英國的炸魚薯條雖被譽為國民美食，但國內不少人都將其稱為「黑暗料理」，已經吐槽了好多年。不過，最近外媒報導稱，英國一家普通的炸魚薯條店因為很多中國遊客的到訪，生意突然火爆了起來。難道是受了什麼高人指點？我們來看看英國《衛報》的報導：
As a meal choice it is on the decline, losing ground to seitan burgers and poké bowls as millennials run scared of the humble spud. But one fish and chip shop near York has hit on a novel way of attracting customers: translating its menu into Mandarin.
作為一種餐食選擇，薯條正在走下坡路，輸給了素肉漢堡和「衝浪碗」（夏威夷的特色主食），也因為太不起眼而令千禧一代望而卻步。但是，英國約克郡附近的一家炸魚薯條店偶然間發現了一種招攬顧客的新途徑：將菜單翻譯成中文。
這家小店名叫斯科茨炸魚薯條店，位於英國約克郡附近的一條A64公路上，雖然店面的位置比較偏僻，但好就好在它處於旅行團遊覽路線的途經地，門前位置足夠寬敞，店裡的環境、菜品及價格都挺合適，滿足了旅行團的需求。
Scotts Fish and Chips near York now serves more than 100 Chinese holidaymakers a week after launching a Mandarin website and promoting its deep-fried delicacies on Weibo and WeChat.
約克郡附近的斯科茨炸魚薯條店推出中文網站並在微博和微信上宣傳店內的油炸美食後，現在每周光顧該店的中國遊客人數已經超過100人。
During the busy lunchtime rush on Thursday, Scotts' manager, Roxy Vasai, said they were experiencing a Chinese boom. "We look out for a coach and, when they're coming, we shout 'they're here, there are 20, 30, 40, let's make it ready for them'," she said.
周四，在繁忙的午餐尖峰時間，斯科茨炸魚薯條店的經理羅克茜·瓦賽說，他們正在經歷一場「中國熱」。她說：「我們張望著旅遊大巴的蹤影。他們到來時，我們會喊『他們來了，有20、30或40人，我們給他們準備好吧』。」
"We are very impressed by the Chinese tourists. They are very friendly, smiley and happy."
「中國遊客給我們留下了深刻的印象。他們非常友好，臉上掛著笑容和快樂。」
店內工作人員表示，這些遊客不但在此用餐，還有許多人在酒店頂層的餐廳內外與員工合影。
Staff want to make dining at the restaurant a real occasion for visitors, she said, with chefs and waiters regularly posing for selfies with their Chinese diners. "We have fun, we make them feel welcome. They like to take pictures so it's something to share with family and friends."
她說，員工們希望讓在該餐廳用餐成為遊客真正特別的經歷。廚師和服務員經常擺好姿勢與中國食客自拍留念。她說：「我們很開心，我們讓他們感到賓至如歸。他們喜歡拍照，這些照片可以拿去給家人和朋友看。」
The restaurant's location is also thought to be one of the reasons for the influx because it is on the main route for tour groups visiting York from London.
據稱，餐廳的位置也成為其火爆的原因之一，因為這裡位於旅行團從倫敦到訪約克郡的主路。
約克郡遊客信息中心Make It York的大使Will Zhuang稱，「大多數中國旅行團都會在遊訪倫敦及劍橋後前往約克。他們在途中就將經過這家店，這是一個讓旅行團停下來休息的理想位置。」
而且2015年周杰倫和昆凌的婚禮舉行地點霍華德城堡就離這家小店不遠！享用完美食，再步行過去霍華德城堡那邊逛拍一下，簡直完美～
Vasai said staff had been surprised by its burgeoning popularity and that some were swapping the traditional Yorkshire "ta, love" for Mandarin. "We've started learning a little bit, things like 'thank you' and 'bye bye'," Vasai said. "In the future we will know how to say more — we just ask the Chinese and they tell us."
員工們對該店暴漲的受歡迎程度感到驚訝，一些人改用漢語說出約克郡的傳統方言「ta，love」（「謝謝，親愛的」）。瓦賽說：「我們已經開始學習一點點中文，比如『謝謝』和『再見』。以後我們還要多學中文——我們只要問中國人就行，他們會告訴我們。」
"The word is spreading," he said. "The Chinese are very active word-of-mouth marketeers themselves, so by embracing their language and social media platforms, that's the thing that really seems to be working for us."
「我們的口碑都是口口相傳。中國人本身就是非常活躍的口碑營銷員，因此藉助他們的語言和社交媒體平臺似乎才是真正對我們有效的方法。」
一些聽說過英國「黑暗料理」的遊客，只是抱著嘗試一下當地傳統特色菜品的想法吃進嘴裡，卻沒想到味道出乎意料地合胃口，甚至很快就把菜品一掃而光，好比這位在店裡被BBC採訪的中國遊客，她就對炸魚和薯條十分滿意：
「如果滿分是十分，您會給這道菜打幾分呢？」
「那我肯定是給它打滿分的～」
Visits to the UK from China have increased 89 percent in the past five years, to 337,000 last year, according to Visit Britain. The north of England has seen an influx of Chinese visitors since the introduction of a direct flight between Manchester and Beijing in June 2016 and from Hong Kong to Manchester in December 2014.
