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編輯推介 餐廳總分  文章形式 |  地圖形式
2014-09-14
3/10 plates emptied! [Written by Carly in English and Gobay in Chinese] 一進門Carly就禁不住讚歎這裡的環境很chill!這裡進門的樓底很高，迎面就是酒吧區域，裡面和右手邊兩個大圓柱開外的距離是高腳椅和圓弧型皮座，是一個很適合朋友聚會和Happy Hour的地方。 
Lunch Menu Chef’s Soup of the Day: Minestrone with beef cube 牛肉雜菜湯 Minestrone嚴格來講是含有義大利麵的蔬菜濃湯，但現在創意潮流年代，也很少有餐廳照本宣科地來製作菜單，是為“用其名”而已。湯的味道有點像俄羅斯羅宋湯，也許因為都是那麼些蔬菜熬成的關係，偏鹹，配湯的麵包也不特別，馬馬虎虎吧。 
魚餅本來就不會用太好太新鮮的魚來製作。但這個魚餅裡面煎得太熟了，因為掺雜的粉很多，煎的時間短了粉就不夠熟，所以看魚餅外部色澤金黃本該是剛好的，內裡則是顆粒狀的口感很重，明顯是“柴”（廣東人對魚肉做老了時的口感的形容詞）的感覺。塔塔醬是傳統的味道，只是看著多了點淡黃色，不像是以往吃的純白色帶點綠色顆粒的那種，味道也沒那麼酸，吃不出加了甚麼。伴碟的salad倒是很新鮮，還有Gobay最愛吃的Arugula火箭菜。 (Bite) woah, can this get even drier? Too much flour was added to the mixture of salmon bits and herbs, the texture was relatively dry even though the exterior was pan-fried till golden. 頭盤和主菜間隔還是久了些，在較好的餐廳我們還是會希望上菜的時間能配合得好一些： 
配菜是炒大蔥/甜蔥，我們都覺得很油，而切成片的薯仔完全沒有味道，就算豬肉有醬汁可以用來蘸著吃，Gobay 覺得配菜都是要放點點鹽，至少！要是Gordon Ramsey評的話，估計會說“Absolutely lack of seasonings, totally bland” 。豬扒口感很老，蘑菇醬也不可口。 Totally bland was the right choice of words to describe this pork scaloppini, the chef must have lacked passion in cooking long time ago, even my mom can cook better pork chop than this. Side dish of stir-fried green and sweet onions tasted alright yet the overdose of olive oil brought this whole dish from below average to living hell. You wouldn't be able to finish the dry pork with extremely oily veggie. 
香煎鱈魚配甜蔥和薯仔，西紅花奶油汁。我們入口第一反應就是“柴”──廣東人形容魚做老了或口感韌了就是用這個字，大概是因為柴魚（類似日本的鰹魚節，同樣是魚乾，但處理工藝大不同）也是這種口感，沒吃過的可以到普通一間粥店叫一碗柴魚花生粥試試就知道了。但是當一道新鮮的煎魚扒也給人魚乾一般的口感時，我們都無語了。 Carly說這裡就是一家貴價茶餐廳，嘻嘻。 The Cod fillet was relatively better than the pork scaloppini but the fish was cooked till it turned dry. Okay, I am done. Let’s quickly hope that the desserts will save us from this over-priced experience. 最後是甜品，我們都急切需要一些“refreshment”寬慰一下我們的舌頭，然而還是不得滿意。 Mango & Passion Fruit Mousse Carly覺得這個太甜了，Gobay覺得甜度上還好，因為是芒果的自然甜度。主要是因為前面的食物「刺激」下，如今有新鮮水果，舌頭可能是被騙了，呵呵呵！ 
Crumble部份是焗得挺酥鬆的，Gobay覺得份量少得可憐，而且整個架構太散，不過蘋果焗得還可以。 Apple crumble portion was too tiny to enjoy the taste of it, you can finish it in 4 spoons. If the restaurant is aiming to impress customers with a full set of culinary experience, it is recommended to just cut out the mediocre desserts and offer better main dishes so that overall quality will be improved before anyone comes in and spend their HKD 150 with Oolaa Petite. 整體感覺是午市套餐這裡不值得一試，價格貴而且味道不怎麼好。但是這裡的晚餐不知道味道會否勝一籌，而且Happy Hour在這裡的氣氛應該挺好的。 Gobay food knowledge center: Scaloppini: 義大利菜的詞彙scaloppine的英語寫法，指把肉切得很薄然後裹上麵漿煎食。 Ragoût: 原法國菜的詞彙，原指把肉、魚和蔬菜切成塊粒一起燉煮。肉類，魚類和蔬菜類的ragoût做法都不同，但基本有兩類：白和棕。顧名思義，「白」就是一開始煮那塊肉的時候，把它煮到肉質結實但顏色不弄；「棕」就類似廣東人的燜牛腩，會放佐料使得那個「stew」一開始就變棕色。這裡的leek & potato ragoût指的應該是ragoût第三層涵義──a plain or mixed garnish, 指西餐裡主菜的伴碟配菜, 加上棕色汁（或白色汁），這裡的則棕色蘑菇醬。 Marsala sauce: 提到Marsala, Gobay禁不住笑了出來──『這就等於廣東人的九江雙蒸或者是大陸的黃酒啊！』，因為它被廣泛地用在義大利家庭的烹調之餘，還可以直接飲用。Marsala葡萄酒年輕人可能不熟悉，因為很少喝這類“老酒”，它原產自義大利西西里島，和葡萄牙的Port、西班牙的Jerez(Sherry)，還有以前香港人最喜愛的干邑品牌「馬爹利(Martell) 」在廣東話發音很近似經常被人弄混的葡萄牙的Madeira是很相似的酒。而Marsala醬就是義大利菜的經典醬汁，無非就是洋蔥、蘑菇、各類香草和肉汁加入Marsala酒一起煮到濃稠的程度，配肉類料理一起吃。 
評分: 味道 1 環境 4 服務 3 衛生 3 抵食 1
2015-04-09
[Written by Carly in English, Gobay in Chinese] 吉碟幫為了尋找塵世中的漢堡包真味，都真的付出不少「肥胖」的代價，甚至連Carly打電話訂位都被人誤叫成"Calories"！（Carly到現今還是未能釋懷，哈哈哈）目前為止我們試過幾多呢？有點貴族feel的Beef & Liberty「尚牛社會」；賣貴徂好多的Butcher's Club；貴在部煙燻機的Big Joe's；勝在唔貴的Burgerman；貴族漢堡始祖的Burgeroom；矜貴只限脆薯粒的The Chop House和「幾貴都食唔返」可一不可再的Ham&Sherry...現在我們來到去年6月新開的Texas Burger來探究它是如何吸引家庭觀眾，年青一代，甚至旅居本地的外國人的！
|Mesclun mix, assorted mushrooms, roasted pumpkin & radish, fried French onion, roasted sesame dressing|雜沙律菜，烤雜錦精選香菌，燒南瓜，小紅蘿蔔，脆炸洋蔥絲，烘焙芝麻醋沙律汁| Let’s kick off the fatty meal with some fresh greens! Well-tossed salad with right amount of salad dressing, roasted pumpkin and radish were zippy fresh, deep fried shredded onions were flavorsome with acidic appetizing salad. Not bad. If only mushrooms were not chopped and more mushrooms can be added, both Carly and Lorling would have been happier.
