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!

japanese/italian: NAGOMI PASTA

NAGOMI PASTA

No. 20, Lane 50, YiXian Road

台北市信義區逸仙路50巷20號

MRT: Taipei City Hall

hours: 1130AM-9PM:

Price: $$ (cash only)

website: Nagomi's FB page 

kid friendliness: lots of pasta dishes and some fried calamari/chicken appetizers. 

VIsit reviewed: 10/21/2015

Couldn't get seats at the pasta place I wanted to go to, so we ended up trying Nagomi Pasta, a Japanese Italian restaurant with lots of fusion dishes like duck with yuzu pepper pasta, mentaiko seaweed pasta or fried chicken soy sauce spaghetti. Turns out the owners are the same as Primo Trattoria, which serves more traditional style Italian pastas and pizzas. There are quite a few Japanese Italian pasta places in Taipei, one of the most popular being Bellini Pasta, but Nagomi has a larger variety of pastas with over 20 pastas on its menu, but doesn't offer up any pizza. 

The menu is in Chinese, Japanese and English (thankfully) sprinkled with a few photos. There are daily specials in Chinese on the board and you can make your lunch a set with a small salad and dessert by adding a small fee. Besides pastas, there are also baked pastas with cheese, Japanese hamburger, steak with teriyaki sauce-- all the sort of things that would fit in at a restuarant on Sawtelle. The menu reminds me a little of the now shuttered West LA Little Osaka restaurant Blue Marlin, except that there's no uni pasta at Nagomi.

Nagomi sits about 20 people in the front of the restaurant and there's additional section of seating in the back. 

Caesar Salad NT$160

Fresh and crisp, but nothing you couldn't put together yourself at home. Dressing was also lighter and not as creamy as the American style Caesar dressing.

Salmon Ikura pasta with butter, onions and mizuna NT$360

First reaction was that the pasta was quite buttery, the second was that some of the pasta was torched since they seemed to have seared the salmon atop the pasta. This would be nice with udon instead of spaghetti, but it's mostly pasta here, imported from Italy. 

Chicken, deep fried gobo, chili, sesame, soy sauce spaghetti NT$260

This had a kick to it, though my friend didn't seem to notice. 

Mixed mushrooms, egg, homemade meat sauce, grana padano NT$280

I saw the soft boiled egg on the menu, and I had to order this dish. This is probably the least fusion-y of the 20 or so pasta dishes on Nagomi's menu with a bolognese meat sauce and freshly grated grana padano cheese. The sauce here does taste like Bellini's version, as it is on the sweeter side. 

While I enjoyed this dish, I didn't like that the soft boiled egg was cold, especially with a hot dish. I've had bad experiences in the past with cold soft boiled eggs and since that means it was premade, you don't know how long the egg has been sitting around. From my recollection, the egg at Bellini (the first place I've ever had the soft boiled egg on bolognese pasta) is served hot.

The first time I spied Nagomi Pasta was when I went to Solo Trattoria (opened by Solo Pasta) around the corner. The next time, I think I would still prefer to go to Solo Trattoria. They have a stewed beef cheek zitoni pasta that is divine. Or come back with more people to order more dishes to try. Had a little bit carb overload with three pasta dishes and not as much protein.

revisited/western: i still recommend NONZERO

NONZERO
& MONOCLE SHOP TAIPEI
No. 5, Alley 4, Lane 27, Ren Ai Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 2772-1630

MRT: Zhongxiao/Fuxing

website: nonzero.com.tw

hours: 11:30AM - 8PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. smaller seating area and limited menu

Visit reviewed: 5/11/2015
Previous review: 12/2007



It's been a long time since I have been to Nonzero (over seven years), so when a friend who was "eating clean" asked to meet there, it was a good opportunity to try out their current menu. I had also heard about its recent revamp turning half of its dining space into a Monocle Shop. Where there used to be a huge table for shared seating and a section for take home veggies, is now an assortment of colorful home goods, notebooks and accessories for "high end global lifestyle."

Nonzero's menu is also notedly different than its previous typical Taipei set menu where soup and desserts are included. Nonzero now serves "comfort food from around the world" that's "healthy and delicious" as well as friendly to solo diners. With less than 10 menu items to choose from, like masala vegetable stew, lemon thyme fish with roasted potato and beef bourguignon, there's a flavor profile here that's rare in Taipei.

 

Nonzero lunch set NT$500 meal of the day, quinoa rice or bread, salad and americano or Aveda tea. The meal of the day was stewed lamb. The lamb was tender and I like this better than the off the menu Malaysian curry chicken which had a strong spice that I didn't love.

The rice was a quinoa rice blend, so it wasn't completely quinoa, but maybe more palatable to those unfamiliar to quinoa.

Off the menu special- Malaysian chicken curry (NT$350) which was slightly spicy and had large chunks of potato.

Lemon thyme fish with roasted potato (NT$550) was very light, but healthy with thin strips of zucchini wrapped around the fish. I liked the roasted baby potatoes that came with the fish too. Fish was fork tender and fresh. 

Nonzero's menu might not be for everyone, but those looking for distinct flavors can probably tell from the menu and photos if it's for you. At the very least, Monocle fans can browse the shop. Next time I go, I want to try the desserts- the cherry clafoutis, lemon cake and the strawberries with balsamic strawberry compote.