The bittersweet process of recalling the best meals of 2016 begins with technology, going through my year’s articles on the internet.

回顾我2016年的美食行程，可谓喜忧参半，打头阵的是现代科技：在网上浏览一年来自己发表的文章，

Then I rifle through a stack of paper menus before finally coming to my emotions, asking myself how and why certain meals made a more lasting impression than others.

然后在一大堆纸质菜单中仔细翻腾，可谓百感交集，不停问自己，为何某些美味佳肴的印象总是让人念念不忘。

So here, in a whizz around the world — with apologies to Australia, New Zealand and South America, which we plan to visit early next year — are several highlights.

我在世界各地走马观花（对澳大利亚、新西兰以及南非致以歉意，我们预定明年初造访这些国家）后，发现以下几个城市是美食天堂。

First of all to Paris, the city that bequeathed restaurants to the world and that has suffered more than most in the past two years.

我们今年首站造访的城市是巴黎，巴黎高档餐馆云集，但在过去两年中遭受的打击多过大多数城市。

My year actually began and ended in the company of wine lover, modern art collector and restaurateur Robert Vifian over meals at Tan Dinh, the restaurant his parents established after fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s.

我今年的美食旅程的开始与结束都是在Tan Dinh餐厅与葡萄酒拥趸、现代艺术藏家以及老板费福昂(Robert Vifian)共享的，他父母上世纪70年代逃离越南后开办了这家餐厅。

The cuisine included particularly memorable parcels of roast goose, crab pancakes and great red burgundies.

Tan Dinh的特色菜包括了尤难忘怀的烤鹅、蟹饼以及醇美的勃艮第干红。

I enjoyed two meals at the pinnacle of French inventive cooking at the capital’s historic Ledoyen, now home to the highly creative chef Yannick Alléno, and at L’Assiette Champenoise, the family-run hotel and restaurant near Reims where Arnaud Lallement cooks so elegantly.

我非常喜欢两道代表法国匠心独运厨艺巅峰水准的美食：分别由创意名厨雅尼克.亚兰诺(Yannick Alléno)主厨的巴黎老牌餐厅Ledoyen以及兰斯市(Reims)附近的 L’Assiette Champenoise，后者是家族经营的酒店及餐厅，大厨阿诺德.拉勒芒(Arnaud Lallement)的厨艺让人拍案叫绝。

At Restaurante Markina in Bilbao, northern Spain, 11 of us sat down to a dinner that featured plates of ham and anchovies; a lazy Spanish omelette in which the eggs were broken over crisp potatoes; cheese and an array of very sweet desserts, a combination that seems to guarantee a good night’s sleep.

在西班牙北部毕尔巴鄂市(Bilbao)的Restaurante Markina餐馆，我们11人尽情享用了由大盘火腿及风尾鱼与西班牙疲沓蔬菜蛋卷（因塞卷炸薯片而破漏了的鸡蛋卷）、奶酪以及一道道甜点组成的盛宴，如此搭配似乎能保证食客们一觉睡到大天亮。

Then to Asia on a trip that took us to Chengdu, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bangkok.

我们随后转战亚洲，依次造访了成都、香港、上海、东京以及曼谷。

In each of these cities I managed to find, and eat, what I was looking for.

在每座城市，我努力寻觅美食去处、尽情享受。

It was spice and very hot food at XanuXanu in Chengdu, where we were bowled over by the relatively straightforward servings of sweet and sour duck with chilli, cold noodles and the very first dish of mouth-numbing slices of chicken with extra chillies.

成都XanuXanu餐馆的川菜又麻又辣，径直端上来的香酸鸭(sweet and sour duck with chilli)、凉面以及头道麻辣鸡片（嘴巴麻得没感觉），让我们永生难忘。

Hong Kong provided culinary excitement at Ho Lee Fook, which unites the talents of Taiwanese-born chef Jowett Yu and those of Canadian restaurateur Chris Mark.

香港口利福餐厅(Ho Lee Fook)的美味佳肴让我赞不绝口：它融合了台湾出生主厨Jowett Yu与加拿大餐饮从业者克里斯.马克(Chris Mark)两人的精湛厨艺，

A signature dish of roast Wagyu short ribs with a soy glaze fully justified its billing.

招牌菜烤牛肋筋(roast Wagyu short ribs with a soy glaze)完全是一分价钱一分货。

Shanghai provided delicate Chinese style over a meal at Le Sun Chine, a small hotel in the French Concession.

开在昔日上海法租界(French Concession)的绅公馆(Le Sun Chine)是家小酒店，它的中式菜精致典雅。

A meal that began with two soups — crab with mushrooms followed by a sea cucumber in a thick fish soup with boiled shark’s stomach — may not be to everybody’s taste but I certainly enjoyed it.

