The aptly named Salt Restaurant in Shiraz, southern Iran, is completely made of salt. The walls, bar, tables and chairs are entirely made of the white mineral; even the stairs have a smooth, salty coating.

在伊朗南部城市設拉子，有一家完全用鹽建成的餐廳，其名字也起得恰如其分——“鹽巴餐廳”。餐廳的墻壁、吧臺、桌椅都是用白色礦物質鹽巴制成，甚至樓梯表面也都覆蓋著光滑的鹽巴涂層。

The unique restaurant is the brainchild of Iranian firm Emtiaz Designing Group, who used salt as the main construction material in order to promote the concept of green construction. They created the building using environmentally sustainable, locally sourced, affordable salt, powder and rock. “In this particular case, the walls, structural sculptures and ceilings are made from salt sourced from the nearby salt mines and salt lake of Shiraz which was mixed with natural gum to harden it,” said a spokesperson of the firm.

這家獨特的餐廳由本地設計團隊Emtiaz主創，用鹽巴作為主要建筑材料以推廣“綠色建筑”的理念。該團隊用環保無害、廉價易得的本地粉末狀或塊狀鹽巴建造餐廳。該公司發言人稱：“在這家獨特的餐廳里，墻壁、構造雕塑和天花板全部取材于設拉子市附近的鹽礦和鹽湖，并在原材料中混合天然樹膠，起到加固作用。”

The project began with a thorough study on the appropriate type of local salt and its combination with natural gums. The designers started their research at the natural salt mines and the salt lake located close to the restaurant site.

項目開始之初，設計師們進行了深入調研，尋找當地最適宜的鹽巴，研究鹽膠混合物的合成。他們首先把餐廳附近的天然鹽礦和鹽湖列入考察范圍。

Inspired by salt caves, the designers wanted to make sure the interiors of the restaurant twisted and turned just like they do in natural salt caverns. Once the research phase was over, they designed the walls, roof and stairs to represent a modern view of salt caves – and the result is striking. They handcrafted the tables entirely from rock salt, and recycled soft drink cans were used to surface the stairs and chair frames, which was another way of keeping down the carbon footprint.

受到鹽穴的啟發，設計師們希望餐廳內部能像天然鹽洞那樣，呈螺旋形。調研一結束，他們便將墻壁、屋頂和樓梯設計成巧奪天工的“現代鹽穴”。餐廳的桌子都是用鹽巖手制的，椅框和臺階表面則用可回收的軟飲易拉罐打造，作為另一種控制碳排放量的方式。

Salt is actually a wise choice of construction material for the restaurant, because it purifies the air and creates positive ions in the atmosphere. “Salt is a natural disinfectant and the ions it releases also purify and filter the air, making it the perfect material for a restaurant,” the spokesperson explained.

鹽巴具有凈化空氣、釋放陽離子的特性，因此用鹽巴來建造餐廳是一個明智的選擇。該發言人解釋稱：“鹽是天然的消毒劑，而且它釋放出的離子可以凈化空氣。這就讓鹽巴成為餐廳建筑材料的絕佳選擇。”

“Salt suffers a bad reputation in gastronomy thanks to its overuse in most diets, meaning that most people are not aware of its astonishing healing powers,” he added. “But in fact, salt has been known as a powerful health remedy since ancient times, especially for respiratory health and detoxification. Even Hippocrates prescribed salt water inhalation therapy for bronchial and lung disorders.”

“因為在大多數食物中都被濫用，食鹽一直飽受人們的詬病，以至于大多數人都不知道食鹽具有不可思議的治愈功效。”發言人補充說，“事實上，食鹽自古以來就被視為有效的治療藥物，在呼吸道疾病和解毒上的功效尤為顯著。古希臘名醫希波克拉底甚至把鹽水吸入療法，作為支氣管疾病和肺部疾病的治療手段。”

Salt therapy involves the therapeutic use of time spent in salt mines, salt caves, or other forms of salt exposure to treat medical conditions. So, eating at the Salt Restaurant could have several benefits. And you rest assured that the food won’t be bland!

鹽療，就是讓患者身處鹽礦、鹽穴或任意形式的含鹽環境中，以達到治療疾病的功效。因此，在“鹽巴餐廳”里進餐可能也有諸多益處。而且，你再也不用擔心食物淡而無味了！

Vocabulary

aptly: 事宜的

gum: 樹膠

ion: 離子

disinfectant: 消毒劑

gastronomy: 烹飪法

respiratory: 呼吸系統的

detoxification: 解毒作用

bronchial: 支氣管的

（譯者：菠蘿油八戒 編輯：丁一）