|Grilled housemade savory veggie patty, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, melted monterey Jack cheese, aioli|烤自製素食漢堡扒，牛油果，生菜，蕃茄，熔化蒙特利傑克芝士，法式香蒜醬|
這個素食burger建議應該考慮要從餐牌上移除。主要的成份有米飯和鷹嘴豆蓉，可惜入口就好像一塊加了比較過量雞粉的麵團，沒有素食burger的新鮮感覺。
|6oz beef patty, baked crisp bacons, deep-fried onion ring, lettuce, melted cheddar cheese, signature smoked Jalapeno BBQ sauce|6安士煙燻牛肉漢堡，焗脆煙肉，炸洋蔥圈，生菜，熔化車打芝士，秘制墨西哥青椒燒烤醬| The best burger in house! Australian beef is rather flavorsome and juicy after grilling. Regarding seasoning, tad sweet yet very enjoyable smoked BBQ sauce; and the crunchy onion ring made this one decent burger to munch off. The logo of TB was engraved and toasted on the bun, making this signature dish notably the highlight of the night.
|6oz beef patty, Seared Foie Gras, Balsamic Reduction, pickled red onions & arugula salad, Toasted Brioche Bun|6安士煙燻牛肉漢堡，香煎鵝肝片，意式濃縮黑醋汁，甜酸紅洋蔥圈，芝麻菜沙律| Bun being slightly over-burnt, it came out crumbly dry and hardened. Whenever Carly sees Foie Gras burger, the greasy experience at Burgeroom rang the bell. Gobay always thought that foie gras should not go with beef patties as both of them are considered heavy, rich flavored food; not the best combo to put them together. A thin slice of Pan fried foie gras: fairly dry, lacking the fatty good oil. Pickled red onions were nice crunchy and citrusy. But the brioche bun was left in the oven for too long, hardened to a point that everyone just left the buns on the serving wooden boards.
|Deep Fried tender fillet of Pollock, red cheddar cheese, lettuce, grilled pineapple tartar sauce, white balsamic flakes, toasted sesame bun|炸嫩滑冰島鱈魚柳，英式紅車打芝士，生菜，烤菠蘿他他醬，白酒醋脆片，芝麻包| New item! The sauce was alright with chopped pineapple, along with fruity sweet and a right punch of sourness for the tartar sauce. The sesame bun was not as dry as the other ones yet the deep fried fish was dry to its core, Gobay even tasted had the frozen fillet aftertaste after trying the battered fish that was deep fried for way too long.
|Grilled tender chicken breast, baked crisp bacons, lettuce, tomatoes, Monterey jack cheese, aioli, toasted ciabatta|烤嫩滑雞胸，焗脆煙肉，生菜，蕃茄，蒙特利傑克芝士，法式香蒜醬，意式軟包| Chicken was ultra moist, tender, and well-seasoned – Carly is often impressed by places that can ace chicken breast cooking so nicely. Baked bacon was a bit overdone so it lost the fatty oily goodness compared to when bacon is cooked till a point that the oil drizzles a little over the rest of the food. Aioli was pretty nice for its mouth drooling taste of garlicky cream sauce, ciabatta bread was dry, and lacked the crispiness on the crust and fluffy airy texture on the interior. Relatively better in terms of flavor and quality out of all the burgers we had.
Deep fried, rather like baked style potato wedges. Seasoned with a pinch of salt, pepper, and rosemary herbs, some of them were mushy inside, and could have been moister. Side dishes for burgers are often very important to conclude whether the burger combo was legit – Chop House’s tater tots is still our favorite in town. Mini pot of coleslaw was served next to the fries yet flavor wise was just average as it came a bit watery and bland in taste. 炸薯角普普通通，有些內裡粉嫩但有些不然。The Chop House的脆薯粒依然是吉碟幫的城中至愛，因為漢堡包餐中配菜的味道有時等於burger本身。美式椰菜沙律毫無特色矗立在旁，讓人有種「吃也不是，不吃也不是」的莫名情緒，很困擾！
|Ultimate fries, jalapeno, black olive, Velveeta cheese sauce, crispy bacon bites, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream|特脆薯條，墨西哥青椒片，黑水欖片，美國芝士醬，脆煙肉碎，牛油果醬，莎莎醬，酸忌廉| New item! Fries were average, jalapeno chopped in rather big chunks, and sour cream, cheese and bacon flavors were nowhere to be found. This results in a lacking of the authentic sour and herbs aroma. Guacamole, being so finely grinded, lacked the uneven raw fresh textural experience. The color of the guacamole turned dimmed as if they were not fresh from the basket, it might’ve been the fact that avocado was grinded in the blender instead of randomly squashing it softly, much like apples turning dark yellow being exposed in open air for too long. 這也是一個新菜式，而這個"混醬"的搭配，讓人吃的時候有種「悲天憫人」的情懷，因為暗綠色的牛油果醬和大大塊的墨西哥青椒，一邊吃一邊心裡默念『粒粒皆辛苦，我唔可以浪費這盤薯仔…』芝士和煙肉的味道無影無蹤，牛油果更被打成蓉而喪失了粒狀口感和新鮮感。讓人傷心的是，最近街市的牛油果一點都不便宜！
|Tex-Mex Coleslaw, southern BBQ Sauce, fries|配特色卷心菜沙律，燒烤汁，炸薯條|
All of the milkshakes are served in rather large size of 14oz servings. 所有奶昔都以14安士的「大架勢」示人，看著誘惑，味道如何呢？
|Guava, mango, passion fruit, lime ice-cream, sliced pineapple|石榴，芒果，熱情果，青檸雪糕，菠蘿片| Very tropical and exotic flavors bursting from the not-so-thick milkshake, passion fruit and mango fruit scents were the most profound. For anyone that loves a summery drink, this will not let you down. 從包含的水果就可以看出這是一杯「熱帶風情」，奶昔雖不夠濃稠，但熱情果和芒果味道很突出。作為夏日特飲，它也是不錯之選。
|Vanilla ice-cream, banana, peanut butter, chocolate, syrup, whipping cream, explosive chocolate|雲喱拿雪糕，香蕉，花生醬，朱古力糖漿，忌廉，朱古力爆炸糖| Banana and chocolate flavor stood out after one quick sip, then the wave of peanut better came gushing through, Lyoe described as the “breakfast” drink. Quite indeed a spot-on description for this.
