某次線上會議中，我提到了腸粉這道小吃，沒想到，住在中南部的朋友們，都沒吃過腸粉，都以為我說的是河粉，河粉是越南當地以大米製成的小吃，越南人常將這種河粉佐以生芽菜、香葉，並配上切片牛肉或雞絲食用，腸粉好像還分廣式腸粉及港式腸粉，港式腸粉常出現在我小時候看的香港電影中的茶樓場景，我印象中，在這裡好像只有港式茶餐廳能吃到港式腸粉，而這邊的大街小巷攤商賣的腸粉，大多是廣式腸粉。
某天我又來外帶腸粉了，看著老闆娘熟練地把米漿倒進鐵盤，再快速放入蝦仁、牛肉或叉燒等配料，接著推入蒸箱中，不到幾分鐘，一片晶瑩剔透、柔軟滑嫩的腸粉便出現了，再淋上帶有微辣滋味的特調醬料之後，簡單但美味的腸粉就可以入口了，還好攤位的顧客不多，我等了沒多久，就拿到我的腸粉了。
對於腸粉這道小吃，我是一吃成主顧，原本只是試試味道，沒想到試過之後，當我想不到東西吃時，我就會來報到，可惜的是，今年農曆年過完之後，我常吃的腸粉小攤漲價了，我能體諒老闆娘因為成本上升及通貨膨脹壓力而調漲商品價錢，但是，還是不開心，算了，別想太多，還是來大啖美食吧。
During an online meeting once, I mentioned rice noodle rolls, and surprisingly, my friends living in central and southern Taiwan had never tried them before. Most of them thought I was talking about pho. Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle dish made from rice, usually served with bean sprouts, herbs, sliced beef, or shredded chicken. Rice noodle rolls seem to be divided into Cantonese-style and Hong Kong-style versions. The Hong Kong-style ones always remind me of the tea house scenes from the Hong Kong movies I watched as a kid. From what I remember, you can usually only find Hong Kong-style rice noodle rolls at Hong Kong-style cafés or dim sum restaurants around here, while the ones sold by street vendors are mostly Cantonese-style.
One day, I went to buy takeout rice noodle rolls again. I watched the owner skillfully pour the rice batter onto a metal tray, quickly add toppings like shrimp, beef, or char siu, and then slide it into the steamer. In just a few minutes, a soft, smooth, slightly translucent rice noodle roll appeared. After drizzling it with a special mildly spicy sauce, the simple but delicious dish was ready to eat. Luckily, there weren’t many customers at the stall that day, so I didn’t have to wait long before getting my order.
As for rice noodle rolls, I became a regular customer after just one try. At first, I only wanted to taste something different, but after trying them, they became one of my favorite foods whenever I couldn’t decide what to eat. Unfortunately, after this year’s Lunar New Year, the little rice noodle roll stall I often visit raised its prices. I can understand that the owner had to increase prices because of rising costs and inflation, but honestly, I still wasn’t too happy about it. Oh well, no point thinking too much about it — it’s better to just enjoy the food.
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