[Hangzhou 杭州] Amanfayun 法雲安縵

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[Hangzhou 杭州] Amanfayun 法雲安縵

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Amanfayun

Add: 22 Fayun Lane, West Lake Street, West Lake Scenic Area, Hangzhou
Tel: 571 8732 9999
Website: www.aman.com
Price: from 5865 rmb/night
Visited: Mar 2017

As Spring descends upon us, a get-away to Hangzhou – a city known for its beautiful West Lake, fragrant Longjing tea, and historical temples (and just a 50-minute train ride from Shanghai!) – seems almost obligatory. While looking up accommodations for this mini trip, I had my eyes fixed on Amanfayun, an Aman Resort restored from a centuries-old village surrounded by tea plantations and bamboo groves – sounds surreal, no?

這次杭州兩日小旅行，住在法雲安缦。與其說是因爲想去杭州而住安缦，更准確地說應該是因爲安缦而選擇了杭州。之前曾住過北京的頤和安缦，對這個酒店集團稍有了解 － “Aman” 是梵語裏和平、庇護的意思，而安缦酒店的特征，就是對甯靜、和諧、私密的注重，選址多在文化和曆史結合的地方，如坐落于麗江古鎮的大研安缦，與頤和園一牆之隔的頤和安缦，還有我這次入住，改造于古村落法雲村的法雲安缦。

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Amanfayun lies hidden in a valley to the west of West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its idyllic scenery, and is surrounded by 7 temples – Yongfu Si, Lingyin Si, Faxi Si, to name a few. One cannot help but be effected by its calming ambience upon entering the site, and all worldly troubles, whatever they may be, are left at the gate.

酒店位于西湖西側的山谷之中，距杭州市中心20分鍾車程，是個在永福寺、靈隱寺、法喜寺等七座寺院庇護下的空靈之地。延續西湖畔傳統村落布局與氣息，酒店由幽靜石徑及蔭郁庭院交織而成, 踏入的瞬間就能感受到安詳和靜谧。

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[Taipei 台北] Cafe Megane 眼鏡咖啡

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[Taipei 台北] Cafe Megane 眼鏡咖啡

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Cafe Megane 眼鏡咖啡

Add: No. 6, Lane 52, Siwei road, Taipei
Hours: 10am~8pm (closed on the last Wednesday of each month)
Website: coffeemegane.com
Price: 200~400 NTD/person
Visited: Dec 2016

I had already blogged about Cafe Megane years ago. This low-key Japanese-style coffee shop, hidden inside one of the small lanes of Siwei Road, has always been one of my favorites in Taipei. Revisiting it years later, it was comforting to find it mostly unchanged. The interior is warm with dark wood and yellow lighting, doesn’t fit more than 20 even when fully packed, and there are indeed glasses everywhere (“megane” means glasses in Japanese). The coffee here is perfect, the onigiri delicious, and I heard the matcha waffles are amazing as well. If you are fortunate enough to be living in or visiting Taipei, do find a quiet time to enjoy a cup of coffee here.

其實早在 2011 年剛開始寫部落格不久時，就介紹過眼鏡咖啡了。這家隱藏在台北四維路某個巷子裡的日系咖啡店，低調而有個性，一直是我很喜歡的地方。好幾年後再訪，安心的發現裏面一點也沒變。內部的裝潢是溫暖的原木和黃色燈光，店裡坐滿了也只能容納十幾個人，小小的店內到處都可以看到眼鏡的出沒。這裏的咖啡完美，飯團好吃，聽說抹茶松餅也做得極好。如果你很幸運的住在台北或去旅遊的話，絕對要挑個人少的時候來享受一杯安靜的咖啡。

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[Taipei 台北] VVG Hideaway 好樣祕境

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[Taipei 台北] VVG Hideaway 好樣祕境

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VVG Hideaway

Add: No. 136-1, Jingshan Rd, Taipei City
Tel: (02) 2862 6488
Hours: 12-9pm
Price: 500-700 NTD
Visited: Dec 2016

This time in Taipei, I headed to Yangming Mountain to explore one of Taipei’s more popular cafe/restaurants, called VVG Hideaway. Online, this place has been described as “secret little white house nestled in the mountains” or “heaven-like dreamy secret hiding place”, which I found exaggerated to a point of being funny, but it is true that the photos look quite stunning. Though I was never a big fan of the food from VVG group, I was still willing to trek out there just to take a look at the space.

