新浪尚品

　　踱入气势恢宏的苏州香格里拉大酒店转门内，映入眼帘的是金碧辉煌的大厅。而简约精雅的扶梯尽头即是色调温暖、环境优雅的美丽的香宫餐厅。

鲜美精致的虾仁

　　餐厅大堂内座无虚席，衣着光鲜的苏州人在此享用着这座城市中所能觅到的顶级美味。苏州的发展低调而高速，而高铁更是令其与上海的距离缩短至投石之遥。我们被安排在半开放式的私人区用餐。

　　精美的餐具旁，行政主厨Richard薛的创新菜品标识十分显眼。这位经验丰富的资深主厨已经为香格里拉大酒店掌勺22年，近期刚从南京调往苏州。薛先生有足够的理由为他出色的技艺自豪，在晚餐的大部分时间他陪同着我们，为我们讲解他独特的食材选择与烹饪技法，而他的厨艺正是因此闻名。带有特殊标识的鸡蛋标明其产自特定的农场、以有机方法饲养的母鸡；羔羊肉则来自苏州近邻的一家专业从事养殖并向全国供应一流羔羊肉的农场。

　　苏州香格里拉大酒店自产并封装的葡萄酒亦令晚餐增色不少。它以苏州地区所产葡萄为原料，在本地加工而成。考虑到大多数中国产的葡萄酒品质与法国、意大利、加州、智利和澳洲的葡萄酒相去甚远，苏州香格里拉的葡萄酒确实令人眼前一亮。与产自欧洲、美洲的那些强调酒体结构的解百纳相比，这种解百纳的口感十分柔顺，甚至可以媲美梅洛酒那种天鹅绒般的丝滑感，与精美的菜品相得益彰，可谓一款低调奢华的私房酒，尤其适于搭配口味清爽的苏州菜。

阳澄湖大闸蟹

　　接下来呈上的两组菜品色香味均属极佳，完美的造型诠释了薛主厨独到的烹饪艺术天赋。鸡汤焖豆皮、野菜锅贴和鸡头米炒河虾味美可口；而“太湖三白”——白鱼、白虾、银鱼的绝配令人拍案，在专业、精细搭配的首轮开胃菜中，无疑是最大亮点。

　　三种鱼的烹饪技法都极为独特，充分展现出附近著名的太湖中鱼类的多样性。另一道美食是我首次品尝到的清蒸阳澄湖大闸蟹。这是苏州的顶级美味之一，且仅在秋季才有机会品尝。大闸蟹的捕捞控制十分严格，产量的50%销往全球。这种苏州淡水蟹素以味道鲜甜、肉质柔嫩闻名于世。

鱼汤手擀面

　　还有令我难忘的鱼汤手擀面，裹满辅料的面身泛着银光，柔韧相间；美妙的汤汁配料精巧丰富。能讨教这道菜的制作秘诀么？恐怕不能吧，因为这样可能会对薛主厨很无礼。而实际上薛先生雅量高致，丝毫不吝于向我们讲解任菜品的配料。

　　当晚最难忘的美味当属一道羔羊肉，烹制精美的羔羊肉切成薄条，覆以晶莹剔透的水晶汁，再切成段状呈上，宛如一片片肥美的火腿。其味道鲜美到超乎想象，俨然成为当晚最刺激食欲的明星菜，令我欲罢不能。老实说，若让我仅仅单独享用这道羊肉菜品，我也会心满意足。

　　对大多人而言，香宫称得上是餐厅中的魁首，是营造浪漫氛围、取悦重要客户与朋友的不二之选。薛主厨对于他的工作充满激情，成就卓越。在这种酒店餐厅里能欣赏到如此高超的烹饪艺术令人惊喜。现在你知道我会在哪里度过自己的生日和情人节了吧！

