dessert/fusion: i recommend SEASON CUISINE PATISSIARTISM

SEASON CUISINE PATISSIARTISM
No. 22, Lane 397, Alley 2, MingShui Rd. 台北市明水路397巷2弄22號
(02) 2533-2377

MRT: Dazhi Station

website: Season Cuisine Patissiartism FB page

hours: Lunch 11:30AM - 2:30PM (last order 1:30PM)
Afternoon Tea 3PM - 6PM (last order 5PM)
Dinners- only Friday and Saturday until 9PM

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, limited savory dishes available though lots of sweets to please.

Visit reviewed: 10/17/2011

If you've ever been the kind of person to plan your meal around dessert, then Season Cuisine Pâtissiartism should be next on your to-do eat list. Like its name implies, the restaurant aims to be part patisserie and part art, lead by the vision of Chef Season Hong.

The space is a simple backdrop to the food, one open room with a shared table in the center, all with a view of the window into the kitchen or to the dessert area where the daily specials are listed on the wall.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... so many luscious desserts to choose from...

When I went late last year, Season Cuisine Patissiartism, had been open only for a few months and only had a printed menu in Chinese.  There were only three dishes available for lunch sets when I went- a truffle risotto, a duck and a pork chop. On Season Cuisine's Facebook page, the 2012 menus now have English, as well as more options like oxtail stew, truffle fries, and shrimp and lobster risotto.

Fresh and bright flavors started the meal with a lightly dressed salad with balsamic vinaigrette, grilled onions and marinated salmon. Even the starters had notes of tang and sweetness.

The rustic bread made in-house that was served had me and my friends gushing- the firm crust, the chewy center- we wanted to buy some to take home, but unfortunately, that wasn't available.

Tomato soup with grapefruit compote gnocchi and seaweed 'biscotti'

The grilled natural pork (NT$980) was served with a mashed potato topped with figs and bits of brown sugar.

I love figs so the sweet and savory combination was a pleasant surprise to me. Some people would find it off putting, but it's no stranger than candied yams with marshmallows, or peanut butter and jelly. Salty sweet, sweet and salty.

The pork was especially tender on the inside and carmelized on the outside, and served intentionally pink as the server had told us that the chef prepared it medium well done. Not everyone at my table was willing to try a bite, but I devoured it without any problems afterwards.

A few of my friends ordered the truffle hazelnut risotto (NT$780).

My least favorite of the three was the duck with cherries and brownies.  I thought the portion was too small for the price, especially in contrast to my plate filling pork chop.

Along with the lychee sorbets that came with our set, we had to try some of the desserts.

My favorite was the chocolate cheesecake, which had a citrus touch to it.

Pour chocolate over something and you can't lose.

Our least favorites were the grapefruit jelly as it was a bit too acerbic, perhaps the pomelo was too ripe.

One of Season Cuisine's signature desserts which we regrettably did not get that day was Plant which is a mint ice cream hidden under a layer of chocolate cookie crumbs, served in a pot to look like a plant. Did I mention the mint ice cream has pop rocks in it? I think I'll have to go back.

On a nice day, I can imagine the patio filled with afternoon tea diners wielding camera phones in this little alley hidden somewhere in Dazhi.

CLOSED! chinese: i strongly recommend HAPPY HONG KONG

HAPPY HONG KONG 港欣新潮茶餐廳
at Neo 19, No.22, Song Shou Rd, 3FL 松壽路22號3樓
(02) 2720-0222

CLOSED! a/o 2013

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: happyhongkong.lifeing.com.tw and FB page

hours: 11:30AM - 10PM

$$

Kid friendliness: very kid friendly. high chairs and kids dinnerware available.

Visit reviewed: 3/25/2012 & 4/1/2012

When you end up at a place two weeks in a row, then you know that it's a crowd pleaser. Happy Hong Kong is a bustling diner with an extensive, surprising fusion menu. There's no shortage of Cantonese restaurants in Taipei, but with Happy Hong Kong's bright, roomy space and affordable prices, makes it very family friendly for repeat visits. If it wasn't for my friend's suggestion, I might not have ever made it to the third floor of Neo 19, since I usually end up at Momo Paradise or Chili's there.

