[Hangzhou 杭州] Random

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Random

Add: D6, #7 Fenghuang Shanjiao Road, Hangzhou
Tel: 0571-8711 8620
Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm (closed on Mon)
Price: ~100 RMB/person
Visited: Mar 2017

My last stop on this trip to Hangzhou was Random, a cafe / select shop located in an old neighborhood not too far from the city center. Its stylish shop front is quite a contrast from the ruggedness surrounding it, making it almost pop out from the background. Though it took a while to find, it was certainly worth the effort…

從東信和創園離開後直奔這次杭州行的最後一個目的地 - Random。穿過鳳凰城山腳下的老社區,拉著行李有點迷路有點狼狽,心裏碎碎念著幹嘛要這麽折騰,不過抵達這三層樓的漂亮小房子時立刻覺得 “呼,來了真好”。大片玻璃的摩登感在老社區裏顯得有點穿越,通透設計讓室內輕盈明亮。這裏藏地有些深,不是個會在無意中經過的地方,客人應該都是慕名而來的吧?

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I first heard about Random at last year’s Design Shanghai, when Random’s founders Norah and Oliver invited me to their pop-up cafe at the exhibition. Though it was just a temporary thing, the cafe made quite an impression, and I’ve been meaning to go visit their actual shop in Hangzhou ever since then.

認識 Random 的 Norah 和 Oliver 是在 2016 年的設計上海,他們當時在展場裏開了個咖啡館,雖然只是爲期四天的快閃店,不過做得相當用心,去過之後一直想著哪天要到他們杭州本店瞧瞧。

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[Hangzhou 杭州] 23Lab Cafe

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The 23 Lab

Add: #20, Dongxin Creative Park, 139 Liuhe Road, Hangzhou
Tel: 0571-8738 2230
WeChat: find23lab
Hours: 10:30am~6:30pm
Visited: Mar 2017

I first found out about 23Lab Cafe on Weibo, and it was love at first sight. I made it a point to visit this lush, green space on my recent trip to Hangzhou, and was delighted to discover that they not only sell plants, but also provide coffee and some simple pastries. For the afternoon, I went with a cup of Guatemala pour over and a piece of banana black tea chiffon cake, lovely and lovely.

一開始在微博上看到 23Lab 時簡直是一見鍾情,心裏默默記著下次到杭州時必須拜訪這綠油油的地方。23Lab 是由兩個熱愛植物的女孩子所打造的空間,郁郁蔥蔥地非常舒服,處處留流出她們的好品味;可惜不住在杭州,否則肯定要搬兩盆植物回家。這裏也有咖啡和甜點,嘗了一杯有焦糖和巧克力氣息的危地馬拉手沖,搭配香蕉紅茶戚風蛋糕,溫柔美好的午後。

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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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[Tokyo 東京] Cafe Kitsuné

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Cafe Kitsuné

Add: 3-17-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato Ku, Tokyo / 東京都港区南青山3-17-1
Tel: +81-3-5786-4842
Hours: 9am-8pm
Website: www.kitsune.fr
Price: coffee ~500 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

French music + fashion label Maison Kitsuné’s cafe in Paris used to be one of my go-to places with friends when I lived there – the outdoor seating under the green shades of Palais Royal is simply perfect on a nice day. But even before Paris, the first Cafe Kitsuné was actually opened in Tokyo back in 2013, located in the stylish Minami-Aoyama area. We explore.

Maison Kitsuné 是個日法混血的音樂+服飾品牌,這幾年來也開起了咖啡店。我住巴黎時就很常去 Palais Royal 裡的 Cafe Kitsuné,簡單有型的小店面加上舒服的露天座位,是我和朋友們聊天的不二選擇。不過早在巴黎之前,Cafe Kitsuné 的第一家店其實開在東京,地點就在潮店雲集的南青山一帶。門面相當低調,一不注意就會錯過,得多多留意。

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The entrance is not especially noticeable to the passerbys, though most people come looking for it specifically, so it’s difficult to miss. The Tokyo cafe was transformed from a Japanese house, and much of the traditional elements have been kept intact or reinforced, such as by installing tatami and fusumi sliding doors custom-made from a 70-year-old studio in Shimbashi.

和巴黎的裝修風格不同,東京店將一個和式空間稍做改造,保留了濃濃的日本味。從門口開始就以竹子爲主材料,室內用了定制的榻榻米和日式拉門(聽說是在新橋一家70多歲的老工作室特別定做的)。

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The baristas are all clad in Kitsuné fashion, and the music is likewise Kitsuné. The vibe is cool, and business is good – the space has always been filled during the few times I passed by, weekends or not.

