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Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Add: Bvlgari Ginza Tower 2-7-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 6362 0555
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am – 2pm L.O. [dinner] 5:30 – 8:30pm L.O. (closed on Sun & Mon)
Website: www.bulgarihotels.com
Price: tasting menu 25,000 yen + 8% tax + 13% service charge
Visited: Nov 2018
It might have been the company. I was at dinner with two charming ladies, the three of us seated snugly at Il Ristorante Luca Fantin’s chef’s table right outside the kitchen action – a setting sexy enough to swoon over for. But when I found myself closing my eyes on the very first bite so I could concentrate on the intricate tangle of tastes and textures in my mouth, I knew that I was in for a wonderful adventure.
可能是當下的氣氛吧。這天晚上，我與兩位迷人的女士一同坐在 Il Ristorante Luca Fantin 的 chef’s table，這張私密的餐桌就在廚房邊上，不僅讓我們能一窺後廚的機密，每道菜完成後更由主廚親自端到我們桌邊並進行介紹 – 完全是美食家夢寐以求的場景。當我吃下第一口料理，我察覺到自己閉上了眼睛以便專注於感受舌尖上的風味變化…我知道，這場晚餐將會是一場奇妙的旅程。
But perhaps, let us back up a few steps and look at this restaurant in its elegant entirety. Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, perched on the 9th floor of the Bvlgari Tower in Ginza, Tokyo, is an unbearably gorgeous dining room – soaring ceiling, bespoke chandeliers, and towering windows that allows in an abundance of natural light during the day and all the Ginza glitz at night. It is here where chef Luca Fantin, the first Italian chef in Japan to hold a Michelin star, conjures up his magical dishes.
不過讓我們先退後幾步，來看看 Il Ristorante Luca Fantin 這家餐廳的全貌。地點在東京銀座寶格麗大樓的9樓，是個優雅高貴的空間 – 挑高的天花板，別緻的水晶燈，巨大的玻璃窗讓餐廳在白天享有奢侈的自然光，晚間則可以將銀座的繁華盡收眼底。就是在這裡，首位於日本拿到米其林星星的義大利主廚 Luca Fantin 如戲法般炮製出一道又一道的美味料理。
Born in Treviso, Italy, chef Luca arrived in Tokyo in 2009 as Executive Chef at Il Ristorante, to push the boundaries of Italian cuisine in Japan, taking it to levels never reached before. He embarked on a quest for small producers all around Japan, and then utilized these often rare and always precious ingredients to craft dishes that embody the Italian passion for simplicity and the Japanese almost mystical awe of nature’s wonders.
*Prior to Il Ristorante, chef Luca worked at Pergola (3 Michelin stars) in Rome, Cracco in Milan (2 Michelin stars), Mugaritz in San Sebastien (2 Michelin stars), and Ryugin in Tokyo (3 Michelin stars) amongst other prestigious establishments.
Chef Luca 出身於義大利特雷維索（Treviso），2009年受邀成為東京寶格麗 Il Ristorante 餐廳的主廚，決心將日本的義大利餐廳推至前所未有的高度。他開始周遊日本找尋小農，然後用所尋獲的珍稀食材結合自己對義大利料理的熱情以及深厚功力，做出獨特而細膩的創作。
*在來到 Il Ristorante 之前，Chef Luca 曾在羅馬的 Pergola（三星），米蘭的 Cracco（二星），聖塞巴斯蒂安的 Mugaritz（二星），以東京的龍吟（三星）工作過，履歷相當精彩。
To awaken our palates, he first sent over these dainty little white chocolate balls filled with Campari and Japanese citrus.
他先送來了幾顆白巧克力球。含入嘴裡一口咬開，義大利金巴利酒以及日本柑橘的香氣充滿了口腔，瞬間喚醒了我們的味蕾。
Then, a tomato water meringue with burrata, some rice crisps with parmesan cream, grissini with prosciutto espuma, and “olives” made from vegetable gelatin stuffed with ricotta cheese and cod fish.
