專四晨讀美文：English Food

English Food
So, you are going to Britain. "Oh no!" say your friends,
"The food is terrible! What are you going to eat?"
This was a common thing to say and perhaps it used to be true.
English food was terrible! But is that true today?
Traditionally, English food consisted of meat and two veg.
That is to say a meal would be meat,
either beef, pork or chicken and two vegetables.
Of course, one of these was usually potatoes
and the other might be peas or carrots.
This was then covered in gravy, which is a meat sauce.
Fish and chips is another traditional dish
often eaten on Fridays.
Quite simply it is fried fish served with fried potatoes, or chips.
Nowadays, however, all this has changed.
A popular dish for many is "curry", Indian food.
India used to be a British colony,
and many immigrants came to Britain from India in the 1950s.
Naturally, they brought their customs and their food.
This led to many Indian restaurants opening,
and now it is possible to buy Indian food in any town.
You can even buy the ingredients to make it in supermarkets.
Indian food can be very hot and spicy,
so it may take time to get used to it.
Another common food in the UK is Italian.
Pasta is served in many homes everyday,
and you can order takeaway pizza everywhere you go.
Of course, if you visit England from China,
you won't have to go far to get Chinese food.
Almost every town has a Chinese restaurant or takeaway.
In big cities such as London you can visit Chinatown.
Here there are dozens of Chinese restaurants
and even Chinese supermarkets.
Even the street names are written in both Chinese and English.
One English dish that remains popular, however,
is the traditional breakfast.
This consists of bacon, sausage, egg, beans, mushrooms,
tomatoes and toast, with a large cup of tea.
On a cold morning it is guaranteed to fill you up
and keep you warm till lunchtime.
So is food in England terrible?
No—because it isn't English food!