今天與幾位好同事一起到北投公園走走，正好有位同事曾經來吃過這家滿來溫泉拉麵，他非常地推薦，同時也提醒我們，會有許多人一早就去排隊，果然，我們十一點半多抵達時，已經有不少人在餐廳外等著用餐了。
Today, I went to Beitou with several colleagues. One introduces us that this ManLai Repast (a Ramen restaurant) is very good. When we arrived there, it's just around eleven thirty in the morning, there are so many people already waiting outside of the place.
幸好，餐廳的排隊機制做得相當不錯，提供了號碼牌讓大家抽取，而且號碼牌上還附有QR Code，智慧手機掃瞄一下，馬上就知道有多少客人在自己的前面，可以隨時掌握進度，決定何時應該要回到餐廳準備用餐；於是我們在拿了號碼牌後，接著就去逛了北投圖書館與北投博物館，也算是好好地利用了這段時間。
So we took the number first, and then go to the Beitou Library and Beitou Museum. There is a very convenient hint for waiting that I never seen before. The number has a QR code on it. You may use the smart phone to scan it and then you will know how many people are waiting on the line in front of you. So you can know when should come back for ordering and eating.
餐廳的裝潢稍微帶點老舊的氛圍，我想應該是老店的特色吧！
The restaurant looks a little bit old style. I think it's kind of normal for a restaurant that would like to show that it has opened for many years.
左邊那盤蛋豆腐相當好吃，蛋的味道很濃郁，是很少見的美味。
The egg tofu is really delicious and with really strong egg flavor which is not easy to find another place has similar taste. Most place just serve the regular tofu. It's good.
這一盤則是好吃的溫泉蛋，雖然我有點驚訝怎麼都沒有蛋白，回家一查才知道，沒有蛋白似乎是正常的，裡面的蛋黃很嫩，很好吃。
The spa-boiled egg is the English name I found by Google. I don't know if this is the right name for it. Anyway, I love the eggs with over easy. It's my favorite about how to cook an egg.
我點的是正油叉燒拉麵，麵是煮得比較硬的細麵，彈性比一般吃到的要更Q彈，至少是我目前印象所及，最Q的；它的叉燒也是，厚度相對較厚，肉的滋味也更濃郁，難怪那位同事這麼推薦，我想，以後如果有機會再來新北投，我應該有八成以上的機會會再來吃一碗拉麵。另有一點就比較見人見智了，湯頭是已經調整過的符合台灣人口味的，沒有日本(或強調日式拉麵)的餐廳那麼鹹，這是我難得有把湯喝完的拉麵。
This is the Syouyu Chashiu Ramen. The noodle is kind of hard. And I just learned a word from Internet, it's al dente which means firm texture in Italian. The Chashiu also has similar flavor, not so soft compares to other which still keep the meat taste. I love it. There is another thing that depends on different people. The taste of the soup is already modified for Taiwanese, which means it's not as salty as for Japanese.
