NYC: Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Opened in 2006, Momofuku Ssäm Bar is one of the six David Chang’s creations in NYC. As a walk-in restaurant (except for the rotisserie duck & bo ssäm meal reservation), you have to be there early enough in order to score a seat. We arrived there just before 6pm on Saturday and were offered a seat at the bar straightaway; the moment we sat down, people started to queue up.

  

於2006年開業的 Momofuku Ssäm Bar為David Chang 在紐約主理的六間餐廳之一。因為不設訂座 (除了特別的烤鴨或豬肩肉餐外)，所比必須預早到達來避䦕人潮。我們在星期六黃昏六時前到達，立即便有吧枱的座位; 不消一刻，人們便開始排隊。

Royal Miyagi Oysters - Kombu mignonette 
US$16 (1/2 dozen)
Royal Miyagi(品種)生蠔 - 昆布醋汁 美元$16 (半打)

Santa Barbara Uni - heirloom tomato,
cantaloupe, shiso US$18
Santa Barbara產海膽 -傳家寶番茄,哈蜜瓜,紫蘇 美元$18

Honeycrisp Apple Kimchi - 
maple labne,jowl bacon, arugula 
US$13
蘋果泡菜 - 楓蜜乳酪,煙肉,芝麻菜 美元$13

Steamed Buns - Pork Belly, 
hoisin, cucumbers, scallions US$10
夾包 - 豬腩肉, 海鮮醬,青瓜,䓤 美元$10

Blackened Bluefish Sandwich -
kale, miso US$13
香料烤藍魚 - 海帶, 味噌 美元$13

Drinks were served quickly and food came at a reasonable pace. The dimly-lighted interior and strong music (apparently the playlist was specially choosen for the Ssäm Bar by David Chang and he has made sure that there’s enough songs so the same song wouldn’t be heard twice in a meal!) gave a sense of mystery which matched quite well with the innovative food. Ssäm Bar is not so much a place for chatting yet a very good place to go with a small group of friends for a gourmet adventure! 

飲料在落單後很快便到達，食物則以合理的速度一碟接一碟上枱。室內微弱的光線昏暗和強勁的音樂(據說那播放清單的歌是David Chang專門為 Ssäm Bar而選的，而他亦特意選了足夠的歌曲來確保食客不會在一頓飯中聽到相同的歌！)營造了一種神秘感，跟那些充滿創意的料理相當配合。跟三五知己走進Ssäm Bar就像一起展開一次美食的歷奇，不要想著能好好聊天!

Gundaroo: Grazing

Located in the 1865-built Royal Hotel, Grazing was a real surprise to be found at Gundaroo which is about 30 minutes drive from Canberra. The restaurant was very popular and we only managed to get a table secured for us at 2pm on Saturday. Stepping into the restaurant was like back in time into one of those outback movies, which the cowboys spent their time in the local pub. And the place was kept warm with fireplaces which also reminded us the good old days when everything was natural and simple.

在距離坎培拉約30分鐘車程的Gundaroo小鎮內竟有Grazing這樣的餐廳實在是一個驚喜。餐廳很受歡迎，我們只能預留到週六下午2點的位子。Grazing座落在1865年落成的皇家酒店內，甫踏進餐廳，時光就像倒流到從前的西部牛仔電影中的小鎮酒吧。店內靠壁爐的熊熊烈火來保持温暖，並提醒着我們昔日的好時光，當一切還是自然和簡單的那些年。

The fireplace: everyone helped to sustain 

the fire by throwing paper/ serviette in!

