新与旧、变与不变：纽约唐人街的食物与人
即使是在从我住的地方到曼哈顿的华埠要花好几个小时的时候，那里也是我家购买食品杂货的地方。几十年前，在美国大西洋沿岸的大部分地区，你找不到同样种类和质量的中国农产品、肉制品和干货。
But that’s changed.
但这已有所改变。
Cheaper options in Flushing, Queens; Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and elsewhere in the city have drawn working-class Chinese immigrants away from this neighborhood bordered by trendy SoHo and TriBeCa.
皇后区的法拉盛、布鲁克林的日落公园，以及纽约市其他地方已经有了更便宜的选择，把工薪阶层的华裔移民从毗邻时髦的苏豪区(SoHo)和翠贝卡区(TriBeCa)的华埠吸引走了。
As Chinatown’s population changes, what will happen to the grocers and specialty food stores that feed the community?
随着华埠人口的变化，养活这个社区的食品杂货店和特色食品店将会发生什么呢?
“One of the reasons Chinese in our neighborhood have been able to sustain our community nutritionally is because these vendors exist,” said Jan Lee, a Chinatown resident and property owner in the neighborhood. “For gentrification, people think it’ll be $8 coffee, but before that happens you’ll displace a fishmonger or a fruit seller who is providing inexpensive food.”
“我们社区的华人之所以能够不断为维系社区提供养分，原因之一就是这些商贩的存在，”华埠居民、该社区的业主简·李(Jan Lee)说。“人们对社区高阶层化改造的想法是，一杯咖啡要8美元，但在这之前你会看到的是，为社区提供便宜食物的鱼贩子或水果商没有了。”
For several years, Chinatown has helped teach my third-generation American children what it means to be Taiwanese-American, not only because they go to Mandarin school there, but also because, just as importantly, they eat the foods, foods that aren’t pristine and sterilized, boneless and skinned.
多年来，华埠一直在帮助我的美国第三代子女们了解作为台湾裔美国人意味着什么，不仅因为他们在那里上普通话学校，也因为他们在那里吃那些看起来不怎么干净、没有经过消毒和去骨去皮的食物，而这同样重要。
But while New York City’s Chinese population continues to grow, by more than 70 percent since 2000, Manhattan’s Chinatown is losing Chinese residents. According to census data, and the city’s neighborhood map, Chinatown’s Chinese population has declined by 30 percent since 2000.
但是，尽管纽约市的华裔人口持续增长，自2000年以来增长了70%以上，但曼哈顿华埠的华裔居民人数正在减少。据人口普查数据和纽约市社区地图，华埠的华裔人口自2000年以来已经下降了30%。
I spoke to some food shopkeepers, who ran first- and second-generation family businesses in Chinatown. Their answers both surprised and inspired me and suggested that while some see a neighborhood in decline, others see merely a transition.
我采访了一些食品店主，他们在华埠经营着第一代或第二代的家族生意。他们的回答既让我感到惊讶，也给了我启发，让我认识到，虽然有些人认为这个社区正在衰落，也有一些人认为它只是在经历一个过渡期。
Lewis Wu, 50 刘易斯·胡(Lewis Wu)，50岁
Hong Kong Supermarket, 157 Hester Street
香港超级市场(Hong Kong Supermarket)，Hester街157号
After immigrating from Burma, Lewis Wu’s father opened his first store in 1973, a small dry goods grocery on East Broadway in Chinatown.
刘易斯·胡的父亲从缅甸移民美国后，于1973年在华埠的东百老汇街上开了他的第一家店，那是一家小小的干货杂货店。
Business was brisk, especially on Chinese New Year’s. “It was actually like a can of sardines.” Mr. Wu reminisced, “long lines throughout the whole day.”
店里生意兴隆，尤其是在中国的旧历新年。“里面简直就像是个沙丁鱼罐头，”刘易斯·胡回忆说，“一整天都排着长队。”
And Mr. Wu loved it. Choosing products and seeing what sells at what price was like running little experiments for him.
他很喜欢那种场景。在他看来，选择产品、发现什么东西能以什么价格卖出去，就像是做小小的实验。
So while his sisters went into medicine and dentistry, he chose the family business.