正餐前先喝两道汤——蘑菇蟹肉汤之后就是海参汤（用浓鱼汤加熟的鲨鱼胃炖就）——可能并不适合每位食客，但本人很喜欢喝。

This stopover paved the way for a brief stay in Tokyo, the world’s most food-obsessed city.

中途逗留上海是短暂驻留，可谓是为了以美食冠绝全球的城市东京做了个铺垫。

I would return in a second, for the sea urchin tempura at Tempura Yamanoue; the atmosphere, and the food, at Narukiyo; the elegance of Yujiro Takahashi’s French-inspired cooking at Le Sputnik; and Toshio Saito’s unforgettable sushi at Sushisho Saito.

为了Tempura Yamanoue店的海胆天妇罗(sea urchin tempura)、Narukiyo店的美味佳肴与理想就餐环境、Le Sputnik餐厅大厨高桥裕二郎(Yujiro Takahashi)法式精致美食以及Sushisho Saito店里大厨Toshio Saito做的美味寿司，本人愿毫不犹豫故地重游。

Then it was on to Bangkok, where we were to enjoy two meals cooked by chef Thitid Tassanakajohn, known as Chef Ton, at Le Du and BaaGaDin.

随后我们来到泰国首都曼谷，我们在此享用了Le Du and BaaGaDin餐馆大厨Thitid Tassanakajohn（即Ton大厨）烹制的两顿大餐。

The food was every bit as hot as it is in Chengdu.

他的菜与成都菜一样：辣得没得说。

Back in Europe there were two other, perhaps more surprising culinary treats.

回到欧洲后，我们享受了两顿、也许更出人意料的大餐：

The first came at Forest Avenue in Dublin, a combination of John Wyer’s excellent cooking and the hospitality generated by his wife Sandy Sabek (the quality of their home-baked sourdough was exceptional).

第一顿是在爱尔兰首都都柏林的Forest Avenue餐厅，店主兼大厨约翰.威尔(John Wyer)的精湛厨艺与女主人桑迪.莎贝克(Sandy Sabek)的热情好客可谓珠联璧合，店里自制的酸面包质量无与伦比；

I was also much taken with the cooking and approach of another couple, Sebastian Kauper and Nora Breyer, in their immaculate restaurant, Kaupers Kapellenhof in the village of Selzen in Germany.

德国塞尔岑(Selzen)小村Kaupers Kapellenhof餐馆也无懈可击，另一对夫妇档塞巴斯蒂安.考柏(Sebastian Kauper)与诺拉.布瑞尔(Nora Breyer)的厨艺与待客方式同样让我难忘。

Even just a few days spent in New York yields far more enticing restaurants than almost any other city.

虽说在美国纽约市只呆了几天，但这儿诱人的餐馆数冠绝全球。

I recall the dessert of ice-cream topped with olive oil, sea salt and white truffles at Lilia in Williamsburg, plus the swish of Le Coucou.

除了新潮的Le Coucou餐饮外，威廉斯堡(Williamsburg)Lilia餐厅顶盖橄榄油、海盐以及白松露的冰淇淋仍历历在目。

Then there was the newly renovated Union Square Café; Keith McNally’s Augustine; brunch at Sadelle’s on West Broadway and Claus Meyer’s Great Northern outpost of Nordic cuisine in Grand Central Station.

此外，全新装修的联合广场咖啡馆 (Union Square Café)、凯斯.麦克纳利(Keith McNally)的Augustine餐厅、西百老汇大街(West Broadway)上Sadelle’s面包店的早午餐以及克劳斯.迈尔开在纽约中央车站(Grand Central Station)内、北欧菜系风格的Great Northern分店也让我念念不忘。

Finally, back home to London, the city that still ranks as the most exciting in terms of the range of its cooking, its appeal and the sheer adventurism of many of the menus and wine lists on offer.

我们最后回到伦敦，就菜的品类、青睐指数、很多菜单及酒水单的另类程度而言，伦敦仍是全球最让人流连忘返的城市。

For me, 2016 was a particularly sad year because, in March, Elena Salvoni passed away.

对我来说，2016年尤为伤感，因为今年3月，埃琳娜.萨尔沃尼(Elena Salvoni)离别人世。

In the 1980s, I had the pleasure of working alongside this remarkable maître d’, who was known with justification as the queen of Soho for the warmth of her smile and her engaging personality.

上世纪80年代，我曾有幸与这位金牌领班共事，她以自己的音容笑貌与迷人个性获得苏荷女王 (queen of Soho)的美誉实至名归。

Subsequently, I have been introduced to Lisa Maitland, who runs front of house at Yoshino, a small Japanese restaurant off Piccadilly, just as elegantly.

后来，她把我介绍给皮卡迪利(Piccadilly)附近一家日本小餐馆Yoshino的前台负责人丽莎.梅特兰(Lisa Maitland)，丽莎同样是温文尔雅。

The queen of London hospitality is dead — long live her successor.

伦敦餐饮业女王如今已撒手人寰——但她的后继者层出不穷。