接下來的開胃小點，有番茄和水牛芝士口味的馬卡龍，米餅配帕瑪森芝士奶油，義大利麵包棒佐生火腿泡沫，以及看似橄欖，但其實是用植物性吉利丁塑形而成的凍糕，裡面填了瑞克塔芝士以及鱈魚。
By the time the antipasto misto came, I was a believer. Chef Luca designs his menus strictly according to the season’s availability, and it can’t be better exemplified by these appetizers, a beautifully curated selection of what’s in season: fugu carpaccio, kampachi (amberjack) with beets and tomato, sea urchin with yellow cauliflower, scallop in olive oil, fried squid with black ink, octopus with spinach, samma (mackerel pike) with its liver, homemade bottarga bruschetta…
當 antipasto misto（綜合開味菜）上桌時，我瞬間被驚艷了。剛才提過 Chef Luca 重視當季食材，不遠千里探訪農場，而這一系列由別緻圓盤乘裝的精緻小點就像季節的縮影一般 – 生河豚薄片、鰤魚及甜菜根和番茄、海膽佐黃花椰菜、橄欖油扇貝、墨汁炸魷魚、菠菜章魚、秋刀魚及魚肝、自家制烏魚子義大利麵包…
The effort to use local ingredients even extends to the extra virgin olive oil to be served along side these remarkable breads.
就連可以輕易進口義大利橄欖油，Chef Luca 也特地找到了在日本當地產的頂級橄欖油，來搭配甜點師 Fabrizio 所烤製的麵包。
Pastry chef Fabrizio Fiorani.
甜點師 Fabrizio Fiorani。
The first course after the appetizers was king crab stuffed with tiny white shrimps, served with a dollop of celeriac cream. A bit of poetry on a plate.
前菜後的第一道料理是塞了小白蝦帝王蟹肉，以柔和的芹菜根泥搭配。點綴著一朵花，如盤子上一首優美的詩。
Then, a ravioli filled with cream of potato, topped generously with Japanese caviar from Miyazaki. The flavors are round and voluptuous – who knew potato could be so sexy?
接著，一只填了馬鈴薯奶油的義大利餃子，上面滿滿堆疊著來自日本宮崎的魚子醬。這餃子個頭雖小，但風味豐腴、充滿立體感…誰會想到馬鈴薯也能如此性感呢？
Just as luck would have it, we were in time for the first white truffle chef Luca received this year. He shaved it over a bed of extraordinary risotto – pure pleasure.
很幸運的，我們正好趕上了 Chef Luca 今年收到的第一份艾爾巴白松露。原本已非常誘人的義式燉飯再添上現削白松露的濃郁香氣，令人完全無法抵抗。
That was followed by a piece of tuna – whose texture and flavor so meat-like I had check with the chef that this was indeed fish – with caramelized onions and a little herb salad.
第一道主菜是鮪魚佐焦糖洋蔥以及香草沙拉，不過 Chef Luca 選用的部位不論口感和風味吃起來都和肉非常相似，讓我們驚訝了很久。
Finally, venison with truffles (black this time) and fig. Everything that’s come before has been building to this moment, preparing the palate for this stunning dish.The venison has been aged in fat for 6 weeks, removing unpleasant flavors typical of gamey meats and leaving just the rich, the primal, the stuff of dreams. It is the high point of the meal…if it is possible to coax more flavors out of a piece of venison, I have yet to experience it.
第二道主菜是鹿肉搭配黑松露以及燉煮過的無花果。Chef Luca 將鹿肉包裹於脂肪下熟成了6週時間以去除不討喜的騷味，留下的只有濃郁、誘人的肉香。這道料理無疑是本餐的高潮，似乎之前所有的菜都為它做鋪陳…不得不說，這是我目前嘗過最精彩的一道鹿肉料理。
On a related note, here’s a lineup of the handsome wines we tasted that evening.
順便看一眼當晚喝到的美酒們。
But it’s not quite over yet. We were invited to leave chef’s table to move into an elegant private space next to the dining room, where we were presented with Sauturnes from none other than Chateau d’Yquem itself. The satiny texture of this luxurious sweet one lingers on our tongues as we waited for desserts…
但這頓飯還未結束呢。我們接著被帶到一個優雅的包房裡，由侍者為我們倒上來自法國伊甘莊園（Chateau d’Yquem）的貴腐酒。那如綢緞般絲滑的甜味在舌尖上游移的同時，我們開始期待甜點…
In came pastry chef Fabrizio, and a flurry of delicious sweet things.