|Chocolate ice-cream, mint jelly, chocolate syrup, whipping cream, explosive chocolate, oreo cookie|朱古力雪糕，薄荷啫喱，朱古力糖漿，忌廉，朱古力爆炸糖，曲奇| Rather mild bland chocolate milkshake, very subtle hint of mint flavor. If only extra chocolate ice-cream was added or oreo chunks and crumbs, then it would be the most evil and intriguing components that for a heavy chocolate milkshake.
|Strawberry ice-cream, raspberry, blue berry, whipping cream, fresh berries|草莓雪糕，木莓，藍莓，忌廉，新鮮雜莓子| Carly’s favorite and considered the best milkshake out of all four of them for its fruity berry aroma was natural and mildly sweet. Nothing can go wrong with mixed berries as long as fresh berries are well-blended with the ice-cream based milkshake. Carly當晚最讚賞的奶昔，沒有之一！豐富的藍莓味自然微甜，水果香氣濃郁，再加草莓雪糕，確實屬於該店出品中口味最正常的奶昔了。
|Sea salted toffee, whipped cream, candied walnuts|海監拖肥，甜忌廉，蜜餞核桃| Toffee lacked the sea salt savory flavor, whipped cream was halfway melting, walnuts? Were there walnuts? The apple tart was lying flat, unappealing at sight, served just warm to the table. Taste-wise was alright but apples chunks were not very impressive, Carly gave up after one scoop.
A scoop of Movenpick ice-cream | 配一球雪糕 |A scoop of Movenpick ice-cream|配一球雪糕| Oh my..Fudge cake is supposed to be soft chewy on the inside and crusty on the dark chocolate based edges. Yet this was just not right, not right for an American dessert. The cake was hardened, not chewy.. Rather disastrous piece of cake Carly would have to say, she dug into the vanilla Movenpick ice-cream on the side and ignored the fudge cake completely.
A scoop of Movenpick ice-cream | 配一球雪糕
 題外話/補充資料： * Opens everyday * Monday to Wednesday walk-in is easier or simply come after 8:30pm 推介美食: Texas BBQ Burger,德州燒烤漢堡,Forest Mushrooms Salad,野菌沙律,Carolina BBQ Ribs,卡羅萊納燒烤骨
評分: 味道 2 環境 4 服務 3 衛生 3 抵食 3
2015-03-22
5.5/10 plates emptied! [Written by Carly]
Korean shaved ice, traditionally known as Patbingsu (팥빙수) which is water shaved ice with red bean paste and fruit toppings. The newly invented/modified version of Korean shaved ice dessert has been gaining huge popularity throughout South Korea, since April 2013 in Busan. By tradition, shaved ice desserts are from pure iced water so it tastes less sweet and rather simple. Now that milk and ice has been mixed together before shaving, shaved ice will contain both the natural milky and sweet flavoring, well-blended within and very enticing to munch on a hot summery day.
豆粉一向都是韓式雪花冰的恩物，一小塊被切得細細的年糕，軟腍煙，淡淡甜蜜與豆味濃郁的滋味配上被刨至綿綿細膩的雪花冰，口感與味道上都是「無得輸」。問題是刨得幾細緻，會不會太快溶，做得夠不夠綿滑。第一口的雪花冰比台灣的綿綿冰好吃得多，因為刨完的冰不會急速溶化，細膩又帶點豐盈的口感，適當的甜度，吃得多甜度亦會被冰粒中和，奶香配上天然豆味，豆粉一放入口中就，第一個雪花冰很快就被「殲滅」了。
有一大粒，一大粒的藍莓，說不上很新鮮但最低限度不「hea」，藍莓醬比一般的果占醬稀釋一點，但算是頗甜，有點人造，沒有天然的果香。一塊塊芝士蛋糕被切成四方形，口感冰冰的，帶點厚實，不是鬆軟剛焗好的芝士蛋糕，芝士味不會過濃，配上若隱若現的椰香夾在每一口的雪花冰，定會讓一眾女士心花怒放。唯一欠缺誠意的，就是用上Haagen Dazs雲喱拿雪糕，卻不是自家制的雪糕叫人有點失望吧，雪糕本身太甜，甜味很快溶進雪花冰中，加上較重味的芝士蛋糕，天然的牛奶雪花冰的味道立刻被淹沒了，吃到最後會稍微過甜。
端上桌的時候，熱感十足，濃濃香噴噴的蒜香芝士味讓眾人引頸以待。大大個被炸得金黃的脆脆波，外表非常吸引。表面炸得不夠鬆脆，最奇怪的是芝士醬異常的甜，與本身蒜味極濃的內餡顯得格格不入。芝士醬只有顏色，香氣卻沒有味道，整體不算美味。更何況不是傳統的韓國食品，實屬花巧居多。
Carly與Lorling到韓國當地旅行時，吃過更加美味的甜品，普通一間雪花冰已經輕易超越Hanbing韓冰的水準。整體而言，豆粉雪花冰的味道，質感，配搭與甜度是最討人喜悅的。藍莓芝士蛋糕雪花冰配搭顏色豐富，有點太甜，但滿足感十足。脆脆波實是虛有其表，味道有點嚇人。夾著這股甜不了的韓風，不知道韓冰能夠撐多久。作為甜品愛好者，在尖沙咀多了一個冰涼的選擇也算是不錯。
Both Carly and Lorling had better Korean treats in Seoul and couldn't help to think that the ones in Hong Kong are just newly opened to catch the quick train of fast money. Hanbing was alright in terms of food quality, service needs improvement, location-wise perfect for a group gathering. Let’s hope that these little dessert places survive as Hong Kong foodies can get easily forgetful sometimes. 推介美食: Injeolmi Snow Ice
評分: 味道 3 環境 3 服務 1 衛生 3 抵食 2
2015-02-02
5/10 plates emptied![Written by Gobay in Chinese, Carly in English] 這次是吉碟幫第一次有家庭成員的聚餐，為了慶祝Carly那個愛吃海鮮的父親即將到來的生日，幫眾和家人一行八人專門到工廠大廈吃以烹調海鮮出名的粵菜私房菜。餐廳的環境非常平凡，門口甚至沒有招牌，內裡有幾張深色木圓桌，舒適度算中等。餐廳內似乎只有一名侍應招呼客人，經常有什麼要求的時候都要經「一番搜尋」才能看到他的身影。當晚我們八人一共吃了十道菜，外加一個湯和一個炒飯，量非常大的一頓晚餐。通常預訂私房菜都是按每圍的方式計算，當晚的菜單是HKD400/人。
|頭盤 Appetizers|
Garlic Chili Chicken Wing Tips, Spicy Pig’s Blood, Osmanthus Honey Tomatoes 桂花糖番茄有微量的蜜糖甜味，但是嘗不出一絲桂花香。麻辣豬紅的味道調得很不錯，不會過鹹而且花椒味和辣味都不重，豬紅的質感很好，很嫩滑。連極端不能吃辣的Lyoe都說味道不錯，是可以接受的麻辣味。雞翼尖的雪藏味很重，蒜蓉辣椒汁醃製的時間不長，所以既不入味也蓋不住那股不新鮮的味道。 【Garlic Chili Chicken Wing Tips, Spicy Pig’s Blood, Osmanthus Honey Tomatoes】
Sichuan peppercorn with a subtle hint of celeriac spicy kick was well-marinated to the Pig’s blood, quite a flavorful appetizing snack in a spicy way, even Lyoe who could barely tolerate spiciness was able to enjoy a decent piece of appetizers before the feast started. Huge chunks of tomatoes with Osmanthus honey dripped all over, the flowery sweetness or aroma was nowhere to be found.
