The Tiny Chinese Restaurant That Became an Olympic Hot Spot
在过去的两周里，唐中秋的小馆子“杨小厨”变成了一个热闹的、非官方的奥运乒乓球球迷聚集地。PHOTOGRAPHS BY WEIYI CAI/THE NEW YORK TIMESAs Tang Zhongqiu knows, there often comes a time in an Asian person’s trip to France when one grows weary of the endless parade of bread and seeks respite in a simple bowl of rice.正如唐中秋（音）所知道的，亚洲人来法国旅行时，经常会出现这样的时刻：天天吃各种各样的面包吃够了，想在一碗简单的白米饭中寻求慰藉。This is true of backpackers and businesspeople and, it turns out, Olympic table tennis champions.不仅背包客和商务人士如此，事实证明，奥运会的乒乓球冠军也一样。So while Tang assumed there would be an uptick in customers at his Chinese restaurant in the 15th arrondissement of Paris after a nearby convention hall was converted into the table tennis arena for the Summer Olympics, he had no idea it would be like this.因此，唐中秋原本以为，在附近的会展中心改造成奥运会乒乓球馆后，他在巴黎15区的中餐馆生意会更好，但也还是没料到会是这样。For the past two weeks, his narrow restaurant, Yang Xiao Chu, has been transformed into a bustling, unofficial clubhouse for table tennis, a sport followed most fervently and practiced most successfully in China. His store — one of the closest Chinese restaurants to the arena, but far enough that you would need to have sought it out — has been practically bursting at the seams with current Olympians, former gold medalists, team staff members, journalists and countless hungry fans.在过去的两周里，他的小馆子“杨小厨”变成了一个热闹的、非官方的乒乓球俱乐部，乒乓球是中国人最热衷、最成功的运动项目。他的餐馆是距离赛场最近的中餐馆之一，但也没有近到无需寻找的程度。这里几乎挤满了现役奥运选手、曾经的金牌获得者、球队工作人员、记者和无数饿着肚子的球迷。“I didn’t expect we would get this busy during the Olympics,” Tang said one recent morning, before the lunch rush. “I just look after them as if they were my family members.”“我没想到我们在奥运会期间会这么忙，”不久前的一天，唐中秋在中午就餐高峰之前说道。“我就像照顾家人一样照顾他们。”![]()
唐中秋并不担心餐厅门前的排队现象。他说：“我告诉我的顾客要有耐心，匆忙做出来的菜不会好吃。”![]()
中国球迷每天挤满了奥运乒乓球赛场，其中许多人在世界各地追随自己喜爱的选手。![]()
餐厅里不时响起阵阵喧闹声，那是吃饭的人在为中法两国运动员欢加油，Tang, much to his disbelief, has now served luminaries of the game in China, like Ding Ning, a three-time Olympic gold medalist; Liu Guozheng, a former player and popular commentator; and Zhang Yining, a four-time gold medalist considered one of the best players in the sport’s history.让唐中秋感到难以置信的是，自己服务过中国乒乓球运动界那些如雷贯耳的名字，比如三届奥运金牌得主丁宁，前球员和人气评论员刘国正，以及拿过四块奥运金牌、被视为乒乓球史上最佳运动员之一的张怡宁。He has also fed a carousel of current Olympians like Doo Hoi Kem and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong, Hiroto Shinozuka of Japan and Yuan Jia Nan of France, among others. All have wandered over between events or workouts in search of a comforting meal.来吃饭的还有一批现役奥运选手，比如香港选手杜凯琹和黄镇廷，日本选手篠塚大登，以及法国选手袁嘉楠等等。他们都是在赛事或训练的间隙来这里寻找一顿舒心的饭菜。Yuan, the 19th-ranked player in the world, said she enjoyed her first visit so much that she returned days later for a second meal.世界排名第19位的袁嘉楠说，她第一次来吃得非常愉快，因此几天后又来了一次。“It was good, because I like spicy food,” said Yuan, 39, who was born in Zhengzhou, China, and moved to France when she was 18.“味道很好，因为我喜欢吃辣的，”39岁的袁嘉楠说道。她出生于中国郑州，18岁移居法国。