壁爐：大家都為維持那團火而出一分力

—往火堆扔廢紙/餐巾紙！

Truffle Special: Steamed crab & duck egg 
with truffled celeriac remoulade & 
brioche toast soldiers    AUD$ 12.5

松露節期間限定：蟹肉蒸鴨蛋，松露芹菜頭沙律

配烘烤法式奶油麵包   澳元$ 12.5

Trout: Smoked Tumut rainbow trout terrine with 

cucumber salad, fresh horsereadish & 

coriander seed pastry tuile    AUD$17

鱒魚：煙熏Tumut產彩虹鱒魚凍，黃瓜沙律，

新鮮山葵配香菜子薄片    澳元$17

Mackerel: Olive oil poached Mackerel with 

confit potato, caramelised onion, 

raisins & prociutto crumbs    AUD$17

鯖魚：橄欖油浸鯖魚與油焗馬鈴薯，焦糖洋蔥，

葡萄乾及風亁火腿粒    澳元$17

Duck: Braised shank & slow cooked breast 
of duck with sourdough dumpling,
 white bean puree, cauliflower & 
braising jus.  AUD$33

鴨：紅燒鴨腿與慢煮鴨胸，酸種麵團，白豆泥，

椰菜花配肉汁   澳元$33

Beef: Grass fed beef fillet, char-grilled 

and served with petit mixed mushrooms 

tarlet, green peppercorn & chicken 
liver parfait, buttered greens 
& veal essence    AUD$33

牛肉：炭烤草飼牛柳，雜菌撻，青胡椒雞肝凍，

奶油蔬菜及牛肉濃汁    澳元$33

Truffle Special: Grazing dessert assiette 

of walnut crème cigar, goat’s milk 

and rhubarb panna cotta, chocolate fudge 

terrine & truffle ice-cream    AUD$20

松露節期間限定：Grazing甜品拼盆—核桃奶油雪茄，

羊奶大黃奶凍，巧克力軟糖糕及松露冰淇淋    澳元$20

Rhubarb: Poached rhurbarb and lemon balm 

scroll with goats milk panna cotta 

and pistachio crumbs    AUD$16

大黃：浸大黃檸檬醬卷蛋，

羊奶奶凍配開心果碎    澳元$16

The quiet and peaceful neighhood at Gundaroo

寧靜和平的Gundaroo小鎮

With a restaurant like Grazing in a small town outside the metropolitan area, Australia is really growing big in gastronomy. Freshness of ingredients in such restaurants is almost guaranteed as an advantage of the geometrical location, being close to the production line. Additional effort to enhance the flavour and complexity of a dish, explore new combination of ingredients and work on the presentation would bring the restaurant to another level. Grazing overall delivered good food and good atmosphere for a weekend chill-out place with the family to chat about family history and old memory in this antique building.

在大都會以外的小城鎮有着像Grazing這樣的餐廳，可見澳洲對美食的熱情不斷上揚。在地理位置的優勢下，這些鄰近生產線的餐廳用料幾乎保證新鮮。能夠多花心思去提高一盤菜的味道和複雜性、探索新的食材配撘、用心擺盆的話大抵就能把餐廳帶到另一個層次。整體來說，Grazing的食物和氣氛都很好，適合在週末與家人聚在一起，在這古老的建築內，一邊享受美食，一邊閒聊家族歷史和回憶舊事。

Canberra: Dieci e Mezzo

After the 3-hour drive to Canberra from Sydney, we went Dieci e Mezzo for dinner. The restaurant was unexpectedly situated in the foyer of a commercial building in the city centre, which I thought was pretty unusual for an Italian Restaurant. However the meal was enjoyable with good food and caring staff, so I will definitely re-visit for the next Canberra trip.

經過3個多小時的車程，我們從悉尼到達坎培拉，首先到Diecie Mezzo晚飯去。這意大利餐廳出乎意料地坐落在市中心的一幢商業大廈的大堂內；但無損食物和服務的質素。下一次再到坎培拉的話我也會重臨這餐廳。