這次在台北，抽了一天上陽明山探了探當前人氣網紅店之一的 “好樣秘境 VVG Hideaway”。之前看到對這家店的描述，大多是 “坐落于山林間的秘密小白屋”，或著 “天堂般夢幻的白色秘境” 這類的。心裡想著這也太誇張了，不過看了照片後還是忍不住被吸引。雖然知道好樣集團出品的食物向來 “…”，不過爲了美麗的環境硬是要去踩個地雷 － 大概是這樣一個心態。

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To get to VVG Hideaway by public transportation, you need to take the MRT to “Jiantan Station” and hop on Bus #303 to “Qinshanli #2 Stop”. Personally I find that quite troublesome – apparently some people waited for an hour because they missed the bus – but if you happen to have a lot of time, or are lucky enough like I was to have a friend drive you, then why not explore?

如果搭乘公共交通前往，得坐捷運至 “劍潭站” 再轉搭 “303號公車” 在 “菁山里二站” 下車。個人覺得這太麻煩了（聽說有人沒看好公車時間，等了一個小時的），不過如果你剛好很閒，或著和我一樣幸運的有朋友開車載上山的話，倒不妨去瞧瞧。

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[Tokyo 東京] Wall / CoSTUME NATIONAL

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[Tokyo 東京] Wall / CoSTUME NATIONAL

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Wall / CoSTUME NATIONAL

Add: CoSTUME NATIONAL Aoyama Complex 1F,5-4-30 Minami Aoyama
Tel: +81-3-5774-1311
Hours: 12pm-12am
Website: www.cnac.jp/wall
Price: cocktails ~2200 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

A Japanese friend took me to this bar in Omotesando, and I honestly couldn’t tell that this is a bar even after arriving at its door. Apparently, it’s hidden behind this white wall.

東京當地朋友帶我去的這家酒吧，位置在表參道，不過到了門口我都還沒認出來這是個什麽東西…原來，酒吧藏在白牆之後。

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Entering the bar through the slender (and very discreet) door, we arrived at Wall. It’s an elongated space brought alive by the gorgeous, lush vertical garden behind the bar, put together by famed French artist / vertical garden designer Patrick Blanc. I have always liked his works in Paris, and it was quite a pleasant surprise to run into him again in Tokyo.

推了中間那道細門入內，竟是另一番天地。狹長的空間裏最引人注目的是吧台後方整面的植物牆。豐盛的、綠油油的，很美。打造這片植物牆的是法國藝術家／垂直花園名設計師 Patrick Blanc，以前就非常喜歡他在巴黎幾個作品，在東京能碰上真是挺令人驚喜的。

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Upon being seated, we were first served the halve of a fresh fig. Apparently it’s typical in Japanese bars to be served a small bite like this before or along with your first drink.

Wall 的小點心是半個新鮮無花果，很甜美。在日本，似乎很多酒吧就會提供這樣一款小食，通常在第一杯酒之前或同時送上。

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[Tokyo 東京] Osoba no Koga おそばの甲賀

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[Tokyo 東京] Osoba no Koga おそばの甲賀

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, and Wechat (id: sugarednspiced)! Osoba no Koga おそばの甲賀 Add: 2-14-5 Nishi Asabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo Tel: +81-3-3797-6860 Website: osobanokouga.com Hours: 11am-3pm, 5-9:30pm Price: 1,000~5,000  yen Visited: Oct 2016 For a casual lunch, a friend took me to a small soba noodle shop called Osoba no Koga, located in the Nishi Asabu area. It’s not a place tourists would specifically look for,…Continue Reading “[Tokyo 東京] Osoba no Koga おそばの甲賀” →

