ENJOY PORTUGAL AND ALL IT CAN GIVE

Text by Pan Photos by Pan, Portugal Tourism Board & VCG Translation by Madeline Weng

ENJOY PORTUGAL AND ALL IT CAN GIVE

Text by Pan Photos by Pan, Portugal Tourism Board & VCG Translation by Madeline Weng

Appreciate the beautiful sights along the banks of the River Douro, Porto.在波爾圖，你可以登上一艘游船，欣賞杜羅河沿岸的老房子。

Warm sunshine, beautiful coastlines, and outgoing people –this is Portugal, a country you can see, feel and taste.

葡萄牙自然的饋贈(zèng)

陽(yáng)光的熱情，海岸的澎湃，南歐人的直爽，這是你能看見的葡萄牙，也是你能嘗到的葡萄牙。

1. Signature products of Mendes Gon?alves sauce factory.Mendes Gon?alves 醬料廠的王牌系列產(chǎn)品，地道葡萄牙廚房滋味。

2. Why not have a glass of orange juice after visiting Jeronimos Monastery?參觀完熱羅尼莫斯修道院，不妨來一大杯鮮榨橙汁，再走去貝倫塔吹吹風(fēng)。

“You've got to try our egg tarts and sardines! These two Portuguese dishes are magic! They can lift your mood.” On the way to Lisbon city from the airport, I listened to the enthusiastic introduction by my driver, while I felt the sea breeze caressing me under the sunlight in early September.

And this is how our story of Portugal began…with the hunting for the magical food.

Pass on the Tradition

Lisbon's Belem district gathers this city's countless cultural heritages: Jeronimos Monastery, an architectural masterpiece of the medieval period; the Monastery of the Hieronymites, where navigator Vasco da Gama long rests; and Torre de Belem, witness of the rise and falls of Portugal's golden age of sailing…and also, an egg tart shop you cannot miss.

The fi rst Portuguese egg tart was created in Pastéis de Bel?m, in 1837. And now, Past?is de Bel?m has become one of the most popular restaurants in Portugal. There is always a long queue outside whenever you go.

When it was my turn, I got the freshest made batch. When I took a bite of one, I was surprised to fi nd how smooth and soft the inner side is, which created a wonderful contrast to its crispy skin.

How many steps does an egg tart need to go through before it fi nds you? I found an answer in a bakery called Panidor. First, the chief rolled the wrappers, fi lled it into the mould, before he stuffed it with materials and put it into the oven. “Food has life” is the creed for this family workshop. They told me: “Take egg tarts for example, every step of the procedure requires strict handling, because every egg tart counts.”

Traditional Portuguese food industry is made up of Family businesses like the Panidor. Portuguese people are good at turning home-made delicacies into international buffet.

“One day, a father asked his 15-year-old son: ‘Hey,what do you say that we turn our sauce workshop into a factory?' This sauce workshop is the factory you see right now.” I heard this story while I stood in Mendes Gon?alves Sauce Factory. The factory now uses highly automatic facilities to produce vinegar,onion sauce, capsical etc… However, the key recipe that the father and son invented many years ago remains unchanged.

When I came out of the street, I saw two horse riders passing by leisurely. It turned out this city is also called “horse town”. Horses have the same rights as vehicles, and can walk on streets. Every December, the locals hold a one-week-long horse exhibition, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people to watch the game, pick horses or exchange experiences.

Straight From the Ocean

Ribeira Square sits in the city centre of Porto. The architectures on the plaza vary in colours and shapes, creating a uniquely vivid landscape.You can take a cruise at the end of the pier, and appreciate the beautiful sights along the banks,such as the old houses decorated with pottery paintings, a gothic church, as well as Ponte de Dom Luis I D a grand iron bridge standing across River Douro.

