美食家蘭德的世界美食地圖

The bittersweet process of recalling the best meals of 2016 begins with technology, going through my year’s articles on the internet.

回顧我2016年的美食行程，可謂喜憂參半，打頭陣的是現代科技：在網上瀏覽一年來自己發表的文章，

Then I rifle through a stack of paper menus before finally coming to my emotions, asking myself how and why certain meals made a more lasting impression than others.

然後在一大堆紙質菜單中仔細翻騰，可謂百感交集，不停問自己，爲何某些美味佳餚的印象總是讓人念念不忘。

So here, in a whizz around the world — with apologies to Australia, New Zealand and South America, which we plan to visit early next year — are several highlights.

我在世界各地走馬觀花（對澳大利亞、新西蘭以及南非致以歉意，我們預定明年初造訪這些國家）後，發現以下幾個城市是美食天堂。

First of all to Paris, the city that bequeathed restaurants to the world and that has suffered more than most in the past two years.

我們今年首站造訪的城市是巴黎，巴黎高檔餐館雲集，但在過去兩年中遭受的打擊多過大多數城市。

My year actually began and ended in the company of wine lover, modern art collector and restaurateur Robert Vifian over meals at Tan Dinh, the restaurant his parents established after fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s.

我今年的美食旅程的開始與結束都是在Tan Dinh餐廳與葡萄酒擁躉、現代藝術藏家以及老闆費福昂(Robert Vifian)共享的，他父母上世紀70年代逃離越南後開辦了這家餐廳。

The cuisine included particularly memorable parcels of roast goose, crab pancakes and great red burgundies.

Tan Dinh的特色菜包括了尤難忘懷的烤鵝、蟹餅以及醇美的勃艮第乾紅。

I enjoyed two meals at the pinnacle of French inventive cooking at the capital’s historic Ledoyen, now home to the highly creative chef Yannick Alléno, and at L’Assiette Champenoise, the family-run hotel and restaurant near Reims where Arnaud Lallement cooks so elegantly.

我非常喜歡兩道代表法國匠心獨運廚藝巔峯水準的美食：分別由創意名廚雅尼克.亞蘭諾(Yannick Alléno)主廚的巴黎老牌餐廳Ledoyen以及蘭斯市(Reims)附近的 L’Assiette Champenoise，後者是家族經營的酒店及餐廳，大廚阿諾德.拉勒芒(Arnaud Lallement)的廚藝讓人拍案叫絕。

At Restaurante Markina in Bilbao, northern Spain, 11 of us sat down to a dinner that featured plates of ham and anchovies; a lazy Spanish omelette in which the eggs were broken over crisp potatoes; cheese and an array of very sweet desserts, a combination that seems to guarantee a good night’s sleep.

在西班牙北部畢爾巴鄂市(Bilbao)的Restaurante Markina餐館，我們11人盡情享用了由大盤火腿及風尾魚與西班牙疲沓蔬菜蛋卷（因塞卷炸薯片而破漏了的雞蛋卷）、奶酪以及一道道甜點組成的盛宴，如此搭配似乎能保證食客們一覺睡到大天亮。

Then to Asia on a trip that took us to Chengdu, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bangkok.

我們隨後轉戰亞洲，依次造訪了成都、香港、上海、東京以及曼谷。

In each of these cities I managed to find, and eat, what I was looking for.

在每座城市，我努力尋覓美食去處、盡情享受。

It was spice and very hot food at XanuXanu in Chengdu, where we were bowled over by the relatively straightforward servings of sweet and sour duck with chilli, cold noodles and the very first dish of mouth-numbing slices of chicken with extra chillies.

成都XanuXanu餐館的川菜又麻又辣，徑直端上來的香酸鴨(sweet and sour duck with chilli)、涼麪以及頭道麻辣雞片（嘴巴麻得沒感覺），讓我們永生難忘。

Hong Kong provided culinary excitement at Ho Lee Fook, which unites the talents of Taiwanese-born chef Jowett Yu and those of Canadian restaurateur Chris Mark.

香港口利福餐廳(Ho Lee Fook)的美味佳餚讓我讚不絕口：它融合了臺灣出生主廚Jowett Yu與加拿大餐飲從業者克里斯.馬克(Chris Mark)兩人的精湛廚藝，

A signature dish of roast Wagyu short ribs with a soy glaze fully justified its billing.

招牌菜烤牛肋筋(roast Wagyu short ribs with a soy glaze)完全是一分價錢一分貨。

Shanghai provided delicate Chinese style over a meal at Le Sun Chine, a small hotel in the French Concession.

開在昔日上海法租界(French Concession)的紳公館(Le Sun Chine)是家小酒店，它的中式菜精緻典雅。

A meal that began with two soups — crab with mushrooms followed by a sea cucumber in a thick fish soup with boiled shark’s stomach — may not be to everybody’s taste but I certainly enjoyed it.