[Tokyo 東京] Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所

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[Tokyo 東京] Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所

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Sakurai Tea 櫻井焙茶研究所

Add: 5F Spiral Building, 5-6-23 Minami Aoyama, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6451-1539
Hours: 11am-11pm
Website: sakurai-tea.jp
Price: [tea] 1,600 yen [tea set] 4,500 yen+
Visited: Oct 2016

For those interested in Japanese tea, Sakurai could be a worthwhile place to visit while Tokyo. Located on the 5th floor of Spiral Building in the ultra stylish Minami Aoyama area, Sakurai is a modern Japanese tea house founded by Mr. Shinya Sakurai, an ex-Yakumo Saryo and Higashiya who expands his craft to not just tea, but also pairing with food and alcohol.

喜歡日本茶的人，可以來試試櫻井焙茶研究所。這家位于スパイラルビル五樓的茶館，是曾經在八雲茶寮和 Higashiya 擔任經理的櫻井真也于 2014 年獨立出來開的店，專注于茶和食物、以及茶和酒的結合。

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The shop, also designed by Simplicity Studio, fuses traditional Japanese design with modern metallic vibes. The counter displays a range of beautiful teaware, and beyond the counter is a tea roasting area.

店裏融合了傳統日式風格與現代金屬的摩登感，看得出來也是 Simplicity 設計的。入口處的櫃台上漂亮的茶具一字排開，透過玻璃可以看到烘培茶葉的區域。

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On the other side of the counter is the tea room. Tea and tea desserts are available a la carte as well as in sets (gyokuro, blended tea, hojicha, bancha, matcha, etc., 4,500~6,900 yen/set) and alchoholic versions like encha gin, hojicha rum, matcha beer (1,200~1,600 yen), which all sound quite interesting.

櫃台的後方是茶房，除了可以單點茶和甜品之外，也可以選擇包含玉露、混合茶、焙茶、抹茶、等4~6種茶以及和菓子的茶套餐（4,500~6,900日幣），另外還有以茶入酒的各種選擇，比如煎茶琴酒、焙茶朗姆酒、抹茶啤酒等（1,200~1,600日幣），聽起來挺有趣的。

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The tea room is small, with only 8 seats around the bar. I arrived during the late afternoon, so I can only imagine how beautiful the space must be during the day with natural light spilling in from the large windows. Upon being seated, I was handed presented a selection of tea leaves to choose from, accompanied by clear explanations about their origin, aroma, and flavor.

茶房空間不大，只有圍繞著吧台的八個座位。我到的時候已經晚上了，不過白天時應該可以享受透過大片玻璃窗進來的陽光。入座後店員遞上茶單，如果選擇的是焙茶的話，店員會再取出一排茶葉供參考。從選茶到泡茶，包括産地、味道、香味，店員都解釋的頗爲詳細。

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[Tokyo 東京] Rai-an 雷庵

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[Tokyo 東京] Rai-an 雷庵

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Rai-an 雷庵

Add: 1F 董友ビル, 1-4-13 Shibuya, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-5778-3379
Hours: 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-11pm
Price: 2,000~4,000 yen/person
Visited: Oct 2016

Located in Shibuya, Rai-an is a newly-opened soba noodle shop with a beautiful modern design: floor-to-ceiling windows, open kitchen, and an atelier to display the making of soba. The soba noodles delicious, and all the other small dishes we tried were surprisingly yum as well.

位于涉谷區的雷庵是今年剛開的面店，從整片的落地窗（白天應該很美）、開放式廚房等裝修設計上就可以看得出這是一家比較新式的摩登面店。令人驚喜的是這裏不僅荞麥面好吃，其他東西也做的可圈可點。

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Such as the soba tofu with sea urchin (900 yen).

比如海膽荞麥豆腐（900日幣）。

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Japanese omelet (800 yen).

厚燒蛋卷（800日幣）。

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Ginko nut sakura shrimp tempura (1,100 yen).