“你必須嘗嘗蛋撻與沙丁魚，這兩樣葡萄牙特產(chǎn)有著讓人快樂的魔力。”從機(jī)場(chǎng)到里斯本市區(qū)的路上，伴隨著9月初伊比利亞半島帶有暖意的陽(yáng)光與海風(fēng)，接車司機(jī)自豪地向我介紹起他的國(guó)家。

我們的葡萄牙故事，便從尋找這些魔力食物開始。

傳統(tǒng)，一種延續(xù)

中世紀(jì)登峰造極建筑代表，航海家達(dá)伽馬的長(zhǎng)眠地?zé)崃_尼莫斯修道院，見證了葡萄牙大航海黃金時(shí)代的貝倫塔……貝倫區(qū)云集著里斯本的文化遺產(chǎn)，以及，一家不可錯(cuò)過的葡撻店。

1837年，世界上第一個(gè)葡撻在Past?is de Bel?m誕生。如今，這里是葡萄牙最知名的餐飲店之一，無論何時(shí)去，店門口總有長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的等候隊(duì)伍。輪到我時(shí)，正好趕上一批葡撻新鮮出爐，咬上一口，酥脆的外皮與順滑的撻心帶來美妙的反差碰撞。

一個(gè)葡撻在與你相遇前需要經(jīng)歷多少步驟？我在Panidor糕餅廠里找到了答案。在它的食品流水線上，我陪伴著原材料們，經(jīng)歷了搟皮、裝模、制餡、烘焙直至成品出爐的全過程。“食品是有生命力的”是這家從家庭作坊發(fā)展起來的食品企業(yè)的信條。“以蛋撻為例，每一步都有著嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)牟僮鳎稽c(diǎn)溫差都不能有，因?yàn)槊恳粋€(gè)蛋撻都很重要。”負(fù)責(zé)人向我介紹道。

家族企業(yè)，也是葡萄牙傳統(tǒng)食品制造業(yè)的傳統(tǒng)，他們擅長(zhǎng)將家庭廚房里的美味秘方變成可以流通全球的國(guó)際美食。“有一天，父親問15歲的兒子，‘嘿，我們要不要把家里的醬料坊做成一個(gè)工廠’。35年后，這個(gè)作坊便發(fā)展成了你現(xiàn)在站的這一大片廠區(qū)。”在Mendes Gon?alves醬料廠里，我再一次聽到了這樣的故事。如今，廠里使用自動(dòng)化機(jī)器出品醋、洋蔥醬、辣椒油等調(diào)味料，但配方的核心，依然是當(dāng)年小作坊里的靈感。

走出醬料廠，在小鎮(zhèn)的街道上，兩個(gè)騎馬的人從我眼前悠悠地走過。原來這里是葡萄牙一處特別的“馬鎮(zhèn)”，馬兒擁有和車輛一樣的權(quán)利，可以在道路上暢通行走。每年11月，當(dāng)為期一周的馬展舉辦時(shí)，這個(gè)僅有3000人的小鎮(zhèn)會(huì)涌入幾十萬(wàn)來客，看比賽、挑選馬匹、交流資訊，不亦樂乎。

它們來自海洋

里貝拉廣場(chǎng)，位于波爾圖市中心，廣場(chǎng)上的建筑凌亂而多彩，充滿自成一派的生機(jī)。在廣場(chǎng)盡頭的碼頭，你可以登上一艘游船，全景式欣賞沿岸裝飾著陶瓷畫的老房子，哥特式的教堂與橫亙?cè)诙帕_河上的雄偉鐵橋——路易一世大橋。

如果沿著河流的方向一路向海，便能到達(dá)世代波爾圖人捕魚的地方。在這個(gè)海岸線綿長(zhǎng)的國(guó)度，航海與捕魚業(yè)是葡萄牙人的生命線。

Freshly baked tarts, soft inside and crispy outside.新鮮出爐的葡撻，外皮烘烤感濃厚，內(nèi)餡柔滑。

1. This Sardine Shop at Rocio plaza, Lisbon sells cans with the year-numbers.里斯本羅西歐廣場(chǎng)的沙丁魚專賣點(diǎn)，這里的罐頭上印有年份數(shù)字，可以送給那一年出生的人當(dāng)禮物。

2. Wine tasting at Taylor's Port Wine.Taylor's Port Wine葡萄酒廠坐落在半山腰，日落時(shí)分在品酒室嘗試經(jīng)典出品。

If you head towards the sea, you could reach where generations of people in Porto fi sh. Fishing and sailing have been the bloodline for a nation that enjoys a long coastline.

In a restaurant by the riverside, I tasted the local Sardine for the fi rst time. The grilled fi sh was tender and soft, with its skin slightly scorched. A few drops of olive oil brought out its sweetness even more.

The Portuguese dinner table enjoys a long list of local seafood, such as Cod, cuttlefi sh, sea eel,shellfi sh and much more. Apart from freshly made seafood dishes, the locals also produce excellent fi sh cans to sell abroad.

