小饭馆的菜单上，“鱼香茄子”被划掉了，旁边写着“今天不做”。
Xiǎo fànguǎn de càidān shang, “yúxiāng qiézi” bèi huàdiào le, pángbiān xiězhe “jīntiān bú zuò”.
On the little restaurant’s menu, “yuxiang aubergine” is crossed out. Beside it is written “not available today.”
我问老板，是不是材料用完了。她说材料还有，只是做这道菜的师傅请假了。
Wǒ wèn lǎobǎn, shì bu shì cáiliào yòngwán le. Tā shuō cáiliào hái yǒu, zhǐshì zuò zhè dào cài de shīfu qǐngjià le.
I ask the owner if they have run out of ingredients. She says they still have them; the cook who makes that dish is on leave.
“别人不能做吗？”我问。她把菜单翻到背面，那里新写了几道菜。
“Biérén bù néng zuò ma?” Wǒ wèn. Tā bǎ càidān fān dào bèimiàn, nàlǐ xīn xiě le jǐ dào cài.
“Can’t someone else make it?” I ask. She turns the menu over. Several dishes have just been added by hand.
“当然能做，但味道不一样。今天的厨师擅长炖牛肉，你可以试试。”
“Dāngrán néng zuò, dàn wèidao bù yíyàng. Jīntiān de chúshī shàncháng dùn niúròu, nǐ kěyǐ shìshi.”
“Of course, but it wouldn’t taste the same. Today’s cook is good at braised beef. You could try it.”
我点了番茄炖牛肉。吃到一半，老板过来问怎么样，我让她再拿一碗米饭。
Wǒ diǎn le fānqié dùn niúròu. Chī dào yíbàn, lǎobǎn guòlai wèn zěnmeyàng, wǒ ràng tā zài ná yì wǎn mǐfàn.
I order beef braised with tomatoes. Halfway through, the owner asks how it is. I ask her for another bowl of rice.
结账时，她拿笔问：“这道菜留在菜单上，好不好？”我说：“留着。我下次带朋友来吃。”
Jiézhàng shí, tā ná bǐ wèn: “Zhè dào cài liú zài càidān shang, hǎo bu hǎo?” Wǒ shuō: “Liúzhe. Wǒ xià cì dài péngyou lái chī.”
As I pay, she picks up a pen. “Shall we keep this dish on the menu?” “Keep it,” I say. “I’ll bring a friend next time.”