所以，当他的姐妹们选择了行医或当牙医时，他选择了家族生意。
With two floors and 17,000 square feet, Hong Kong Supermarket is one of the largest in Chinatown and larger than most grocery stores in Manhattan: The store has several tanks for live fish and shellfish, a butcher section, a back wall entirely for frozen goods, and a lower level for kitchenware, herbs, rice and noodles.
香港超市有上下两层，总面积约1600平方米，是华埠最大的超市之一，比曼哈顿的大多数食品杂货店都大。店里有几个养着活鱼和贝类的缸，有现切现卖的新鲜肉，有排满整个后墙的冷冻商品柜，地下层销售厨具、各种香草、大米和各种面条。
Just a few years ago, Hong Kong Supermarket expanded its selection of non-Asian products, like yogurts and cold cuts, though Mr. Wu explained that it wasn’t just non-Chinese customers who had asked for it.
就在几年前，香港超市扩大了店内非亚洲产品的选择，增加了酸奶和冷盘切肉等食品，不过刘易斯·胡解释说，有这些购买需求的不只是非华裔顾客。
While his customer base used to be more first-generation Chinese, he said now he saw more second-generation Chinese-Americans along with non-Asians.
虽然他的顾客群过去更多的是第一代华裔，但他说，现在他也看到更多的第二代美籍华人和非亚裔。
And Mr. Wu’s family also opened stores in East Brunswick, N.J., and Flushing, Queens, to tap into growing Asian communities outside Chinatown.
刘易斯·胡的家人还在新泽西州东不伦瑞克和纽约皇后区的法拉盛开了店，以争取华埠以外日益壮大的亚裔社区顾客。
“Like dinosaurs,” said Mr. Wu, “if you don’t change with the environment, you won’t be here.”
“和恐龙一样，”他说，“如果你不随着环境的变化而改变的话，你就活不下去了。”
But he added that despite the relative higher rent in Chinatown, the volume of sales at the Hester Street store still made it the most profitable.
但他补充说，虽然华埠的租金相对较高，但这家位于Hester街的店面销售额也高，所以它还是最挣钱的店。
Muoi Truong, 51 张梅(Muoi Truong，音)，51岁
Sidewalk stand on Mulberry Street near Canal 桑树街(Mulberry Street)上离运河街(Canal)不远的街摊
On a recent December afternoon, Muoi Truong could be found wearing six layers of clothing and three hats.
在12月不久前的一个下午，人们可以看到穿了六层衣服、戴了三顶帽子的张梅。
In front of her was a rainbow of fruit from the tropics — pink-red lychees, ruby rambutans, yellow mangos, pale green Taiwanese guava and fuchsia dragon fruit — sitting atop three tables on the sidewalk of Mulberry Street near Canal.
她在桑树街离运河街不远的地方摆街摊，面前的三张桌子上摆满了各种颜色的热带水果——粉色的荔枝、红宝石色的毛丹、黄色的芒果、浅绿色的台湾番石榴，以及紫红色的火龙果。
One shopper considered a box of strawberries and asked, “Is it sweet?”
一位犹豫着是不是买盒草莓的顾客问道：“甜吗?”
“Sweet like you,” replied Ms. Truong, 51, almost instinctively.
“像你一样甜美，”51岁的张梅几乎本能地回答。
Karlin Chan, a community activist in Chinatown, introduced me to Ms. Truong, who has sold fruit with her husband for over 20 years at this location. Her sister and brother run a similar stand around the corner farther east on Canal.
华埠的社区活动人士陈家龄(Karlin Chan)把张梅介绍给了我，她和丈夫在这个摊位卖水果已经20多年了。她有兄弟姐妹在运河街往东更远的拐角处经营着一个类似的摊位。
Ms. Truong usually starts at 8 a.m. and works until 10 p.m. (Her mother, 83, often spends the day outside as well.)
张梅通常早上8点开始工作，一直到晚上10点收摊(她83岁的母亲也经常把整天的时间花在摊位上)。
But she says her business has declined, and standing all day has started to wear on her. She pointed to her bowed legs and said her knees had been bothering her.