咖啡師們穿著 Kitsuné 的衣服,店裡的音樂也是 Kitsuné 發行的專輯,風格從頭到尾貫徹的很徹底。咖啡店生意非常的好,我幾次經過時店內都幾乎坐滿了,不論平日還是周末。

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[Tokyo 東京] Onibus Coffee

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Onibus Coffee

Add: 2-14-1 Kamimeguro, Meguro, Tokyo / 東京都 目黒区 上目黒 2-14-1
Tel: +81-3-6412-8683
Hours: 9am-6pm
Website: www.onibuscoffee.com
Price: coffee around 500 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

This time in Tokyo, I visited Nakameguro for the first time. This neighborhood might seem a bit too quiet for those looking for the typical hustle and bustle of Tokyo, but if you, like I, enjoy wandering along small alleyways to discover the everyday life of the locals, you might really like this residential area.

這次來東京,第一次去了中目黑。喜歡熱鬧氣氛,想要盡情購物的人也許會覺得中目黑有些平淡,但如果你和我一樣是喜歡在安靜小巷中逛逛,感受東京當地生活氣氛的話,應該會很喜歡這邊。

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And my reason for visiting Nakameguro was Onibus, a coffee shop and roaster sandwiched between a small park and train tracks. Its founder Sakao Atsushi, an architect-turned-barista, has been attracting coffee lovers from all over the world since he opened his first shop in Okusawa a few years ago, and he named the shop “Onibus” (which means public bus in Portuguese) for exactly this reason – to connect people via coffee.

會來到中目黑,是爲了 Onibus 這家咖啡店。老板坂尾篤史不僅在東京咖啡界是個名人,也紅到了國外 - 我到訪的當天就有從世界各地來喝咖啡的人,包括幾個從加州來的咖啡師。店名 Onibus 在葡萄牙語中是公車的意思,代表著坂尾先生想通過咖啡將人和人聯系起來的概念。

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The shop offers espresso-based coffee brewed on a La Marzocco Linea PB, as well as drip coffee done with Hario V60s. For drip coffee, four choices of coffee beans are available: Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, and Guatemala. I went with the first.

店裡提供義式咖啡和手沖,義式用 La Marzocco Linea PB 做,手沖則是用Hario V60s。我點了手沖,在下面四種豆子中選了 Ethiopia。

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[Hong Kong 香港] The Cupping Room

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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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[Hong Kong 香港] Elephant Grounds

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Elephant Grounds (Wanchai)

Add: 8 Wing Fung St. Wan Chai
Tel: +852 2778 2700
Hours: 8am-10pm
Website: www.elephantgrounds.com
Price: [coffee] 30-68 HKD
Visited: Aug 2016

Occupying this much coveted corner location on Wing Fung Street is Elephant Grounds, a coffee roaster local to Hong Kong. The open store front and warm wooden tones are immediately welcoming, and the interior is equally pleasant with handcrafted furniture by Start from Zero and a custom-made moss wall installation by local plant artist Quest Terrarium. Coffee, anyone?

某天在上環 gough street 逛街時,發現了藏在買手店 Woaw Store 背後 Elephant Grounds。同行的朋友告訴我這家咖啡很不錯,而且冰淇淋三明治非常有名。當天沒時間坐下來,不過幾天後又在灣仔遇見了它。

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There is even a bowl of water for pets at the front, how thoughtful.

灣仔的分店比上環的大了許多,位于星街附近一個熱鬧的街角。開放的門面和溫暖的木頭色都非常吸引人,門口還放了給狗狗們的喝水碗。

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[Hong Kong 香港] Omotesando Koffee

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Omotesando Koffee

Add: 24-25,G/F.,Lee Tung St ,Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2601 3323
Hours: [weekday] 8am-8pm [weekend] 9am-9pm
Website: www.ooo-koffee.com/hongkong.html
Price: [coffee] 40~60 HKD [sweets] 18+ HKD
Visited: Aug 2016

Omotesando Koffee started out as a pop-up shop in Tokyo’s Omotesando district, situated in a tiny, traditional Japanese home. It became famed for its espressos and cube-shaped designs – logo, work station, and even pastries are cube-shaped – that it eventually stayed for 5 years, until the building became too old to sustain the shop. Cafe owner Eiichi Kunimoto then moved it to Toranomon Koffee in Tokyo’s Toranomon Hills, before he expanded to a second Omotesando Koffee in Hong Kong.

香港的第一杯咖啡,在Omotesando Koffee。這家咖啡館的本店設立于東京表參道,據說本來只是家快閃店,沒想到大受歡迎,一開就是5年。本店因爲建築老舊的原因歇業後,主理人國友榮一開了姐妹店 Toranomon Koffee,以及香港灣仔的這家分店。

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The charming surroundings of an old Japanese residential building cannot be replicated in Hong Kong’s Lee Tung Avenue, but just about everything else has been carried over, including Omotesando Koffee’s signature cube design as you can see below.

