Luyện theo cấu trúc Cambridge IELTS 19 · Speaking Part 1–3: Street Food Culture

1. On weekdays I mostly eat out, because I don't get home until quite late and cooking for one person feels like a lot of effort. At weekends, though, I try to cook with my family, which I find quite relaxing.

2. Noodle soups are probably the most popular thing in my neighbourhood. There are at least five places on my street that sell them, and they're busy from early morning, because a lot of people have them for breakfast.

3. Quite a lot, actually. When I was small I hardly ever ate anything my mother hadn't cooked, whereas now I eat a much wider range of food, including dishes from other countries. I also eat later in the evening than I used to.

4. Generally, yes. I'm not adventurous enough to try everything, but whenever I travel I make a point of eating at least one local dish I've never heard of. It's one of the best ways to understand a place.

The dish I'd like to describe is a bowl of crab noodle soup that I had from a woman who sets up her cart on a street corner near the river in my hometown. I first tried it about two years ago, on a rainy morning when I was home for the New Year holiday.

She doesn't have a shop or even a sign. There's just a cart with a huge pot of broth, a basket of fresh herbs and four or five low tables on the pavement. As far as I know, she's been selling the same soup in the same spot for over twenty years, and by nine o'clock she's usually sold out.

What impressed me was how much care went into something so cheap. The broth is made from crabs that she grinds by hand, so it's slightly thick and full of flavour, and she adds fried tofu, tomato and a spoonful of shrimp paste for anyone who asks. Every bowl is put together in front of you, and she always asks whether you want it spicy.

As for why I enjoyed it so much, part of it was simply the taste; it was richer than any version I've had in a restaurant. But I think the setting mattered too. Sitting on a tiny stool in the rain, with the steam coming off the bowl and people chatting around me, made me feel properly at home after months away. Having said that, I've heard she might retire soon, and I suspect nobody will be able to make it quite the same way.

1. Quite a lot, I think. It shows what ingredients are grown locally, what people can afford and even how they organise their day; for example, if noodle soup is sold at six in the morning, you know people start work early. In that sense it's often a more honest picture of a place than restaurant food.

2. It can be, as long as it's done carefully. Designated areas make it easier to provide clean water and rubbish collection, and they keep pavements clear for pedestrians. The risk is that if the areas are too far from where people live and work, the sellers lose their customers, so planners really need to consult the vendors first.

3. I'd say it often comes down to how easy a dish is to adapt. Food that can be made with ingredients available anywhere, and adjusted to different tastes, tends to travel well. Dishes that take hours to prepare or depend on a particular local ingredient are much more likely to fade away as fewer people have the time to cook them.

4. I suspect it will, although it may look different. Cities are becoming more regulated, so I can imagine more covered food courts and fewer carts on the pavement. But the demand for cheap, quick food isn't going to go away, so I think it will adapt rather than vanish.

5. I think it is, because recipes are a kind of family history. If nobody learns them, they can be lost within a generation. That said, I don't think it should be forced; it's more likely to happen if families cook together and make it enjoyable.