I go to Rome and I know that there will be prosciutto in my days, bucatini in my nights. I go to Lisbon with an uncontestable agenda of the shellfish and the sausage that the Portuguese cook so enviably.
我去罗马的时候，知道自己应该白天吃意大利熏火腿，晚上吃意大利细条面。我去里斯本的时候，确定无疑地将葡萄牙喷香诱人的贻贝和香肠纳入旅行计划。I go to Hong Kong with no foregone conclusions, just a blank menu to be filled any number of ways. That’s what I love about it.
但我去香港的时候却什么美食计划也没做，因为我知道有太多的东西可以填充我空白的菜单，这也是我喜欢香港的原因。
Technically, Hong Kong’s cuisine is Cantonese, and you should fit some dim sum into your dining. But what really distinguishes this electrifying city is its almost unrivaled culinary internationalism. It’s not just a global crossroads for business. It’s a global crossroads for food, one of a handful of commercial capitals, like New York and London, that have no particular concentration of ambitious, accomplished restaurants in any one genre. The most appealing and important places cut across all traditions.
理论上讲，香港美食属于粤菜，所以游客总会品尝些点心。但让这个活力之城与众不同的是它无与伦比的美食国际化。香港不只是个国际贸易的集散地，更是全球美食的融合之所。像纽约、伦敦等少数几个商业大都市一样，各种风格的美食都有，但又没有任何一种凌驾于其他流派之上。那些最吸引人、最重要的餐馆，都是超越传统的。
That’s the case in Hong Kong partly because it’s a setting where many of the best-known chefs from other countries establish outposts, someTimes even exporting versions of the enterprises that made them famous. Sushi superstars from Tokyo have planted flags here. As in Manhattan, there’s a Motorino for Neapolitan pizza lovers and a Carbone for fans of Italian-American cooking. As in Paris, there’s a L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.
香港的美食现状正是如此，部分原因是许多国家的知名大厨都选择到香港开业，有些大厨的事业甚至是从香港起家的。来自东京的著名寿司品牌，纷纷在香港安营扎寨。就仿佛在曼哈顿，既有供应正宗那不勒斯披萨的Motorino披萨店，也有定位美式意大利菜的Carbone饭店。或者像巴黎的L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon米其林餐厅。During a visit I made to Hong Kong in 2013, two of the new spots drawing the most chatter were a Mexican restaurant, Brickhouse, and a Japanese yakitori, Yardbird.
我2013年造访香港的时候， 名气最大的新晋饭店有两家，一家是墨西哥饭店“砖房”(Brickhouse)，另一家是日式烤肉店“新兵”(Yardbird)。When I returned recently and took a fresh inventory of newcomers that had generated significant enthusiasm, the list included many restaurants with Mediterranean moorings — Spanish, French, Italian or an amalgam of those. One restaurant advertised a melding of Italian and Japanese. A spot specializing in upscale American hamburgers was a big hit, as was one specializing in Japanese curry.
趁着这次再访香港，我对当地美食界的新秀又做了一次盘点。这些在吃货中引发巨大热情的饭店，很多都供应地中海饮食——包括西班牙菜、法国菜、意大利菜或融合多种风味。有一家饭店的广告声称自己既有意大利菜，又有日本菜。一家专注于高端美式汉堡的饭店非常火爆，同样火爆的另一家餐馆专做日本咖喱饭。And that’s not counting the five standouts described in more detail below. Suffice it to say that in this one polyglot city across one hungry week, I ate the whole wide world.
但本文详细描述的几家优秀餐馆，却不在上述行列。一言以蔽之，在这个包罗万象的城市停留一星期，我尝遍了整个世界。Nur
NurThe main dining room opens to a terrace several stories above the streets of central Hong Kong, and on the night when I dined here, a gentle breeze blew in.
位于香港中环，主要就餐区正好对着一个高出地面好几层的露台。我去吃饭的那晚，有习习凉风吹过。But that wasn’t all that the terrace provided. Time and again, regarding dish after dish, our server noted that some leaf, shoot or blossom had come from the greenery out there, mere strides away. Forget farm-to-table, this was patio-to-table — and a vivid illustration of Nur’s stated commitment to local products.
