[Tokyo 東京] フロリレージュ Florilège

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フロリレージュ Florilège

Add:B1 SEIZAN Gaien, 2-5-4, Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo
Tel:+81-3-6440-0878
Website:www.aoyama-florilege.jp/en
Hours:11am-3:30pm,6-11pm
Price:[lunch] 7,000 yen [dinner] 13,000 yen (+tax and service charge)
Visited:Sep 2018

I’ve been hearing such great things about Florilège (2 Michelin stars and #3 in Asian’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018) in the past two years that, as soon as my most recent Tokyo trip was confirmed, I made it top priority to reserve a much coveted seat at this French-inspired restaurant in Jingumae. Thanks to the wonderful Ms. J of TastyTrip, I was able to bypass the online waitlist and get a pretty last minute reservation at lunch. (Merci! Bisous!)

這家位于神宮前的法式餐廳 Florilège 近幾年聲名大噪(米其林二星,亞洲50最佳餐廳排名第三),我想去好一陣子了。這次東京之行來的突然,想訂位時已經全部客滿,還好拖了朋友的福(謝謝 TastyTrip 的 J 小姐),非常臨時地幫我訂到了午餐位子。

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Florilège is the French word for “anthology”, a collection of beautiful poems like flowers. Chef/owner Hiroyasu Kawate purposefully picked this word as he believes that a restaurant isn’t the work of any one single person, but rather is a collection of respect and passion by the producers and chefs, and also warm support by others.

Florilège 的意思是 “如花般優美的詩集”。如此詩情畫意的名字,爲主廚/老板川手寬康所取 – 因爲餐廳不可能由一人完成,需要很多人一起努力…“我希望,Florilège 是與團隊共同譜寫的詩篇。” 哎呀,還沒嚐到到他的料理,已經有點感動了。

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Chef Kawate was born into the restaurant business – his father ran a western-style restaurant, his older brother works a Chinese cuisine chef, and his younger brother as a sushi chef. I read in an earlier interview in which chef Kawate joked that he knew, since kindergarten, that when he grows up he would either become a chef or Anpanman (laughs). After spending his formative kitchen years in France, he returned to Tokyo, passing through legendary establishments like Quintessence (which I visited and was blown away by over 7 years ago…oh my) where he worked as sous chef, before launching his own restaurant in 2009.

川手主廚成長於餐飲業家族,父親是西餐廚師,哥哥是中菜師傅,表弟是壽司廚師。之前他在接受某訪問時曾笑稱 “幼稚園時就知道,自己長大後不是做廚師,就是成爲面包超人”。他赴法習藝回到東京後在鼎鼎大名的 Quintessence 擔任副主廚,並于 2009 年開出了自己的餐廳。

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The design of Florilège is not unlike that of a theater, with the open kitchen as the main stage, and 16 spectator seats surrounding it (a private room that seats 6 is also available). The fluidity between the kitchen and the tables allow chefs to flow freely in between, presenting freshly-plated dishes to the amused guests.

餐廳的設計像劇場般,共有22個座位圍繞著開放式廚房,廚師完成料理後直接將盤子遞給客人並做解說。川手主廚說這個不分內外場的空間是他所想要的一體感 – 客人與廚房、廚房與食材,整個餐廳與用餐體驗是連成一線的。

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Deviating from the traditional French cooking which tends to be heavy on butter and cream, the imaginative and modern cuisine at Florilège is more focused on using fresh ingredients to conjure up local, seasonal, natural flavors. My lunch menu was as follows:

和傳統法式料理所不同,Florilège 的料理減少了奶油和鮮奶油的成分,取而代之的是以海鮮、蔬菜、水果等食材做出本土、時令、天然的輕盈滋味。當日菜單如下:

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1st course: baby corn from Nagano and polenta were mixed and baked, then whimsically placed back into the corn husk and presented as if freshly harvested. The natural sweetness and soothing texture was a gentle start to the meal.

第一道由長野縣出産的小玉米和 polenta 玉米糕混合並烤制而成,入口時滿口香甜。

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2nd course: slices of Hokkaido scallops layered with paper-thin sheets of marinated Japanese turnip, topped with kombu powder and citrus caviar. Think umami overload. On the side is fromage blanc enveloped in a layer of yogurt coating, then topped with lemon cream.

第二道是鮮味爆表的北海道扇貝佐腌漬過的蘿蔔薄片,以昆布粉末和檸檬魚子醬點綴。旁邊是 fromage blanc 白芝士(新鮮,還未發酵的芝士)、外面裹了一層酸奶以及檸檬奶油。

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3rd course: marinated mackerel draped with the softest tofu skin, sleeping on a bed of sliced potatoes and truffles, blue cheese sauce, and finally adorned with a sprinkle of sisho flowers. A combination that’s bold yet harmonious,  a true surprise and delight for the tastebuds.

第三道:醋腌青花魚上蓋了一層豆腐皮、下面搭配馬鈴薯和黑松露薄片、藍紋起司醬、最後撒上紫蘇花。這搭配創新大膽,風味又調得恰到好處,非常平衡,沒有任何突兀感。

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Accompanied by a sakekasu steamed bun, fluffy like a dream.