滿來溫泉拉麵地址：
112 台北市北投區中山路1-8號
在一個討論奇幻小說的討論串裡，得知了《獵魔士》的故事，對故事背景其實並沒有什麼了解，單純因為圖書館有進書，就從圖書館預約回來看。
獵魔士，是一個戰鬥工具的群體，似乎是網羅了世上的孤兒，經過訓練，再加以鍊金藥劑的改造，讓每一個獵魔士都擁有出色的戰鬥能力，再加上戰鬥時能夠忽略痛覺，傷口，又能維持在高度興奮狀態(或許可以簡稱為「狂化」狀態，比較淺顯易懂)，是世界最強悍的戰士，沒想到這群戰士還以消滅散佈在世界各地的魔獸為己任，滿世界到處跑，故事的主角傑洛特，身為獵魔士的一員，的確殺了不少怪獸，不介入世界政治的合緃連橫，可惜身不由己，上天把政治風暴中心的小女孩(流亡公主奇莉拉)交給了他，他只好和一群夥伴，一起追尋，一起解決問題。
從介紹來看，《獵魔士》是一套五集的小說，和習慣的英美一套三集不太一樣，不知是不是因為如此，我覺得前兩集的實在不太精彩，再加上我的習慣是在睡前看書，《獵魔士》有時候會讓我看著看著睡意就擁上來，只好提早睡覺的小說，雖然這也算是一個好處啦...由於前兩集不夠吸引人，短時間內，我應該不會繼續去看後面的幾集了。
以目前看的兩集來說，個人在閱讀上遇到了兩個困難點，就如同《魔戒》一樣，《獵魔士》的世界中，有不同智慧種族，互相也有可能使用不同的語言，結果，書中的某些對話就完全看不懂，使用的是精靈語或是上古語，老實說，我不懂這樣寫作的目的為何？難道作者另外出了一本精靈語字典，我要拿著字典來對照嗎？看故事看到一半，突然有一段對話完全看不懂的感覺實在很糟，被迫要去猜，對話的主角可能在表達什麼意思，怎麼將上下文串連起來，反而導致了劇情連結上的斷點。
第二點則是這個世界有許多不同的國家，這一點很正常，相對比較少見的是設定上每個國家都有不同的貨幣，互相之間的匯率，作者沒提，甚至到底日常生活的物價水準也沒說，在沒有參考的基準下，實在無法理解，作者直接給出一些貨幣說的意義是什麼？例如某某人的懸賞金額是二十弗洛倫？我根本就不知道那是多？還是少？難怪我看過的奇幻小說，甚至包含以中世界為背景的小說中，大多直接用金幣，銀幣，銅幣來表示，畢竟金銀銅能夠非常直觀地讓人對事物的價值有個明確的感覺，若有合適的劇情，再找機會多說明兩句，即使沒有說明，也不會造成讀者理解上有太大的誤差。
我不知道這兩點倒底是作者本身寫作上使用的手法？還是譯者在翻譯時沒注意到，未能合適地增加一些說明，以更好地傳達原文的意思？總之，這兩個地方造成我在投入劇情上的困擾，一個多月來，看書的進度非常慢，屬於不好啃的大部頭書吧！
某個週末，我跑去REI看外套，我的習慣都是利用早上去逛，逛完正好可以避過人潮離開，這天就在REI附近發現了一家速食餐廳─Chick-fli-A，不確定是賣什麼的，不過應該是賣雞肉的吧！有chick這個單詞呀！
One day, when I went to REI store to browsing for some sport gears, I found a fast food restaurant that I haven't seen before. I even don't know how to pronouce it, the Chick-fil-A. Anyway, it looks like I can try some chicken there.
有點不確定其他速食店是不是就沒有，不過，這家店倒是讓我注意到，他們在這些小東西上都打上了自己的logo，而且提供了非常多種的配料，還有上圖瓶子造型的沾醬，這個也許就是獨此一家了。
They put a lot icons on the cup, ketch-up which is really interesting. And also for the bottle shaped sauce.
還有件有趣的事，我在這兒第一次在美國看到可彎曲吸管，台灣在很多地方都找得到，非常普及，但不知為何，在美國倒是很少見。
Another funny thing is that here is the only place I can find a flexible straw. It's almost everywhere in Taiwan, I don't know why, but it's hard to find in US.
第一次來，看了很久的菜單，覺得美國只要外食，料理方式都以炸物為主，尤其是在速食店，所以最後點了煎雞肉堡（Grilled Chicken Sandwich）， 雖然口味稍淡，雞肉的甜味與生菜的甜味都很棒，很好吃；同時這兒的格格脆薯塊(Waffle Fries，翻譯來自維基百科Wikipedia)也非常好吃，若沒記錯，這也是我第一次吃到格格脆薯塊，之後如果遇到餐廳也有供應，我大多會點來嚐嚐！
I ordered Grilled Chicken Sandwich because I thought I had tried too much fried stuff. I should eat some grilled thing which should be healthier. The sandwich is good, I can taste the flavor of chicken, it's light but really good. The Waffle Potato Fries is good, too. This was the first time I tried and I love it. So I came back for couple times.