正餐前先喝兩道湯——蘑菇蟹肉湯之後就是海蔘湯（用濃魚湯加熟的鯊魚胃燉就）——可能並不適合每位食客，但本人很喜歡喝。

This stopover paved the way for a brief stay in Tokyo, the world’s most food-obsessed city.

中途逗留上海是短暫駐留，可謂是爲了以美食冠絕全球的城市東京做了個鋪墊。

I would return in a second, for the sea urchin tempura at Tempura Yamanoue; the atmosphere, and the food, at Narukiyo; the elegance of Yujiro Takahashi’s French-inspired cooking at Le Sputnik; and Toshio Saito’s unforgettable sushi at Sushisho Saito.

爲了Tempura Yamanoue店的海膽天婦羅(sea urchin tempura)、Narukiyo店的美味佳餚與理想就餐環境、Le Sputnik餐廳大廚高橋裕二郎(Yujiro Takahashi)法式精緻美食以及Sushisho Saito店裏大廚Toshio Saito做的美味壽司，本人願毫不猶豫故地重遊。

Then it was on to Bangkok, where we were to enjoy two meals cooked by chef Thitid Tassanakajohn, known as Chef Ton, at Le Du and BaaGaDin.

隨後我們來到泰國首都曼谷，我們在此享用了Le Du and BaaGaDin餐館大廚Thitid Tassanakajohn（即Ton大廚）烹製的兩頓大餐。

The food was every bit as hot as it is in Chengdu.

他的菜與成都菜一樣：辣得沒得說。

Back in Europe there were two other, perhaps more surprising culinary treats.

回到歐洲後，我們享受了兩頓、也許更出人意料的大餐：

The first came at Forest Avenue in Dublin, a combination of John Wyer’s excellent cooking and the hospitality generated by his wife Sandy Sabek (the quality of their home-baked sourdough was exceptional).

第一頓是在愛爾蘭首都都柏林的Forest Avenue餐廳，店主兼大廚約翰.威爾(John Wyer)的精湛廚藝與女主人桑迪.莎貝克(Sandy Sabek)的熱情好客可謂珠聯璧合，店裏自制的酸麪包質量無與倫比；

I was also much taken with the cooking and approach of another couple, Sebastian Kauper and Nora Breyer, in their immaculate restaurant, Kaupers Kapellenhof in the village of Selzen in Germany.

德國塞爾岑(Selzen)小村Kaupers Kapellenhof餐館也無懈可擊，另一對夫婦檔塞巴斯蒂安.考柏(Sebastian Kauper)與諾拉.布瑞爾(Nora Breyer)的廚藝與待客方式同樣讓我難忘。

Even just a few days spent in New York yields far more enticing restaurants than almost any other city.

雖說在美國紐約市只呆了幾天，但這兒誘人的餐館數冠絕全球。

I recall the dessert of ice-cream topped with olive oil, sea salt and white truffles at Lilia in Williamsburg, plus the swish of Le Coucou.

除了新潮的Le Coucou餐飲外，威廉斯堡(Williamsburg)Lilia餐廳頂蓋橄欖油、海鹽以及白松露的冰淇淋仍歷歷在目。

Then there was the newly renovated Union Square Café; Keith McNally’s Augustine; brunch at Sadelle’s on West Broadway and Claus Meyer’s Great Northern outpost of Nordic cuisine in Grand Central Station.

此外，全新裝修的聯合廣場咖啡館 (Union Square Café)、凱斯.麥克納利(Keith McNally)的Augustine餐廳、西百老匯大街(West Broadway)上Sadelle’s麪包店的早午餐以及克勞斯.邁爾開在紐約中央車站(Grand Central Station)內、北歐菜系風格的Great Northern分店也讓我念念不忘。

Finally, back home to London, the city that still ranks as the most exciting in terms of the range of its cooking, its appeal and the sheer adventurism of many of the menus and wine lists on offer.

我們最後回到倫敦，就菜的品類、青睞指數、很多菜單及酒水單的另類程度而言，倫敦仍是全球最讓人流連忘返的城市。

For me, 2016 was a particularly sad year because, in March, Elena Salvoni passed away.

對我來說，2016年尤爲傷感，因爲今年3月，埃琳娜.薩爾沃尼(Elena Salvoni)離別人世。

In the 1980s, I had the pleasure of working alongside this remarkable maître d’, who was known with justification as the queen of Soho for the warmth of her smile and her engaging personality.

上世紀80年代，我曾有幸與這位金牌領班共事，她以自己的音容笑貌與迷人個性獲得蘇荷女王 (queen of Soho)的美譽實至名歸。

Subsequently, I have been introduced to Lisa Maitland, who runs front of house at Yoshino, a small Japanese restaurant off Piccadilly, just as elegantly.

後來，她把我介紹給皮卡迪利(Piccadilly)附近一家日本小餐館Yoshino的前臺負責人麗莎.梅特蘭(Lisa Maitland)，麗莎同樣是溫文爾雅。

The queen of London hospitality is dead — long live her successor.

倫敦餐飲業女王如今已撒手人寰——但她的後繼者層出不窮。