Spicy chilled Pig’s Intestines, Spicy Beef Tripe, Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers
麻辣大腸和金錢肚用的是同種醬汁，麻辣鹵水汁醃得非常入味，但是煮的時間過長，大腸和金錢肚的咬口幾乎都喪失了，這個讓人有點意外，畢竟是很多食友嘗試後的推薦菜式。雞絲青瓜調味應該是加了麻油和淮鹽，和本幫菜的雞絲粉皮不同，這道雞絲是連著雞皮的，口感和味道都還可以。其實麻辣是川菜的特色，而這裡是以海鮮為主的，頭盤還是用稍微清淡微甜的會好一些，比如燒蜜鱔段、涼拌雜菌木耳或香麻海蜇頭等等之類的。
By the time the second appetizer arrived, Gobay noticed that the chef here was very fond of using Sichuan spices for its appetizers and is considered rather non-traditional for Cantonese cuisine to include heavy tasting food that might numb off your senses on the palate. As Imperial focuses on seafood, it might be better to offer appetizers in light savory flavors such as sesame oil on jelly fish, chilled mix of fungus, or honey roasted eel. Some of the pig intestines gave off a slightly nasty aftertaste even though the spices were relatively mild and flavorsome. Everyone liked the beef tripe for its flavor yet it lacked structure and firmness. Tripe being the highest qualified reticulum of a cow; resembles the exterior of the honey comb, chewy on to the top and soft on the bottom, one of Carly’s favorite Cantonese appetizing snack. Shredded chicken was evidently frozen and marinated in the chili sauce for too long as the cucumbers were not crispy zesty fresh by the time we had them either.
大頭魚的魚頭稍嫌不夠新鮮，又或者去腥的姜下得不夠重，吃起來有股輕微的怪味。豆腐用的是水豆腐，所以非常滑，但這種豆腐沒有什麼豆味，一般純以口感取勝。湯過鹹了，吃得出較重的味精感，我們每人嘗了一小碗就沒再喝，所以剩下一大鍋，看著好心疼，但真心鹹…
Fish head lacked the marine seafood freshness as the fish taste was nowhere to be found in the cilantro and salt overdosed soup. Chunks of soft tofu were silky soft, as expected. Everyone only had a small bowl and gave up on the overly salty fish soup.
擺碟非常靚麗，用了價值不菲的沙律菜做伴碟，中間還有鮑魚殼作裝飾。鮑魚是南非6頭鮮鮑 (一斤有6隻)，肉質爽口彈牙，沒有辜負南非鮑魚的好名聲，而且個頭很大，6頭鮑就是不一樣！廚師特意用了十字切 (或稱花刀)將鮑魚切成菊花狀，這樣能使鮑魚更加入味，加上用的是牛油去煮而非植物油，牛油產生的高溫可以讓鮑魚在短時間內收縮，口感更好。可惜白胡椒的量放多了——本來白胡椒就是比黑胡椒的勁度更足，更嗆喉，加上十字切使得胡椒味充分地滲入鮑魚肉，因此鮑魚的鮮被完全覆蓋。Gobay當時一邊吃一邊心有戚戚：『多好的鮑魚，浪費了…』其實我們猜測廚師的初衷是想把新加坡名菜“黑胡椒生炒蟹”套用到這個炒鮑魚上，可惜不合適。首先，蟹有硬殼，把黑胡椒的一部分濃味擋住，剝殼吃肉的時候如果不夠味，食客可以酌量蘸汁，非常靈活。再有，黑胡椒的勁度和辣味比白胡椒弱一個等級，不會太霸道。所以當鮑魚直接接觸白胡椒汁時(加上十字切過於入味)，很容易太鹹太辣，使得菜的主角頓時變成了白胡椒而不是鮑魚。現在還有粵菜餐廳提供「堂灼螺片」這種做法，就是把響螺切成一片片，即場在客人面前放進精製高湯裡灼熟，直接就可以吃了。這樣是為了帶出螺肉的鮮甜肉味。鮑魚味道的濃度和響螺差不多，即使用白胡椒炒做法創新，但奪走了食材本身的特色，令人感嘆。 【Sautéed South African Fresh Abalones in White Peppercorn sauce】 Untraditional seafood dish, exhilarating pepper spice, yet omitted the crucial fact of whole spotlight was supposedly – the Abalone not the Peppercorn. Creative but did not quite nailed it. Gobay guessed that the chef was trying to replicate the success of Singapore’s renowned Black Pepper Chili Grab, however, considering the fact that crabs have shells to cling onto the spicy and thick sauce without overwhelming the natural crab meat flavor. Abalones are not quite the same as their seafood taste is rather subtle, the chef specifically cut the bottom of the abalones in crossed patterns to make the sauce easily absorbed into the seafood meat. South African fresh abalones were considered rather wasted, some may very much like the robust sharp white peppercorn heat that lingers around, we also appreciated the fancy garnished dish of high grade salad mix leaves and abalone shells, yet it did not live up to our expectations of enjoying delicacy of superior seafood in which the cooking method should have elevated its peak of freshness.
