Showing posts with label $$$ special treat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label $$$ special treat. Show all posts

Friday, May 07, 2021

modern/japanese: i recommend LOGY spring 2021



LOGY
No. 6, Lane 109, Anhe Road, Sec. 1 

MRT: Xinyi/Anhe


website: logy.tw/reservation.html


hours: lunch: Thursday - Sunday 12:00 - 15:00 (Last order 12:30)
            Dinner: Wednesday - Sunday 17:30 - 19:30 (Last order 17:30)
                                                            
 19:30 - 22:30 (Last order 19:30)


$$$ (NT$3750 + 10% per tasting menu) 


Kid friendliness: logy's website says they only allow children 12 and above


Visit reviewed: April 2021
































Monday, April 03, 2017

afternoon tea: JADE LOUNGE at MANDARIN ORIENTAL TAIPEI


JADE LOUNGE at 
MANDARIN ORIENTAL TAIPEI
No. 158, DunHua N Rd, Songshan District
(02) 2715-6888

MRT: Taipei Arena or Nanjing Fuxing

website: Jade Lounge facebook page

$$$ (about NT$1300/person + 10% service charge)

Visit reviewed: 2/6/2017


[TAIPEI- SONGSHAN] First thing you should know if you are meeting someone for afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental in Taipei is which part of the hotel you are meeting at. It was almost comedic trying to find my friend while I wandered the marbled hallways, furiously texting him from the lobby to the empty shopping arcade, back to the Jade Lounge where I started. (Even finding their restaurants Thai and Thai or Bencotto takes a little bit of navigation as the hotel is split into separate buildings and there is an attached shopping mall). 

Afternoon tea is offered at both the Jade Lounge on the 1st floor as well as Cafe Un Deux Trois, with slight variations. Since my friend was doing a write up on "must stay" hotel round up in Taipei and invited me to join him on his comped afternoon tea, how could I say no. 

The afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental is a classic three tiered combination of sweet and savory bites, including a ham and truffle cheese layered crepe, Le Jambon Cru, 36 Months Dry-Cured Ham, Nut Bread Baguette Toast, Candied Tomatoes, smoked salmon on toast, scones and delicate raspberry and chocolate desserts and tea cakes to share. While the lounge and the set are very opulent and posh, the food unfortunately was prettier than they tasted, with some of the pieces being way too sweet. A lot of them were mousse based, so being someone who doesn't like mousse, this was a minus for me.  Which is unfortunate since the cakes I've had from their cake shop are actually quite delicious. 



The tea connoisseurs should be happy with their wide selection of teas, including half a dozen Chinese green teas, all from Taiwan. One of my readers mentioned on instagram that they used to offer you to try different types of tea along with the set- that would make it more worth the price tag of NT$1300 per person. Unless you are meeting someone who is staying at the Mandarin or looking for privacy, I would rather have afternoon tea at somewhere like Yellow Lemon or Smith and Hsu.








So cute but...






The scones were dry, even with jam... made me wistful for Smith and Hsu's scones.


On the way out, I spied this cart of chocolates and cakes, which after asking, are not a part of the afternoon tea set, but can be ordered a la carte. The price tag of NT$270 for three pieces of homemade chocolates will be sure to make you savor them slowly. I do also have to note that the service at Jade Lounge was quite helpful in suggesting what tea to choose and they kindly boxed up what we didn't finish for me in a takeaway box.



Monday, September 19, 2016

bistronomy/modern: i strongly recommend RAW (fall 2016)



RAW
No. 301, Lequn 3rd Road, Zhongshan District
台北市中山區樂群三路301號
(02) 8501-5800

MRT: Jianan Road

website: www.raw.com.tw

hours: Lunch: Wed- Sun / 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Dinner: Tues - Sat  / 6 PM - 10 PM
Closed Mondays
$$$$ (NT$1850/per person plus 10% service. Chef's table menu in back of restaurant is slightly more expensive)

Kid friendliness: only set menus available so only probably only foodie kids will appreciate

Visit reviewed: 8/22/2016 Fall 2016

Previous RAW Taipei menus: 
5/26/2016 Summer 2016
1/21/2016 Winter 2016
 4/7/2015 & 3/4/2015 Spring 2015



LOVED loved love the new menu at @raw_taipei. Might be my favorite set yet. Loved the "All about duck" and the "Taco, tako, t-a-c-o-s" and dual basil pesto abalone and bamboo.  So many wonderful flavors and interpretations of Taiwan infused with the world for the latest menu.