但这不是露台能提供的所有好处。一次又一次，在上菜间隙，给我们上菜的服务员提到，不断有来自周边环境的树叶、竹叶或花朵从我们身边飞过。忘掉“从农场到餐桌”的口号吧，Nur是“从露台到餐桌”的，这同时也是饭店坚持使用本地食材的生动体现。I had sat down to my dinner here with some doubts. The restaurant’s name recognizes the first syllable of the chef’s (Nurdin Topham) as well as the Arabic word for “light.” Its website lays out both Mr. Topham’s belief in a restrained, healthful discipline he calls “nourishing gastronomy” and his past involvement in “a somewhat unorthodox project — the deliciousness of insects.” I braced for preciousness and strange critters. I needn’t have.
我刚开始吃饭的时候，心里还有些犹疑。饭店的名字Nur是首席大厨诺丁·托普汉姆(Nurdin Topham)名字的第一个音节，它在阿拉伯语中的意思是“光芒”。饭店网站不仅强调了托普汉姆先生对节制型健康饮食的信念 “滋养型美味”，还讲到他以前参与的一个“非传统项目——作为食物的昆虫之美”。所以我刚到的时候，猜测这里的饭菜大约是剑走偏锋那种，充满奇特物种。但品尝之后发现自己多虑了。There are traces of molecular gastronomy in some of Mr. Topham’s artfully composed dishes, which reduce certain ingredients to concentrated pastes or broths of intense flavor. And there’s a vigorous nod to the Copenhagen culinary temple Noma, where Mr. Topham briefly worked, and to its locavore ethos. For that reason, Nur has sometimes been called a New Nordic restaurant.
在托普汉姆先生精心烹制的食物中，有些颇能体现“分子美食”的追求，风味浓郁的面团和肉汤集中了多种配料的精华。此外，饭菜不仅明显体现出对哥本哈根美食圣殿诺玛(Noma)的致敬（托普汉姆曾在这家饭店工作过一段时间），更明确表达对本地饮食风格的重视。所以，Nur有时会被归入“新北欧”风格饭馆。But it’s more original than that. With a scrupulous emphasis on the best vegetables, fish and meat available and with absolutely flawless cooking, at least when I visited, Mr. Topham produces food that’s sensationally robust without being the least bit rich. It’s almost oxymoronic, packing a light wallop, with a clearness and purity of effect that I’ve seldom encountered. And it’s bug-free! If this is nourishing gastronomy, put me down for ceaseless gastronomic nourishment.
但这家饭店的创意远超过人们的归类。它全面表现了自己对优质果蔬、鱼类和肉类以及烹调技术无微不至的强调——至少在我去的那天如此。托普汉姆先生为我烹制的食物精致可口，滋味微妙，新鲜至极。说起来自相矛盾，但这里奉上的食物既微妙又极具冲击力，纯净程度平生罕见。而且没有虫子！如果这就是滋养型美食，就给让我永远沉浸在这无穷无尽的滋养中吧。Nur doesn’t give you any choices. It serves just one tasting menu of nine courses including dessert, and they came in rapid enough succession and sensible enough measure that I never felt impatient or overwhelmed (though, by the end, I felt amply filled).
Nur饭店不许食客点菜，只提供包括九道菜的品味套餐。上菜的速度很快，上菜的顺序和方式也很合理，整个过程我从未感觉不耐烦或压力（当然最后，我发现自己吃得过饱）。There were orbs of heirloom tomato with a texture almost like sorbet and a pool of tomato water around them. A subsequent dish combined salmon eggs with walnuts and horseradish yogurt. Squid, paired with charred onions and lemon basil, was exquisitely supple and sweet, and dessert was a fitting, fetching cap to a meal with such a vegetal, herbaceous bent: ice cream that tasted like French onion soup.
