ESCAPADES | Sugared & Spiced

2016/10/122019/06/29

[Beijing] 元古本店 Yuan Gu

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元古本店 Yuan Gu

Add: No 34, Jianchang Hutong, Beijing
Tel: 010-5728 7950
Hours: 12:30-8:30pm
Price: desserts 35 RMB+, tea 30 RMB+
Visited: Sep 2016

A few steps away from the popular Wudaoying Hutong where Metal Hands is located, there is a quieter alley called Jianchang Hutong. Here, away from the hustle and bustle, you will find Yuan Gu (元古本店), a beautiful space dedicated to showcase a few simple good things in life – handcrafted glassware and ceramics, Chinese tea and tea desserts, to name a few.

離 Metal Hands 所在的五道營胡同不遠之處就是更隱蔽安靜的箭廠胡同。這裡有家漂亮的 “元古本店”，是由幾個志同道合的好友們共同創造的生活美學概念空間，希望用最樸素的東西－自然植物、手作器皿、中式茶點－來分享生活中的美好。

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The look is clean – white walls, wooden furniture, and a few plants dotting the space. The tables and chairs are all designed especially for Yuan Gu.

展示空間裡擺放著來自世界各地的手作器皿、用茶區的桌椅也都是特別設計定做的。

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2016/10/112019/06/29

[Beijing 北京] Metal Hands

beijing

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Metal Hands

Add: No. 61 Wudaoying Hutong, Beijing
Tel: 15510533895
Hours: 9am-9pm
Price: coffee 26 RMB+
Visited: Sep 2016

Another cafe worth recommending in Beijing is Metal Hands. Just opened this July, this little coffee shop is settled in the busy Wudaoying Hutong, not far from Barista Coffee Roasters. Mr. Ding, the owner of the cafe, has apparently been in the China coffee scene for over 10 years, and is one of the first to dedicate his time to latte art (though he wasn’t in the shop on the day of my visit).

Metal Hands位于五道營，今年7月才開幕。聽說這裏的丁老板在咖啡圈已十幾年，是國內比較早開始玩拿鐵拉花的前輩，而且還是個格外低調的帥哥（不過我沒遇上本人）。

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Metal Hands is not big. The elongated space includes a bar on the right, some seats on the left, and an inner corner with skylight. Concrete walls, wooden furniture, and fresh flowers for decoration. It’s not spacious by any means, but quite comfortable nonetheless.

Metal Hands 的店面不大，狹長的空間右邊是咖啡吧台，左邊是一排靠牆的位子，最裡面有頂著天窗、陽光充足的雙人卡座。乾淨的水泥牆、木色調桌椅、還有點綴的鮮花－絕對說不上寬敞，卻倒也舒適。

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2016/10/112019/06/29

[Beijing 北京] Algorithm

beijing

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Algorithm

Add: No. 1-1 North Gongti Road, Beijing
Tel: 010-8454 3838
Hours: 10:30am-10pm
Price: 150 – 200 RMB/person
Visited: Sep 2016

A new lifestyle concept store called Algorithm opened up not far from Beijing’s hotspot Sanlitun. There have been so many so called “lifestyle concept stores” opening up in Shanghai and Beijing these days that another one simply doesn’t rouse interest from me anymore – I mean, they seem to all be selling the same perfumed candles anyway – except Algorithm has a beautiful second floor cafe/restaurant that’s ideal for a casual lunch or afternoon coffee. Let’s take a look.

三裏屯附近新開了一家名爲 Algorithm 的生活方式買手店。其實這幾年國內越來越多生活方式買手店開幕，出售的物品大多相似－衣服、家具、飾品、香薰蠟燭。Algorithm 讓我喜歡的一點，不是它選品有多麽特殊（老實的告訴你很多這些小衆品牌我也不認識），而是二樓用餐區大片玻璃窗外的那片綠蔭。樹葉斑駁的影子映在餐桌上，懶洋洋的搖曳著，太惬意。

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But first, a stroll on the first floor.

不過還是先看看一樓買手店的空間。

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2016/10/102019/06/29

[Beijing 北京] Voyage Coffee

beijing

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Voyage Coffee

Add: 80 Beiluoguxiang, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Tel: 18611322067
Hours: 9am-9pm
Price: coffee 24+ RMB
Visited: Sep 2016

Voyage Coffee is a little dream. Tucked away in the alley of Beiluoguxiang, this small coffee shop had everything I was looking for on a quiet Sunday morning – the smell of freshly grounded coffee, excellent latte, delicious tiramisu, friendly staff, and Mozart’s piano music in the air.

