How tourism, gentrification and a pandemic have changed Asia's street food scene
A decade ago, Shilin Night Market was one of the hottest night markets in Taipei. Taipei culture writer Jason Cheung is convinced those days are long gone. "Before Shilin was so diverse, " he says of the food options. "This market is now all about tourism. Everyone sells the same things. It's boring."
The erosion of street food culture is not unique to Taipei; it's unfolding all throughout Asia. In the last few decades, cities all over Asia have been struggling with how to preserve the cultural importance of street food — all while containing its inherent chaos.
With development has come a higher standard for hygiene and order — forces contradicting the spontaneous nature of night markets. Meanwhile, globalization introduced dishes from all over the world and competition from multinational restaurant chains.
While gentrification and government crackdowns are all threats to street food stalls across Asia, this year, it seems like the coronavirus pandemic might be the final death knell for many vendors.
While street stalls of generations past may soon cease to exist, many people don't think that's necessarily a bad thing and that the best is yet to come. Over in Singapore, KF Seetoh, Singapore's street food maven, is lobbying for an international street food academy to elevate the craft and preserve it for future generations. Over in Taipei, Ningxia Night Market is setting itself apart by adopting mobile pay and delivery apps.
"The difference is that they're thinking about local customers, not just tourists, " explains Cheung. And so while street food may be transforming, it likely won't go away anytime soon.
How tourism, gentrification and a pandemic have changed Asia's street food scene旅遊業、城市建設和疫情是如何改變亞洲街頭小吃市場的？gentrification /ˌdʒen.trə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/ n. 表示「城市建設；使上流社會化」。gentrify表示「使…上流社會化；使中產階級化」。scene /siːn/ n. 表示「圈子；情景」（a specified area of activity or interest）比如◇scenes of daily life日常生活的情景◇Sichuan's hiphop scene四川嘻哈圈◇national political scene國家政壇A decade ago, Shilin Night Market was one of the hottest night markets in Taipei. Taipei culture writer Jason Cheung is convinced those days are long gone. "Before Shilin was so diverse," he says of the food options. "This market is now all about tourism. Everyone sells the same things. It's boring."Shilin Night Market指「士林夜市」。士林夜市，是臺北市內最大、最知名的夜市之一，曾多次獲選為臺灣代表夜市、觀光客來臺必去景點首選，揚名國際。A decade ago, Shilin Night Market was one of the hottest night markets in Taipei. Taipei culture writer Jason Cheung is convinced those days are long gone. "Before Shilin was so diverse," he says of the food options. "This market is now all about tourism. Everyone sells the same things. It's boring."10 年前，士林夜市曾是臺北最熱門的夜市之一。臺北文化作家張哲生堅信，那樣的時代早已遠去。他在談及夜市食物選擇範圍時表示：「以前，士林賣的食物非常多元，現在這個夜市做的全是遊客的生意。人人都賣一樣的東西，太無聊了。」The erosion of street food culture is not unique to Taipei; it's unfolding all throughout Asia. In the last few decades, cities all over Asia have been struggling with how to preserve the cultural importance of street food — all while containing its inherent chaos.erosion /ɪˈroʊ.ʒən/ n. 表示「（權利等的）削弱；侵蝕」。比如◇the problem of soil erosion水土流失問題◇the erosion of presidential power總統權力的削弱unfold /ʌnˈfoʊld/ v. 表示「（一系列事件）發生；展開」。相當於happen。比如◇to unfold a map展開一張地圖preserve /prɪˈzɝːv/ v. 表示「維護，保護；醃製」。相當於protect。比如◇to preserve world peace維護和平那麼preserve和protect有什麼區別呢？兩者都有「保護」之意，但區別在於，preserve 強調「維持原狀」的保護，比如「維護和平」一般表示為 to preserve world peace，而不是 protect world peace。contain /kənˈteɪn/ v. 表示「控制；包含」。比如◇Doctors are working hard to contain the pandemic. 醫生都在努力控制新冠疫情。inherent /ɪnˈhɪr.ənt/ adj. 表示「固有的，天生的」。比如◇I have an inherent dislike of spinach. 我天生不喜歡吃菠菜。The erosion of street food culture is not unique to Taipei; it's unfolding all throughout Asia. In the last few decades, cities all over Asia have been struggling with how to preserve the cultural importance of street food — all while containing its inherent chaos.街頭小吃文化的日漸衰落並不局限於臺北，整個亞洲都出現了這種情況。在過去的幾十年裡，亞洲各地的城市都為一個問題頭痛不已——如何在控制街頭小吃自身混亂秩序的同時，維護街頭小吃的重要文化地位。With development has come a higher standard for hygiene and order — forces contradicting the spontaneous nature of night markets. Meanwhile, globalization introduced dishes from all over the world and competition from multinational restaurant chains.hygiene /ˈhaɪ.dʒiːn/ n. 