[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] Bar High Five

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Bar High Five

Add: B1F Efflore Ginza 5 Bldg.,5-4-15 Ginza, Chuo Ku / 中央区銀座5-4-15 エフローレギンザ5ビル B1F
Tel: +81-3-3571-5815
Hours: 5pm-1am
Website: www.barhighfive.com
Price: cocktails ~2200 yen
Visited: Oct 2016

Bar High Five is no newcomer to Asia’s 50 Best Bars, and this year it’s ranked #3. (On a related note, Shanghai’s Speak Low is ranked #2). The location is in the basement of a building in Ginza, with about 10 seats at the bar and a couple of small tables on the side. No reservations. We arrived a little before 9pm on a Thursday, and luckily got the last 3 seats at the bar.

銀座的 Bar High Five 是“亞洲50最佳酒吧” 的常駐軍,今年也毫不意外的出現在榜單上,名列第三(順帶一提,上海的 Speak Low 是今年的第二名)。地點在銀座某建築的地下一層,只有吧台10個位子加上後面幾張小桌,不接受訂位。我和朋友八點多抵達,幸運的拿到了吧台最後三個空位。

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Bar High Five’s founder Hidetsugu Ueno began his career in 1992, and is kind of a big deal in the cocktail world both in Japan and abroad. He previously worked at another Japanese cocktail institution – Star Bar – before starting out on his own, moving location once before settling in Ginza. There’s no menu here, his drinks changing according to the mood of his customers – whatever makes them happy.

Bar High Five 的創辦人上野秀嗣在 2004 年獲得了世界 Martini 大賽冠軍,現在也是日本調酒師協會國際部總監。他的酒吧裡沒有酒單,調酒隨著顧客的心情而變:“我調不同的酒,希望客人可以有一段美好時光,這是我的工作。如果他們快樂,我也快樂。”

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Unfortunately Mr. Ueno was not there when I visited, perhaps the busy man was doing a pop-up or workshop somewhere around the world. Taking care of us that night was Kaori Kurakami, the Japanese representative for World Class 2014. After a few questions – Which base liqueur do you prefer? Do you like refreshing? Citrusy? Creamy? Strong in alcohol flavor? Etc., she got started on the mixing.

很可惜我到訪的當晚上野先生不在,可能在世界的某地做 pop-up 或講座吧?留著當家的是 2014 年 World Class 日本代表倉上香裏,在遞上了熱毛巾之後,她問了我們幾個問題 - 喜歡什麽基酒?喜歡偏好帶柑橘清新口味的、creamy的,還是酒味比較強及直接的?Etc. 然後就開始了。

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[Hong Kong 香港] J. Boroski

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J. Boroski

Add: I’m not allowed to say
Tel: +852 2603 6020
Hours: 7pm-late
Price: 100-200 HKD/cocktail
Visited: Aug 2016

In Hong Kong, the hottest place to be sipping cocktails right now is undoubtedly J. Boroski. This hidden bar, just opened a few weeks ago, is tucked away in a small alleyway somewhere in Central (exact location not to be disclosed) and is invitation-only for those in the know – for now.

某天在香港的晚上,朋友問我要不要去一間 “上周才開幕,而且受邀請才能去“ 的秘密酒吧。老實說在上海巴黎也去了不少所謂的 speakeasy bar,心裡默默的懷疑了一下這該不會又是一個空有噱頭,華而不實的地方…不過還是暫且相信朋友的品味,跟著他來到中環某條小巷弄。上方是鋼架、一旁是鐵皮屋,越走越深…然後瞬間鑽入某個不起眼的小門,來到這裏:J. Boroski。

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This, as well as the original J. Boroski in Bangkok, is a collaboration between mixologist Joseph Boroski and interior designer Ashley Sutton. Other than the wildly successful J. Boroski, Sutton has designed quite a few other well-known bars in Bangkok, such as Maggie Choo’s and Iron Fairies, as well as Ophelia which recently opened in Hong Kong.

J. Boroski 是紐約調酒顧問 Joseph Boroski 和澳洲設計師 Ashley Sutton 合作的新酒吧,本來在曼谷有一家,現在開到了香港。Ashley Sutton 在亞洲有不少出名的設計,比如曼谷的 Maggie Choo’s(去過一次,的確是個相當迷幻的空間)和 Iron Fairies,以及在香港剛開幕不久的 Ophelia。

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[Kyoto] Bar Bunkyu バー文久

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Bar Bunkyu バー文久 

Add: KawaramachiSanjo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Tel: 075-211-1982
Hours: 6pm~ (closed on Thu))
Price: ~1000 yen/drink
Visited: Aug 2016

After dinner, we made our way to Bunkyu, a bar hidden in one of the alleyways of the Kawaramachi district.

晚飯之後,我們在昏暗的小巷子裏找到了這家名爲文久的隱秘酒吧。

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Upon passing through the sliding door, I was surprised to find how small the bar is. Under the dim lighting, I could roughly see a roundish square wooden bar top that seats no more than 9, and we were lucky to take up the last few empty spots.

緩緩的推開拉門,發現這個酒吧真的非常小。昏暗的燈光下隱約可以看到一個方方圓圓的木制吧台,圍繞著的座位僅能容納9個人,而我們很幸運的坐到了店內剩下的唯一幾個位子。

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The bartender in charge here is Nao, a friendly guy who’s fun to chat with, and very generous in sharing his knowledge of Kyoto and beyond (he recommended a few places for us in Arashiyama which we ended up visiting, and all were excellent).

