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Brut Cake Cafe
Add: 698 Yuyuan Road
Tel: 173 2100 8129
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 7am-9pm [Weekend] 10am-8pm
Price: 80~100 RMB/person
Visited: Apr 2017
My first time encountering Taiwanese designer Nicole Teng’s works was about 7 years ago in Plum Gallery, and right there and then I was charmed by her cute hand-drawn faces. Upon returning from Paris in 2015, I was pleased to discover that Nicole has opened a showroom called Brut Cake on Anfu Lu, though I was also slightly disappointed that there’s no actual cake in the shop…then, just earlier this year, Brut Cake Cafe opened, and yes they do sell cakes!
第一次見到台灣設計師 Nicole Teng 的手繪臉孔，應該是七年前的事情了吧。當時靜安別墅裏有個叫做 Plum Gallery 的空間，我到訪時正好展著 Nicole 的一些作品，各式各樣的手繪臉孔我一下就喜歡上了。幾年後從巴黎回來，發現她在安福路上開了家以自己品牌 Brut Cake 爲名的雜貨店，正想著爲什麽店名有 “cake” 而店裏卻沒有蛋糕的時候，真的有賣蛋糕的 Brut Cake Cafe 就在今年開幕了。
Located on Yuyuan Road, Brut Cake Cafe is designed in the same warm and soothing style as Brut Cake, with a sunny patio and wood-centric furniture. The most prominent feature, without a doubt, is the mug display on the wall showcasing 100 different hand-drawn faces, the ones that attracted me in the first place years ago.
位于愚園路的 Brut Cake Cafe 延續了 Brut Cake 返璞歸真的設計理念，有陽光滿分的露台和木質色系爲主的家具，一切都讓人感覺溫暖舒服…不過最引人注目的，還是牆上擺設著的一百只不同手繪臉孔的馬克杯 － 永澤洋蔥頭、花輪劉海、卷毛小胡子…你看上了，哪一個？
The chairs, the stools, and the aprons worn by the cafe staff are all Nicole’s designs as well.
店裏的椅子凳子以及店員穿的圍裙也是 Nicole 設計的古布系列作品。
Helming the kitchen at Brut Cake Cafe is Guangzhou-born, L.A.-raised Jun, who is far from being a typical chef. He has a doctoral degree in chiropractic, and even dabbled a bit in hedge fund before deciding on a career in food. He met his wife Priscilla in Hong Kong a few years ago, and together the two of them started a cooking blog to share their passion for food. After winning Asian Food Network’s “Amazing Food Challenge”, they started hosting private dinners, and subsequently moved to Shanghai, somehow meeting Nicole and starting the cafe together.
在 Brut Cake Cafe 掌廚的是廣州出生、洛杉矶長大的 Jun。相當低調的他其實有個脊骨神經醫學的博士學位，也做過 hedge fund 經理人，後來才轉行成了廚師。幾年前他在香港認識了現在的太太 Priscilla，兩人從寫美食博客開始分享自己對食物的熱愛，後來參加 Asian Food Network 的 “Amazing Food Challenge” 贏得冠軍後，開始在香港經營私廚。在各種因緣際會下，他們夫婦兩人來到了上海，和 Nicole 一起開了 Brut Cake Cafe。
Jun’s cuisine is like L.A. where he grew up – a mix of different cultures. His main principle is cooking food that he himself would eat, focusing on not just the flavors but health factors as well. For example, he insists on making his own tomato sauce because there’s too much corn syrup and preservatives in commercial ketchup . Let’s see what his brunch menu looks like:
Jun 的料理像洛杉矶的多元文化，融合了西式和東方元素。 他堅持做 “自己會吃的” 料理，連番茄醬也自制，就是因爲商業用的番茄醬裏有太多的玉米糖漿和防腐劑。先來看看他的早午餐內容：
Among the three dishes I tried that day, my favorite was definitely “Sweet & Savory” (78 RMB): six-spiced fried chicken topping a bed of crispy waffle, sprinkled with sweet walnuts, pickled radish, then drizzled with organic jujube honey. Flavors and textures both on point.
當天嚐到的三道菜色中，我最喜歡 “炸雞華夫餅” Sweet & Savory（78元）。用六種香料調味的炸雞外皮酥脆、內裏鮮嫩多汁，搭配輕盈的華夫餅以及點綴的核桃、腌漬蘿蔔、以及有機紅棗花蜜，大滿足。
The second was “Sweet Sunrise” (55 RMB), which is waffles served with mascarpone chantilly, organic jujube honey, seasonal fruit jam, and almonds, but Priscilla let us try the soon-to-be-launched pancake version. Not bad, thoughI personally would’ve preferred a thicker, flufflier pancake, with a lot more fruits on top…
第二道是甜蜜華夫 Sweet Sunrise（55元），不過 Priscilla 讓我們嘗了還未上菜單的 pancakes 版本，搭配 mascarpone 香缇奶油、有機紅棗花蜜、和時令水果。添加了杏仁粉的松餅香味不錯，不過口感上我個人比較喜歡更有厚度、蓬松柔軟的松餅（而且希望上面多水果可以多一點…）
There was also the “Green Tartine” (62 RMB): guacamole, organic Japanese onsen egg, radicchio, sourdough bread, baby potatoes, salad, mixed fresh fruit. A healthy and light plate with an ever-so-alluring onsen egg, but there definitely needs to be more avocado on this toast…the thin layer just doesn’t satisfy.
