Dining out during the festive season is a relatively new concept for mainland China. Traditionally, the eve and first two days of the Lunar New Year were reserved for family, eating large meals prepared by an army of relatives, like a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast in the West. Restaurants were often closed during the period as well.
在中國大陸，春節(jié)期間下館子吃飯是一種相對時新的概念。在過去，除夕和正月頭兩天都要和家人一起過，享用親戚們一起烹制的大餐，就像西方的感恩節(jié)或圣誕節(jié)盛宴。期間飯店通常也不開張。

But in recent years, restaurateurs say the festivities -- and the luxurious dishes that have become a staple for many wealthy Chinese -- are now taking place in their dining rooms.
但飯店經(jīng)營者說，近幾年人們都在飯店過節(jié)了，點的都是那些已成中國很多富人家常菜的奢侈菜肴。

In Hong Kong, affluent locals have been feasting on shark's fin and abalone in gilded restaurants during the New Year for some time -- the result partly of tiny apartments that are unable to host dinner parties.
在香港，有錢人會在春節(jié)期間前往豪華飯店吃魚翅和鮑魚，這種現(xiàn)象已經(jīng)有了一段時間。部分原因是香港狹窄的公寓房里無法舉辦宴席。

At Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong, pricey signature dishes for the festive season include a braised turtle number that costs 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$129). Reservations have bounced back this year after a dip in 2009, said Michelle Chui, a manager at Fook Lam Moon, which operates nine high-end Cantonese restaurants across Asia.
在香港的福臨門，節(jié)日期間的高價招牌菜包括售價1,000港元（合129美元）的燉甲魚。福臨門一位經(jīng)理Michelle Chui說，預訂數(shù)量經(jīng)過2009年的下滑后，今年已經(jīng)回升。福臨門在全亞洲開有九家高端粵菜館。

The chain's two Hong Kong restaurants are booked solid over the New Year season, and Ms. Chui says demand is largely fueled by mainland Chinese diners holidaying in the city. 'This is a new phenomenon for us, only in the past two years' said Ms. Chui. 'The mainlanders have a lot more money these days.'
在春節(jié)期間，福臨門香港兩家酒樓的訂餐情況都很不錯，而據(jù)Chui表示，需求在很大程度上是由到香港過節(jié)的大陸食客推動的。她說：這對我們來說是一種新的現(xiàn)象，僅僅發(fā)生在過去兩年；現(xiàn)在大陸人很有錢。

Some wonder if the rush to the restaurants is killing the true spirit of new year. Chen Hangfeng, a 35 year-old artist in Shanghai, loathes the obligation to eat numerous new year's meals at large banquet halls around the city and the fact that the new dining procession has replaced the family feast of years gone past.
一些人在想，都跑到飯店去吃飯是不是失去了過春節(jié)的真諦。上海35歲的藝術(shù)家陳航峰就不喜歡春節(jié)期間在城市的各個大型宴會廳里海吃海喝，也不滿于這種新的赴宴方式已經(jīng)取代過去那種家庭聚餐的事實。

'I don't like it at all,' said Mr. Chen who recalls large spreads that were hosted at the homes of relatives, where everything was made from scratch by the family -- even the grinding of the flour to make sticky rice balls for desserts.
他說：我一點也不喜歡。陳航峰回憶起在親戚家里開宴的那種大場面，什么都是從頭做起，就連做湯圓也是先要磨面。

'People try to order the expensive things to try to impress you and it just doesn't taste very good,' he said. 'By eating in restaurants, we're losing our authenticity.'
他說：人們總是想點那些昂貴的東西來給你留下深刻印象，而吃起來又并不怎么樣；在飯店里吃飯，我們失去了本真。

Mr. Chen, however, is fighting a losing battle.
但陳航峰無法挽回這種趨勢。