ESCAPADES | Sugared & Spiced

Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism

Add: 22 Alley 2, Lane 397, Mingshui Lu, Taipei 台北市明水路397巷2弄22號
Tel: (02) 2533 2377
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-8pm (closed on Tuesday)
Price: [lunch] 780~980 NTD/set, [afternoon tea] 520 NTD/set, 280~450 NTD/dessert
Visited: Oct 2011

For a picture perfect afternoon tea, visit Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism. There’s room for improvement in terms of flavor, but the whimsically presented desserts are definitely photo-worthy.

Take this for an example. What is this…a potted plant?

Actually, this is a Mint Ice-Cream Pot 薄荷冰淇淋盆栽 (280 NTD), one of the most popular items at Season. It’s comprised of a layer of chocolate crumble (the soil) covering mint ice-cream and chocolate cake. The best part? There’s crackling candy in the ice-cream, which creates a series of popping sensations on the tongue. Very entertaining.

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2011/10/162015/08/31

[Taipei] Zenique Le Salon 小茶栽堂

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Zenique Le Salon 小茶栽堂

Add: 8, Alley 4, Yongkang Street, Taipei 台北市大安區永康街4巷8號
Tel: (02) 2395 1558
Hours: 11am-10:30pm
Website: www.zenique.net
Price: [afternoon tea] 250~400 NTD/person
Visited: Oct 2011

Zenique, a Taiwanese purveyor of 100% organic tea leaves, recently opened a 3-story cafe called Le Salon, boasting a rather attractive concept of integrating Taiwanese tea and French desserts.

The two of us shared an afternoon tea Set A (450 NTD), which includes two cakes, one scone, and a drink valued at 130 NTD or less. First came Milles Feuilles Oolong 烏龍千層酥, which differs from the traditional mille feuille as the custard cream is replaced with a oolong tea/chocolate bavarois. In between the pastries there’s also pineapple orange coulis and lemon sablé, each adding another layer of flavor and texture. Not too bad.

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2011/10/162015/08/31

[Taipei] Justin’s Signatures 饕客食坊

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Justin’s Signatures 饕客食坊

Add: 17, Ln 265, Dunhua S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City 台北市敦化南路二段265巷17號
Tel: (02) 2736 8000
Hours: 12-3pm, 6-10pm
Website: www.justinquek.com
Price: [lunch] 1280~2080 NTD + 10% [dinner] 2980~4280 NTD + 10%
Visited: Oct 2011

I wasn’t planning on trying any fine dining restaurants in Taipei, a city that is more known for its street food and chic cafes. Somehow I still ended up making a dinner reservation at Justin’s Signatures, an upscale French restaurant by Singaporean celebrity chef Justin Quek, after it’s been recommended to me by a few friends. The meal, unfortunately, turned out to be a fusillade of culinary fireworks that left me dazed but not amazed. It’s true that each dish was beautifully orchestrated with extravagant ingredients, but somehow the end results fell short of expectations.

We were seated right next to the kitchen, and the constant sliding of the kitchen door was disturbing throughout the meal. It also didn’t help that the table next to us were occupied by an especially rowdy crowd.

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2011/10/162015/08/31

[Taipei] Liu Mama’s Rice Ball 劉媽媽飯團

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Liu Mama’s Rice Ball 劉媽媽飯團

Add: No. 88, Hangzhou South Rd Section 2, Taipei 台北市杭洲南路二段88號
Tel: (02) 3393 6915 / 0918 670 727
Hours: 6-11am
Price: 35~55 NTD/rice ball
Visited: Oct 2011

What gets me up early in the day? A good breakfast, but of course. On my last morning in Taipei, I set out in the drizzling rain to find the city’s best breakfast rice ball. 劉媽媽飯團 (Liu Mama’s), a little hole in the wall on Hangzhou South Rd, is reputed to be the best in its class. So is it worth sacrificing a few hours of sleep for? Absolutely.

Here’s the menu at Liu Mama’s, you can see that there are quite a few options. Basically, you can choose between regular sticky rice and purple sticky rice, and pick from an assortment of ingredients like tuna, sausage, pork chops, cheese, kimchi, smoke chicken, plum, corn, bonito flakes, etc., etc., etc.

But all I wanted was the simple 招牌紫米飯團 signature purple rice rice ball (35 NTD). What’s in it? Braised egg (滷蛋), pickled cabbage (酸菜), dried turnips (蘿蔔干), pork floss (肉鬆), deep-fried dough stick (油條), all wrapped up in sticky, chewy, freshly-cooked purple rice. Nothing fancy, but oh my gosh, what a totally satisfying mouthful.

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2011/10/162015/08/31

[Taipei] Nido 巢

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Nido 巢

Add: 10, Alley 22, Lane 553, Zhongxiao East Rd Section 4, Taipei 台北市忠孝東路四段553巷22弄10號1樓
Tel: (02) 2753 4402
Hours: 2pm-12am (closed on the 6th, 16th, and 26th of each month)
Price: [drinks] 120~240 NTD [desserts] 120~150 NTD
Visited: Oct 2011

Another cafe in Taipei for you to add to the list of afternoon hangouts.