Voyage Coffee 這間咖啡館原本是在798藝術區裏的一個工作室，位于北鑼鼓巷內的店似乎是今年才開的，我在早晨造訪時，空氣裡除了有現磨咖啡豆的迷人香味，還有莫扎特鋼琴曲優美的旋律，令人瞬間心情明亮。

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The cafe was renovated from an old building. The original wood structure and red brick walls have been kept, and a giant skylight has been installed to allow in plenty of light. At the center is a bar dedicated to pour overs, allowing guests who are interested to sit there and converse with baristas.

設計上保留了老建築的紅磚和木梁結構，大片的天窗讓空間裡陽光充足。Voyage Coffee 堅持自家烘培，在店裏也有個手沖咖啡吧，方便客人與咖啡師交流。

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2016/10/102019/06/29

[Beijing 北京] The Georg by Georg Jensen

beijing

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The Georg by Georg Jensen

Add: No. 45 Dong Bu Ya Qiao Hutong, Di An Men East Avenue, Beijing
Tel: 10 8408 5300
Hours: The Lounge 10:30-12am, The Restaurant 6-10:30pm (closed on Mon)
Website: thegeorg.com
Price: brunch 350 RMB/person, dinner 450 RMB+
Visited: Sep 2016

Located on the banks of the Jade river is The Georg, a 1000 sqm space of art × design × food by Danish silverware brand Georg Jensen. It includes The Living Room, set under a open space glass atrium, The Restaurant, a scandinavian take on international cuisine, and The Gallery, a showroom located on the 2nd floor. A gorgeous space inside and out.

位于北京東城區玉河橋畔某個傳統四合院裡的 The Georg，是丹麥百年銀飾品牌 Georg Jensen 打造的藝術 × 設計 × 美食空間，去過的朋友都說極美。在網上查了查，餐飲評價總體似乎不錯，價格也不離譜，決定前往探探。

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Georg Jensen hired famed Danish design studio Space Copenhagen (who also designed NOMA) to re-envision this traditional Chinese courtyard house. All the furnitures have been custom-made, and modern Scandinavian fixtures are installed throughout the space, fusing harmoniously with the historical building.

果然，漂亮。Georg Jensen 請了丹麥知名的設計工作室 Space Copenhagen（連續幾年榮獲世界＃1的 Noma 餐廳就是他們設計的喲）來規劃四合院裏 1000 平米的空間，左邊是起居室，中間是自然光充足的用餐區，右邊爲酒吧，二樓則是展廳。所有的家具都是定制品，燈具和裝飾也點綴的恰如其分，將北歐設計很自然的融合在中國傳統建築裏。

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2016/10/012019/12/20

[Beijing 北京] Aman Summer Palace 頤和安縵

beijing

Aman Summer Palace 頤和安縵

Add: 1 Gongmenqian Street, Summer Palace, Beijing / 北京颐和园宫门前街1号
Tel: 10 5987 9999
Website: www.aman.com
Price: 3000 RMB+/night
Visited: Sep 2016

Aman somehow always manages to snag the most extraordinary sites as its resort grounds – a private island in the Philippines, the valleys of Bhutan, or here in Beijing, a wall apart from Empress Dowager Cixi’s garden. Set in elegant pavilions that were once imperial waiting rooms, Aman Summer Palace offers a collection of peaceful courtyards and heritage-imbued dwellings…as well as a secret direct access to the imperial garden.

北京之行的最後一天，入住頤和安缦。朋友們提醒我－那裡很遠哦，市區打車過去可能要一個小時呢。我說－完美，正好想要到安靜的地方放空一下。

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This was my first time staying at an Aman, so naturally I was excited to experience this resort brand that I’ve heard so much about. “Aman” is the word for peace and protection in Sanskrit, and the characteristic of Aman Resorts is exactly that – quietude, harmony, and privacy. Opened in 2008, Aman Summer Palace is the first Aman resort in China, followed by Amanfayun (set amid forests and Buddhist temples near West Lake in Hangzhou) and Amandayan (located beneath Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the hillside city of Lijiang).