Of course, it helped to have Chef Andre Chiang and Chef Alain Huang to talk about dishes and not be afraid to quiz the servers about details. I've been lucky enough to come to almost every season (thank you to my friends who manage to snag reservations) to RAW, but this was my first time coming as an invited guest of RAW to their media luncheon. I was the only English language media/blogger, so I'm working my way up in the world! Haha.




CORN / CHARCOAL / BBQ 
The first course at @raw_taipei definitely evokes Taiwanese street corn #🌽, smothered in sticky sweet sauce and grilled, but in miniature form. I thought it was a giant baby corn at first but someone pointed out it was made out of individual kernels taken off and reassembled onto a baby corn popsicle , so you still have the mouthfeel of regular sized Bbq corn kernels. Playful start to the 8 course meal.



ABALONE/ BAMBOO / SANBEI PESTO 
Chef @andrechiang_sg played with the idea that both east and west "use basil with different flavors. What if you used it (Taiwanese basil) in a Western way?" Taiwanese cuisine uses Thai basil in dishes like three cup, or san-bei, while Italian/Western uses a sweet basil for pesto. The addictive sauce was a mash up of the two, making the perfect match for the crunchy bamboo, touch of caviar and chewy abalone. I scooped up the extra pesto and pine nuts with the bread. So so good.




SCALLION / ONION / LEEK  蔥蔥蔥
Every season, RAW Taipei "Always has one vegetable driven dish" and this dish is it for the new menu. Paraphrasing Chef Andre's thoughts about this "onion family" dish, he said, "Interesting how when you cook the leaf, the roots, it shows different levels of sweetness, (it's) almost meaty." The leek and zucchini purée was definitely very creamy and sweet, with an underlying saltiness from the mackerel, while the onion petals cup drops of EVOO and balsamic. What I thought were bacon bits were fried shiitake mushrooms to give the purée a satisfying crunch. You almost don't need the uni, but I will never complain about uni. Later I found out that there are several touches, like the uni that come with the Chef's Table, which are the two elongated tables in the back near the kitchen, which cost slightly more per person.




The TACO / TAKO/ T-A-C-O-S takes a spring onion pancake as tortilla, octopus (with is tako in Japanese) as the meat with a soft boiled egg and T-a-c-o-s standing for teriyaki, avocado, cabbage, onions and sour cream. A playful interpretation and play on words to combine the flavors of multiple countries. The spring onion pancake is thicker than a regular tortilla would be, and the flaky layers provide the satisfying crunch, while the chewy cubes of octopus and runny egg contrast and complement the pancake.



ALL ABOUT DUCK used all parts of the duck including duck heart, duck tongue and duck liver. I mean #FOIEGRAS SOUP. How can you not love it? With barley, Taiwanese red quinoa and corn. One of my favorite dishes.





OCEAN TROUT/RADISH/SALTED OLIVES

Ocean trout served two ways. First as fish chip with the fish skin fried into a crispy chip, then sous vided into tender submission and topped with salmon roe, paired with radish and salted chinese olives. (And looks sort of like the island of Taiwan) If you weren't paying attention, you might even think it was salmon. Every dish RAW serves always has contrasting textures, something smooth, something crunchy and this dish follows the rules. 




BURNT TOMATO/ MOLE/ SMOKED SAGO 
Beef cheek with mole sauce and burnt tomato, light dusting of chocolate shavings. Unexpected dish for me- curious how locals will like this menu. 


Spying into the kitchen between dishes


And ICE / SNOWBALL / MANGO modernizes the popular mango shaved ice and gives us a meringue snowball with sweet #mango cubes and tableside snowfall.





So that's the new menu at @raw_taipei. I really enjoyed every single dish and love that they are introducing flavors like mole and tacos to Taiwan, but in an unexpected new way by marrying the ones we find familiar. Inspires me to try to do the same at home.

:)