菜品包括：几只传统方法烹制的质感仿佛冰沙的西红柿，周围是一汪西红柿汁；接下来是一道融合了鲑鱼卵、胡桃和山葵酸奶的小菜；鱿鱼搭配微火碳烤的洋葱和柠檬罗勒，尝起来滋味柔甜，微妙无比；餐后甜点是尝起来像法式洋葱汤的冰淇淋，回味丰厚，对以果蔬为主的清爽美食进行了适当而及时的补充。Although that terrace accommodates a few diners, I sat at a spacious and relatively quiet table just inside, within view of an open kitchen more fully and pleasantly integrated into the dining room than such stages often are. And I had a glass of white Burgundy, followed by a glass of Barolo, from a wine list that covered many of Europe’s highlights.
尽管露台上能容纳好几桌食客，但我的餐桌位于室内，一个宽敞而相对安静的所在，可以看到完整且与就餐区和谐融合的开放式厨房。至于酒水，我先喝了一杯意大利巴罗洛干红，然后是一杯勃艮第白葡萄酒。酒水单上的选项，大都是来自欧洲的好酒。Nur, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Third Floor, Central; . Dinner for two, without drinks or tip, comes to about 2,375 Hong Kong dollars, or $315, at 7.50 Hong Kong dollars to the U.S. dollar.
Nur，地址1 Lyndhurst Terrace，三楼正中间； 。两人份晚餐约2375港币，不含酒水和小费，根据美元对港币7.50的汇率约315美元。Souvla
SouvlaThe white granite tables are rimmed in bright red. The booths and benches are upholstered in deep purple. There’s a long, long bar that rests atop a long, long rectangle of pale stones held together by a mesh cage. As visually arresting as all of this is, I’m not sure what it has to do with Greece, which is the country whose cooking Souvla pays tribute to.
白色花岗岩餐桌镶着红边，包间和座椅都包有深紫色的软垫。长长的吧台设在一块形状狭长、用网笼箍好的灰色石板上。这家饭店的第一印象很是吸引眼球，但我不知道它与希腊有什么关系，而店名Souvla（字面意思为“希腊烤肉”）显然表达了对希腊烹饪的致敬。But the menu would be instantly recognizable to any Athenian. The food would pass muster as well. Greeks like to think that they have some special secret for octopus that’s tenderer than anywhere else, but they’d be hard-pressed to outdo the kitchen here, which sculpted and arranged the thin columns of pale pink flesh into a sort of pyramid. It was octopus Legos.
但只要看到菜单，任何雅典人都会承认这家饭店的正宗。端上来的菜也非常符合要求。希腊人总认为自己有某种秘密手段，能将章鱼肉烹得比其他地区更为柔嫩，但他们如果看到这家饭店就会备感压力，因为这里的厨师能将章鱼幼细浑圆的浅粉色腕足精心雕塑，再排成金字塔的性状——简直就是章鱼肉拼成的乐高玩具。I’m an ardent lover of taramosalata, that Greek (and Turkish) spread of smoked fish roe and olive oil, and Souvla’s achieved the perfect pitch of saltiness, along with an ethereal creaminess. It spread like a cloud across triangles of toasted pita that were glossed with oil and still warm.
我非常喜欢希腊（以及土耳其）红鱼籽沙拉，一种由烟熏鱼籽拌上橄榄油而成的菜品。Souvla的红鱼籽沙拉不仅做到了完美的咸度，还有一丝若有若无的奶油味。将这种鱼籽抹在微温且略带油香的三角形皮塔饼上，仿佛一层轻柔的云朵。Those two dishes came toward the start of our meal, and I figured that they’d be the high points. But there were taller peaks ahead. One was gemista, a hearty, earthy casserole of potatoes, tomato sauce and peppers stuffed with rice. The other was the slow-cooked lamb, ribbons of meltingly soft leg meat placed next to a glittering relish of pomegranate and a tiny glass bottle filled with a tangy yogurt dressing.
