western/steak: i recommend LE BLANC

LE BLANC

No. 183 DaAn Road, Sec. 1
台北市大安區大安路一段183號

(02) 2700-7770

MRT: DaAn

website: Le Blanc's FB page

Hours: 11:30AM- 2:30PM; 6PM - 9PM

kid friendliness: short menu, so mac and cheese and fries for broccoli for kids unless they like steak and lobster

Visits reviewed: 12/29/2015 & 3/16/2016

Le Blanc is a new steak and lobster joint in town, just opened a few months ago in December 2015. The restaurant for the gleaming white Swiio Hotel next door, Le Blanc functions as a breakfast for hotel guests, but for lunch and dinner, they have the same menu- steak frites or lobster or both. Chef Long Xiong is from Boston/NY and wanted to bring some east coast flavor to Taipei, moonlighting from his other restaurant a few blocks away, Mume. 

The menu is short and sweet- Boston lobster (NT$1400) or steak frites (NT$1000 for 10 oz) and optional classic sides and desserts like truffled mac and cheese, mushrooms, creamed spinach or broccoli. There is no shortage of steak places in town, as a ton of new ones have opened in the past year (TK Steak and Seafood, Mortons, Top Cap), but I can't think of (m)any steak frites places in Taipei. 

Each meal includes romaine salad and warm popovers, and lobster can be chosen to be grilled or steamed. I like their popovers- they aren't as dry as the Yorkshire pudding from Lawry's and they even give you a pat of good butter if you need, though the popovers are seasoned already.

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The caesar salad included is a full portion that would cost you a couple hundred NT a la carte elsewhere, with flakes of parmesan cheese, hardboiled egg and candied walnuts. It was a nice touch that they grill the romaine for the winter season. Or you can opt for a bowl of the daily soup.

The whole Boston lobster (NT$1400) comes along with a lobster bib, scissors and skinny forks to scoop out the meat. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, then opt for the grilled lobster which is already cut in half. But I quite like the taste of sweet steamed lobster dipped in butter. You have to use a little elbow grease for unlocking the whole steamed lobster (and use the bib cuz it gets messy, with lobster brains squirting around), but the scissors cut through the shell easily, even for newbies like us who needed a little bit of direction from the server (pull off the head and cut down the center back). But I did get some lobster juice on my shirt because I didn't wear the bib! And the lobster brains- I forgot to take a photo of it because it got stolen away from me at the table, it's so good! 

Whole Boston lobster, split in half and grilled, with steamed corn, French fries and drawn butter.  The lobster from my first visit was on the smaller side, as the waitress asked me if I still wanted lobster when we ordered. Since I was sharing half with my date and eating some of his steak, I didn't get my fill. But during my second visit, I thought the steamed lobster was great size and very satisfying... maybe partially because one of the girls didn't eat any lobster so I had extra. Hah!

On my second visit, Chef Long stated that they will no longer accept lobsters less than 1 1/4 pounds from their vendor, so hopefully the issue no longer exists.

For my second visit to Le Blanc, we reserved two lobsters and ordered one steak frites, which was enough to share with three other lighter eaters. Of course if you are with a bunch of dudes, which I was on my first dinner there, then everyone will appreciate that they get to have 10 oz to themselves. I'll have to be honest- my first visit to Le Blanc, just a few weeks old at the time I was a little bit worried for them. The sides were terribly salty, the steak was a bit tough and the lobster was on the small side, but the restaurant seems to have worked through its growing pains and everything was on point for my second visit. 

Steak frites (NT$1000) you get to choose one choice of sauce from classic béarnaise, spicy horseradish or green peppercorn. The servers recommended the béarnaise to us. The fries can also be refilled upon request. I wonder if the roasted garlic can be too? haha. Love roasted garlic- it brings out the sweetness. The server recommended that we get the steak at medium rare (level 3 doneness) and it was perfectly done on my second visit. 

Truffled mac and cheese (NT$180)-- my girl friends said that they usually don't like mac and cheese but they liked this.. With a bit of bread crumb crust, the truffle flavor is not strong, but the gemelli pasta is bathed in hot, cheese sauce. I also like the roasted mixed mushrooms (NT$180). It's great to have steak frites in Taipei when you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for full set at a steakhouse. 

Creamed Spinach (NT$180) 

Le Blanc's placemat/menus from my first visit

The chocolate mousse (NT$180) was surprisingly good. I usually don't like mousse, but this was more fudgey and thick. Would totally order this again with chocolate lovers.

Almond clafoutis (NT$180)  I don't think this on the menu anymore since now they are serving freshly baked cookies, but this was tasty as well.

All in all, I think Le Blanc can find a place in Taipei's busy dining scene if they can serve consistently good food with good service. Down the line, it would be great to see an option for steak salad or lobster salad in the NT$600-700 range? The space is quite large and suitable for big groups, although it's quite odd you have to go to the hotel side and down the elevator or stairs to go to the restroom. I will be back to try the freshly baked cookies as well as get my lobster and steak fix. 

modern/french: i still recommend RAW (WINTER 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)

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

Visit reviewed: 1/21/2016
Previous visit reviewed: spring 2015

RAW is still one of the hottest tickets in Taipei, and will be even harder to book since it's been named as one of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. RAW squeezed in at #47, and Chef Andre Chiang's other restaurant,  Restaurant Andre in Singapore, bookends the top of the list at #3.