銀杏櫻花蝦天婦羅（1,100日幣）

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[Tokyo 東京] Mahakara Ureshii Purin マハカラ うれしいプリン

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[Tokyo 東京] Mahakara Ureshii Purin マハカラ うれしいプリン

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Mahakara Ureshii Purin マハカラ うれしいプリン

Add: 1-17-5 Aobadai Meguro Tokyo
Tel: +81-50-5590-4510
Hours: 11am-6pm
Website: www.happypudding.com
Price: ~350 yen/pudding
Visited: Oct 2016

I was strolling along the Meguro River the other day and passed by a super cute pudding shop called “Mahakara Ureshii Purin”. It’s a tiny store with not much other than a kitchen and a counter, displaying a myriad of delicious-looking puddings in glass jars – matcha, coffee, pumpkin, chestnut, yam, cheese…though eventually I went for the classic custard pudding with caramel. Sitting on the bench in front of the shop, eating the soft and fragrant pudding by the spoonful…what a lovely, lovely neighborhood vibe.

某天在目黑河邊路過一家可愛的布丁店 “マハカラ うれしいプリン”。店面小小的，除了廚房和櫃台之外幾乎沒有空間放其他東西，冰櫃裡排列著各種誘人口味的布丁 － 抹茶、咖啡、南瓜、栗子、番薯、起司…不過最後還是選擇了經典焦糖雞蛋布丁。店門口放了幾張椅子，坐在街邊吃著香濃柔滑的布丁、邊感受著中目黑悠閑的步調，很是惬意。

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Mahakara Ureshii Purin uses a high grade Japanese eggs from Hyogo Prefecture called “日本一こだわり卵” (kodawari tamago), and doesn’t add any preservatives in their pudding.

マハカラ うれしいプリン的布丁裡完全無添加防腐劑，而且使用的是兵庫縣產的 “日本一こだわり卵” 高級蛋，格外香濃。

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[Tokyo 東京] Mikawa Zezankyo みかわ是山居

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[Tokyo 東京] Mikawa Zezankyo みかわ是山居

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みかわ是山居 Mikawa Zezankyo

Add: 1-3-1 Fukuzumi, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-3643-8383
Hours: 11am-1:30pm, 5-9:30pm
Website: mikawa-zezankyo.jimdo.com
Price: [lunch] 11,340 yen+ [dinner] 18,360 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

I’ve been hearing about Mikawa Zezankyo for years, and finally got to taste this legendary tempura restaurant on a recent trip to Tokyo. Chef owner Tetsuya Saotome entered the trade at the age of 14, and has been making tempura for over half a century. Along with Jiro Ono (a.k.a. the god of sushi) and Kanejiro Kanemoto (the god of eel), Tetsuya Saotome (the god of tempura) is one of the three major representatives of Edomae cuisine. On a side note, apparently Jiro Ono and Tetsuya Saotome are good friends, and often visit each other’s restaurants.

久仰みかわ是山居多年，這次去東京終于嚐到了。店主兼主廚早乙女哲哉從十四歲開始做天婦羅至今已過了半個世紀，和壽司之神小野二郎以及鳗魚之神金本兼次郎被視為江戶前料理三大代表（聽說早乙女哲哉和小野二郎還是惺惺相惜的好友，經常去對方的餐廳吃飯呢）。

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Mr. Saotome moved into this current house in 2009. The first floor is the restaurant, the 2nd and 3rd floor are exhibition spaces, and the 4th floor is where he lives. The house is filled with artworks, and even the tableware used by the guests are ceramics made by famed contemporary artisans. Fun fact: what looks like a huge hat on top of the work station is actually an exhaust modeled after the shape of the “Borsalino” hat Mr. Saotome wears when he goes out.

早乙女先生在2009年搬到了現在這座小房子，一樓是餐廳，二、三樓是客室與展覽廳，四樓是他的家。這整棟房子裏都是藝術品，連餐具也是當代名家所作的珍貴陶瓷器。下圖工作台上方長的像大帽子的吸油煙機，是按照早乙女先生平時外出時會帶的意大利品牌 “Borsalino” 黑色禮帽特別定制的，有點可愛。

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Having devoted almost his entire life to tempura, Mr. Saotome has developed a most particular way to make tempura, from the coating to the  frying process. Apparently he varies the coating and frying methods according to each ingredient. He may look stern while he’s busy at work, but is actually very friendly when he starts chatting.