從市區出發，加上北京果然名不虛傳的堵車盛況，真的快一個小時才抵達頤和安缦。這是我第一次入住安缦系列的酒店，對這個久仰的品牌自然有不少期待。”Aman” 是梵語裏和平、庇護的意思，而安缦酒店的特征，就是對和諧、私密的注重，選址多在文化和曆史結合的地方，如改造于杭州古村落法雲村的法雲安缦、坐落于麗江古鎮的大研安缦，還有這次我入住，與頤和園一牆之隔的頤和安缦。

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From city center, it took me almost an hour to get to Aman Summer Palace with the infamous Beijing traffic. Magically, my frustration with the ride was immediately soothed upon stepping into the resort entrance and its calming ambiance – it was almost like entering another world.

2008年開業的頤和安缦是中國的第一家安缦酒店，據說是清朝時到頤和園參見慈禧太後的官員們住的地方，在安缦開業前是不對外開放的區域。爲了和周邊園景與建築相融，頤和安缦在設計時保留了傳統明清建築和四合院布局，用 “修舊如舊” 的方式改造而成。

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There are many small details in the service designed to give guests a most relaxing experience, such as sitting instead of standing during the check-in process.

進入頤和安缦，映入眼簾的是舒服的深木色調，靜谧沈穩的風華，讓人心自然而然的沈靜下來。這裡有許多貼心的小細節，比如 check-in 時不像一般酒店讓客人站在前台，而是請客人舒服的坐在椅子上辦理手續。

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2016/09/262019/06/29

[Hong Kong] Toritama 酉玉

hong kong

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酉玉 Toritama

Add: G/F, 2 Glenealy, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2388 7717
Hours: 6pm-12am (closed on Sun)
Website: www.toritama.hk
Price: 人均400+港币
Visited: Aug 2016

Tokyo’s Toritama, famous for going beyond the standard chicken skewers with its “beak-to-tail” experience, has settled in Hong Kong on Glenealy. Grill master Hironobu Matsumoto from Japan mans the Hong Kong outpost, bringing his expertise of chicken heart, esophagus, soft chest bone, and gizzard skin (etc. etc.) with him…but first, the meal begins with a selection of homemade pickles, and a small dish of grated daikon topped with a raw quail egg to be eaten on its own, or used as an accompaniment for the skewers.

在東京以 “Nose to Tail”（從鼻尖到尾巴）雞料理出名的酉玉去年在香港開分店，派了在總店工作五年的松本浩暢師傅坐鎮。酉玉在香港可能還未像 Yardbird 那樣衆所皆知，不過去過的朋友都非常喜歡，所以就約在這裏了。

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The original Tokyo shop offers over 30 different parts of the chicken, while the Hong Kong outpost does around 24. On the menu there is a handy diagram indicating each of these parts, I was surprised to see that even the tiny chicken butt is divided into three different sections…wow.

菜單上主打的是 ”1 雞 24 味” 的串燒，除了常吃到的部位之外，還有雞冠、雞膝軟骨、雞食道、雞血管、雞肝外層薄衣、雞膊肉、雞心口軟骨、雞心血管、雞膝軟骨、雞小腿肉、雞髀骹肉等共24個部位，據說連小小的雞股也仔細地分成尖股、股皮及上股 3 部分，風味各不相同。我說，也太細了吧…不愧是日本人，真是把雞發揮到了極致。

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Toritama uses local free-range chickens for its skewers (all except for the chicken butts), and as each chicken part has its distinct flavor and texture, the grill master uses different seasonings (including a 15-year-old sauce brought in from Tokyo) and grilling techniques to bring out the best of each.

除了雞股由東京總店直送香港之外，其他部位都來自本地農場的走地雞，根據老師傅的說法是因爲雞的新鮮度最爲重要，用當地的比較好（那雞屁股呢？可能有特殊的講究吧）。由于每個部味道不同，師傅會用調味料（包括東京總店送來的15年燒汁）、燒烤時間和技巧來調整風味。

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At Toritama, you can either go a la carte or choose from one of the sets – tori (7 skewers, 388 HKD), tama (10 skewers, 388 HKD), and omakase (12 skewers + rice + soup + ice-cream, 588 HKD). We went for the 7-skewer Tori set, and tagged on a few a la carte items at the end.