The first time I went to Happy Hong Kong, I was overwhelmed by the almost 60 page menu- not only was there Chinese food, there was Italian pastas, Vietnamese pho, caesar salad, chargrilled steaks, beef curry, Singaporean vermicelli, risottos, honey toast, baked alaska, as well as fusion dishes like wontons in lobster bisque or chilled kale on ice with wasabi soy dip. Sometimes a restaurant with both Chinese and Western things on the menu is a bad sign that it won't do either well since it's trying to please everyone, but thankfully Happy Hong Kong passed the test.

Some of the menu items made me think WTF, but it's not a bad thing to be adventurous and try it out, especially if you have a large group. But if you want to stick to the classics, that's where the most successful dishes were. The must order dishes that ended up being the tables' favorites (and dishes we ordered everytime on following visits) were the Pineapple bun with honeyed bbq pork filling, which are baked to order and come warm with pocket of sweet char siu in the center. It's not bursting with bbq pork like the photo in the menu, but it will do.

and the Roasted crackling marbled pork (NT$240) with crispy skin

Cantonese seafood fried noodle (NT$320) with the crunchy noodles and gloopy sauce that I loved from my days at Berkeley and Sun Hong Kong. The meat and seafood tastes fresh and the sauce isn't too thick or salty, like at some restaurants I've tried where the toppings are cheap to keep the cost down.

Other good bets are the Hong Kong style wonton noodle in soup (NT$200)

chargrilled pork neck with lime and marmalade dip (NT$220)

Pineapple bun with butter (NT$60)

Since my first visit, I've been about 3 or 4 times and each time with a fairly large group of 10 or more people. What amazes me each time is speed of the kitchen and the competency of the waitstaff- there are enough waiters on their toes to service the extra large space and usually efficient and friendly, which is a plus. Also a plus, the first time I went, I asked for several things in English, like "napkins" and instead of getting a clueless look, the waiter understood and quickly brought some over. 

Lemonade with barley (NT$120)

On repeat visits, I had to try some of things that caught my eye, but while they were interesting, they weren't things I'd order again, like the Wontons in lobster bisque (NT$250) which was more like a creamy sauce rather than a bisque, and the flavors didn't play well together as I had imagined.

The Baked chinese cabbage with cheese sauce (NT$240) is alright.

If you can't decide what to get, you can combine and make a plate- we got the barbeque 3 items (NT$350) with honeyed bbq pork, roasted duckling and roast pork. But on repeat visits, we liked the roast pork the best and stuck to that- the bbq pork was a bit tough- it's better at Lao Yo Ji. Different sauces also come with each meat, we had to ask the server to figure out which was which since they didn't explain.

My friend's chose the Signature fried rice (NT$290) out of four different fried rices to choose from, but I like Happy Hong Kong's noodles better.

Pan fried turnip cake with XO sauce (NT$180) is a bit pricey for the portion, but tasty.

If you have relatives or friends who aren't feeling like Chinese food, they can order pasta like the Linguine with creamy mushroom and herbs (NT$ 260). It's big enough to share and not a bad plate of pasta.

Pan fried taro cake with preserved meats (NT$180) was a tad overfried.

We decided we wanted to try the Honey toast block with ice cream (NT$260). It comes to the table as a big block and the server cuts down one side to reveal the blocks inside. I was happy the toast had plenty of honey swirled through and carmelized up top. I thought this was moister and fluffier than Dazzling, but here there's only one variety.

or Hong Kong style custard tart (NT$60) were tasty. The crust wasn't flaky like at Parents, but the center was soft and custardy and served warm.

So the next time you can't decide if you want pasta, pho or pineapple buns, then head over to Happy Hong Kong where you can order all three in one place! Business lunch sets are also available.