Chick-fli-A 地址：
Victoria Gateway Center
12190 E Foothill Blvd,
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
這間餐廳就位在公司的美國辦公室附近，或許因為其招牌是豬肉漢堡，其實同事也並不常來此用餐，某一天，有同事想到，又記得我挺愛嚐嚐不同的美式料理，就帶我來嚐鮮囉～
Meat Up BBQ is a restaurant that near our US office. The most special point is that the restaurant is famous by its pork food which is really uncommon in United States.
既然招牌是豬肉，自然點了Meat Up Pulled Pork作為我今天的午餐，薯條記得是典型的麥當勞薯條，外穌內軟，挺不錯吃的。
Because of that, I ordered the Meat Up Pulled Pork for my lunch one day.
豬肉漢堡的部分就稍微不太合胃口了，首先是賣相實在不是很好，看起來就挺油膩的，似乎充滿了烤肉醬汁與沙拉醬的味道，雖然豬肉的口感不錯，加上麵包的中和，其實也算是可以的漢堡，只是我個人實在不愛那麼濃郁的醬汁味，只是這就是某些美國人很愛的口味，感覺上有點愛醬汁甚過原味，最明顯的就是吃薯條的時候了，台灣朋友們大多都只是沾一點蕃茄醬讓薯條的味道重一點，比較好吃，但我覺得美國人根本是在吃蕃茄醬，咬著薯條是為了讓蕃茄醬有可供咀嚼的口感～
To be honest, it doesn't look delicious. For me, I don't like my food that full of the sauce's taste. I just like a little bit of the sauce with the original flavor of the food. But for the pork hamburger, the BBQ sauce and the salad sauce are the most strong flavor. The taste is strong and good, but maybe just not the way I like for tasting food.
Meat Up BBQ 地址：
1450 N Kraemer Blvd,
Placentia, CA 92870
某天，正好在尋找午餐時，發現了這家以前沒吃過的拉麵店，未多考慮，直接進入店家點菜；我發現，麵店是我在找餐點時，很容易吸引我的餐廳類型。
One day, I found a Ramen restaurant on the street and I was hungry at that time, so I just went in to have some.
我點了看起來非常豐盛的豚骨叉燒拉麵，第一次能在一碗拉麵裡品嚐到五片軟嫩的叉燒，好滿足。
I ordered Tonkotsu Cha-shiu Ramen which looks really delicious with a lot of Cha-shiu.
湯還滿濃的，不過味道並不會太重或是太鹹，光喝還不錯，不過仍然建議搭配細麵一起品嚐，如果最後剩下大半碗的湯，還是會覺得太多，會喝到太膩而無法全部喝完，真的是很佩服日本人，吃拉麵時幾乎都能把湯汁喝完。
The soup is strong but not very salty or greasy. It's good but I still recommend to taste it with the noodles which should be the best way to taste the noodle and soup.
搭配的細麵煮得軟硬適中，正好是我喜歡的口感。這是一家可以依照個人口味調整的拉麵店，可以選擇湯頭的油脂份量，濃汁濃厚程度，還有麵的軟硬度，既然是我第一次來吃，自然都點「正常」口味囉！
The noodle is thin with a little hard which I like.
One interesting thing of this restaurant is that the customer may choose how the ramen will taste by his/her own. How greasy and how strong of the soup and how soft or hard about the noodle. Since I never try this restaurant, I just chose "normal" style.
依慣例，另外還點了一盤的炸雞塊，老實說，剛看到時實在是很普通，就這樣盛在碗裡就端上桌，沒想到咬了一口才發覺很多汁，炸得挺不錯的，不知是不是一種行銷手法，讓人覺得有超出期待的美味，哈～
As usual, I also ordered the fried chicken as the side. To be honest, it doesn't look very nice, it just looks cheap. When I bit it, it's very juicy, much more than I expect. It doesn't look nice, but it taste good.
