价格低廉的平民美食两餸饭为何风靡香港

choi

王月眉 and , Joy Dong, 价格低廉的平民美食两餸饭为何风靡香港. 纽约时报, May 9, 2022
https://cn.nytimes.com/china/202 ... inexpensive-dining/

, which is translated from

Vivian Wang and Joy Dong, An Epicurean City's Latest Food Fad Is Unapologetically Basic; A surge in devotion to what some jokingly call 'cursory rice.' New York Times, May 3, 2022, at page A12 (under the heading "Hong Kong Dispatch").
("Even the name given to these establishments is as no-frills as their menus: 'two dishes and rice 两餸飯.' * * * Kitty Ho 何, a nurse eating lunch with her boyfriend, Jack Fung 馮, an IT worker, in the blue-collar neighborhood of North Point 北角. * * * The spot they had chosen that day, Kai Kee 佳記 [owner Wong Chi-wai 黄志偉] * * *[where] The day's two dozen or so dishes were displayed, buffet-style, in an L-shaped array of stainless steel pans. Two dishes cost 32 Hong Kong dollars, or $4, cash only; each additional dish was $1 extra. * * * In Hong Kong, some jokingly referred to it as 'cursory rice 頽飯,' to reflect their low expectations.  'It was seen as food for commoners, people with low incomes,' said Siu Yan Ho, a lecturer who studies the city's food culture at Hong Kong Baptist University. * * * in a city [Hong Kong] where groceries are expensive and tiny apartments may not have kitchens. * * * Chefs at ailing cha chaan tengs — traditional Hong Kong sit-down eateries — quit to open two-dishes-and-rice shops. 廚師們紛紛從境況不佳的茶餐廳（傳統的香港堂食餐館）辭職，經營自己的兩餸飯小店。 * * * One spot in the Yau Ma Tei neighborhood includes truffle chicken, red rice and quinoa 油麻地附近有一家店出售松露雞、紅米飯和藜麥 to lure younger customers. * * * Kelvin Tam 譚, another Kai Kee customer, who had chosen curried fish balls and a beef and leek stir fry 葱爆牛柳. * * * Facebook fan group site [on 兩餸飯 named 香港兩餸飯關注組, whose founder is Andrew Wong 黄旭熙]. Every day, dozens of people post photos of their lunchbox, along with notes: The pork chops at a shop in the Prince Edward 太子 neighborhood were cold today, or the staff at this one in Tai Kok Tsui 大角咀 are especially friendly.  Some reviewers [in 關注組] have the hallmarks of true connoisseurs. 'The meatballs were pretty good. The ratio of lean meat to flour to water chestnuts 馬蹄 [in Cantonese: 因形如馬蹄] was about 5:4:1, and I didn't detect any fat,' one member wrote")

Note:
(a)
(i) The words epicurean (adj; the first letter capitalized; accent on re) and epicure (n; accent on the first syllable) came from Epicurus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus
(341-270 BC; In Athens, "Epicurus and his followers were known for eating simple meals and discussing a wide range of philosophical subjects. He openly allowed women and slaves to join the school" he established)
(ii)
(A) epicurean (adj): "of, relating to, or suited to an epicure"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epicurean
(B) epicure (n; Did You Know?): "one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epicure
(C) etymology of epicurean and epicure
https://www.etymonline.com/word/epicurean

(b)
(i) The Chinese in the quotation are from cn.nytimes.com, after conversion from simplified Chinese to traditional Chinese (characters prevalent in Hong Kong).
(ii) The name of restaurant in the online photo (which is not in print) is 雙喜茶居.
(iii) Another online-only photo has a caption "根據一份眾包地圖顯示，現在全市至少有353家店鋪出售两餸飯。 BILLY HC KWOK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES."  眾包 = crowdsourced
(c) I am Cantonese by borth. Throughout my life, I pronounce the character and am well versed with its meaning, without knowing the character 餸 (pronounced the same as 送 in Cantonese, which may explain how this Cantonese (but not Mandarin) character was coined in the first place). 餸 in Cantonese simply means (a) dish (of food), which can be vegetable, fish, meat or any combination. (Hence 點餸 in Cantonese means ordering dishes -- from menu or by pointing -- and is equivalent to 點菜 in Mandarin.) In terms of pronunciation (and meaning also), 送 in Cantonese is (almost: the tiny difference is positions of tongue) identical to that in Mandarin.
(d) 北角
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/北角
(e) 頹飯
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/頹飯   
("是在2000年代初期流行於香港各所大學的學生之間的術語 * * * 「頹」本為「頹廢」之略，在香港云云各所大學中有著「得過且過」、「沒有動力」的意思。近年「頹飯」和與「頹」有關的衍生詞彙都在年輕人社群中得到廣泛流傳，現今香港部分年輕一族會以「頹」、「吃頹飯」等來形容某人過着得過且過的頹廢生活")