表示「衛生」。比如◇to practice good personal hygiene搞好個人衛生contradict /ˌkɑːn.trəˈdɪkt/ v. 表示「與…矛盾」。比如◇to contradict oneself自相矛盾contradictory表示「互相矛盾的，相互對立的」。比如◇contradictory statements互相矛盾的說法spontaneous /spɑːnˈteɪ.ni.əs/ adj. 表示「即興的，自發的」。比如◇a spontaneous joke一個即興的笑話◇a spontaneous offer of help自發提供幫助「With development has come a higher standard for hygiene and order — forces contradicting the spontaneous nature of night markets. 」該句是一個完全倒裝句（特點為謂語全部置於主語前），如果還原為正常語序，句子應該是 A higher standard for hygiene and order has come with development.。這裡之所以完全倒裝，是因為狀語 with development 提到了句首。除此之外，以下幾種完全倒裝的情況也較常見。1）當 here、there、down 等方位副詞位於句首時here：Here comes the bus. 公共汽車來了。down：Down it came. 它掉了下來。With development has come a higher standard for hygiene and order — forces contradicting the spontaneous nature of night markets. Meanwhile, globalization introduced dishes from all over the world and competition from multinational restaurant chains.隨著城市的發展，衛生標準和經營規範都變得愈發嚴格，這些都與夜市的自發性難以兼容。與此同時，全球化帶來了來自世界各地的美食，以及來自跨國連鎖餐廳的競爭。While gentrification and government crackdowns are all threats to street food stalls across Asia, this year, it seems like the coronavirus pandemic might be the final death knell for many vendors.crackdown /kræk daʊn/ n. 表示「鎮壓，打壓」。crack down on表示「鎮壓，打壓」。比如◇The government is cracking down on drugs. 政府正在嚴厲打擊毒品犯罪。◇A be the death knell for B：A 為 B 敲響了喪鐘◇The arrival of supermarkets might be the death knell for many small shops. 大商場的成立預示著很多小商鋪要被迫關門。While gentrification and government crackdowns are all threats to street food stalls across Asia, this year, it seems like the coronavirus pandemic might be the final death knell for many vendors.雖然城市建設和政府打壓都對亞洲街頭小吃攤構成威脅，但對於很多攤主來說，似乎今年的新冠疫情將成為壓垮駱駝的最後一根稻草。While street stalls of generations past may soon cease to exist, many people don't think that's necessarily a bad thing and that the best is yet to come. Over in Singapore, KF Seetoh, Singapore's street food maven, is lobbying for an international street food academy to elevate the craft and preserve it for future generations. Over in Taipei, Ningxia Night Market is setting itself apart by adopting mobile pay and delivery apps.cease /siːs/ v. 表示「終止，結束」。慣用搭配cease to do表示「終止…」。比如◇He never ceases to amaze us. 他總能給我們帶來驚喜。慣用搭配cease sth. 表示「終止…」。比如◇cease production商品停產the best is yet to come表示「好消息已經在路上」（the best thing has not happened yet）the worst is yet to come表示「最壞的還在後頭」。maven /ˈmeɪ.vən/ n. 表示「專家，內行」。相當於expert。比如◇a fashion maven時尚專家lobby /ˈlɑː.bi/ v. 表示「遊說」。lobby也表示「遊說團體」。比如◇lobby against a law為了反對一項法律而遊說文化補充：「遊說」是美國政治中很有代表性的現象，通常指遊說團體、個人為受聘的利益集團、非營利組織等代言，對擁有立法權的議員遊說的行為。elevate /ˈel.ə.veɪt/ v. 表示「提升…的地位」。比如◇A recent policy helped to elevate the status of teachers. 政府最新的政策提高了教師的地位。Ningxia Night Market指「寧夏夜市」。寧夏夜市位於臺北民生西路至南京西路段，其名字取自內陸省份寧夏回族自治區。夜市飲食以臺灣傳統特色小吃為主，包括蚵仔面線、魯肉飯等。此外，也有山東赤肉蒸餃、上海生煎包、蒙古烤肉等大陸美味。set … apart表示「使...脫穎而出」。比如◇Her elegance sets her apart from other people. 她優雅的氣質讓她在人群中脫穎而出。While street stalls of generations past may soon cease to exist, many people don't think that's necessarily a bad thing and that the best is yet to come. Over in Singapore, KF Seetoh, Singapore's street food maven, is lobbying for an international street food academy to elevate the craft and preserve it for future generations. Over in Taipei, Ningxia Night Market is setting itself apart by adopting mobile pay and delivery apps.雖然舊時代的街邊小攤可能很快就會消失，但許多人認為，這不一定是件壞事，而且好消息已經在路上了。在新加坡，為了成立一所國際性的街頭美食研究院，街頭美食家 KF Seetoh 正在積極遊說，他想以此來提高這門手藝的地位，並把它傳承給子孫後代。在臺北，得益於行動支付和外賣軟體，寧夏夜市脫穎而出。"The difference is that they're thinking about local customers, not just tourists," explains Cheung. And so while street food may be transforming, it likely won't go away anytime soon.transform /trænsˈfɔːrm/ v. 表示「轉型；變形」。前綴trans-（變化，轉移）。比如◇The Internet has transformed our day-to-day lives. 現在網際網路已經徹底改變了我們的生活。"The difference is that they're thinking about local customers, not just tourists," explains Cheung. And so while street food may be transforming, it likely won't go away anytime soon.張哲生解釋道：「（寧夏夜市）不同的地方在於，他們在考慮當地顧客，而不只是遊客。」因此，雖然可能街頭小吃在轉型，但它也許不會很快消失。只要25元，一杯奶茶的錢可以帶你讀一整年的外刊哦！歡迎轉發朋友圈~— Contact Us —
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