讀到立法局議員吳靄儀聖誕節致法律界選舉人的信，有趣得很。信是英文，有感而發，發為幽默。文字簡練而清雅，可以觀摩，殊難中譯。第一段說聖誕節吃火雞政治上不正確，人人改吃鵝，她於是做了一點關於鵝的研究工作：

烹食香港之鵝有兩款基本法。中式方法是拔毛洗浸棄掉一切骯髒不純的東西，過滾水，塗色醬，風乾，明火燒紅。英式方法於鵝肚中塞滿八寶，煮后封入烤箱密烤，熬煉出油，至骨肉分離為止：

You are also aware, of course, that the real British Christmas fare, which had become popular in Hong Kong through colonisation, is the roast sirloin. However, as knighthoods become politically dubious, you should be prepared to see it r九-九-藏-書eferred to in the bill of fare of the more cautious restaurants simply as "loin".

至於用哪一種方法去泡製，鵝通常是做不了主的（「Usually, the goose has no choice as to which method is used」）。

形勢如此，聊頌聖誕盡量作樂（「Have the happiest Christmas possible in the circumstance!」）

You would be aware that according to Elizabeth Ayrton's Cookery of England, the goose is not necessarily a Christmas dish. It was a customary offering by the tenants to the 九_九_藏_書landlord at Michaelmas （Which is, of course, in September） "For feare their lease flie loose". Of course, this, and other offerings made from time to time during the year, were no guarantee for anybody's rights, as history has shown.

英國人聖誕節作興吃裡脊牛排，殖民地香港自難免俗。可是，加官晉爵漸漸不利於政治生涯，有些餐館善解人意，步步為營，菜單上裡脊肉sirloin的sir字都刪掉了：

There are, apparently, two Basic Laws or Methods for cooking the Hong Kong goose. The Chinese method call九_九_藏_書s for the bird to be plucked, drawn and removed of all alien impurities. Following which it is quickly immersed in boiling water, painted with a dark sauce, hanged up to dry in the wind, and finally roasted to a brilliant red over an open fire. The British method is more obscure. It seems that the goose is stuffed with sage and onion, and then cooked, covered up in a tightly shut oven, until all the fat is rendered, and t九九藏書he flesh falls away from the bones.

In anticipation that some of us may consider forgoing the politically incorrect turkey （which reportedly still grows wild in parts of the American continent） for the more desirable goose, I have done some modest research on this latter bird.

照英國食譜說，鵝未必是聖誕佳餚，倒是九月二十九日米迦勒節租客送給業主的禮品。那是英國四大結賬日之一，租客恐怕租約續不了，非巴結一下地主不可。當然，這一類的奉獻未必保得住權利；歷來都是這樣的：

Firstly, I have to tell you that there is no evidence ofread.99csw.com the existence, let alone the longevity, of the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg, except in fairy tales. My Larousse Gastronomique says that the goose is" A migrating bird originally prized as a game bird and later domesticated... Laying birds may be kept until they are five or six years old; as their meat is by then very tough and dry it is usually stewed or preserved..."

生金蛋的鵝只有童話里有。食譜上只說鵝是喜歡移棲的候鳥，起初屬獵鳥，後來馴為家禽。產蛋的鵝養到五六歲鵝肉甚乾硬，多半要燉或醃。