以上是我们那一餐的两道头盘，我以为它们就是当天的亮点。但后面其实有更大的惊喜。土豆青椒炖香米(gemista)是一种分量十足的砂锅类炖菜，主料是土豆、番茄酱和塞满米饭的青椒。另一道菜是小火慢炖的羊肉，一条条羊腿肉被烹得软糯无骨，搭配的小菜由亮晶晶的石榴籽做成，蘸料则是盛在小玻璃杯里的浓香酸奶。As I looked at the artful presentation of the lamb and thought back to the octopus, the décor suddenly made sense. It was an announcement that Souvla would respect Greece but reinterpret it with fillips all its own. So while Souvla covers the hoary classics — spanakopita, moussaka — it gives some of them a face-lift, and it tacks on a long list of elaborate specialty cocktails, the focal point of a lively bar scene.
看着眼前充满艺术气息的羊肉摆盘，刚才章鱼肉的摆放方式忽然有了意义。这是Souvla饭店的自我宣言——它尊重希腊本土烹饪，但也用多种有趣的创造对传统进行重新解释。所以，Souvla烹制菠菜派(spanakopita)和穆萨卡(moussaka)等经典菜品的同时，也对它们进行了升级换代。此外，精心调配的多种鸡尾酒也让这家饭店别具特色，营造出一种轻松愉快的酒吧氛围。Souvla, 1/F Ho Lee Commercial Building, 40 D’Aguilar Street, Central; conceptcreations. Dinner for two, without drinks or tip, averages 1,150 dollars.
Souvla，地址：1/F Ho Lee Commercial Building, 40 D’Aguilar Street, Central；。两人份晚餐，均价1150港币，不含酒水和小费。Chachawan
ChachawanWhile Souvla and Nur are tucked away, almost invisibly, in tall buildings, Chachawan opens wide to the street, with the sidewalk almost acting as its vestibule. This befits its air of scruffy, ragtag informality and a menu that’s inspired in part by street food from Thailand, or, to be more specific, the northeastern Thai province of Isan. That’s how narrowly focused this restaurant is, and that’s how ethnically ambitious Hong Kong can get.
Souvla和Nur藏匿在高楼大厦之间，从远处几乎看不到，Chachawan就在街面上，人行道如同它的门廊一般。这也颇符合它凌乱无章、不拘礼节的底层特质。它的菜单部分来自泰国的路边摊，或者更准确地说，来自泰国东北的伊森省。这家餐厅的专营范围就有这么窄，或者说香港美食在民族层面就有这样丰富。With the cooking of Isan you get ample spice. You get serious fire. One dish almost brought me to my knees. It looked so innocent, so pretty, a salad with a bright, approachable medley of colors and textures, courtesy of green papaya, cherry tomatoes, dried shrimp, peanuts. But there were a few small chiles lurking in there, and they soon enough registered their presence in my throat and in my gut, which was suddenly a caldron. It seethed and bubbled for hours to come.
伊森的烹饪需要加入大量香料。这定能给你带来兴奋刺激。其中一道菜令我深深折服。它看上去只是一道漂亮无害的沙拉，各种明亮的色彩与亲切的质地混合在一起，似乎是青木瓜、樱桃番茄、虾仁和花生的混合。但是里面还潜伏着少许辣椒，很快就开始在我的喉咙与肺腑之内彰显它们的存在，我觉得自己简直变成了一个大汽锅，其后几个小时都在一直沸腾冒泡。Chachawan was worth the burn. Not every dish carried that risk, but nearly every dish had the interplay of contrasting effects that are at the heart of Southeast Asian cooking. In the “Larp Moo,” a loose, wet mix of chopped pork, pork skin, shallots and mint needed something dry and firm, so it got that, from leaves of crisp, cool iceberg to be used as wraps.
Chachawan完全值得你为之沸腾。每一道菜都有这样的危险，而且每一道菜中都有鲜明的反差效果，这是东南亚烹饪的精髓。“Larp Moo”是把猪肉馅、猪皮、小葱和薄荷混合在一起，松软多汁，需要配合干硬的东西一起吃，因此外面包着又冷又脆，如同冰山的叶子。Sweet and sour, sugar and spice, cold and hot: These were the currents that ran through most of the dishes, including a garlicky, boneless chicken thigh on a stick: a supersized satay. Sweet and salty were the playmates in an excellent dessert of coconut rice dumplings in a salted coconut cream.