香港的黃金蝦一般都是用鹹蛋黃做成醬汁，去炒炸蝦。這裡的做法比較特別，直接用鹹蛋黃末加入炸漿，去炸整隻連殼的中蝦。老實說，上桌的那一刻這碟菜很奪目，因為色澤金黃香味撲鼻，感覺炸得很完美，炸漿很薄，可以透視到蝦身。然而吃進嘴裡，鹹蛋黃的鹹鮮不足，可能因為想脆漿薄一點但又無法兼顧味的濃度，所以即使用了“鹹蛋之王”的湖北鹹蛋，鹹鮮味依然很淺。蝦肉不爽口，有點不新鮮的“霉”口感，但十隻蝦當中還是有人吃到較新鮮的。Carly的父親提醒了我們：不新鮮的蝦，蝦腸是比較容易看見的，因為它會跟蝦的肉身脫離。我們沒有留意到這方面的問題，只能說蝦頭味道和蝦身的肉質給我們的感覺是較直觀的不新鮮。但餐廳有專門養海鮮的水池，所以我們也是挺驚訝的。聽說師傅專門研究了很多次這道菜的做法，比如是整隻炸還是去頭炸，比如用普通的醬汁做法還是創新做法等。挑戰傳統雖然勇氣可嘉，但作為名菜，它原本的做法肯定有其傳世之處，黃金醬以汁的方式均勻附著在蝦身上，那種濕潤熱辣而又濃稠又有顆粒感的口感是很複雜的，不是一般的炸漿可以取代。
Imperial’s own twist of such a time-honored, accustomed Cantonese dish, indicated room for improvement though. Golden - salty duck egg, thick, vivid tangy colored golden sauce just hanging onto deep fried crispy prawns. Disappointedly, prawns were not fresh as the head and body were easily separated, a bit mushy on the prawn meat. Instead of a dripping condensed sauce cooked with the prawns, the salty eggs were mixed into a flour mix and then lightly battered. Thin crust of salty egg aroma hits your senses as soon as the dish was served hot onto the table. Imperial stated that they have their own fish tank for seafood, interestingly, the prawns we had did not taste like they were fresh from the water. Noteworthy for the chef to have challenged this classic dish, yet the golden sauce liked the thick moist and complex palate textural experience with bits and pieces of heavenly savory salty eggs well-marinated with the prawns. Sometimes, the best way of doing these, is the old traditional way and there is often a reason why.
這道菜是整個晚餐中兼具創新和好味道的菜式。金銀蒜，顧名思義，即是焗蒜或炸蒜粒(金色)和普通蒜粒(白色)，將其放置在蟶子上，粉絲則是和汁一起放在蟶子下。這種做法非常好，保證粉絲不會變硬，而且充分吸收了海鮮汁和醬油的鮮味，金銀蒜更是增加了香味。蟶子沒有在蒸好的那一刻馬上上桌，所以邊角的地方有些乾硬，非常可惜！當然，中間沒有變乾的部分還是很好吃，蟶子很新鮮，口感爽脆，咬的時候可以透過口腔聽到那種“索索”的聲音。這種做法也很方便食客：拿起蟶子時不怕粉絲太多，糾纏在一起而弄得很凌亂，又不用另外再把醬汁淋在上面——這種蒸法只要拿起蟶子，然後夾一箸吸滿了汁的粉絲連著蟶子一起送進嘴裡，既方便又滿足。
Dish of the night! Innovative and flavorsome piping steamed razor shells with golden silver garlic vermicelli. Fresh-from-the-water razor shells had the optimal bouncy chewy texture, the seasoning of silver (raw chopped) and golden (deep fried chopped) garlic were scrumptious and sensational, enhancing the savory taste to the seafood without additional salt. The essence of seafood was entirely absorbed into thevermicelli that was placed at the bottom of the plate, instead of the regular cooking way of placing the vermicelli on top, separating the seafood and vermicelli did have its own way. Also considered convenient for diners as the vermicelli will not be tangled with the razor shells, and you can solely taste the seafood broth in its simplest form.
兩斤重的老虎斑，大小份量是很符合八個人的。老虎斑很新鮮，肉質結實。但Gobay吃了一塊比較 “柴”的面頰肉，而魚身部分的肉卻很嫩滑。同時蛋白蒸得也不均勻，Lorling和Dvd分別都嘗到了像豆腐花一樣的滑蛋白和像煮雞蛋般的實蛋白——芙蓉蛋白的做法在香港已經開始式微，其中便是因為火候很難控制得好。關於石斑，《食經》中有提及石斑是香港海鮮酒家的“常備海鮮”，因為出海水後的石斑比其他魚類更易養在缸裡，就算 “過世了”它的鮮味也能保持數天。我們不太能理解這道菜的亮點，生猛的老虎斑直接清蒸或是油浸，最簡單傳統的做法其實就已經很好吃了，芙蓉蛋白(清湯加蛋白拿去蒸)有點讓人疑惑它在裡面充當的角色。這讓Gobay想起在太子有一間很小的賣游水海鮮的餐館裡吃的油浸筍殼，沒什麼花巧，但很好吃。
1.2kg of steamed tiger grouper was served sizzling hot to the table. Grouper being sliced in relatively huge blocks of velvety and firm fish meat, bones were removed in flavor of lazy diners (Carly liked this idea as fish bones often turns her off). Everyone was feeling puzzled about the steamed egg white – clear broth and egg white steamed till it turns silky smooth, preserving the runny egg consistency. Gobay’s spoon of egg white was overcooked, even wrinkled a bit. Lorling and DVD’s spoon were cooked just right. Another demonstration of how this dish requires profound techniques in controlling the timing of heat for steamed dishes, uneven cooking surface affects how well the dish is cooked. Gobay stated that steamed groupers are good as it is – steamed with spring onions and bit of soy sauce, having smooth egg white at the bottom is another presentation but you better ensure that it is cooked thoroughly and evenly to make this a decent dish.
草莓醬煮一字排。按Lorling的評價，熱吃的時候酸酸甜甜的醬和肥瘦均勻的一字排很和，味道不錯，肉旁邊連著一些筋脂，增加了口感之餘又不會很油膩。對這道菜的評價我們成兩極意見，一部分人覺得好吃，另一部分人覺得煮熟的草莓做成醬汁，像甜品的味道加在了肉排裡，有點不適應。肉排的味道仔細咀嚼之下有一種奇怪的肉味，不是新鮮的甜肉味。這也算是甜酸排骨的變種創新菜吧。 【Pork Ribs in Strawberry Sweet Sauce】 Nicely balanced fruity sweetness and zesty sourness are explicitly demonstrated on the pack of pork ribs. Another modification of Sweet and Sour Pork from Imperial, considerably successful compared to other rather innovative dishes. The supple tendon and meat clinging near the area of the ribs were soft and some others did not comment quite the same. Nonetheless, the sauce was decent to go with rice as it was thick enough to wrap around the ribs yet the pork itself did give off a subtly strange smell as you take more bites, indicating that the meat might not be freshly processed.
秋冬季節豆苗當造，以清湯烹調最能突顯豆苗的甜脆。但這裡的豆苗口感有點顯老，湯汁放的油有點多，而且偏鹹了一些。整體而言，中規中矩吧。 【Baby Pea Shoots cooked in Broth】 There is this saying in Chinese that we should only eat what is seasonal during that time, proven facts shows that having food during their seasons promotes more nutrients& flavors, and healthier cycle for the nature to recover. Gobay thought that the pea shoots were a bit over-ripe, broth being slightly too oily and salty. I guess you couldn't really expect too much for an ordinary vegetable dish served in clear broth these days.