The cafe was completely empty when we visited on a Monday afternoon. Quiet, just the way I like it…but of course it packs up easily on weekends.

Nido’s Liuo Liuo Rare Cheese Cake 溜溜雪藏起司蛋糕 (140 NTD), served with rose/peach jam and a little mound of graham cracker crumbles, was excellent. Very tempted to ask the cafe owner for his recipe.

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2011/10/152015/08/31

[Taipei] Qiao Tou Spicy Hotpot 橋頭麻辣火鍋

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Qiao Tou Spicy Hotpot 橋頭麻辣火鍋

Add: No. 157, DunHua S Rd, Sec 1, 2F, 4F 台北市大安區敦化南路一段157號2樓、4樓
Tel: (02) 2777 5608
Hours: 5:30pm-3am
Price: 500~600 NTD/person
Visited: Oct 2011

On my last night in Taipei, I found myself congregating with a group fanatic hotpot eaters at Qiao Tou, one of the most popular spicy hotpot restaurants in Taipei. Now you might not know that Taiwanese people have a curious obsession with spicy hotpot, originally a Chongqing specialty…but the group I was with consisted of a few particularly seasoned hotpot eaters who know what they want and how they want it. Let’s fire it up.

There are four soup bases to choose from – spicy, clear, curry, or milk (麻辣, 清湯, 咖哩, 牛奶). Spicy is a must, and for the other side we chose the clear soup, though the milk option also looked quite enticing.

The spicy soup comes with an unlimited supply of tofu and congealed duck blood that have been tumbling and rumbling in the soup base for hours. Thoroughly flavored, satisfyingly spicy.

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2011/10/122015/08/31

[Taipei] Woolloomooloo

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Woolloomooloo

Add: No. 95, Fujin Street, Taipei 台北市富錦街95號
Tel: (02) 2546 8318
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 11:00am-late, [Sat-Sun] 11:00am-later
Price: [brunch] 200~280 NTD [drinks] 60~240 NTD [desserts] 100~250 NTD
Visited: Oct 2011

Fujin Street, a quaint little road close to the Taipei Songshan Airport, is full of stylish surprises – Woolloomooloo being one of them. Open plan, big communal tables, soft lighting, minimal service, delicious coffee. It’s the kind of place that has me lingering for a long long while.

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2011/10/112015/08/31

[Taipei] Nomura Sushi 野村壽司

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Nomura Sushi 野村壽司

Add: No. 34, Alley 78, Anhe Rd. Section 1, Taipei 台北市安和路一段78巷34號
Tel: (02) 2755 6587
Hours: 12-2pm, 6-9:pm (closed on Monday)
Price: [lunch] 1200 NTD/set [dinner] 2500~3300+ NTD/set
Visited: Oct 2011

2013 update: Nomura Yuji has left and reopened elsewhere.

Behind the Ren Ai circle and very close to the stylish a poet, Nomura Sushi quietly sits. Opened just a month ago, this 12-seat sushi bar is headed up by Nomura Yuji 野村裕二, a young but experienced sushi chef who has been in the trade for over 15 years. I’m not too familiar with the dining scene in Taipei, but apparently Nomura-san has quite a loyal following from his days at the wildly popular “No Sushi 野壽司”. Well then, let’s take a look at he’s got.

A half-opened wooden gate beckons passerby, but as Nomura Sushi is almost always fully booked, you won’t have much luck as a walk-in guest. Reservations highly recommended.

Upon entering, we were seated at a plain, spotlessly clean sushi bar built from pristine wood. Warm lighting, Ono Lisa in the air, hot tea, warm towels…instant good feeling.

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2011/10/102015/08/31

[Taipei] Nonzero 非零餐廳

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Nonzero 非零餐廳

Add: N0.5, Alley 4, Lane27, Ren-Ai Road, Sec. 4 / 台北市大安區仁愛路四段27巷4弄5號
Tel: (02) 2772 1630
Hours: 11:30am-2:30pm, 6-10pm
Website: www.nonzero.com.tw
Price: [lunch] 400~800 NTD [dinner] 900~1500 NTD [afternoon tea] 300 NTD
Visited: Oct 2011

Nonzero, an organic food store and restaurant run by the chairman of Aveda Taiwan, serves simple and wholesome dishes. The decor is warm and inviting with an open kitchen, wooden communal tables, an eclectic chair collection, and soft, sensuous lighting. If you are looking to treat your tummy to some healthy and artisanal cooking, try Nonzero.

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2011/10/092015/08/31

[Taipei] a poet

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a poet

Add: No. 9, Alley 295, Dunhua South Road Section 1, Taipei 台北市敦化南路1段295巷9號
Tel: (02) 2709 0068
Hours: 11:30am-10:30pm (closed on Monday)
Price: [desserts] 280~360 NTD [drinks] 100~240 NTD [savories] 350~880 NTD
Visited: Oct 2011

Tugged away in one of the quiet lanes behind Ren Ai Circle is recently-opened restaurant/cafe a poet. Behind its unobtrusive storefront, there is an enchanting courtyard filled with fresh flowers and greens, complete with a skylight that allows in plenty of natural light. Thoughtful restoration of the structure has revealed sections of the original walls, but the eclectic design of the interior is high on style. Picture perfect.