绝大多数菜肴里贯穿着甜与酸、糖与香料、冷与热的口感，比如用大蒜调味的无骨鸡腿，用签子串着——这是一份特大号的沙茶烤肉。椰米饺子是一道美味的甜点，要蘸着咸味的椰酱食用，甜与咸仿佛成为一对玩伴。Chachawan is routinely thronged, but it’s not for everyone. Situated in the increasingly trendy neighborhood of Sheung Wan, it doesn’t take reservations. Some of its servers are better at striking hipster poses than seeing to your needs. The seating is on the awkward side of snug.
Chachawan通常都很拥挤，而且不是所有人都能来想用。它坐落在日益时尚的上环，不接受定位。有些侍者与其说照顾客人，不如说更擅长摆出时髦姿态。座椅也不舒服。But there’s no arguing with the food that the chef, Adam Cliff, produces. And if the self-consciously scruffy setting isn’t exactly relaxing, you can use Chachawan’s vivid, creative cocktails and its smart international selection of beers to unwind.
但是大厨亚当·克利夫(Adam Cliff)烹制的食物无可挑剔。如果你在这种刻意的凌乱环境中感到不自在，那么享用一杯Chachawan新颖可口的鸡尾酒，或者来自世界各地的精的啤酒，你就会放松下来。Chachawan, 206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan; . Dinner for two, without drinks or tips, averages 675 dollars.
Chavchawan，206 Hollywood Road，上环，，两人份晚餐，均价675港元，不含酒水和小费。Aberdeen Street Social
Aberdeen Street SocialThis restaurant is as polished and refined as Chachawan is hectic. It spreads out over two stories that include a downstairs bar, outdoor terraces and an upstairs dining room that’s dominated by dark woods and brings to mind the inside of a chest of drawers. The servers are numerous, proper and hovering.
如果说Chachawan是忙乱的，这家店则是风雅而又精致。它占了两层楼，楼下是酒吧，还有个露天平台，楼上的用餐区以深色木质装潢为主，令人感觉置身五斗橱中。侍者人数众多，举止得体，在四处走来走去。And the prices reflect this. Especially if you order wine from Aberdeen’s widely ranging list, the bill can climb high.
这些特点也体现在价格上。这里的菜单虽然价格多样，但如果你点了红酒，可能就得付天价账单了。The restaurant is affiliated with the English chef Jason Atherton, a Gordon Ramsay protégé with a rapidly growing international roster, including several previous places in Hong Kong. His menu here has been called “modern British,” a culinary phrase that, like “new American,” tends to be elastic. In Aberdeen’s case, it means the existence of British staples and British conventions complemented by Asian, Mediterranean influences. So while the starters I encountered included a pig’s trotter with black pudding for the Anglophile, there was also tuna tataki with ponzu dressing, not to mention a tomato salad with Italian burrata cheese.
这家餐厅与英国大厨杰森·阿瑟顿(Jason Atherton)关系密切，他是戈登·拉姆齐(Gordon Ramsay)的学徒，迅速积累起在世界各地工作的经验，其中也包括上面提过的几家香港餐厅。他将自己的菜单称之为“现代英式菜”，这个烹饪术语和“新美国菜”一样，非常灵活。在Aberdee这里，他为英国主餐与英国传统菜赋予少许亚洲与地中海气息。比如我吃到的开胃菜中就有英国血肠配猪脚和金枪鱼刺身蘸柚子醋，更不必说番茄沙拉搭配意大利布拉塔奶酪。I was especially impressed with two entrees, a sublime pork chop served with a red pepper relish and slices of lamb rump dusted with a “kidney powder” that teased out the meat’s muskiness. My companions and I savored these at a spacious table next to a glass wall that let just the right amount of light onto our meal.
主菜中我特别喜欢的有两道，搭配红辣椒调料的猪排令人赞叹不已；搭配“肾脏粉末”的切片羊羔后臀肉散发着麝香般的气息。我和同伴在宽敞的桌前用餐，阳光从身边的玻璃幕墙射进来，照在道道佳肴之上。Aberdeen Street Social, JPC G/Floor, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central; aberdeenstreetsocial. Dinner for two, without drinks or tip, averages about 1,450 dollars.