在酉玉可單點，也可選擇不同的套餐，比如 tori（7串，288港幣）、tama（10串，388港幣）、omaksase（12串＋主廚推薦飯料理＋雞湯＋冰淇淋，588港幣）。我選了 7 串的 tori 套餐，再單點了一些小東西。

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2016/09/252019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] The Cupping Room

hong kong

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The Cupping Room (Wanchai)

Add: 32 Shantou Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2371 2338
Hours: [weekdays] 8am-5pm [weekends] 9am-6pm
Price: 30-60 HKD/coffee
Visited: Aug 2016

We happened to pass by The Cupping Room after leaving Omotesando Koffee, and decided to try a cup from this famed cafe as well. Kapo the owner has been winning awards at Hong Kong Barista Championships for 3 years in a row, and has also represented Hong Kong at the World Barista Championships, winning #2 in 2014. His first cafe is in Sheungwan, though apparently he spends more of his time at this Wanchai location.

離開 Omotesando Koffee 後正好路過大名鼎鼎的The Cupping Room，決定再來一杯。老板Kapo曾連續三年在香港咖啡師大賽獲獎，並且于2014年代表香港參加 “世界咖啡大師賽” 獲得第二名，是香港咖啡界的名人。他的首家店開在上環，不過據說他本人經常在灣仔店站台，雖然我到訪的這天沒有看到他。

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Cute tiles.

小花地磚好可愛。

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2016/09/242019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Rhoda

hong kong, paris

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Rhoda

Add: 345 Des Voeux Rd W, Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2177 5050
Hours: 6pm-12am (closed on Mon)
Price: 400+ HKD/person
Visited: Aug 2016

I pretty much didn’t leave the area between Wanchai and Sheungwan on this trip to Hong Kong, except for this visit to Rhoda. Located in Sai Ying Pan (which is slightly west of Sheungwan), Rhoda has been opened for only 2 months, helmed by Nate Green of the 22 Ships and Ham & Sherry fame. The food is modern European comfort food, inspired by Green’s memory of his grandmother’s cooking back in England.

這次香港之旅的活動大概都是在灣仔和上環之間，唯一一次超出這個範圍就是在 Rhoda 的晚餐。位于西營盤的 Rhoda 是間才剛開兩個多月的新餐廳，是不少香港潮人出沒的地方。廚房由 22 Ships 及 Ham & Sherry 的前行政總廚 Nate Green 負責，做的是這幾年來很流行的 modern European comfort food。

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The menu at Rhoda changes daily according to the marketing offerings, and there are no real “signature dishes”. For this new restaurant, Green chooses to use real open-pit fire instead of gas stove tops typically seen in modern kitchens – an interesting decision that affects the flavors of all his dishes.

Nate 的靈感源自小時候在英國祖母家吃到的家常菜，菜單根據市場新鮮的食材變動，也沒有特定的招牌菜。比較特別的一點是他舍棄了現代餐廳常用的煤氣爐，改用更原始的燒炭和杏仁木火爐來料理。

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Beer bread (Suntory dark ale), seaweed butter (28 HKD).

用三得力黑啤做的啤酒面包，搭配海藻黃油（28港幣）。

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Lotus root chips, chicken liver cream (38 HKD).

蓮藕脆片、雞肝醬（38港幣）。

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2016/09/232019/06/29

[Hong Kong 香港] Mott 32 卅二公館

hong kong

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卅二公馆 Mott 32

Add: 4-4a Des Voeux Rd, Basement of the Standard Chartered Building, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2885 8688
Hours: 12-2pm, 6-11pm
Website: www.mott32.com
Price: [lunch] 350+ HKD/person
Visited: Aug 2016

You wouldn’t expect a fine dining restaurant to be located in the basement of a bank building, but such is the case for Mott 32. This sleek Chinese restaurant, named after New York’s first Chinese grocery store, is tucked all the way down in the basement of the Standard Chartered Building in Central – yet it attracts a steady crowd with its captivating interior design and delectable cuisine.

在香港的某天中午，在中環做金融工作的朋友約我在 “卅二公館 Mott 32” 吃飯。跟著地址尋到渣打銀行大廈的地下室，沒想到這裡會藏著一間餐廳。而且，還非常漂亮。

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The design style is a fusion of New York industrial style with Chinese elements, from the calligraphy on the exposed concrete walls to the Chinese medicine cabinets adorning the bar area.

設計這家餐廳是在香港非常出名的 Joyce Wang 事務所。斑駁的牆上畫著上海灘的旗袍美人們、各式燈具也很漂亮。

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