Thanks to my friend who managed to get a reservation in January, I was giddy with excitement to be able to try the latest menu, not too long after they had made the switch from their one year anniversary "Best of the Year" menu. The new menu seemed to have more seafood on it than previous seasons, and felt more Taiwanese as well, with the bamboo, "bottarga" sweet potato and braised pork rice dishes.

The menu ingredients are read across- there are 8 courses and they list the three main ingredients per course.

OYSTER / SAGO /RED KOMBU 

This was one of my favorite dishes, with the oyster hidden under a bed of savory miniature sago pearls. Every oyster has a pearl? Well, this one has a whole mouthful of them.

Bread and buckwheat whipped butter (NT$150)
This is a must order for us, even though it costs a little extra than the set menu price of NT$1850 per person.

BURI / CUCUMBER / WATER BAMBOO

You can't help but to admire the curves and delicacy of the Frank Gehry-esque design of the thin bamboo slices, which hid small cubes of buri sashimi and cucumber gelatin underneath. Crunchy, chewy, acidic, sweet, this dish was layered textures and flavors together into one bite like many of RAW's dishes. Love seeing this dish from all the angles, though wish there was more buri.

PRAWN / CAPELLINI / MUSSEL

I always love hearing the stories behind the dishes, if there is one. Luckily, we got a waiter that told us (after some inquisitions) that Chef Andre Chiang liked eating Prince Instant noodles, or 王子麵, as a kid so that was the inspiration for the crispy fried capellini and the prawn with seven spice, evoking that memory and taste in this dish. Some of the dishes I don't know if I would order again if a la carte, but as an experience and tasting the layers of textures and flavors in new menu for the first time, I enjoyed it. The capellini were tough to pick up with a fork, you'd be faster using your fingers, perhaps the same way kids eat those instant noodle snacks? 

SWEET POTATO / "BOTTARGA" /  BUCKWHEAT
The bottarga, or mullet roe, in this dish is actually made of salty egg yolk. It was extremely creative, it was very Taiwanese, but again, not a dish I would necessarily order again if given the choice. Taiwan loves the sweet potato so much that some say that the shape of the island resembles a sweet potato. This dish was an interesting, but odd combination with the mushy texture of the sweet potato and the crunchy  toasted buckwheat and oozing egg center.

the "bottarga"

SQUID / KOMBU / LOVAGE
At first glance, the dish appears to be a sheet of sliced, translucent rice paper (like the kind that's used to wrap Vietnamese spring rolls), but then the waiter starts to pour hot broth onto the dish and the squid "noodles" come alive. The strips curl and start to move, which is mesmerizing and a bit unnerving at the same time, if you think too much about it. I liked the chewy texture, but couldn't help but be reminded of the squid noodles from Mume (which isn't on their menu currently). RAW's version is more subtle in flavor and the squid is sliced more thinly, placed as one sheet until woken up by the broth. The addition of the fried kombu which gets hydrated by the soup is a nice touch too. 

Looks like a regular noodle soup, but the "noodles" are long strips of squid. Chewy but not overly so,  this was a favorite dish for me and very memorable, even more so after I discovered that my instagram posts of it were plagiarized when I spotted my words on a post about RAW belonging to a food blogger from Sydney. (the post has since been deleted by Nessyeater)

"TAIWAN" RICE / PORK / MUSHROOM
Loved the presentation of this dish... "We shall enjoy rice as long as the moon shines the night" was imprinted on the lid of the bowl. I want to have a set of bowls with my own quote too... as well as a table with a hidden drawer for utensils (and the napkin, tucked all the way in the back of the drawer). #diningroomgoals.

I think this is a favorite dish of this menu for many people, though I spied the addition of truffle to the dish the month after we went!?  I really enjoyed RAW's gourmet version of lu rou fan, which is a braised fatty pork rice dish that everyone's mom (or dad) has a version of. Even though the pork was extremely fatty, I ate it all. And the rice was very fragrant and paired with the pork perfectly. My first impressions of the dish were the same after I was done eating it, I wanted more than a few bites. Even though it's a tasting menu and a dressed up version, a bowl of lu rou fan should be abundant and fill up more than half the bowl.

QUAIL / LEEK / BARLEY 

I don't enjoy quail, so RAW accommodated my request to have it switched out.. and it was switched to chicken breast. But I included a photo of my friend's quail dish, so you get an idea. I really liked the barley and the chicken was perfectly cooked, but this would be the dish you would have trouble remembering when asked to list your favorites from the meal. This is also the dish that they split the items into two separate rows when it's actually one dish. They've done this on previous menus as well, so for first time visitors, it could be misleading when you think you have more courses than there are. 

WHITE FUNGUS / SOURSOP / BERGAMOT
I've never been a huge fan of RAW's desserts and this was more of the same. Granita + sorbet + fruit, in this case, custard apple and starfruit along with white fungus.

I loved these smoked financiers. It was a good way to end the meal. So who has tried this new menu at RAW? Looking forward to the next round, if I can get seats!