但她说，她的生意已经不如过去了，整天站着工作也开始让她感到疲惫不堪。她指着自己弯曲的双腿说，她的膝盖一直不好。
Would she want one of her four children to continue the business? “Of course not, I’m hoping they’ll go to medical school!” she said. Her two oldest are in college, at Columbia University and the University of Richmond.
她会让四个孩子中的一个继续这个生意吗?“当然不会，我希望他们都能上医学院!”她说。她的两个最大的子女正在上大学，一个在哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)，一个在里士满大学(University of Richmond)。
My 80-something-year-old uncle in Missouri said that before he died, he would love to be able to eat cherimoya, a fruit closely related to the soursop and brought to Southeast Asia from the Americas. We sent one from Ms. Truong.
我住在密苏里州的80多岁的叔叔说，想在去世前再吃一次番荔枝。那是一种类似红毛榴莲、从美洲传入东南亚的水果。我们在张梅的摊子上买了一个给他寄去。
Paul Eng, 51 伍启芳(Paul Eng)，51岁
Fong On, tofu store, 81 Division Street (opening early 2019) 宏安豆腐店，将于2019年初在Division街81号开业
Paul Eng really wants to appeal to everybody.
伍启芳真的想吸引每一个人。
His new shop will offer riffs on Asian foods to attract younger customers who are into the “snacking, foodie culture,” basically, quick bites, usually novel and Instagram-able, that could be sweet or savory.
他的新店将供应亚洲美食的改良版，以吸引热衷“小吃、吃货文化”的年轻食客，大体上就是能很快吃点儿，通常要新颖、适合拍照，可以是甜味或咸味。
The store will also sell conventional tofu, other soy-based products and sticky rice cake to serve older Chinatown residents.
店面还将售卖传统的豆腐、其他豆制品以及年糕，服务华埠的老居民。
“I still want to serve the community,” Mr. Eng said.
“我仍然想服务这个社区，”伍启芳说。
Though Mr. Eng has a family history in the tofu business (his father owned Fong Inn Too on Mott Street, the oldest tofu and noodle shop in the city), this new store is a somewhat surprising turn for him.
虽然家里一直经营豆腐生意(他的父亲曾拥有勿街[Mott St]的宏安[Fong Inn Too]，那是纽约最老的豆腐和面条小食店)，但这家新店对他而言多少是个意外的转折。
He had long disliked working at his family’s store. “Any little thing that needed attending to, it had to be done right away, seven days a week,” said Mr. Eng, who was the youngest child.
他一直都不喜欢在父亲的店里工作。“任何需要经管的小事情，必须马上去做，一周七天都是如此，”伍启芳说，他是家中老小。
So a few years ago, when his parents and older brothers asked if he wanted to take over the business, he had no interest.
于是几年前，当父母和兄长问起他是否想接管家里的生意时，他表示没有兴趣。
Fong Inn Too, known as 宏安, closed in February 2017. 2017年2月，宏安关了门。
Now though, at 51 with two young children, Mr. Eng is looking for a steady job instead of freelance photography. He had spent 10 years as a commercial photographer in Russia, where he met his wife.
但眼下，51岁育有两名幼子的伍启芳在寻找一份稳定的工作，不再做自由摄影。他已经在俄罗斯当了10年商业摄影师，并在那儿认识了他的妻子。
But unlike the original shop owned by his father, the new shop will serve foods like soy custards topped with red and mung beans, boba or grass jelly, a combination he was introduced to while visiting Taiwan.
和父亲原来那家店不同，新店将供应豆奶冻这类食品，配有红豆和绿豆、珍珠或仙草冻做浇头，这是他在台湾旅行时引进的美味组合。
“Who knew?” Mr. Eng’s eyes brightened. “I’ve eaten all this stuff in separate parts my whole life, but together? Oh my God!”
“谁会想到?”伍启芳的眼睛一亮。“这玩意我在整个人生的不同阶段都吃过，但全放一起?噢，天呐!”
The name will still be 宏安, this time transliterated as Fong On.
店名仍叫“宏安”，不过这次音译为Fong On。
“I’m going to put everything that I know into it,” Mr. Eng added. “The photography, the marketing, the art direction.”
“我将把我会的每一样都放进去，”他补充说。“摄影、营销、艺术指导。”
I asked Mr. Eng what his father, who has died, would say about his return to the tofu business after so many years of resistance. His answer: “I told you so.”