Aberdeen Street Social, JPC G/Floor, 35 Aberdeen Street，中环；. 两人份晚餐，均价约为1450港元，不含酒水和小费。Ho Lee Fook
Ho Lee FookIf the pork at Aberdeen Street Social was sublime, the pork at Ho Lee Fook was nearly life-changing. I mean the strips of pork char siu, which refers to a Cantonese method of cooking the meat over fire and giving it a sweet red glaze. Char siu is a staple of Chinese takeout, but I’ve never had takeout that uses Berkshire pigs from Japan. When that caliber of flesh meets this method of preparation, the results are a fatty, flavorful knockout.
如果说Aberdeen Street Social的猪肉令人赞叹，那么Ho Lee Fook的猪肉简直能够改变人生。我指的是这里的叉烧猪肉，这是一种粤式烹饪方法，把猪肉放在火上炙烤，为它赋予甜美的红色光泽。叉烧本是中国外卖餐馆中的主菜，但外卖不会提供用日本的德克夏猪制作的叉烧。在这里，用这种高质猪肉制成的叉烧肥美可口，令人着迷。Then again, most everything I had at Ho Lee Fook wowed me. The restaurant fuses Cantonese with other Asian traditions as well as any flourishes that the chef, Jowett Yu, deems appropriate. It’s thrillingly unbound, never letting precedent get in the way of deliciousness.
Ho Lee Fook把粤菜和亚洲传统菜融为一炉，几乎所有菜都让我赞叹。此外还有不少大厨乔伊特·于(Jowett Yu)拿手的小菜。它们无拘无束，不拘一格而又美味之极。My favorite dish, even better than the pork, comprised slices of wagyu short rib that were arranged on one side of the bone, a green shallot kimchi on the other side and a jalapeño purée through which either or both could be swept. The way the heat of that purée cut the richness of the beef was exhilarating.
我最喜欢的还要算是神户小牛排，甚至超过了猪肉：餐盘一边放着肉骨，一边放着青葱泡菜和一支墨西哥青椒，你可以两边分别吃，也可以一起吃，青椒的辣味绝好地反衬出牛肉的肥腴。The menu sprawls across a half-dozen categories, including “raw,” “roast meat” and “vegetables.” There are fried chicken wings as well as hot-and-sour steak tartare, cabbage-and-pork dumplings as well as clams cooked in a Thai basil and tamarind broth. My companion and I ate twice as much as any two people should, longed to eat more and seriously thought about coming back the next night to do precisely that.
菜单分为六大类，包括“生食”、“烤肉”和“蔬菜”等。你可以品尝到炸鸡翅、酸辣鞑靼牛肉末、猪肉白菜馅饺子和罗勒与罗望子调味的泰式蛤蜊汤。我和同伴吃了双份的食物还意犹未尽，盘算着第二天晚上再来一次。The restaurant’s setting is sexy: a dark underground room with just a few riveting pieces of art, including a white and gray dragon along one wall. This is what a Chinese drug lord’s rec room might look like.
餐厅的布置非常优美：光线幽暗的地下室，墙上悬挂着若干饶有趣味的艺术作品，包括一条灰白色的龙，在墙壁上蜿蜒而过。感觉中国毒品大亨的娱乐室就应该是这样的。The tables aren’t jammed too close together, even though people clamor for seats. Reservations are taken only for groups of five or more; others wait at nearby bars for the hostess to summon them back. It can take an hour or more.
这里不算拥挤，但仍然有很多人等位。只接受五人以上（含五人）的预定，其他人可以在附近的酒吧等候迎宾女招待的通知，可能需要等待一个小时甚至更长时间。And it’s worth it, for a feast that’s a bevy of culinary traditions in one — much like Hong Kong.
但是为了一顿融汇了各种传统的盛宴，等待是值得的，而香港也是如此。Ho Lee Fook, 1-5 Elgin Street, Central; . Dinner for two, without drinks or tip, averages 1,050 dollars.
Ho Lee Fook， 1-5 Elgin Street，中环；，两人份晚餐，均价1050港元，不含酒水或小费。