根據英國旅遊局的統計，過去五年中，造訪英國的中國遊客人數增加了89%，去年達到了33.7萬人。自曼徹斯特與北京在2016年6月開通直航、香港與曼徹斯特在2014年12月開通直航以來，中國遊客大量湧入英格蘭北部。
The tourism boom has been good news for British business: Chinese visitors are some of the UK's highest spenders, spending on average £2,059 during their visit, more than three times the all-market average.
旅遊熱對英國企業來說是好消息：中國遊客是消費最多的赴英遊客群體之一，他們赴英期間的平均消費為2059英鎊（約合1.8萬元人民幣），是市場平均水平的三倍以上。
Andrew Speke, who leads Chinese language food tours in London for BeiWei 55, said fish and chips was top of the must-try list for a new breed of middle class Chinese tourists.
北緯55度旅行有限公司的中國遊客倫敦美食旅行團導遊朱海林說，炸魚薯條在新一代中國中產階層遊客的必嘗清單上位居榜首。
"We've moved on from the days where all Chinese people went around Europe on a coach and had all their meals in suburban Chinese restaurants," said Speke. "Our customers are the Chinese middle classes from first or second-tier Chinese cities. They watch Downton Abbey and Sherlock and they want the classic British experience."
朱海林說：「我們已經告別了所有中國人都坐旅遊大巴週遊歐洲、在郊區的中餐館用餐的時代。我們的客戶是來自中國一、二線城市的中產階層。他們看《唐頓莊園》和《神探夏洛克》等英劇，他們希望獲得經典的英國體驗。」
Unlike other foreign visitors, the Chinese don't flinch at the suggestion they douse their chips with vinegar, said Speke. "Vinegar is more popular than soy sauce in northern China, so in cities such as Beijing and Shijiazhuang. It's in the south of China and Hong Kong where people dip their dumplings in soy."
朱海林說，與其他外國遊客不同，中國遊客樂於嘗試薯條蘸醋的建議。「醋在中國北方比醬油更受歡迎，在北京和石家莊等城市也是如此。在中國南方和香港，人們吃餃子的時候才會蘸醬油。」
There is a common misconception among the Chinese that Britons eat fish and chips every day. "Sometimes they ask how we are not all very fat eating like this," said Speke.
中國人有一個普遍的誤解，認為英國人每天都吃炸魚薯條。朱海林說：「有時候他們會問，為什麼英國人這麼吃還會有人不胖。」
Chinese tourists also find it difficult to understand why so many British meals are cold. "They think it's strange that we might have cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. It's not unusual for them to have noodles for breakfast and then a big cooked lunch. The cold things they do eat tend to be strongly flavored, such as pickles, or side dishes with a lot of chilli. A cold pork pie tends not to go down too well."
中國遊客也很難理解為什麼這麼多英國餐食都是冷的。「英國人早餐吃麥片，午餐吃三明治，中國遊客覺得這很奇怪。中國人早餐經常吃麵條，然後午餐大吃一頓。他們吃的冷食都是一些味道濃烈的風味小吃，比如醃菜，或者超辣的配菜。冰冷的豬肉餡餅普遍不太被接受。」
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, which works to protect and promote the interests of fish and chip businesses throughout the UK and beyond, said he had not heard of any other dedicated chippies offering a Chinese language menu. "It's a great idea though," he said.
英國炸魚業者聯合會會長安德魯·克魯克負責在全英和全球各地保護和推廣人們對炸魚薯條的興趣。他說，他沒聽說還有哪家薯條店提供中文菜單，「不過，這是個好主意」。
He has advised aspiring chippy owners in China, Japan and Vietnam on how to run an authentic establishment and says China is a fast growing market. He said: "Chinese people saw on TV this very English scene of a pub and a pint and some fish and chips and wanted to try it themselves."
他已經向一些中國、日本和越南炸魚薯條店主提供了建議，教他們如何保留英國風味。他說：「中國人在電視上看到極具英國風格的一幕，人們在酒吧喝啤酒，吃炸魚薯條，他們自己也想體驗一下。」
其實，這幾年來，像這樣因為中國遊客而神奇爆火的「景點」，早就不止這家炸魚店了。
曾在2016年時，牛津郡北部一個叫Kidlington的村莊突然來了一批又一批的中國遊客。
事情發生得毫無預兆，不知道是哪一天起，每逢周四就會有一些旅遊大巴在這裡放下一大批遊客，他們在村子裡到處遊覽觀光及拍照留念。
就連垃圾桶都沒放過.
實際上，Kidlington只是一個有著一萬多人口的平淡無奇的村莊，這裡既沒有歷史遺蹟也不是度假勝地，在英國像這樣的村子實在是多得數不勝數，所以這莫名出現的一大批遊客，自然是把當地居民們搞得一臉懵.
BBC還專門派了記者來調查這件事兒...
結果在聽完遊客們的回答過後，記者和居民們變得更懵了.
遊客們表示只是過來感受一下英國最本土的鄉村環境，順便就拍拍照留個念，就這麼簡單，沒有別的.
誰說中國遊客出國只會買買買，這樣跑到村裡拍照的遊客是不是也感覺有點萌萌噠.
來源：衛報、參考消息網、英國英鳥企鵝號、instagram精選企鵝號
翻譯&編輯：yaning
你覺得這種旅遊體驗如何？