(由 Google 翻译)多么令人愉悦的餐厅啊!
要理解梅尔巴餐厅,或许首先要理解它的理念——小盘菜,供大家分享。菜单分为开胃菜和大盘菜,但即使是大盘菜——正如我们的服务员解释的那样——也很清淡,适合大家分享。这种理念的一个挑战是,要弄清楚需要点多少道菜才能满足全桌人的口味。另一个挑战是,所有用餐者都必须了解所有可能点的菜,并明确自己将要点的菜量。
为了应对这些挑战,我们的服务员非常乐于助人,尤其是考虑到我们一行四人只说英语。他仔细地讲解了整个菜单,解答了我们的疑问,并帮助我们确定了点菜的份量。我们非常感谢他的耐心。
与他热情周到的服务相得益彰的是餐厅轻松舒适的氛围。餐厅里噪音很小。所有顾客都玩得很开心,餐厅里也坐满了人,但我从不费力地听着同伴们的说话,也不必为了别人听清而提高音量。
开胃菜方面,我们桌上有奶酪泡芙(如图)、龙虾卷(如图)和夏季巴巴胡安。奶酪泡芙完全符合人们对这种糕点的期望,配上美味的山羊奶酪、荷兰豆片和豌豆泥;豌豆的浓郁香味让我想起了小时候在父母的花园里散步,摘豌豆吃藤上的情景。龙虾卷是可爱的小点心,抓住了这道菜的精髓——煮熟的龙虾和烤面包。巴巴胡安是美味的小点心,工作人员无需询问,就好心地为我妻子准备了四种糕点中的一种,不加鱼,以满足她对鱼的过敏。
对于大盘菜,他们首先端上了我们点的两道冷盘——牛肉鞑靼(如图)和腌大比目鱼(如图)。两道菜的生食都非常精致。牛肉鞑靼展现了高超的刀工,将牛肉切成完美、小巧且大小均匀的方块。鞑靼牛肉没有搭配烤面包,而是在最后一刻拌入了小面包丁。大比目鱼体现了贯穿整道菜的精髓——大胆运用酸味,让每道菜都跃然纸上。
之后,他们又上了另外三道菜——意大利扁意面、多菲内馄饨(如图)和烤红点鲑(如图)。我让家人享用了意面,所以我无法评论,只知道他们非常喜欢。我则专注于烤红点鲑——烹饪得非常完美,酱汁也非常丰富。
甜点方面,我喜欢布里奶酪慕斯(如图),而同桌的其他人则喜欢瓦舍林奶酪(如图)和果仁糖冰冻芭菲(如图)。我的甜点咸味十足,有点像奶酪,但甜度也恰到好处,可以算作甜点。我的同伴们也对他们的甜点非常满意。
总的来说,这是一顿很棒的晚餐。梅尔巴是我们魁北克城之旅的亮点之一。
(原文)
What a delightful restaurant!
Understanding Melba is perhaps first about understanding the concept -- small plates intended to be shared. The menu is divided into hors d'oeuvres and larger plates, but even the larger plates -- as our server explained -- are light and intended to be shared. One challenge with such a concept is figuring out how many dishes to get to satisfy the whole table. Another challenge is that all diners must understand all dishes that might be ordered, consenting to what they would be consuming.
To address these challenges, our server was exceedingly helpful, especially so given our group of four English-only speakers. He went through the entire menu in detail, answered questions, and helped us figure out just how much food to order. We were very grateful for his patient attention.
Complementing the helpful service was the casual and comfortable atmosphere. The noise level was quite low. All the patrons were having a good time, and the restaurant was full, but I never struggled to hear my dining companions nor raise my voice to be heard.
From the hors d'oeuvres, our table shared the gougères (pictured), the "lobster rolls" (pictured), and summer barbajuans. The gougères were everything you expect from that pastry, and served with a delightful spread of goat cheese, shaved snow peas, and pea puree; the intense flavor of the peas evoked memories of walking through my parents' garden as a child, picking peas and eating them from the vine. The lobster rolls were cute little bits that captured the essence of the dish -- well-cooked lobster and toasted bread. The barbajuans were wonderful little bites, and without asking, the staff kindly prepared one of the four pastries without fish, accommodating my wife's fish allergy.
For large plates, they first brought out a course of the two cold dishes we ordered -- the beef tartare (pictured) and the marinated halibut (pictured). Both raw preparations were exquisite. The beef tartare demonstrated excellent knife skills, with meat cut into perfect, tiny, consistently-sized cubes. Instead of serving the tartare with toasted bread, tiny little croutons were mixed in at the last moment. The halibut exemplifies something woven throughout the meal -- the bold use of acidity to make every dish pop.
After that, they brought us the three other dishes -- pistou linguine, ravioles du Dauphiné (pictured), and the roasted char (pictured). I let my family enjoy the pasta, so I can't comment on it, other than they very much enjoyed it. I focused on the roasted char -- wonderfully cooked and generously sauced.
For dessert, I enjoyed the brie mousse (picture), while others at my table enjoyed the vacherin (picture) and praline iced parfait (picture). My dessert had wonderful savory elements, alluding to a cheese course, but sweet enough to be a dessert. My dining companions were also quite happy with their desserts.
Overall, a fantastic meal. Melba was one of the highlights of our trip to Québec City.