The centrepiece today will be a serving of 30-year-old dried abalone (sea snail) that costs a staggering £888, while other delights include tiny, green baby Japanese peaches (£8 each), a portion of dried cod stomach (£128) and a serving of swallow nest stew (£88), literally a stew made of swallows’ nests, to finish things off.

　　今天这餐的亮点要数这道30年之久的干鲍鱼了，价格是888英镑，其他还包括每个8英镑的日本小绿桃，128英镑一份的干鳕鱼胃，88英镑一份的炖燕窝。

　　The prices on the menu always end with an eight, which is considered lucky in China — if not quite so lucky for the customer. The costly ingredients used are kept under lock and key, with the most precious items stored in a safe, to which only the head chef knows the secret combination (8888 perhaps?).

　　该餐厅菜单上的价格一般都是以8结尾，因为8在中文中是吉祥数字，能带来好运，不过对顾客来说这个数字可带不来好运。餐厅里最贵的食材都被锁起来保存的，最贵重的餐具也都放在保险柜中，只有主厨才知道哪些料理和哪些餐具能配套使用。

　　Customers are lured here by the off-menu specialities and the restaurant’s reputation for sourcing exceptional items; exotic teas wrapped in tissue paper, bottles of £15,000 rice wine, rare herbs grown at high altitudes, and deep water shellfish brought in weekly from the Far East by the Royal China’s own team of couriers. And with Chinese New Year set to be celebrated next week, the larders are groaning.

　　餐厅的诱人之处在于那些不在菜单上显示的当日特色菜，还有餐厅为人所知的那种追求精益求精的各种特色项目。由薄页纸包装的外国茶叶，1.5万英镑的瓶装米酒，高纬度地区生长的珍奇植物，由专门运输团队每周从远东地区运来的深海贝类…下周就是中国的春节了，所以当然餐厅的储藏室里也被塞得满满的了。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）