Finally got to visit The Bridge @thebridge_chengdu in Chengdu, at its home base, only 9 days after their collaboration with RAW in Taipei. Envisioned by Andre Chiang @andrechiang_sg , The Bridge reinterprets Sichuan cuisine in a contemporary, worldly fashion that is more approachable to foreign visitors. Some dishes are so modern that I even feel fit for a modern French restaurant in Tokyo, Hong Kong or any other Asian city in the world.   There were quite many highlights but my favorite showstopper was the cold dishes—try to think of it as Sichuan tapas. We had 18 kinds of them and each was pleasantly presented and finely executed. Green “honey plum” just in season was pickled in the Chinese white wine “Wuliangye,” the floral note of which reminded me of melon. Another specialty was lotus root shoots pickled in the famous green tea of Sichuan, “Green Bamboo Leaf.” Soda pickled baby olives were also surprisingly crunchy. Next time when I go back, I would go for the a la carte menu and enjoy another experience at this historic monument that was once visited by Marco Polo over 1000 years ago.  #食況轉播 #成都  在 #玉芝蘭 後吃 #廊橋，我認為是非常好的對比。  一中一西，一傳統一現代，這姑且是粗淺的二分法，不過就二間餐廳的核心思維而言，確實如此。  廊橋的前身是一間高檔川菜餐廳「廊橋酒樓」，開業於2004年，二代經營者倪鶯珂（Hebe Ni）接手後，聘請江振誠主廚前來打造2.0版，2017年12月以全新面貌示人，英文名字「The Bridge」 被安上了，室內室外裝潢變摩登了。  其實我們都清楚江振誠主廚擅長的套路，他所謂「國際化的川菜」與「國際化的台灣味」，基本概念是一樣的，就是要讓川菜或台灣味說著國際語言。不過若與RAW再仔細比較，RAW原則上是用法國菜的邏輯在做，廊橋的川菜本質強上許多（畢竟還有一位真正的川菜師傅李順洪）。江振誠用「在四川出生、在國外長大」來形容廊橋，真是相當貼切。  喝過洋墨水的川菜是什麼味道？同樣是儀式感濃厚的tasting menu，與玉芝蘭一比，江振誠經過內化的法菜訓練昭然若揭。好比當季新菜「蟹黃涼板栗湯」，纖細的味道、解構的邏輯，根本就是法菜了吧—花蟹肉拆了與蟹黃、紅蔥頭拌成沙拉，裹進紅薯做的涼皮裡，板栗與清水熬成冷湯做底，點綴上氣味殊異的菜籽油。這道菜很好吃，出現在廊橋恰當，出現在任何一間現代法菜餐廳都恰當。  如果說法式fine dining有什麼值得川菜（或者放大範圍至中菜）借鏡之處，美感呈現絕對是一個重點。我非常非常喜歡廊橋的涼菜，那晚我們嚐到了十八款，侍者一次次放下小皿，一次次相碰出清脆鏗鏘，一個個六角小皿逐漸相連成蜂巢，蜂巢裡一格格是形色繽紛造型秀異的小菜，那之賞心悅目、之教人興奮，恐怕是成都罕見。味道也頗多驚喜，好幾樣都讓我一嚐傾心，譬如當令的蜂蜜李，漬了五糧液，微微酒酵與燦燦花香十分迷人，香甜芬芳宛如哈密瓜；又譬如醒目橄欖，用汽水去泡，一咬像是實一點的荸薺在舌上裂解，脆生生清爽爽；又譬如迷你秀嫩的蓮藕芽，漬了四川名物「竹葉青」綠茶，清酸中飄茶鮮，優雅至極。  單點菜色也頗優，其實來廊橋點幾道菜配竹筒飯吃，輕鬆自在又舒服，下次我就打算這麼做。  所以一個外國旅客來到成都，想吃一餐fine dining川菜，相較於玉芝蘭，我相信他會更享受、更理解廊橋。  詳情就等我另外撰文了。  #chengdu #sichuan #thebridge廊橋 #andrechiang #江振誠 #selftaughtgourmet #selfaughtgourmet_chengdu