這是傳統粵菜，只是現在脆皮雞、白切雞和炸子雞當道，越來越少的粵菜餐廳會保留這個菜式了。金華火腿，師傅用蜜餞水浸泡過，以降低鹹度，但也許先用水浸泡然後再用蜜糖才能達到效果。如今蜜餞的甜味被高濃度的鹹阻隔，鹹味沒有如期地被降低。雞肉在這道菜式裡必須連皮，意在保持滑潤的口感。由於在香港本土很難吃到新鮮雞，所以雞味可以說完全沒有，芡汁又打得太多太厚，沒什麼特別可取之處。 【Sliced chicken and Ham with Greens】 Another long-established, yet eventually fading away kind of Cantonese cooking, slices of boneless chicken (skin attached) and Jinhua ham (cured in salt, sundried, repeating steps all over again) alternating in layers, two types of meat in one bite under that clear thickened sauce. Jinhau ham has this condensed pork salty savory aroma to it, being slightly coarse for chewing due to the nature of salt cured. The chef did use candied fruit water to soak the ham, aimed to tone down overall saltiness; unfortunately, the balance of natural sweetness and savory was not exhibited on the ham, still considered too salty. Slices of chicken were soft enough yet lacked the chicken flavor and moist. It is difficult to find freshly slaughtered chickens in Hong Kong to begin with;Gobay recommended that Imperial can replace this dish with another style of cooking for chicken – such as Golden Crispy Chicken or Salt Baked Chicken, which will demonstrate the chef’s culinary skills nonetheless and be more delectable for diners.
大蜆，可以當作大隻花蛤，價錢不貴，而且對肝有益處，因此一向是粵菜的最受歡迎食材之一。這個菜式是經典粵菜之一，冀大蜆的鮮汁流入燉蛋中，所以燉蛋和蜆同樣是這道菜的主角。蜆肉並沒有浸入燉蛋之中，所以蛋裡無甚蜆肉的鮮味——貌合神離的感覺。本來這道燉蛋用作撈白飯應該是一絕，光這麼吃燉蛋的口感有點奇怪，但大蜆還是新鮮的，而且沒有沙，處理得尚算嚴謹。 【Steamed Egg with Fresh Big Clams】 Big Clams were fresh, firm in texture, no sand was found on any of the clams yet the combination to go with a “crème brûlée” style of steamed eggs did throw us off the table a bit. Steamed eggs cooked thoroughly, very creamy almost too thick and creamy. It was like thick egg custard without the egg or milk flavor. Gobay found it strange to modify such an egg custard to a savory version with soy sauce on top, Carly seconded that thought. If only the texture of the steamed eggs were the usual runny, light home-style of cooking, this dish would have made the perfect combo to go with a bowl of piping Jasmine rice. Big clams and steamed egg? Probably not.
侍應介紹說這是用日本珍珠米炒的，但具體是日本哪裡的米他則答不上來。飯粒形態圓潤，粒粒飽滿，入口很有意粉的 “Al dente”的口感，台灣人則會稱其為「Q彈」。炒飯加入了鮑魚粒，蝦粒，菜粒，牛肉粒，增加了炒飯的香味和咀嚼感，非常不錯。這個米飯的口感其實很接近完美的意大利risotto，耐人尋味。 【Imperial Signature Fried Rice】 Rice imported from Japan was nicely wok-fried – making this another highlight of the private dining night. Diced scallops, beef, shrimp, abalone and choi sum stems were added to the fried rice to enhance the textural complexity. Interestingly, it is uncommon to use Japanese rice for wok frying as they are short grain and turns relatively moist and sticky – not the most ideal type of rice for fried rice. Mastery fried rice skills of the chef has been prominently revealed – minimum oil left on the plate, soy sauce wrapped evenly on every grain of rice, flavor being just right with the amount of soy sauce and combinations of ingredients for texture-wise. Gobay described the rice resembling risotto cooked just right to its perfect state, bouncy rice – flavorsome and moist, round, chewy to be exact. By the time everyone buried their heads into that bowl of rice, Carly realized that this might have been one of the few dishes worth acclaiming for the first ever private kitchen dining experience.
All in all, HKD400 per person, a large variety of seafood were offered at the table– abalone, razor shells, calms, and shrimp. Chicken, ham, soup, rice and last but not least, a glamorous, colorful, well-decorated fruit platter to end off the meal. You might have a lot of choices around in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, point taken that Imperial offers high level of self-customization for menu selection, free corkage fee and a bowl of fried rice in delicacy. We appreciated the creativity and originality of the chef aiming high, yet it is often equally crucial to mastery the foundations of classic Cantonese culinary dishes, then you can take your exploration from there and excel. Gobay話你知：雜談中國的火腿 之前談到西班牙的國寶級黑毛豬火腿，今次就談談我們自己的火腿。香港人最熟悉的當屬浙江金華的火腿(南火腿)，與其齊名的還有雲南的宣威(雲腿)和江蘇的如皋(北腿)。而在2012年紀錄片《舌尖上的中國》推出後，世人又再得知諾鄧火腿(雲腿之一)。粵菜中有一道「火瞳燉鮑翅」，火朣指的是金華火腿中把「上方」和「中方」(大腿處最結實多肉的部分)，切了之後，小腿之前有連骨連肉的幾片，就是火朣。中環上海總會有很地道的「火瞳燉雞」，但要提前預訂。江浙菜也有「蜜汁火方」的傳統名菜，直接烹煮金華火腿而不是拿來燉湯。世人形容金華火腿「肌紅脂白，香氣濃郁」，是中國最出名的火腿。諾鄧火腿之所以出名，因為諾鄧的鹽仍是山裡人手工製的，再加上那裡的氣候可以培養一種霉菌，促進火腿的鮮香。 Gobay’s food knowledge corner: Chinese Ham Previously we introduced Spanish’s celebrated IbéricoHam, now let’s talk about ham from our own motherland – China. Hong Kongers have long heard the name of Zhejiang Jinhau ham from the West, followed by Xuanwei Ham from Yunnan in Southwest, and Jinhau ham from the North of Jiangsu. Since the documentary back in 2012 《A Bite of China》, people started to knew about the name of Nuodeng ham (one kind of Xuanwei Ham). There is this classic Cantonese dish – Jinhau ham double steamed with Abalone and Shark Fin, the way of gradual simmering braising the meat essence into the seafood. Fiery ham （火朣）refers to the upper and middle part of the thigh – most firm and meaty portion - slices of ham cut from the meat connected near the bones. Shanghai Fraternity Association in Central of Hong Kong offers really authentic dish of “Braised shark fin with Jinhau ham”, pre-order is required. Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine takes Jinhai ham and directly cook it as a main dish rather than having it braised and cooked as a substance in soup. “Fiery red, snowy white; celestial aroma , burst of rich delicacy.” Nuodeng ham is still hand-rubbed in salt, produced in upper mountains where weather is perfect for curing meat, enhancing the heavenly savory taste of Jinhau ham. 題外話/補充資料： *BYOB免收開瓶費 BYOB no extra bottle opening fee*素食者可自訂餐單 Vegetarians can make special request for menu
