辣是湘菜的特色，但绝对不是湘菜的唯一特色，还有很多不太辣的美食，适合五湖四海的朋友们品尝。

　　Spiciness is the characteristic of Hunan cuisine, but it is definitely not the only one. There are also many non-spicy dishes that friends from all over the world may fall in love with.

　　Main Course 主食

　　米粉

　　如果你去常德吃粉，最常听到的一句话就会是“吃圆滴吃扁滴”？湖南米粉分为圆粉、扁粉两种，到底是圆粉更好吃还是扁粉更好吃？来试试就知道了！长沙人早上的必走流程就是“嗦碗粉”（吃碗粉）！

　　Rice Noodles

　　If you go to Changde city to have rice noodles, the most frequent question you hear might be “Flat ones or round ones”? Hunan rice noodles fall into the two categories of “flat ones” and “round ones”. Which one do you prefer? Come and have a try! One of the must-haves of native Changshanese is to have a bowl of rice noodles in the morning.

　　小文：在一些粉店里，有时我们能看到提着大包小包行李的人，其中一些是刚从海外归国的湖南人。很多湖南人在国外最想念的食物就是米粉，他们下飞机后连行李都来不及放下，第一件事就是“嗦碗粉”！

　　Xiaowen: In some rice noodle restaurants, sometimes you can see some local people with suitcases who have just arrived at Changsha from abroad. The food that they miss most is definitely rice noodles. The first thing they want to do after arriving is to have a bowl of rice noodles, even before putting down their suitcases.

　　米粉的码子有很多，有木耳肉丝粉、辣椒炒肉粉、红烧排粉、腰肝粉……还有传说中很多粉店里“只见其名，从未尝其味”、内含鲍鱼鱼翅、标价 88 元的神秘佳肴——“八仙过海粉”。一定要来试一试！

　　“Ma”(Fixings) for the rice noodles are various, including shredded pork with fungus, fried sliced pork with chili, braised pork ribs and fried pig livers. It is said that in some rice noodle restaurants, there is a mysterious rice noodle dish (usually 88 RMB), called “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea”, with abalone and shark fin in it, which people can only see on menu. Come and find out!

　　Meat 肉食

　　毛氏红烧肉

　　红烧肉是毛泽东生前最喜爱的一道菜肴！精选带皮三层五花，放上冰糖、八角、料酒、黄酒、老抽、生抽以及各种秘制调料，在大火中翻炒蒸煮，就成了色泽金黄、肥而不腻、口感 Q 弹的红烧肉。吃上一坨（块），还想再来一坨！

　　Braised Pork in Brown

　　Sauce, Mao-Style Braised pork in brown sauce was Mao Zedong's favorite dish inhis lifetime. Selected three-layer streaky pork was steamed and fried with rock candy, aniseed, cooking wine, yellow rice wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and various secret sauces.

　　Then, it becomes golden, bouncy and juicy pork. You may never have enough of it.

　　小文：然后身上也会长出一坨又一坨的肥肉……

　　Xiaowen: Then, you will gain more and more weight ...

　　豆豉土腊肉

　　这是一道经典的浏阳蒸菜。腊肉选用浏阳本土新鲜猪肉烟熏而成。腊肉本来的香味与浏阳豆豉、干辣椒粉互相渗透交融。干辣椒粉使肉肥而不腻，十分开胃。

　　Hunan Bacon with Fermented Black Bean

　　This is a traditional Liuyang steamed dish, made of local fresh bacon mixed with fermented black bean and pepper powder. In this way, the bacon is oily but not heavy, turning up your appetite.

　　Soup 汤品

　　老姜肉片汤

　　这是一道非常简单易做的菜，几乎每个家里的老人都会做。厚厚的生姜片加上鲜嫩的肉片，经过熬制，简单、浓郁、可口，还养生健康，是地地道道的“外婆的味道”。

　　Sliced Pork Soup with Ginger

　　This is a dish easy to make and almost every senior knows the method. Thick slices of ginger are topped with slices of fresh meat. After decoction, it would become the dish from your grandma's recipe, simple, fragrant, delicious and healthy.

　　酸菜豆腐脑汤

　　鲜嫩的豆腐脑加上精制的梅干酸菜煮成一锅汤，撒上碧绿的葱花，夏季开胃，冬季暖身，又便宜，又好喝！

　　Preserved Vegetables and Bean Curd Soup

　　When fresh bean curd with the best preserved vegetables are boiled, together with some bright green chopped scallions, it serves as the best appetizer in summer and warming-up soup in winter, cheap and delicious.

　　Snacks and Desserts 小吃甜品

　　糖油粑粑

　　金灿灿的糖油粑粑是与臭豆腐齐名的长沙小吃。胖乎乎、圆滚滚的糯米团在油锅里翻滚，沸腾之后浑身金黄，外面焦酥，里面软糯，隔着十条街都能闻到香味！

　　Fried Glutinous Rice Dough with Brown Sugar Oil

　　Fried glutinous rice dough with brown sugar oil is just as famous as stinky tofu in Changsha. The round dough would turn golden after frying, crispy outside while soft inside. You can smell it even two blocks away!

　　葱油粑粑

　　葱油粑粑就像一个大号的铜钱。油光发亮的面团加上香葱，扔进翻滚的油锅，吱吱作响，不出一会儿就能闻到浓浓的香味，远远就能闻到。

　　Fried Glutinous Rice Dough with Scallion

　　Fried glutinous rice dough with scallion just looks like a giant Chinese bronze coin. When it is covered in oil and topped with some chopped scallion into the frying pan, it sends out a strong fragrance which people can smell miles away.

　　冰糖湘莲

　　冰糖湘莲是一道可口的夏季甜品。白莲圆滚洁白，粉糯清香，浮于清汤上，犹带小荷清甜香。这道菜出自西汉年间，人们用白莲向汉高祖刘邦进贡，故又称贡莲。

　　Lotus Seeds Boiled with Sugar Cube

　　It is a wonderful dessert for summer. The round fresh lotus seeds float in the light soup, still sending out the attractive fragrance of lotus. This dish could be traced back to Western Han Dynasty, when people sent it to Emperor Liu Bang as a tribute. This is why it is also named as tribute lotus.

　　小高：去哪里才能吃到这些美食呀？（两眼放光）

　　Xiaogao: Where can we have these dishes?

　　小文：每个城市都有自己的特色菜和特色餐厅，如果在长沙，就去坡子街、火宫殿，那里各色小吃一应俱全。如果在常德，就去嗦碗津市牛肉粉咯！如果在永州，就去吃东安嫩仔鸡……不过湖南真的是个美食遍地开花的地方，这些菜基本在湖南的各个地方都可以吃到，也许就在某条小街、某个小巷、某个转角处的某间小店，就能吃到让你意想不到的美味！

　　Xiaowen: Every city has its own specialties and restaurants. When it comes to Changsha city, it must be Pozi Street and Huogongdian. Speaking of Changde city, we think of Jinshi beef rice noodles, and Yongzhou, Spring Chicken, Dong'an style. Anyway, Hunan is really a place where you can find delicious food everywhere. You can have these dishes basically in every part of Hunan. Walking on some small alleys and turning around at some corners, you can find surprisingly delicious local Hunan cuisine in some small shops.

　　小彭：每道菜都很韵味呀！

　　Xiaopeng: Every dish is wonderful in its own way!