Braised octopus, borlotti beans, 

green olives, focaccia    AUD$12

紅燒八爪魚，borlotti豆，青橄欖，佛卡夏麵包   澳元$12

Seared scallops, cacciatore sausage, Bredbo 

black garlic, blood orange, fennel   AUD$23

烙扇貝，cacciatore香腸，

Bredbo產黑蒜，血橙，茴香   澳元$23

Pickled W.A. sardines, cauliflower, 

capers, mojama, crisp pastry   AUD $22

醃漬西澳產沙丁魚，椰菜花，酸豆 ，西班牙醃吞拿魚，薄脆片   澳元$22

Sautéed Moss Vale mushrooms, slow cooked 

organic egg, buckwheat polenta, pecorino   AUD$20

炒Moss Vale產蘑菇，慢熟有機雞蛋，

蕎麥玉米粥，pecorino 芝士   澳元$20

Spaghettini, prawns, peperonata, 

capers, white anchovies, basil AUD$33

幼意大利麵，蝦，雜甜椒粒，酸豆，白鳀魚，羅勒   澳元$33

Braised New England veal cheeks, 

Jerusalem artichoke, endive and orange AUD$34

紅燒New England產牛臉頰，耶路撒冷洋薊，菊苣，橙    澳元$34

Hazelnut and chocolate crostata, 

malted ice-cream, candied mandarin AUD$15

榛子巧克力塔派，麥芽冰淇淋，蜜餞柑   澳元$15

Warm lemon and ricotta torta, yoghurt sorbet, 

Marsala, golden raisins, honeycomb AUD$14

暖檸檬ricotta芝士蛋糕，酸奶雪糕，

意大利馬沙拉甜酒，黃金葡萄乾，蜂蜜脆脆   澳元$14

Overall I think there was a good balance between of taste and presentation of these dishes, with enough flavouring yet retaining the fresh and natural taste of the ingredients. The dishes were more on the authentic side with some creative input which made them very well received. The atmosphere was fairly relaxing and quiet (at least at dinner time) and made it a good venue for friends’ night out in a small group. Price was reasonable for the quality of the dishes and service.

總括來說，我覺得這些菜式在味道和擺盆兩者都頗佳，有一個很好的平衡。食物有足夠的調味之餘亦保留了食材新鮮和自然的味道。菜式偏向保留了傳統意大利風味並加入一點點創意，容易被大眾接受。輕鬆和安靜的環境（至少在晚餐時間）適合一小群朋友聚會談天。在如此質量的菜餚和服務下，價格亦算合理。

Restaurant/ Café Scales

I always find food review being the hardest to write because everyone has a different palate: a plus for me does not necessarily be the same for you. And flavour itself is also too abstract to be described; I can describe the texture, the ingredients and the presentation but not until the food is actually in your mouth, you will never know the taste of it. So the idea of reviewing a restaurant/ café on a more objective scale came to my mind. I guess a food outlet can both be good or bad, depending on what one is after. I hope that this scale review method will give a better sense of what a particular restaurant/ café provides, so you can choose the right place for your next event!

我一直認為食評是世界上最難寫得好的，因為口味是因人而異的嘛：對我來說的好味並不代表你也一定喜歡。加上味道本身也是很抽象的；我可以形容食物的質地，陳述食材和擺盆，但在食物真正在你的嘴裏之前，你是不會知道它的味道的。所以我想用一個比較客觀的方法來介紹一間餐廳/咖啡店。我認為每一間食肆既可以是好也可能會有不足，視乎你期望的是什麼。我希望這種「尺評」方式能令大家更容易按自己的需要來選擇到合適的食肆！

I have thought about what we as the customer would care the most and created separate scales for restaurants and cafés. So the scale works like this: each category has a bar with different criteria on the 2 ends; for each restaurant/ café reviewed, I will place a red dot to indicate if it lies more to one than the other; it can also be well-balanced and I will place the dot in the middle. Of course this is all based on my personal experience and therefore not 100% objective; but hopefully these scales can provide you with a clearer idea of what to expect there.

我想了想大家到餐廳或咖啡店時最注重的會是什麼，繼而為餐廳和咖啡店分別設計了6個獨立的「尺評」。「尺評」的運作如下：每把尺的兩端各代表不同標準；我會用一個紅點來表示該餐廳/咖啡店的定位，可以是較偏重於其中一邊或者兩者平衡的話，紅點會被放置在中間。當然，這些都是基於我個人的經驗，因此不會是100％的客觀，但希望「尺評」能令你對這些餐廳/咖啡店有更清晰的了解。

Restaurant Scales 餐廳尺評

Café Scales 咖啡店尺評