相信各位華文讀者對中國菜館一定不會陌生，雕上龍凰的裝飾、紅色的圓燈籠和大大的中文字招牌，都滲透著陣陣熟悉的氣味。這趟介紹的Instagram用戶名為Chinese restaurant road trip，明顯是以中國餐廳為重點，但看著看著，卻有種陌生的異地感。

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沒錯，因為這對喜愛探索中式食肆的情侶Anna Satin 和Josh Burns其實來自澳洲，而且所有菜館都位於澳洲。在他們的鏡頭下，餐廳的裝潢顏色明亮、大對比，花牆紙配上中國的傳統圖案，如瑞獸和祥雲等，還有門口的英文譯名，都製造了一個獨一無二的空間，即使同是中國餐廳，也沒有一間的風格相同。

或者你會問：為甚麼澳洲能有這麼多中國菜館？它們其實已是經歷過數代人的歷史產物，1850年爆發的淘金熱吸引了中國人移民到澳洲工作，而在19世紀中期，當地對海外勞工的需求增加，不少中國人以契約華工的身份前往澳洲打工，中國食物就在此時隨著勞工被帶到澳洲。

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雖然因大量的中國人流入而促成了白澳政策（White Australia Policy），用以禁止非白裔人口移民，但廚師卻是政策中的例外。當地的中國商人開設餐館，以聘請廚師的名義把家人帶到澳洲，到了60、70年代，中國餐館已經開得成行成市，在每個城市都有立足地。

一開始澳洲的中國菜館主要客人是中國的淘金工人，後來則吸引了西方的食客，為他們提供了漢堡包和薯條以外的選擇；對他們而言，中國餐館就是進入神秘異國風情的入口，從裝潢到食物，無不新鮮。

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不過現在已經是2018年，人們有甚麼餐館沒見過？有哪種菜餚沒嘗過？Anna Satin 和Josh Burns希望他們的分享可以帶大家一起踏進這些將時光凝結在50年代的餐廳，憶起從前興奮地走進中國菜館的回憶；不要等它們消逝，才想抓回來。

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