附送了一個像夢境一樣柔軟的清酒酒粕面包。

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4th course: Miyazaki beef, consommé, hay-smoked potato espuma, with parsley sauce. Inspired by Japanese shabu shabu hotpot, the beef was served in a raw thin slice, then poured with an incredible aromatic beef vegetable consommé at the table to cooked it just slightly…

第四道:宮崎牛、牛肉清湯、帶有稻草香氣的土豆慕斯、荷蘭芹醬。這道菜的靈感來自涮涮鍋,一片生牛肉端上桌後,高湯緩緩澆下,慢慢燙熟。高湯是以各種蔬菜與牛骨、牛筋等一起熬製三小時而成,還沒入口已芳香撲鼻…

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Typically, meat from cows who have given birth is considered too tough and not usable for high-end dining, but chef Kawate, in his determination to limit food waste and promote sustainability, has found a way to tenderize meat from 13-year-old cows by drying it overnight and slicing it extremely finely. A little note is served with this dish to explain this effort.

一般高級餐廳喜歡使用肉質自然鮮嫩的三歲以下小牛,但川手主廚想證明即使是大部分人認爲無可利用的老牛肉一樣能變化出美味的料理,因此選擇了十三歲的宮崎牛。“不浪費食材” 和 “永續性發展”,是他所想要追求的。

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5th course: plump, juicy shiitake slices with Bacchus cheese chawamushi, served with a creamy sauce also flavored with Bacchus cheese (produced by Kiyomizu Ranch in Nagano) and a few leaves of oxalis for acidity. Wonderful flavors, but a little on the heavy side as this was the second dish in this meal to be served with a cheese sauce.

第五道:香菇薄片搭配以長野縣清水農莊出産的 Bacchus 起司做的湯汁以及茶碗蒸、最後以酸味迷人的 oxalis 炸醬草裝飾。味道是好,不過套餐裏兩次出現起司醬汁,對我來說稍微有點重了。

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6th course: guinea fowl, presented whole to us before it was to be sliced and shared amongst different groups of guests.

第六道是以烤珠雞爲主角的料理,在上桌前服務員先將整只珠雞拿出來給我們做了展示。

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It was then presented with red wine sauce, perilla leaf sauce, sticky rice, and kujo green onions. The guinea fowl was so tender that I was inclined to think it was cooked sous vide…except I had just seen it roasted whole a few minutes ago. Impressed.

最後呈現的方式是搭配紅酒醬汁及青紫蘇醬、糯米飯、九條青蔥。這珠雞明明是烤制而成,但軟嫩程度像用低溫慢煮過似的,非常驚豔。

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7th course: Miyazaki mango, coconut blanc-manger, milk powder, mango sauce. In comparison to the preceding savory dishes, the dessert seemed almost too straight forward – tasty (one can’t really go wrong with mango + coconut) but lacking a wow factor. Chef, are you hiring in the pastry department? I’m raising my hand (and am only half joking).

第七道:宮崎芒果、椰子 blanc-manger 奶酪、牛奶粉末、芒果醬。相對剛才的料理而言,甜點顯得簡單直白,雖然味道也非常好,但並沒有令人眼睛一亮。主廚,您招甜點師嗎?(舉手)

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There was an intriguing “Gift: Amazon Cacao” marked on the menu, and it came as a pleasant surprise in a form of a second dessert –  tender cacao “omelet” served with espresso sauce and fromage blanc. Simple as it looked, it was actually very memorable with its intense cacao flavor, which lingered on my palate long after the plate has been cleared.

一般午餐是6-7道,但當天菜單上還印了一個 “小禮物”:亞馬遜可可。柔嫩的可可 “蛋卷” 搭配濃縮咖啡醬汁和白芝士,雖然貌不驚人,但吃完許久仍齒頰留香。

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Tea or coffee to end, paired with cute little ground cherries in a layer of apricot jam.

最後附送茶或咖啡,搭配可愛的燈籠果(外面抹了杏桃果醬)。

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Lunch at Florilège was beyond expectations. From the first dish to the last, there’s inspirations to be taken from the chef’s creativity and finesse, which was complemented by the perfect service. It was like waltz in that room, with the entire staff working seamlessly together to present the best to each customer. And the price for this amazing experience? A very reasonable 7,000 yen (+tax and service charge). It’s one of those meals that leaves me completely satisfied, and at the end of it, all I could think of was when to come back to start it all over again.

實在是相當精彩的一頓飯。從第一道菜到最後的小甜點,處處可以看到主廚的創意及功夫,服務更是恰到好處,感覺整個餐廳的工作人員都一心一意要把最好的呈現給客人。另外令人驚訝的是 Florilège 的價格 – 午餐居然只要 7000 日幣(另加稅和服務費),實在是太、值、得、了。已等不及下次再訪。

フロリレージュ Florilège

地址:澀谷區神宮前2-5-4 Seizan外苑B1
電話:+81-3-6440-0878
網站:www.aoyama-florilege.jp/en
營業時間:11am-3:30pm,6-11pm
價位:午餐 7,000 日幣,晚餐13,000日幣(另加稅和服務費)
日期:2018年9月

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