哲麵(Tokyo Japan)林森店地址：
104 台北市中山區林森北路151號
啟程回洛杉磯時，在車上利用Yelp尋找午餐地點，找到了這家距離動物園不遠的Buger Lounge。
On the way back to Los Angeles, we used Yelp to find a place for our lunch, the Burger Lounge.
簡單明亮的裝潢，有點連鎖店的風格，不過看來又主打手工漢堡，似乎挺不一樣的，我就直接點了招牌的1/3磅Lounge漢堡。
It looks good and it's handcrafted, it should be good. I ordered the 1/3 lbs Lounge Burger.
上菜之後真的看起來有點普普，簡單的生菜，漢堡肉加起士，咬下去才發現好吃！就像下面照片廣告，簡單的好吃呀！
It looks so so, but in fact, it's good. Just like what they say, it's pure simple delicious.
有點特別的一點是，這兒主打牛肉是來自「吃草的牛（草飼牛肉）」，其實我一直以為美國人更愛「穀飼牛肉」的，記得曾有同事告訴我，有機會一定要去美國德州吃牛排，而且還要挑穀飼牛肉，他覺得是世界上最好吃的牛排了～
And I think this might be the only place I know that highlights their beef is grass-fed beef. I thought Americans love grain-fed beef, ha~
Burger Lounge 地址：
406 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
隔天，我們只安排了一個行程─聖地牙哥動物園，上面的無尾熊招牌，是人人都會來一張合照的地標。
The next day, we only went to the famous San Diego Zoo. The sign above is where every tourist would like to take photo with.
動物園的門票一個人要48元，有點小貴，看到價錢才想起來，昨晚住的青年旅館也有在賣票，一般來說，青年旅館的票，應該可以便宜個幾塊錢，真的是虧了；進了動物園，決定先搭個遊園車逛一下，對動物園整體有了概念再下來用走的，逛了一圈下來發現，在遊園車上，應該要坐右手邊的座位，因為大部分的動物都在馬路的右手邊，只有最後一區的長頸鹿例外。
The ticket is 48 dollars per person, a little bit be expensive. We forgot to buy it before we left the hostel, the hostel might provide few dollars discount. When we get in, we took the Guided Bus Tour to have an overview of the zoo. Remember one thing, take the right-hand side seat. All most all the animals you will see are at the right-hand side of the bus, except the last one, the giraffe.
(冠毛長尾猴The Wolf's Monkey)
在看到這個展區前，我一直以為河馬只會泡在水裡，在水面上露個頭，沒想到會全身都泡在水下，只有要換氣時才會浮上水面，不知道是不是因為木柵動物園沒有類似的設計，以前在木柵動物園都沒看過這樣的行為。
Before seeing this, I don't the hippopotamus may stay in the water to cool itself down. In Taipei Zoo, maybe because the pool is not deep enough, I didn't observe that in the past.
(白紋牛羚The Bontebok)
以上是在動物園裡，個人覺得拍得還算不錯的照片。
Above are some beautiful photos I took in the zoo.
在動物園裡，我還滿喜歡用來分區的告示牌，這些告示牌都設計得符合該區的風格，給人一種似乎在叢林裡探險的感覺，好玩。
These signs are another interesting things that I like here. It makes me feel like I'm exploring something in the jungle.
貓熊區則是要排隊入場，而且因為人太多，不太好意思停下來一直拍照，只能邊走邊拍，以排隊的清況來說，目前的明星動物，就是貓熊了！
Another interesting thing is that the Panda Trek, you may need to wait in a line to see the pandas. Maybe just like Taipei Zoo, people need to wait to watch the most famous and attractive animals.
我們在下午兩點左右離開，也許因為我們都不是狂熱的動物迷，同時也想避開塞車，算是離開得有點早了。
We left around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Compare to others, it's kind of early. I guess that's because we are not a big animal fan and we also want to skip the traffic jam.
San Diego Zoo 地址：
2920 Zoo Dr
San Diego, CA 92101
