2019-04-29又中又英——outdo

Hong Kong and Singapore are always trying to outdo each other in everything. In the past, Hong Kong outdid Singapore in many things, but now Singapore is outdoing Hong Kong in most things. To outdo someone means to do things better than someone. As I said in my previous column, I was in Singapore recently after not having gone there for many years. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that Singapore is very different from Hong Kong even though both are small and developed cities with large populations. Singaporeans (Singapore people) are very laid-back compared to Hong Kong people. If you are laid-back, it means you are very relaxed, casual, and friendly.

Hong Kong is not laid-back at all. People here are often rude, always rushing, and many people push to get on MTR trains to get seats. The other thing I noticed during my taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was that the city is full of trees. The trees help to reduce air pollution. A Singapore friend took me to a local restaurant called Kim’s Place Seafood in a laid-back residential area of Singapore. I saw many old residential buildings with only two floors that were very well-preserved. The owner of Kim’s Place, Yong Tan, and his wife told me the Singapore government does not allow these old buildings to be redeveloped into high-rise buildings. That’s why Singapore has outdone Hong Kong in preserving heritage buildings.

Kim’s Place Seafood has been passed down from generation to generation. My friends told me many restaurants in Singapore and Penang are passed down from generation to generation, which means the original owner’s children, grandchildren, and so on, continue the business. Hong Kong restaurants are seldom passed down from generation to generation. High rents force the businesses to close. Kim’s Place serves authentic (genuine) local Singapore food. Most of the customers I saw were locals. I brought two bottles of single malt whiskeys to share with my friends. The whiskeys paired (matched) perfectly with the Singapore cuisine we ate.

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香港和新加坡常常竭力在所有事情上都要勝過（outdo）對方。以往香港在許多方面都勝過（outdid）新加坡，但現在新加坡在大部份範疇裏正超越（outdoing）香港。To outdo someone意即某事做得比某人優勝、比人強。正如我在上一篇專欄中說過，我最近造訪新加坡，我已多年沒有去過那裏了。我到埗後留意到的第一件事，就是新加坡雖然也是細小而人口眾多的先進城市，它卻跟香港有很大的差別。新加坡人（Singaporeans）相對於香港人來說，真的很 laid-back。若你是 laid-back，即是說你很悠閒、放鬆、隨和。

香港則完全不悠閒（laid-back），這裏的人不時都是粗魯無禮，總是匆匆忙忙的，而許多人搭港鐵時也會推擁着上車找座位。另一樣我從機場搭的士到酒店的途中留意到的，就是這個城市種滿了樹，樹木有助減少空氣污染。一位新加坡朋友帶我到當地一間餐廳，名為「金記海鮮屋」，它位處新加坡一個很悠閒的（laid-back）住宅區。我見到有許多只有兩層樓高的舊住宅大廈，卻是保存得很好。金記的老闆陳泳漢和他的太太告訴我，新加坡政府不容許這些舊樓重建成高樓大廈，因此新加坡在保育歷史建築方面亦勝過（outdone）香港。

金記海鮮屋是世代相傳（passed down from generation to generation）的。我的朋友們告訴我，新加坡和檳城的許多餐廳也是 passed down from generation to generation，意即那生意由創辦人的子子孫孫一代一代的傳承、延續下去。香港的餐廳很少可以世代相傳（passed down from generation to generation），租金高企逼使生意結業。金記所奉的是最地道（authentic）的新加坡本地食物。放眼所見，大部份顧客都是本地人。我帶了兩瓶單一麥芽威士忌，跟我的朋友們分享。威士忌跟我們吃的新加坡美食，簡直是絕配（paired perfectly）！

mickchug@gmail.com

中譯:七刻

Michael Chugani 褚簡寧