我问他，在抗拒了这么多年后又回到豆腐生意上，父亲若仍健在，会怎么说。他的回答是：“我早就跟你说过嘛。”
Zee Ying Wong, 73, Steven Wong, 39, and Freeman Wong, 42 王徐婴(73岁)、史蒂文·王(39岁)和弗里曼·王(42岁)
Aqua Best Seafood, 276 Grand Street 格兰街(Grand Street)276号福旺海产(Aqua Best Seafood)
The customers, and even the vendors, call her “Mommy.” 顾客们、甚至小贩们都叫她“妈咪。”
Though she’s not in charge anymore, Zee Ying Wong, 73, manages the register at Aqua Best and enjoys chats with longtime customers.
虽然店面不归她管了，但73岁的王徐婴还在负责收银，也喜欢跟老顾客拉家常。
“It would be boring to stay home,” she said.
“待家里太闷了，”她说。
About 30 years ago, after Ms. Wong’s husband passed away, she built up the current business, now managed by her two sons, Freeman, 42, and Steven Wong, 39, along with other family members.
大约30年前丈夫去世后做起来的生意，现在由两个儿子——42岁的弗里曼和39岁的史蒂文——和其他家庭成员一道经营。
But she still comes every day “to point out the things they should pay attention to and how to solve problems,” she added.
但她依然每天前来“指出他们应当注意的地方，以及怎么解决问题，”她补充说。
One entire wall of this spacious store is occupied by glass tanks, filled with barramundi, spotted shrimp, whelk, Dungeness crabs, King crabs and lobsters. In the center are trays of razor clams and other shellfish next to several types of iced fish, and a bucket of frogs near the back (so as not to scare the non-Chinese customers, Steven Wong explained).
这家宽敞的店有一整面墙被玻璃鱼缸占据，里面摆满了澳洲肺鱼、斑点虾、峨螺、珍宝蟹、帝王蟹和龙虾。店中央是一盘盘的大蛏子和其它贝壳海鲜，旁边是几种冰冻鱼，后面有一桶蛙(以防吓到非华人顾客，史蒂文·王解释说)。
Freeman Wong spent 10 years in the finance industry. But when his job required a move to Ohio, he decided in 2004 to dedicate himself full time to Aqua Best.
弗里曼·王在金融行业工作了十年。但当他的工作要求调动到俄亥俄州时，2004年他决定全职投身福旺。
“I needed a little bit of time to figure out what I wanted to do,” he said.
“我需要一点时间弄明白我想干什么，”他说。
The business and its block have changed a lot since then. Its neighbors used to be a handful of other Chinese-owned seafood shops, now replaced by an ice cream shop and a Vietnamese restaurant among others.
自那以来，这里的业务和所在街区有了很大变化。从前的邻居是十来家其他华人所有的海产店，现在变成了一家冰激凌店、一家越南餐馆以及其他的店铺。
And wholesale makes up 90 percent of its revenue now, with restaurant clients like Blanca and Del Posto, along with nearby Chinese restaurants.
另外，有了Blanca和Del Posto这样的餐厅客户，以及附近的中餐馆，批发现在占到了它收入的九成。
Steven and Freeman Wong have partnered with a former executive chef from the restaurant Talde to open a seafood market and restaurant called Essex Pearl. It’ll be ready next spring at the new Essex Crossing, an enormous development on the Lower East Side.
史蒂文和弗里曼·王跟Talde餐厅的前行政主厨合作，打算开一家叫埃塞克斯珍珠(Essex Pearl)的海产市场和餐厅。餐厅将在明年春季就绪，位于新的埃塞克斯路口(Essex Crossing)——纽约下东区一片巨大的开发项目。
The menu won’t be strictly Chinese, but rather a mix of Jewish, Hispanic, and Asian cuisines, a homage to the neighborhood’s history.
菜单将不局限于中式，而是混合了犹太、西班牙和亚洲美食，以此向这片社区的历史致敬。
Freeman Wong said, “The second and third generation, we’re bringing our own ideas of what Chinatown should be.”
弗里曼·王说，“作为第二代和第三代，我们对华埠是什么提出了自己的看法。”