Omotesando Koffee最明顯的特點就是 “盒子” 主題的設計,從標志、店裝、到甜點,全部都是方塊狀。國友榮一的解釋是:“日本傳統茶道中,泡茶及品嚐的過程都會在一個簡潔場所進行,衝咖啡亦如是,Omotesando Koffee 所提倡的「盒子」概念令我們專注於咖啡。”

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Beans are sourced from the same roaster in Tokyo, and Japanese staff members have been stationed in Hong Kong to ensure the same quality of coffee is served. Omotesando features two house blends, one is a mix of Ethiopian, Brazilian and Indonesian beans with a balanced flavor, and the second is a fruitier blend of Guatemalan and Panama beans.

Omotesando Koffee一部份日本店員常駐香港,提供與東京本店一致的味道,選用咖啡豆也是與日本同樣由小川咖啡室烘焙而成。 根據店員的說法,這裏主打兩款house blend,第一款選用埃塞俄比亞、巴西以及印尼的咖啡豆,味道較平衡;第二款則選用危地馬拉及巴拿馬的咖啡豆,味道較鮮明,果香味比較重。

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[Kyoto] さらさ西陣 Sarasa Nishijin

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さらさ西陣 Sarasa Nishijin

Add: 11-1 Higashi Fujinomori-cho, Murasakino, Kita-ku
Tel: 075-432-5075
Hours: 12-11pm (closed on the last Wed of the month)
Price: 1,000-2,000 yen/person
Visited: Aug 2016

It was way too hot to walk around outside after our lunch at Kanei, so we decided to delay our visit to Daitokuji Temple and went into the cafe next door to cool down a bit more.  I later found out that this cafe named Sarasa has 6 locations across Kyoto, and this particular one we went to in Nishijin is famous for its location inside an 80+ years old public bathhouse.

吃完蕎麥麵後下午兩點多,實在熱的讓人無法在外面走動,決定鑽入隔壁一家看起來很有趣的咖啡店避暑(咦?說好的大德寺呢?)。後來才發現這個 “さらさSarasa” 似乎小有名氣,在京都有六家分店,而我們去的這家西陣店是由一棟80多年曆時的錢湯(公共澡堂)改造而成。

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The logo, designed to resemble steam coming up from a hot spring.

門牌的字體也特意設計成像溫泉裏冒出來的煙。

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Walls of the public bathhouse have been preserved, the patterned tiles rendering the space a little bit dizzying. Even the hair and make-up of the cafe staff is matching with the whole eclectic vibe.

澡堂的牆被完整的保留了下來,整個空間的色彩缤紛無比,連店員的發型和妝容都相當匹配。

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[Kyoto 京都] % Arabica

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% Arabica Kyoto

Add: (Higashiyama) 87-5 Hoshinocho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto
(Arashiyama)3-47 Sagatenryuji Susukinobanacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: 8am-6pm
Price: 350 yen+/coffee
Website: www.arabica.coffee
Visited on: Aug 2016

In September 2014, a coffee shop named “% Arabica” opened right near the beautiful Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto, inside an old Japanese house of over 50 years old. The facade is low-key, but the stylish vibe oozing out from large window panes immediately attracts the passerby.

2014年9月,在古色古香的京都八坂塔旁一棟50多年的日式房子裏,開了一家名叫 “% Arabica” 的咖啡館。外觀低調,然而透過大片玻璃窗滲透出來讓人無法忽視的時髦感,輕而易舉地將路人都吸引了過去。

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The entrance of the shop is a concrete replicate of the cobblestone pattern of Yasaka Street, which makes it seem like the outside pavement continues right into the shop, creating an illusion of a side street off the alleyway.

我在京都住的地方正好在離% Arabica步行五分鍾之處,趁一大早還沒什麽人,找了過去。門口玻璃的通透感,以及店內延用與街道上相似的地磚,都讓人有種鑽入小巷子的錯覺。

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The space is elongated, with a bar on the left, coffee bean storage on the right, and a roasting area deep inside. The transparent cellar displays coffee beans meticulously selected from all over the world, and conveniently, by installing the storage required to maintain temperature and humidity for the best quality coffee beans, it was also provided the necessary support for this old house. A perfect combination of the old and new.

入門後的狹長空間左邊是吧台,右邊是咖啡豆儲存櫃,最裡頭還有烘豆室。透明的咖啡儲存櫃的展示著從世界各地精選而來的豆子,而且很實用的是,在搭建這個嶄新儲存櫃的同時,也給原本木制老房子添了必要的結構支持,是完美的新舊結合。

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This Slayer espresso machine, customized especially for % Arabica, is just too beautiful. I want to learn how to make coffee just so I can use this machine. Tell me you don’t feel the same.

% Arabica這台特別定制的Slayer咖啡機,實在太太太帥了。好想爲了它學會如何煮咖啡(誤)。

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