Tang, 49, knows these people aren’t famous in France, where he has lived for two decades. But they’re celebrities in China, where he was born. And together they have helped make these Olympics one of the more remarkable experiences of his life.现年49岁的唐中秋在法国已经生活了20年，他知道这些人在法国并不出名。但在他的出生地中国，这些人都是名人。他们的光临使得这届奥运会成为他一生中最独特的经历之一。“I’m very happy about it,” said Tang, originally from Xiamen in the province of Fujian. “Having all these people come here to eat meals shows that my dishes are good.”“我太高兴了，”来自福建厦门的唐中秋说。“有这么多人来这里吃饭，说明我的餐馆很好吃。”Things might have been different if that convention center had been used for, say, boxing or skateboarding or water polo. But the arrival of table tennis there has proved fortuitous.如果那个会展中心成为了拳击、滑板或者水球运动的赛场，情况可能会有所不同。但事实证明，乒乓球与这家餐馆的相遇纯属偶然。Asia is the current hotbed of the sport, and China is its dominant power. The country has won all three available gold medals thus far — in men’s and women’s singles and in mixed doubles — and is favored to win two more this week in the team events. Players of Chinese descent fill the rosters of many national teams. And spectators from China have packed the stands every day.亚洲是当今兵乓球运动的中心，而中国是这项运动的主导力量。到目前为止，中国已经赢得了所有三枚金牌——男子单打、女子单打和混合双打，并有望在本周的团体项目上再赢得两枚金牌。许多国家的乒乓球队中都有华裔球员。中国观众每天都挤满看台。![]()
唐中秋于2000年从中国到瑞士学习酒店管理。四年后，他搬到法国，在那里成家立业，并最终开了自己的餐馆。WEIYI CAI/THE NEW YORK TIMES![]()
两名四川厨师在菜肴中加入了足够地道的香料，让运动员、教练员和球迷们流连忘返。![]()
酸菜鱼是这里的招牌菜。干锅包菜和辣子鸡也广受好评。With a sense of mission, this pop-up Ping-Pong community has bypassed the busy row of establishments in the more immediate vicinity of the venue and ventured a few extra blocks to Tang’s restaurant for nourishment.带着一个目标，这个临时冒出来的乒乓球群体避开距离场馆更近的那排繁忙的餐厅，摸索着多走了几个街区，来到唐中秋的餐厅吃饭。“Chinese people like Chinese food,” said Gao Yiyi, 26, a fan from Ningbo, who has eaten at the restaurant every day of her trip to Paris — sometimes twice a day. “I can’t eat French food all the time.”“中国人喜欢中国菜，”来自宁波的26岁球迷高依依（音）说。她在巴黎旅行期间每天都在这家餐厅吃饭，有时一天两次。“我不能一直吃法国菜。”Some days, the line of waiting customers has spilled out the restaurant’s front door and filled the sidewalk outside. Customers, often carrying flags and homemade banners, have learned of the restaurant by word of mouth and Chinese social media platforms like Little Red Book.有时候，等座的顾客排队排到了餐厅外面，挤满人行道。顾客们经常手里还拿着旗帜和自制的横幅。他们通过口口相传和小红书等中国的社交媒体平台知道了这家餐厅。Inside, the restaurant has the warmth of a living room — albeit one with an uncommonly large television set. In preparation for the Olympics, Tang bought a 98-inch screen, and the space now periodically swells with cheers from diners keeping an eye on the Games during their meals.餐厅内部有家庭客厅般的温暖，尽管里面有一台大得不同寻常的电视机。为了迎接奥运会，唐中秋买了一台98寸电视，现在餐厅里不时会响起边吃饭边关注赛事的食客们发出的欢呼声。The tables crowd with dishes like suan cai yu (boiled fish and pickled cabbage soup) and shui zhu niu rou (spicy boiled beef) prepared by two cooks from China’s Sichuan Province. Diners have found comfort in the authentic flavors, given other restaurants in the city sometimes tweak their food to accommodate the local palette.餐桌上摆着由来自四川的两位厨师烹制的菜肴，如酸菜鱼和水煮牛肉。食客们在正宗的味道中找到了安慰，而巴黎的其他中餐厅为了迎合当地人的口味，有时会对菜品做出适当调整。