Last week, my father and I went back to my hometown-Zibo in Shandong to try Zibo barbecue (烧烤).最近,淄博烧烤已经成为了淄博的一个标志。
On the way to Zibo, my father told me a story. Last year during the COVID-19 pandemic (疫情), thousands of college students had to stay in Zibo for a while. The local government helped students to get through that hard time and offered a great barbecue dinner on their last night before leaving. The government also invited the students to come back to Zibo again when spring came. I was moved when I heard this.
At 5 pm, we arrived at the restaurant. In fact , people can't enjoy this delicious food unless they book a table. Luckily, my father booked (预定) a table two days earlier. Or there wouldn't be any seats for us. There are some differences between Zibo's barbecue and the ones in other cities. Zibo's barbecue restaurants have a small grill (烤架) on each table. We need to cook on the grill on our own. When the food is ready, we should put it onto a small pancake. And then add scallions (葱) and sauce before eating.烤烧烤和吃烧烤一样令人愉快。
People in the restaurant didn't know each other before. But we just talked about daily life and sang together. The owner of the restaurant even danced. With his help, I learned how to eat Zibo barbecue like the local people. I have to say, it's the most delicious food that I've ever eaten.
After eating the delicious food, I kept thinking about why Zibo became popular? Is it the promise between the government and the college students, or the special, tasty food or the warm-hearted people?