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A Taste of Italy  Taormina and Glazie!

   Italian Restaurants  

◎Text by Yi-Chun Lin
◎Photos by Wei-Ren Yang

Italian food has always been adored by local consumers in Kaohsiung for its original cooking style. The two restaurants we chose for our readers this time have their individual charms. For people who enjoy a quiet and intimate atmosphere, they will love Taormina. For those who fancy a more festive atmosphere, Glazie! will be an excellent choice.

   Taormina Restaurant  

Taormina Restaurant is located next to Love River. It is an Italian restaurant featuring both gourmet food and a wonderful atmosphere. Alex, the chef of Taormina Restaurant, is very creative in his cooking. He can transform an ordinary Italian home-cooked dish into a five-star delicacy. His excellent cooking skills have impressed many experienced consumers.

Taormina is a small seaside town on Sicily Island in Italy. Ancient Greeks built a city here. Through the remains of the ancient buildings, people can gaze upon the beautiful scenery of mountain and sea. There are two reasons why the owner named the restaurant Taormina. One is because its riverside location by Love River is similar to Taormina's seaside setting. The other is that the cooking style of the restaurant originates from Sicily. The restaurant decor is based on modern and fashionable tones with a simple but luxurious twist. The lighting changes color as time goes on, into blue, red, or purple and creates a magical and romantic atmosphere.

Alex grew up abroad. His cooking skills were not cultivated in Taiwan; therefore the flavors he presents are very different from Taiwanese chefs. The textures and tastes of the food are infused with Alex's unique style. The Seafood Cappellini dish is made with tuna, squid and fresh prawns- it is just delicious. The chef recommends customers try the special salsa sauce; it guarantees to surprise your taste buds.

   Glazie  

Glazie is a very popular Italian eatery in Kaohsiung. The trendy decor of the restaurant is retro and extravagant. The food is cooked with creativity. The dishes fuse traditional Italian tastes with oriental ingredients and guarantee to satisfy every customer's desires both visual and taste buds.

Glazie is located on the 12th floor of Kaohsiung FE21' Department Store. The color scheme of the restaurant is dark with streaks of warm colors such as gold, yellow, and orange. The unique lighting sets off the modern and luxurious atmosphere of Glazie. There are numerous ball-shaped lights hanging down from the black ceiling, twinkling just like stars in the sky.

Glazie has a very unique concept for its food. It adopts the "sharing" idea of Chinese meals. In other words, customers order dishes to share with their companions. This breaks the stereotypical formula of "eat your own dish" in western food culture. Take the most popular dish at Glazie for example - the "Italian Herb Roasted Chicken" uses two month old chicken. After being marinated with Italian herbs, it is wrapped in a thin layer of seasoned flour, and is shallow fried before going into the oven. Therefore, the chicken is aromatic and crispy outside, yet tender and juicy inside. The choices of dipping sauces are yellow mustard seed and green pesto, according to the customers liking. The chicken is then served with a set of carving knives, fork and pincers, making it easy for customers to share the dish.

義國餐廳 陶歐米納&古拉爵

◎文．攝影／楊為仁

烹調方式著重原汁原味的義大利料理，向來深獲高雄在地消費者喜愛，本期挑選的兩家義式餐廳更具特色，喜歡靜謐氛圍的人，可到「陶歐米納」；想要有歡樂氣氛的人，「古拉爵」則是不錯的選擇。

   陶歐米納   

愛河畔的「陶歐米納」是一家兼具美食和氣氛的義大利餐廳，從小在國外長大的Alex發揮巧思，將平凡的義大利家庭料理化為精緻味美的珍饌，高超的廚藝令饕客為之折服。

「陶歐米納」為義大利西西里島附近一個濱海小城鎮，古希臘人曾在此興建古城，透過柱石遺跡可以眺望美麗的山海景色，業者將店名取為陶歐米納，一來是因為高雄愛河景致頗有陶歐米納的意境，二來也強調他們的餐點傳承自義大利西西里島。餐廳裝潢以現代時尚為基調，並帶有簡約奢華風，幾何形狀的燈管還會隨著時間做顏色的變化，忽藍、忽紅、忽紫，色彩繽紛亮眼，充滿迷情意境。

主廚Alex從小就在國外長大，由於他的廚藝養成並非在台灣，因此，呈現的風味和一般台灣師傅不盡相同，口感和滋味都有他獨到的個人特色，以鮪魚、透抽和鮮蝦３種不同的海鮮製成的天使細麵，經由莎莎醬的佐味，帶給味蕾更深層的刺激。

   古拉爵  

超人氣義式屋「古拉爵」，以新奇華麗的設計感，引領時尚風潮，融合傳統義大利精髓及東方食材創意的料理，更觸動客人視覺、味覺的最深處。

位於高雄大遠百12樓的「古拉爵」，以深沈的色系為基調，並加入金、黃、橘等暖色系的色彩元素，在光影的綴飾下，時髦又華麗，抬頭仰望，黑色的天花板懸掛著許許多多的球狀吊燈，猶如夜空中的滿天星斗，更襯托出「古拉爵」的時尚感。

餐點方面，「古拉爵」最大的特點就是「中餐分食」的概念，也就是說，客人點的菜可以與同桌朋友共同分享，打破西餐只能個人獨享的定律，以店裡大受歡迎的「義式香草烤全雞」為例，兩個月大的「仔雞」處理過後，先以義式香料醃製入味，沾薄粉先煎後烤，製造出外香酥、內鮮嫩的極佳口感，沾佐的醬汁則有黃芥末籽醬和青醬兩種，客人可依口味嗜好做選擇，當服務生將「全雞」端上桌，還會額外附上刀、叉和夾子，以供客人切割分食使用。