　　服务： 非常好

　　菜品： 非常好

　　环境： 很好

　　人均： 200-300元

　　地址： 苏州塔园路168号   苏州香格里拉酒店二层

　　电话： 0512‐6808 0168

　　Gliding through the revolving doorof Suzhou’s spectacular Shangri?La Hotel brought us into a lobby that was awash in golds andbrowns and, in an understated but elegant manner, pointed the way to the warmthand refined décor of its beautiful Shang Palace restaurant. Up the stairways wewere lead by Michelle Qu, their charming Communications Manager and we were sofortunate to be joined by the Founder of BestFoodinChina.com, Simon Pan。

　　We were ushered into a privatedining area that was not enclosed but away from the main room which was filledwith elegantly dressed Suzhou ren partaking of some of the finest foodavailable in this gentle but fast?growing city, just a stone’s throw away fromShanghai by bullet train。

　　The place settings were beautifuland a clear signal of the refined dishes created by Executive Chef Richard Xue,a 22 year veteran of Shangri?La hotels and most recently from their Nanjingvenue. Chef Xue is rightfully

　　proud of his craft and joined us for much of the dinner, telling us about theingredients and cooking techniques his kitchen has become noted for. Eggs arespecially marked to indicate they are from area farms and from hens raised andtended organically. The lamb comes from a neighborhood in Suzhouthat specializes in raising and preparing superb lamb for the market and whichis then shipped all over China。

　　Dinner itself was enhanced by wineproduced and bottled by the Shangri?La Hotels using grapes produced in the Suzhou area and createdlocally. It was surprisingly good as I must say much wine made in China has a long way to go to compete withFrench, Italian, California,Chilean or Australian wines. It was a cabernet but much more accessible thanthe often structured cabernets of European or American descent, almost asvelvety smooth as a merlot and a perfect complement for the delicate dishesthat were served. It is an understated house wine made especially for thegentle cuisine of Suzhou。

　　What came next was a double groupingof dishes that were simply exquisite in taste, fragrance and appearance. Thepresentations were impeccable and demonstrated the true artistic talent of ChefXue。

　　Braised shredded beancurd skin in chicken broth, Pan?fried Wild Vegetable Dumplingsand Stir?fried Shrimp with Euryale Seeds were delicious but the Tai Lake ThreeWhite, a stunning triad of white fish, white shrimp and silver fish was theabsolute stand out of the first round of delicacies delivered in a veryprofessional and attentive style。

　　Each of the three fish were cookedin a most distinctive way and reflected the rich fish varieties from the nearbyand very famous Tai Lake. The other stunningdish was my first taste of Steamed Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab, one of the greatdishes of Suzhouand only available in November and December. The catch is carefully controlledand 50% are shipped to other parts of the world who have come to know thismildly

　　sweet and delicate crustacean from the fresh waters of Suzhou。

　　Additionally, I will never forgetthe boiled home made noodles in superior fish broth. The noodles wereshimmering slivers of tasty morsels and melted in one’s mouth and the broth wasbrilliant in its subtle but complex mix of ingredients. Could I really haveasked for the recipe? I think not as to do so might offend Chef Xue but he wasmagnanimous in discussing the ingredients of anything we were so fortunate totaste。

　　The most unforgettable taste of theevening was a lamb dish, with thin strips of lamb cooked very delicately over ashimmering gel which, when cut for serving looked a bit like a very rich sliceof bacon. The taste was beyond belief and I had more than my share but had tostop as it was in the appetizer portion of the dinner. To be honest, I wouldhave been more than satisfied to have the lamb and the lamb alone。

　　For most, Shang Palaceis a destination restaurant, a must for a romantic special occasion or todelight and impress one’s most valued clients or associates. Chef Yue isbrilliant and passionate about his work. What a

　　delightful surprise to find such artistry in a hotel restaurant. You know whereI will spend my January birthday and Valentine’s Day。

　　-- by Brian A. Schwartz

　　Service quality: excellent

　　Food quality: excellent

　　Environment: very good

　　Price per head (RMB)： 200-300

　　(作者： Brian A.Schwartz 翻译： 孙祥)