【雅思口语 1-4月】不寻常的一餐 Describe an unusual me
I’d like to talk about the very first time I tried Xinjiang fried rice noodle. Basically, it’s kind of a traditional dish in Xinjiang, China. The main ingredients are rice noodles, chicken slices, celery and a super spicy sauce made of red chilli peppers. Recent years, it went viral due to the spicy food challenges all over the internet.
As a spicy food lover, I’d always wanted to take on the challenge myself. So as soon as a Xinjiang cuisine restaurant opened near my company based in Beijing, I decided to try it with my colleague. I think that was about 3 years ago, back in 2020.
The restaurant was a pretty cramped space, but packed with diners. As I walked in, I was greeted by the pungent smell of hot pepper. The menu was pretty interesting, too. So apparently, you can choose from: mild spicy, medium spicy and extra spicy. I went for the extra spicy and laughed at my colleagues’ safe choice of mild spicy. Well, it’s a decision I was gonna regret later.
When our meals were finally served, I went for my first bite. It was heavenly! Each bite was an explosion of flavors and textures, from the chewy chicken slice, to the smooth noodle smothered in rich hot sauce. However, After no more than five minutes, I began to feel the intense spice kicking in. My tongue turned numb and my mouth was on fire. But at the same time, I couldn’t get enough of it because it’s just way too good. So I ended up downing three bottles of milk to cool down. I still remember my stomach burning the entire afternoon, which only started to wear off late in the evening.
So that was my first encounter with spicy fried rice noodle which is unusual because it’s the first time I’ve ever failed a spicy food challenge. And also my colleague’s gloating face after seeing my painful reaction was something that stuck with me for a while. And Lastly, the food itself is just super savory, so it later became my favorite dish. But I would always remember to make the safe choice and order the mild spicy!
traditional dish 传统菜品
the main ingredients are...主要食材有...
spicy/hot sauce 辣酱
go viral 网络上暴火
spicy food lover 喜欢吃辣的人
[place] + cuisine 某地的料理
cramped space 狭窄拥挤的空间
packed (with...) 挤满了，拥挤的
be greeted by...一到某地，...就扑面而来(画面，声音，味道)
pungent（气味）刺鼻的；（味道）强烈的
mild spicy 微辣；medium spicy 中辣；extra spicy 特辣
heavenly 好吃极了
an explosion of flavors 各种味觉爆炸
texture 口感
chewy 有嚼劲
be smothered in 这里相当于 be thickly covered in 裹满了...
kick in 开始有效果
my mouth is on fire 形容被辣到了
I couldn’t get enough of it. 怎么吃都不够
down 一口气喝下
wear off 逐渐消失
gloat 幸灾乐祸
savo(u)ry 好吃的，咸的