店裏的擔當名爲直(Nao),是位笑容可掬的調酒師,整晚和我們聊的非常開心,還給我們推薦岚山不少好地方。他給我看了自己標滿餐廳酒吧的Google Map,看來真的非常喜歡吃喝(忍不住想和他握手)。

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And isn’t this little red-robed man a cutie? Nao mentioned that it’s a hobby of the bar owner to collect these dolls.

話說這個小人偶非常搶鏡,太可愛了。據Nao說,收集這種小玩偶是文久酒吧老板的嗜好。

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[Shanghai 上海] Garden Terrace at Le Baron 花園露台

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Garden Terrace at Le Baron

Add: 7F 20 Donghu Road
Tel: 5424 5181
Hours: Tue-Sat 5-11pm (closed on Sun-Mon)
Price: [alcohol] 70-100 RMB [oysters] 98-256 RMB/dozen from 5-8pm, 198-456 RMB/dozen after 8pm
Visited: May 2016

Shanghai has been raining nonstop lately, so I’m going to tell you about a good place to go when it finally turns sunny and we’ll all have something to look forward to. You might have heard of Le Baron, or are even a frequent patron of this ever-so-popular night club, but you probably didn’t know that it has a lovely garden terrace up on its rooftop. There’s sun, cool breeze, music, alcohol, and the best part is that it’s not so crowded…well, at least for now.

最近上海真是下雨下到人都要長霉了,所以今天決定介紹一個放晴時的好去處給大家心裏曬曬太陽。 你可能知道 Le Baron 這家傳說中紅到很難入場的夜店,不過你應該想不到它的頂樓居然藏了一個隱秘舒適的露台…有陽光、有微風、有音樂、有美酒,而且重點是人超級少。嗯,至少目前爲止是的。

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For those who haven’t been, this is what Le Baron looks like. These two photos were taken in the afternoon before the club opens, hence the lack of people. It’s indeed a bit eerie to see the space this empty, given how happening it is during night time.

我們先看一眼 Le Baron 舞池和 lounge 的部份。這兩張照片是下午還沒開門時拍的,可自行配上人頭竄動的畫面還有咚滋咚滋的背景音樂。

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[Shanghai 上海] Botanist

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Botanist

Add: 17-2 North Xiangyang Road
Tel: 6433 0538
Hours: 7pm-2am (closed on Mon)
Price: 80-95 RMB/cocktail
Visited on: Apr 2016

So Flask is moving because of land issues (new location TBD), and in the meanwhile their second project has already opened its doors. The new bar is called Botanist, apparently they got the inspiration when watching The Martian, in which Matt Damon plays the role of an astronaut/botanist stranded alone on Mars. It’s just a matter of time before this place gets packed everyday, so let’s go now to see what drinks they’ve got…

之前介紹過的 Flask 因爲地的原因要搬家了,新的地點還未確定,而我爲了將要有一段時間吃不到他們美味 grill cheese sandwich 在難過時,老板們的第二家酒吧已默默開幕。新的店名叫 Botanist,說是看到 “The Martian火星人” 裏 Matt Damon 演的生物學家這個角色時得到的靈感。趁他們剛開幕還不需要等位,先去嚐嚐鮮。

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The style of Botanist is completely different from that of Flask – it is not a hidden speakeasy, but rather a street-side bar in plain view. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that can be opened up completely, and there’s a lovely patio bound to be highly sought-after as the weather warms up. True to the “botanist” concept, there are plants everywhere in the space, and not only does that make it all green and pretty,  it actually smells really nice right near the herb wall too. And very importantly, there’s a no smoking policy at Botanist – weee!

Botanist 和 Flas k的風格截然不同,並非隱藏的 speakeasy,而是一目了然的街邊酒吧,有可以整面打開的落地窗和舒服的露台,這個春夏肯定會大受歡迎。利落的線條加上冷色調的白光,走的是有點未來感的設計。以 botanist 植物學家爲概念,空間裏四處都有植物,不僅綠油油的很好看,走近香草牆時真的會聞到淡淡的香味。此外,Botanist 室內禁煙這點更是另我開心。

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[Shanghai 上海] Speak Low

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Speak Low

Add: 579 Middle Fuxing Road, near Second Ruijin Road
Tel: 6416 0133
Hours: 6pm-late
Price: [2nd floor] 70-90 RMB/cocktail [3rd floor] 110-220 RMB/cocktail
Visited: Oct 2015

There is a quiet little shop on Middle Fuxing Road called “Ocho” selling a neat range of bar tools, many of which curated from Japan by one of the Japanese shop owners. It’s sleek enough to make bartenders drool, but I suppose this doesn’t really concern the rest of us who don’t make cocktails for a living?

復興中路上有家安靜的小店叫做 “Ocho”,裏面陳列著各式各樣的調酒用具,聽說其中不少是老板從日本特別挑選來的精品。這些亮晶晶的東西看起來的確漂亮,不過你說,我又不是調酒師,這跟我沒什麽關系吧?

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But not so quick. You see, there is something curious about this mannequin pointing its finger to the book shelf on the left…

慢,別這麽急。你看這個人偶,如此果斷的指著自己左邊的書架,是不是有點奇怪呢?

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