評分: 味道 3 環境 1 服務 2 衛生 3 抵食 2
2015-02-02
5/10 plates emptied! [Written by Gobay in Chinese, Carly in English]
| Crispy fries with rich sumptuous truffle sauce |HKD68 I cannot stress enough of how much I love truffle for life, my favourite truffle fries still goes to Café Habitu if you all may get surprised or the ones at Bricklane are amazing enough. Espuma’s recommended truffle fries was a letdown, to be exact, the fries were thin cuts making them impossible to be heavenly mushy on the inside. Minced pork and portabello mushrooms were sprinkled on top, combining with the truffle sauce – it tasted like Chinese dim sum taro springrolls. It was a surprise, not in an appealing way. 對松露和土豆有著幾乎瘋狂熱愛的Carly來說，這道薯條絕對是必試的，這樣就能在將來的某一天找出全香港最美味的黑松露醬薯條，每次Gobay感受到那種熱愛都會想起BBC的一輯講河豚的紀錄片: 《Fugu: A taste to die for (河豚：一種可為之獻身的味道)》，也許之後吉碟幫會為此出一篇專題！目前Carly至愛的黑松露醬薯條依然是Café Habitu的出品，即使某些食客覺得Bricklane的更為驚艷。Espuma則令人失望，厚薯條外層不是特別脆身之餘，內裡薯仔粉嫩的薯泥口感更加欠奉。意外的是這裡加了豬肉碎和冬菇絲，入口的味道極似中式茶樓的芋絲春捲，或是鹹水角的餡料，讓我們有點哭笑不得。
|Classic tortilla with a twist adding Ibérico ham & spinach| HKD68 Tortilla – being one of the most traditional Spanish tapas dishes. Espuma nailed it with its own modification. Rather than traditional way of potato slices and egg alternating, creating that layered textural experience. Onions and potatoes were shredded in the egg-based tortilla, instead of ham/chorizo cubes, slices of Ibérico ham gave a decent savory kick, chopped spinach and cilantro to tone down the saltiness. The tortilla seemed a bit dry on the edges but it was surprisingly still a bit runny on the inside, it was unexpected yet did come out quite flavorful with that bit of spicy herb powder sprinkled on top.
|Thin pizza dough with spicy chorizo, Iberian Ham, mozzarella & tomato sauce| HKD98 Thin pizza dough but not crunchy, nor crispy at all, was in fact quite doughy. Pickled artichokes were added but it tasted rather like sour preserved bamboo. More chorizo should have been added to give that right spicy kick, now it does seem to be rather mediocre like a regular ham and cheese pizza you get from Pizza Hut.
|Paella with chorizo, prawn, mussels & squid tossed with fresh parsley served with lemon wedges|HKD398 Generous portions of seafood were cooked with the paella, I would have much preferred a traditional seasoning of saffron and paprika. Espuma’s paella lacked the authentic flavorsome herbs and spices like saffron or red pepper powder so the overall risotto tasted quite bland. Squids, prawns, mussels were average as not much seasoning was added to the seafood either. Not impressed especially when it comes to the risotto’s texture, so overcooked. Did the cook lost its sense of time? And why is there salami in my paella? Huh? 由於是兩人份的緣故，海鮮分量不少：4只大蝦和8只青口，飯裡摻雜著不少魷魚塊。額外的兩片辣肉腸讓我們覺得很迷惑：它們是迷路了被扔進飯裡的嗎？——顯得格格不入。青口挺新鮮的，但是有一些有沙；蝦則中規中矩。至於整個菜的主角，飯，則在上桌時就被Gobay看到米粒都被煮得“爆開花”了——太爛熟了，沒有任何質感。西班牙海鮮飯的飯其實很像意大利飯(Risotto)，要吃起來有俗稱“煙韌”的感覺，有些人會形容為“夾生飯”，但其實夾生的是做得不好的，意大利米煮得剛剛熟是不會在米心夾生的。Gobay在馬德里，和南意的Sorrento吃過正宗的Paella和Risotto之後就一直沒有在香港找到可以媲美當地的煮飯火候。其實想想也對，正如我們在香港吃日本米，永遠比不上到日本當地吃。再者，這道沒有任何花俏的西班牙海鮮飯，缺少了可以使米粒金黃色的番紅花 (Saffron)還有撒在飯面上的紅椒粉，這使本來已經口感缺缺的海鮮飯更增 “傷感”。
| Sautéed portobello & mushroom in cream truffle sauce| HKD98 This is considered a Hong Kong style of pasta, the fettuccini was cooked till it turned soft, not the best al dente form it should have been. I agree with Gobay’s comment claiming, “Truffle aroma was strong when it was served to the table, but the truffle flavor was rather subtle far from the heavenly good smell, it tasted so bland.” 松露的香氣很突出，但吃在嘴裡卻非常微弱，幾近沒有，這讓我們很吃驚。闊條面的口感還是可以的，是普羅大眾都會覺得挺習慣的口感，有點嚼勁但不會太韌。忌廉醬太稀少，以致表面上的闊條面吃起來太乾身。
|Freshly baked Earl Grey Crème Brulée| HKD58 Figured that earl grey goes so well with generally sweeter desserts as the natural tea aroma complements well with caramel, cream or even coffee flavor kind of desserts. Espuma’s Crème Brulée was ultra-smooth, milky creamy in texture, earl grey tea leaves were added to both the pudding and caramel crisp. Espuma did a well job in hitting a note for its presentation and flavor as a caramel crisp was nicely placed as an art decor on top of the Crème Brulée. 這個甜品絕對是驚喜——伯爵茶香在整個蛋布丁當中很突出，但很和諧，它的甘中和了甜味，平衡得非常好，就算吃完整個都不會覺得膩。而且口感柔滑，配上能清晰看到片片紅茶葉的淡焦糖薄脆，味道與賣相實在不錯。
| Homemade Churros with dipping chocolate sauce|HKD48 Relatively thin and small size of churros. Not crunchy on the outside nor slightly chewy on the inside, menu indicated that there should be a dipping sauce on the side but chocolate sauce was dripped all over the churros instead. Lack of cinnamon powder; hence, this lacked flavors and sweetness for a traditional Spanish dessert. Espuma’s churros did not meet my average expectations and half of it was left on the table at the end. 這裡的churros比較細長，短小，本來以為這樣可以增加脆韌的口感，可惜完全沒有。餐牌上寫的是點著朱古力醬吃可是上桌時，醬已經直接滴在了churros上…並沒有絲毫的肉桂的香味，所以最後有一半都 “留在碟上”。