也嚐了 “牛油果開邊三明治” Green Tartine（62元）：天然發酵面包上、牛油果醬、日本有機溫泉蛋、小土豆、沙拉、新鮮水果。溫泉蛋很誘人，不過牛油果實在太少啦，這麽薄薄一層無法令人滿足。跟主廚提了意見，不知下次來能不能嘗到新版本呢？
Coffee here is quite nice, and even more charming when served in Nicole’s mugs. Most coffee drinks are 50% off with the order of brunch or breakfast items, which is a nice deal.
咖啡倒是挺不錯的，而且更加分的是能用到手繪馬克杯…握在手上心都融了。話說，點早午餐以及午餐都可以享有飲料 50% off 的優惠，這點非常令人開心。
Drawings on the bottom of the plates…they melt my heart.
盤子和碗底也都有可愛的圖案…噢～
I came for lunch on another day visit to try Jun’s “Sour Bird” (65 RMB), the dish that won him the Amazing Food Challenge competition: Filipino chicken adobo, crispy skin, carrot, roasted garlic aioli, served on grains. The sour bird is very sour indeed, and I personally loved the intensity of it…makes me mouth water just thinking about it. Do try if you also love an acidic flavor profile.
另一天來試午飯，點了 Jun 的成名作 － “菲式醬醋雞” Sour Bird（65元）。這道酸味十足的料理以菲律賓阿多博鹵雞（chicken adobo）爲主角，配上紅蘿蔔和烤大蒜蛋黃醬，堆在健康的多谷米飯上，是道非常入味非常酸爽的料理，我喜歡。
Jun also does a series of “manwiches”, which substitutes the typical burger bun with homemade mantou (Chinese steamed buns). My friend ordered the “Red Bull” (72 RMB), which is mantou sandwiching Australian beef patty, shredded duck thigh, tomato jam, and cheese. It was already cold by the time I got to it, so I don’t want to comment too much on it…do know that mantou has more of a chew than burger buns, so some people might find the texture a bit hard.
Brut Cake Cafe 還有一系列的 “饅堡”，使用自制饅頭取代漢堡面包。朋友點了 “手撕鴨肉牛肉饅堡” Red Bull（72元），饅頭裏夾了澳洲牛肉漢堡排、手撕鴨腿肉、自制番茄醬、芝士，可惜我嚐的時候已經涼了…只記得饅頭的口感比起一般漢堡面包來說更有嚼勁，有些人可能會覺得有些硬。
I also sampled a honey cake (25 RMB) with beetroot hot chocolate (40 RMB). The honey cake (made with organic jujube honey) isn’t too distinct, but after a few bites it kind of grew on me. Beetroot hot chocolate is a creative and healthy alternative to the typical hot chocolate, though the beetroot flavor is indeed quite strong, so order this only if you appreciate that (or just want a photo of this beautiful color).
午飯後試了招牌蜂蜜蛋糕（25元）以及甜菜根熱巧克力（40元）。蜂蜜蛋糕的甜味完全來自有機紅棗蜜，口味上沒有非常特別，不過多吃兩口覺得平平淡淡也挺好的。熱巧克力是個健康的創意，用甜菜根的天然甜味來取代額外的砂糖，不過甜菜根的味道滿重的，不喜歡的慎點。
The food at Brut Cake Cafe is some hits and some misses for me, but I do appreciate the chef’s efforts and look forward to more delicious things he will put forth in the future. Come try brunch next week to see how you like it, or simply sit out on the patio on a nice day to enjoy the sun…pets welcome, too!
Brut Cake Cafe，好個溫暖可愛的地方。推薦炸雞華夫餅以及菲式醬醋雞，其他料理算然不是我的最愛，不過感受得到主廚的用心，令人期待以後會推出更多的健康美味。天氣好時坐在窗邊或露台，喝杯咖啡放松心情吧！這裏還有寵物專區，歡迎帶狗狗來哦。
Brut Cake Cafe
地址：愚園路698號
電話：17321008129
營業時間：周一至五 7am-9pm 周末 10am-8pm（全天早午餐）
價位：80 – 100元
造訪：2017年4月
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