把畢生精力投入到天婦羅的早乙女先生從面衣、沾粉、下鍋都有嚴謹的方法，炸不同的食物的時候要考量哪個部份含水多，具體想要達成何種油炸效果從而決定沾粉的位置和多寡。你看他做料理時神情嚴肅，不過和客人聊天時笑起來非常和藹可親哦。

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The word “mikawa” in kanji is “三河”, an area of Nagoya in which Mr. Saotome was born. On the menu, “mikawa” is written in another form of kanji “美川”, which literally means a beautiful river, signifying Mr. Saotome’s vision to serve tempura dishes one after another, like the flow of a river, in front of his guests. For lunch, one can choose the lunch course (11,340 yen) or the omakase course (18,360 yen), the difference being that the omakase course includes uni and matsutake mushrooms.

“みかわ”（mikawa）的漢字是 “三河”，是位於名古屋的一個區域 ，也是早乙女先生的出身地。菜單上寫的則是日語發音相同的 “美川”，表達早乙女先生的意境：讓天婦羅料理如同美麗的流淌的河水一樣一品一品呈現在客人面前。我在中午到訪，有御夕食コース（11,340 日幣）和おまかせコース（18,360日幣）這兩種可以選擇，其中的不同是おまかせコース包含了海膽以及松茸這兩樣高級食材。話說，菜單上的圖示都是早乙女先生自己畫的呢。

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[Tokyo 東京] Higashiya

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[Tokyo 東京] Higashiya

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Higashiya Ginza

Add: 2F Pola Bldg Ginza, Chuo Ku / 中央区銀座 1-7-7 ポーラ銀座ビル 2F
Tel: +81-3-3538-3240
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11am-10pm [Sun] 11am-7pm
Website: www.higashiya.com
Price: [tea] 1,400~1,500 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

My favorite spot for Japanese tea and sweets on this trip to Tokyo was Yakumo Saryo, but if your itinerary is too rushed and don’t have time to venture out to this neighborhood, perhaps you can try Higashiya, another Japanese sweets establishment by the same designer Shinichiro Ogata, conveniently located in Ginza. Higashiya was established with the goal of creating modern wagashi (Japanese sweets) that can be enjoyed on a daily basis, hence the name “higashiya” (“hi” means day in Japanese).

如果你在東京的行程很趕，沒有時間到目黑區去尋找八雲茶寮的話，那可以試試同樣出自緒方慎一郎之手，位于銀座的 Higashiya。Higashiya 原本是家沿著目黑川的小店，品牌的初衷是將和菓子帶回到人們日常生活中，做出 “每天吃也不會膩的果子”，因此名爲 Higashiya（日菓子屋）。

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The Ginza shop opened in 2009, composed of a boutique space and a 40-seat tea salon. A white canvas noren hangs at the entrance, and walking through it is like entering another space, leaving all earthly worries out behind. Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the shop, so here’s a quick sneak peek. If you would like to see more, take a look at their beautiful website.

2009 年開幕的 Higashiya 銀座店位于ポーラ銀座ビル的二樓，首先穿過似乎可以把煩惱擋在門外的布簾，先看到的是和菓子的櫃台，往裏走才是茶室。店員表示緒方先生不希望客人在店裏拍照，所以在這裏就沒有太多照片可以放，喜歡的話可以上官網瞧瞧。不過總之茶館裏的裝潢風格結合了現代和日式傳統，桌椅均為木質，沒有太過華麗的擺飾，簡單大方。

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In addition to seasonal desserts, Higashiya offers a diverse selection of Japanese sweets and original tableware, 30 varieties of tea, as well as lunch menus and afternoon tea using seasonal ingredients.

店裏根據季節的不同更換精致的和菓子，另外也有自己設計的餐具、30多種茶、以及用季節食材烹調而成的日式午餐和下午茶。

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