Spinach & Chicken Soup with Toast忌廉菠菜雞湯 Flour was stuck on my spoon after the first sip, hmmm, I was expecting something more authentic Spanish when it comes to a regular lunch set appetizer like cold served tomato herb soup. This was nearly like local cha chaan teng（茶餐廳）style and quality. 湯太過稀了，沒有忌廉湯稍微濃稠的質感，即使顏色看起來很暖綠，但味道確實只有普通茶餐廳的水平，而且湯上桌的時候並不是很熱。
Prawns were big enough yet a bit too burnt on the sides, slightly overcooked. Linguine was not al dente as it was boiled in the water for too long and turned relatively soft. It was rather mild-flavoring even though the dish is supposed to be both “sautéed” and “chili garlic”, technique-wise for a stir fry dish, it lacked the “breath of fire”. I saw the chili in the pasta but barely tasted any spice or heat in the linguine. 大蝦的新鮮度還是可以的，但稍稍煮得過老。意粉本身也是，太軟身，時間控制得不好，炒得也不夠火候，“香辣”二字在意粉裡也沒有任何的體現。
Risotto was too overcooked till it turned mush and lacked structure on the palate. Sole fillet was pan fried till it turned golden brown, luckily, not too overcooked and the white fish meat was firm and silky. The tomato-based sauce (which is a hollandaise sauce?) was very flavorful as onions, parsley, herbs were well-seasoned and mixed to add a bit flavor to the relatively mushy and bland risotto. 飯和上述的海鮮米飯是一樣的質感——沒有質感，這裡就不贅述了。反而龍脷魚柳則口感實在，咬的時候能感受到 “一疏疏的肉”——這是在吃魚或蟹的時候能明晰感覺到的肉的層次，一條條疊在一起，厚實。雖然找遍整個碟子都找不到荷蘭汁的踪影，但番茄汁的香草野味確實帶來點驚喜，似乎加了海鮮湯頭一起熬製，味道濃郁。這個配著意粉吃一流。
Mousse was too sweet with that artificial lychee fruitiness and the mousse cake was not creamy enough either. I would have preferred a scoop of ice-cream then some overly sugary cake to finish my lunch set. 慕斯蛋糕太甜之餘不夠絲滑而且荔枝的味道明顯是人工甜味而不是新鮮的水果味——是哦，冬天哪裡來的新鮮荔枝呢？
This coffee did give us a thrilling surprise! Even though it does not quite meet the expectations of Gobay when it comes to an original “macchiato”, I couldn't help myself but to finish the whole large cup of macchiato which was presented in a rather tall beer-like type of cup. Heavy, milky and slightly icy cream foam sat on top of the sweet, thick espresso-based coffee served in huge ice cubes. I have a strong liking for sweet-savory food and this Espuma coffee made in the house did satisfy my craving for that. 這杯咖啡非常地 “不傳統”, 但味道很讓人驚喜！上面的cream加了鹽，半軟雪糕狀半泡沫狀的口感，鹹味帶出了更多的甜，而且起到了解膩的作用，感覺有點像珍珠奶蓋紅茶上的鹹奶蓋。Carly非常喜歡這款咖啡，最後默默地——把整杯解決了！
大部分食客對Ibérico Ham的印象就是 “西班牙國寶”、“黑毛豬”、“榛子香”、“貴”、 “入口即融但不肥膩”這幾個印象。其實，並非所有的Ibérico Ham都是這樣。首先，西班牙火腿先分為Ibérico Ham (黑毛豬)和Serrano Ham (白豬，類似普通家豬，所以價格便宜很多)。其次，Ibérico Ham從高到低依次有三個等級：Bellota, Recebo, Cebo ——有點像魚子醬的分級。Bellota才是符合上述所有高貴印象的Ibérico Ham，因為所用的豬是終生只食用橡子，在Dehesa牧區放養。說起橡子，看過《冰河世紀》動畫電影的朋友肯定都記得那個一直追著一顆 “松果”的那隻松鼠Scrat，其實那是一個橡子，也就是橡樹的果實。它的營養成分類似橄欖，而且純吃橡子長大的黑毛豬在晝夜溫差極大的地區進行高溫風乾，油脂在白天就會融化流走；肉身在晚上低溫下會收縮變得結實。在《十二道鋒味》的節目中，第5集就有講到這種火腿，並稱之為 “行走的橄欖”，因為它能幫助降膽固醇，蛋白質含量高的同時脂肪含量很少，是很健康的肉類。 中文 “火腿”的含義就是指肉色紅如火，在Jamón Ibérico de Bellota身上得到完美體現：在持有切火腿證書的技師手中接過切得如紙般薄的火腿，你可以清楚地看到紅如火的肉和白如雪的脂肪。吃這種頂級的火腿，最好用手，而且什麼蜜瓜之類的配料都不要，直接放進嘴裡。口感非常地軟，而且不油膩，但有能締造出一種近似入口即化的感覺，鹹香的程度很高 (不會過鹹)。Recebo級是指黑毛豬在宰殺前有少於9個月的時間是吃橡子，而Cebo級則指黑毛豬完全沒得吃橡子而是吃飼料或牧草長大的。買的話挑36個月的熟成時間就足夠了，不需要到48個月都已經很甜美。其實國內也有非常一流的火腿，但很少生吃，以後有機會吃 “火瞳”時再給大家介紹金華，宣威和諾鄧。
Ibérico Ham - treasure of Spain, hazelnut aroma, expensive, goodness that melts in your mouth yet not oily at all, the general impression to this ham. However, the heavenly delight does not apply to all Ibérico Ham out there. Spanish ham consists of Ibérico Ham and Serrano Ham (home farm, relatively cheaper in price). 3 tiers of Ibérico Ham from high to low: Bellota, Recebo, Cebo, similar to a caviar top-down classification. Bellota matches with the noble image of Ibérico Ham from the renowned Large Black pigs, they are only fed with acorns, rich in nutrients, large amounts of protein, carbs and fat, very similar to olives. Large Black pigs who only eat acorns for life are placed in highlands, packed in sea salt, dry in cool winter air as the fat melts away under sunlight. Being regarded as the "walking olive", it helps to reduce cholesterol, high in protein yet low in fat, your healthy choice of meat. Ham in Chinese "legs in the color of flame", Jamón Ibérico de Bellota is the perfect illustration of finest ham. Professional slicers, cut them into paper-thin slices, fiery red meat contrasting against white fat on the edges. Best to enjoy superior ham with hands, melons aren't needed at all, just let it melt away on your palate. Never oily, bursting with aromatic savory pork taste without being salty. Recebo class of Ibérico pigs eat acorns for less than 9 months before they are slaughtered, Cebo class is farm-fed or eat on grass. 36 months of Jamón Ibérico are decent enough, 48 months would come in mild natural sweetness as well. If we ever get a chance to introduce some of the ham that the Gang can purchase in China, we will introduce some of the noteworthy brands. Stay tuned!
推介美食: Mr. Grey Likes Crème Brulée 伯爵茶焦糖燉蛋,Jamón and Spinach Tortilla 西班牙火腿菠菜奄列,Espuma Coffee Macchiato凍咖啡瑪奇朵
評分: 味道 2 環境 4 服務 1 衛生 3 抵食 1
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