An extraordinary Italian private dining called MO. Lab in Tainan, a true hidden gem.
![[Shanghai 上海] Tai’an Table 泰安門](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/L1153354.jpg)
Tai’an Table
Add: N/A
Tel: N/A
Website: www.taian-table.com
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 6pm-12am (closed on Mon & Sun)
Visited on: Apr 2016
Rumor has it that Stefan Stiller’s dream has always been to have a small restaurant with an open kitchen cooking seasonal cuisine, and it seems like the recently-opened Tai’an Table is exactly that – a completely open kitchen, 20 bar seats, and one seasonal menu that changes monthly. No address, no phone number, just a reservation website. You go?
Stefan Stiller在德國曾擁有自己的米其林一星餐廳，也在上海開過精致的 fine dining 和閃亮亮的廚藝教室。不過，聽說大廚一直以來的夢想，其實是經營一家有開放式廚房的季節料理小餐廳。兩周前悄悄開幕的 “泰安門 Tai’an Table” 似乎是這樣的一個地方 － 完全開放式的廚房、20個吧台座位、一個每月更換的套餐；沒有地址，沒有電話，只有一個訂位網站。你，去嗎？
Stiller is cooking in the kitchen himself, but has also hired Jeno Racz from Hungary to be his chef de cuisine. Racz used to work at Noma in Copenhagen, Robuchon in Singapore, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London, and more recently at a molecular gastronomy catering company called Bubble Food.
Stefan Stiller 除了親自掌管廚房之外，也請了來自匈牙利的 Jeno Racz 擔任 chef de cuisine。Racz 曾任職于哥本哈根Noma、新加坡 Robuchon、倫敦 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal、以及分子料理外燴公司 Bubble Food，履曆相當漂亮的他，一個多月前來到了上海。
![[Paris] La Belle Assiette](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/R0080868.jpg)
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A while back I was invited to a very interesting dinner hosted by La Belle Assiette, a website that allows customers to “shop” for private chefs to cook at the comfort of one’s own home. Before we get into any details, I need to show you the magnificent views from dinner, which took place in a private apartment in the 7th arrondissement. Unobstructed views of Eiffel Tower and the Invalids on a perfect Parisian early summer day…life, sometimes you just can’t complain.
So, a bit on La Belle Assiette. The basic concept is that LBA identifies independent chefs (i.e. not part of a restaurant at the moment) who offers their service to cook for you at home. These can be chefs who previously worked in restaurants, or young talents who recently graduated from culinary schools – all their profiles are up on the website for you to choose. The chef of the dinner I attended was Fabrice Bloch, who, as in the case for all chefs on LBA, took care of everything from shopping for ingredients, cooking, serving, to cleaning up. Sounds good? Sounds very good.
Amuse bouche in the making.
We gathered at the dinner table and started with a few nice bottles. Drinks, by the way, do not come with the chef, so BYOB.
![[Paris] Crave Supper Club](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/R0071003.jpg)
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Crave Supper Club
Add & Tel: email for details
Hours: every other Sunday (upcoming dinners March 24 and April 7)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CraveParis
Email: crave.paris@gmail.com
Price: €39 suggested donation
Tasted on: Mar 2013
So three of my friends from Ferrandi decided to start a supper club called Crave. What it promises: fun, whimsical, and most importantly…seriously good eats. I was lucky enough to be offered a seat at the first ever Crave supper with some big names like Paris by Mouth and Hungry for Paris, and what a good time it was. The trio in the kitchen – Rita from Taiwan/Canada, Eric from Florida, and Camille from Hawaii/Washington DC – orchestrated a four-course tasting menu that was thoughtful and exciting. As they are all interning at different restaurants at the moment (and not just any restaurant, we are talking about the likes of L’Astrance and Frenchie), they can only host dinner every other Sunday. Seats are limited, email to make your booking.
The location, a nice apartment in the 10th, home of Eric, Camille, and another Ferrandi graduate.
The kitchen in action.
![[Shanghai] Il Nascondiglio](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/RIMG6194.jpg)
Il Nascondiglio
Add: 311 Xiangyang nan Lu, near Yongjia Lu / 襄阳南路311号，近永嘉路
Tel: 3461 2036 or 13166014282
Hours: 7:00pm onwards
Price: 100 RMB/person (guinea pig price), 250 RMB/person (regular price)
Visited: Feb 2011
I received an e-mail last week about a “Venetian private dinner” trial run at a new Italian restaurant, which instantly piqued my interest. When we arrived outside the “restaurant”, note the quotation marks, I knew I was in for an adventure. There was no sign, no lights, just an ominous-looking doorway beyond which nothing but darkness ensues. Dare we walk in? Oh, why not.
After climbing two flights of stairs in the pitch dark with nothing to guide us other than dim cell phone backlights, we managed to arrive at Il Nascondiglio. The name, “the hideout” in Italian, is really quite appropriate for the hidden venue. Fabrizio and Ting, the chef and hostess, greeted us at the door and ushered us into a cozy old Shanghainese home decorated with antique pieces here and there (including a piano from the 1920s).
We soon found out that Fabrizio is actually not a professional chef. This Italian man has a PhD in developmental cognitive psychology and is currently doing his post-doc in London, but his passion for cooking and sharing good food resulted in this private dining venture. Apparently Fabrizio and Ting have been doing this in London for a while, and decided to continue with the same concept in Shanghai after Ting moved here for work.
The first appetizer, Bruschette Classiche, chunks of sauteed tomatoes on top of crispy baguette, was simple but delicious, as was the second appetizer, Rotolini di Melanzane Ripieni, a slim piece of sauteed aubergine wrapping halved tomato and Italian ham.
Farfalle ai Funghi al Gin, floppy pieces of butterfly pasta intertwined with an abundance of plump and juicy porcini mushrooms. A slight hint of gin and generous shavings of fresh sheep cheese made the pasta all the more enticing.
By this point I knew that this dinner would take hours. Fabrizio was managing the cooking all by himself, and there was a good 20-minute wait in between each dish. We really didn’t mind though, since we were in good company and having a great time sipping on the complimentary Italian wine Ting generously poured for us.