不久後，甜點師 Fabrizio 以及他一連串的甜蜜創作跟著進來了。
First there was an adorable chestnut-shaped monaka filled with glazed chestnuts from Piemonte, chestnut ice-cream, caramel sauce, and meringue. This combination may sound overwhelmingly sweet, but it was just the right bite.
首先是一個小巧可愛的栗子形狀 “最中”（由米做成的脆餅，是日本傳統甜點之一），裡面填了義大利皮埃蒙特（Piemonte）的糖漬栗子、栗子冰淇淋、焦糖醬、以及蛋白霜。聽起來甜膩，但吃下去卻是恰到好處的一口。
Then there was a pear tart, but not just any pear tart. Chef Fabrizio combined Southern Italian ricotta pear tart with Norther Italian caramelized pear tart into layers of ricotta, meringue, pear puree, sable with bits of almond, served with caramel ice-cream. The pear flavor was remarkably pronounced, lingering like the final note of a flute whose sound you feel long after the music itself is gone.
接著來了個梨子塔，但可不是一般的梨子塔。Fabrizio 將南義和北義分別的傳統 – 梨子瑞克塔芝士塔以及焦糖梨子塔 – 融合成了這道層次豐富的甜點：瑞克塔芝士奶油、脆口的蛋白霜、香氣十足的梨子果醬、杏仁酥餅、以及帶來溫度變化的焦糖冰淇淋。溫和的梨子一般不容易表現的出色，但這款甜點的梨子風味令人印象深刻，像樂曲結束後仍一直在腦海中停留的音符一般。
After layers of pear came layers of raspberries – jelly made with Californian raspberries, namelaka (a type of chocolate ganache), crushed biscuits mixed with hazelnut paste and raspberry puree, topped with white chocolate sprayed with the form of a raspberry. Think raspberry, then think again.
覆盆子也同樣被 Fabrizio 以豐富的層次呈現 – 加州覆盆子做的酸甜果醬、濃郁的 namelaka 巧克力甘納許、餅乾碎和榛果醬以及覆盆子醬做成的做成的薄脆、以及最後印有覆盆子圖案的白巧克力裝飾。想像一下你所知道的覆盆子的風味…然後再想像一下。
My favorite of it all, however, was this. Semifreddo made with milk from Hokkaido, airy milk espuma for lightness, pine nuts for texture and flavor, liquid nitrogen milk crumbles for variations in temperature, white truffles from Alba, oblate disc (wafer paper) cooked with Mexican vanilla, then…more white truffles.
不過我最愛的，是這個。北海道牛奶製成的凍糕、輕盈的牛奶泡沫、松子的香氣和口感、液態氮速凍製成的牛奶冰、現削的義大利艾爾巴白松露、墨西哥香草風味的米紙…還有，更多的白松露。可以輕鬆吃完，並會有衝動再點一份，如此美妙。
To finish, a striking setup of petits fours: raspberry jelly, pecan tart, lemon tart, Hokkaido melon jelly, peanut cream, tiramisu creampuff…
最後的最後，是 petits fours 的華麗呈現：覆盆子果凍、胡桃塔、檸檬塔、北海道蜜瓜果凍、花生餅、提拉米蘇泡芙…
As I walked out of the restaurant into the cool Autumn air of Tokyo, all I could really think of, was to have it start from the beginning all over again. Luckily for me, I was due to go back for another meal at Il Ristorante Luca Fantin just two days after this feast…for a collaboration between chef Luca Fantin and chef Kirk Westaway of Jaan from Singapore. Stay tuned.
當我離開餐廳步入東京微涼舒適的秋日夜晚，我唯一想做的，就是從頭到尾再體驗一次這場精彩的盛宴。非常幸運地，我兩天後將再度回到 Il Ristorante Luca Fantin，品嚐他們和新加坡米其林二星餐廳 Jaan 的主廚 Kirk Westaway 的四手餐會。請靜候我的分享。
Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
地址：東京都中央區銀座2-7-12 寶格麗銀座塔9F
電話：+81 3 6362 0555
營業時間：[午餐] 11:30am – 2pm L.O. [晚餐] 5:30 – 8:30pm L.O. (週一/日休)
網站：www.bulgarihotels.com
價位：tasting menu 25,000日幣 + 8% 税 + 13% 服務費
造訪：2018年11月
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