(f) Ames SIU Yan Ho 蕭欣浩, Lecturer I, Department of Chinese Language and Literature 一級講師 (which is higher than Lecturer II 二級講師), 中國語言文學系, Faculty of Arts 文學院, Hong Kong Baptist University, undated
https://artsbu.hkbu.edu.hk/about ... chers/dr-siu-yan-ho
("Degree(s): BA(Hons), MPhil, PhD (LU)" )
(i) University of London is abbreviated as UoL, not LU.
(ii) So I search his bio (biography) and find a book by him in traditional Chinese:
解構滋味: 香港飲食文學與文化研究論集. Hong Kong: 初文出版社有限公司 Manuscript Publishing Limited (the publisher was established in 2017), 2020
https://www.eslite.com/product/1001301722847075
("作者簡介[:] 蕭欣浩 嶺南大學中文系博士")
(A) 嶺南大學  Lingnan University
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/嶺南大學 (香港)
(公立; table: 创办 1888年（光緒十四年）：格致書院在广州創校, 復辦 1967年: 嶺南書院在香港)

"English-language"  en.wikiopedia.org
(B) Wiktionary says 解構 is a verb meaning deconstruct. This is not a term used in Taiwan when I left there in 1984, so I do not know whether this is a term used in Hong Kong or PRC.
(iii) Hong Kong Baptist University  香港浸會大學:
"有基督新教浸信會背景的香港法定公立大學"  zh.wikiopedia.org
"English-language"  en.wikiopedia.org
"Established in 1956, Hong Kong Baptist University started life as a private post-secondary Christian college and in 1983, became a public university." from the Web.

(g)
(i) 茶餐廳
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶餐廳
("是一種起源於香港的食肆，提供港式西餐及部分中式食品 * * * 1952年開業的蘭芳園可能是香港現存最古老的茶餐廳")
(ii)
(A) 油麻地
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/油麻地
("本名油蔴地，位於香港九龍半島 * * * 根據天后廟內1870年（同治九年）所立碑記，當時該地稱為「蔴地」。是漁民曬船上麻纜的地方。後來到了1875年（光緒元年），不少經營補漁船的桐油及麻纜商店於區內設立，故改稱為「油蔴地」（油麻地）")
(B) Locations of 油蔴地站 and 北角站 can be seen in 港鐵公司  Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/港鐵公司
(a map whose caption reads: "港鐵公司共有10條鐵路綫及輕鐵，網絡覆蓋香港大部分地區（圖為港鐵路綫圖）")

油蔴地 and 北角 are located on the north and south shores, respectively, of 九龍及香港島之間的維多利亞港 Victoria Harbour.
(iii) 牛柳 (English: beef tenderloin; 也叫牛里脊)  zh.wikipedia.org for 牛柳.
(A) anatomy: psoas major
(B) The tip of beef (but not of pork or chicken) tenderloin is filet mignon.
(iv)
(A) Prince Edward Station 太子站 is just two stops north of 油麻地站.
(B) Prince Edward Road 太子道 "were named after Prince Edward in 1922, later Edward VIII * * * after his visit to Hong Kong."  zh.wikipedia.org for Prince Edward Road.
(v)
(A) 大角咀 is represented in
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/港鐵公司
as 奧運站 (slightly west of 油蔴地站).
(B) 奧運站 Olympic Station. MTR 之今昔, undated
https://mtr.hk365day.com/Railway/line/TCL_AEL/OLY.html
("奧運站位於九龍大角咀西部新填海區的邊緣，原址是前大角咀碼頭。  它是機場鐵路首個落成的車站，原來計劃命名為大角咀站，由於落成時正值1996年夏季奧林匹克運動會，而該屆奧運會風帆選手李麗珊為香港首獲奧運金牌，隨後舉行的傷殘奧運會， 兩名健兒張耀祥和趙仲粦亦為香港取得金牌， 地鐵遂與香港奧委會達成協議， 於1996年12月16日將該車站以「奧運」命名，以表揚香港運動員的輝煌成就， 月臺牆壁也有運動員比賽中的圖案")
(C) In Cantonese, 咀 is 嘴, and 山咀 is cape (as in Cape Cod).

In Hong Kong, 鶴咀 Cape D'Aguilar is 香港最東南端的海角.