There seems to be an aura of sea taste inside factory “Ramirez”, which was established in 1853. The factory is the oldest canned seafood maker in Portugal. I was lucky enough to see its whole assembly line, in which a team of female workers quickly prepared the sardines. Like magic,a batch of sardines only took a few seconds to be assembled, before it goes to the next stop. With the help of modern machines, the freshness of seafood can now be best preserved. I opened a can of cuttlefi sh, and found that the fi sh meat still tasted fresh; on top of its original taste, it had a delicate fl avour of spiciness.

Have a toast!

Perhaps the person who translated the word“Portugal” into Chinese had actually done some research. Its Chinese version “pu tao ya” not only sounds like its original pronunciation, but also includes the word “pu tao”, meaning grapes.

The Porto district in Portugal has a fantastic space for growing grapes and wine brewing. With a warm and dry environment, this place continues to bring forth sweet grapes. My fi rst sip of Quinta da Aveleda tastes like summer. After a round of vinho verde, this vinho verde is still my favourite. “It is actually one of the most classic products in Aveleda Chateau. It has a sense of balance, and is able to activate all your sense organs. It has achieved good results from many World Expos in a row,” explained the wine expert.

With a full view of Porto old town, I tasted a few classic wines by a window in Taylor's, while I enjoyed the beautiful sunset shining on Porto Old Town. I tasted “Chip Dry”, which has a fl avour fresh and sweet as a maiden's smile; then I tried the “Late Bottled vintage 2012”, which took me by surprise, with a feeling of explosiveness; I also indulged myself in the rich relish of “10 Year Old Tawny”, which is simply an ideal model of aging wine.

“Sa?de (Cheers)!”

A typical Portugal street.典型的葡萄牙街。

在河邊的餐廳，我第一次嘗到了本地的沙丁魚。炙烤的做法，外皮微焦帶有炭火的氣息，魚肉嫩滑，淋上一點(diǎn)橄欖油，更顯鮮甜。鱈魚、墨魚、鰻魚、貝類，豐饒的海產(chǎn)除了讓葡萄牙人的餐桌上海鮮料理富足外，魚罐頭自然也是當(dāng)?shù)氐耐跖铺禺a(chǎn)。

Ramirez的廠區(qū)內(nèi)，總有一股海洋的氣息縈繞。成立于1853年，Ramirez是葡萄牙最古老的海鮮罐頭制品廠。流水線旁，我看著熟手的女工快速地處理著沙丁魚，短短幾秒內(nèi)，一批裝好的魚罐頭順利進(jìn)入下一環(huán)節(jié)，如同施展了一道魔法。如今，現(xiàn)代化的加工最大程度地保持了海產(chǎn)的美味，挑選了一份墨魚罐頭打開嘗鮮，微辣的口感下，彈牙的質(zhì)感完好依舊。

能飲一杯無

不知道將這個(gè)國(guó)家名字翻譯成葡萄牙的人是否有考據(jù)過葡萄與這片土地的關(guān)系，事實(shí)上，波爾圖地區(qū)確實(shí)是一片適合葡萄生長(zhǎng)與制造佳釀的地方。溫暖而干燥的氣候，帶來了甜美的葡萄果實(shí)。

如同初夏來臨的那一瞬間，這是我喝到第一口Quinta da Aveleda的感覺。一輪品酒后，這款青酒依然是我最喜歡的一款。“這是Aveleda酒莊最經(jīng)典的出品之一，它有一種均衡感，能讓不同感官都有所感受，當(dāng)年曾連著在好幾屆世博會(huì)中取得好成績(jī)。”品酒師向我解釋。

Taylor's酒廠品酒室的大落地窗正對(duì)著波爾圖的老城。在夕陽(yáng)的余暉中，我嘗試了幾款經(jīng)典：Chip Dry，口感清甜，如同少女的微笑；Late Bottled vintage 2012，入口帶有些許爆炸感，給人富含想象力的體驗(yàn)；10 Year Old Tawny，理想陳釀的模樣，醇厚卻不沉悶，歲月的風(fēng)味悠然地在唇齒間游走。

“Sa?de（干杯）！”

Luxury restaurant on the riverbank in Oporto.在杜羅河畔欣賞美景與美食。