“It’s our home base,” said Cheer Gibbon, 40, a Chinese American fan visiting from San Francisco who has stopped by the restaurant every day of her trip. “A lot of famous people have been here, but he’s been keeping it very calm.”“这是我们的根据地，”40岁的华裔美国球迷齐尔·吉本说道。她来自旧金山，在巴黎期间每天都会来这家餐厅。“很多名人都来过这里，但他一直不动声色。”Tang said members of the Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea squads had felt like regulars this month. They have come between events or shuttled takeout containers back to the arena, often returning with colleagues.唐中秋表示，来自香港、日本和韩国代表队的成员在这个月已经变得像常客。他们在赛事间歇来此用餐，或是打包带回场馆，往往还会带上同事一起回来。On Sunday, the entire Hong Kong women’s team showed up after the cooks had gone home, so Tang summoned one back to prepare a meal for them.周日，香港女子乒乓球队的全体队员在厨师下班后才来，于是唐中秋叫了一个厨师回来为她们烧了一顿饭。![]()
10岁的安娜·唐和姐姐在暑假期间一直在餐厅当服务员。安娜用法语说：“我喜欢在餐厅工作，帮助爸爸。”![]()
奥运会开始前，餐厅花了约3000欧元买了一台98寸电视。这台电视机让食客们可以边吃边看比赛。![]()
唐中秋说，通常，中国游客和法国当地人各占一半。而最近，九成的顾客都是中国人。No current Chinese athletes have yet come by, but Cloria Cao, 21, a customer visiting from Shanghai, bubbled with excitement as she revealed that members of the national team’s coaching staff — a celebrated group of former Olympians like Liu Guoliang, Ma Lin and Wang Hao — had dined in the restaurant.目前还没有参赛的中国运动员来到餐厅，但来自上海的21岁顾客克洛丽亚·曹兴奋地指出，国家队的教练——刘国梁、马琳、王皓等著名的前奥运选手都曾在这家餐厅用餐。Rubbing elbows with legends has been an unexpected perk for devoted fans, many of whom follow their favorite players around the world. Friendships have blossomed spontaneously among customers through conversations about food and their preferred athletes.对于忠实的球迷来说，与传奇人物近距离接触是一个意想不到的好处，他们中的许多人在世界各地追随他们最喜欢的球员。通过谈论食物和他们喜欢的运动员，顾客之间自然而然地建立起了友谊。“We like them not just because they win games, but also because of their personalities,” said Hu Dan, 31, a diner from Nanjing. She said she went to a temple to pray for her favorite players, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, before departing for Paris.31岁的食客胡丹（音）来自南京，她说：“我们喜欢他们，不仅是因为他们赢了比赛，还因为他们的个性。”她表示，在启程来巴黎之前，她去了一座寺庙，为她最喜欢的球员王楚钦和孙颖莎祈福。This being France, the restaurant’s one waiter has left the city for a monthlong vacation. Short staffed and now perpetually busy, Tang has turned to his two young daughters, Chloé (11) and Anna (10), for help waiting tables and folding napkins.餐厅的一名服务员离开巴黎去外地度一个月的假——这里毕竟还是法国。由于人手不足，现在唐中秋忙得不可开交，他向两个年幼的女儿——11岁的克洛伊和10岁的安娜寻求帮助，帮忙招呼客人和折叠餐巾纸。But the stress, he said, has been worth it. Tang has had menus signed by some players. He has taken photos with many of them, too, and eagerly scrolls through them on his phone. He wants to frame the shots for the walls of his restaurant, which for now are mostly decorated with colorful drawings by his daughters.但他说，这种压力是值得的。一些球员在唐中秋的菜单上签名。他还与许多球员合影，并在手机上热切地翻看。他想把照片挂在餐厅的墙壁上，现在墙壁上主要是女儿们的彩色图画作装饰。“It’s very tiring when things get busy,” Tang said. “But I’m still happy even when I’m tired. I get to meet all kinds of different customers. I get to make many new friends.”“忙起来非常累，”唐中秋说。“但即使累，我还是很开心。我可以遇见各种各样的顾客，结交许多新朋友。”
Andrew Keh为时报报道纽约市和周边区域新闻。
