea and Thailand. In Western countries, shopping malls close early, often before 6 pm, but restaurants and bars stay open until late to serve those who want to have some midnight munchies or simply hang out with friends.

Take Spain as an example: People there don’t have yexiao, but they traditionally have a very late dinner, usually between 9 pm and midnight, which can be interpreted as a combination of dinner and yexiao. Instead of having a big feast like Chinese people do, Spanish people like to have a lighter dinner. It often includes a small portion of fish, roast chicken or lamb, a salad and white rice.