For the first time, I found myself enjoying Taipei's revived food scene.
Despite the fact that 3-star Michelin chef Yannick Alléno has officially left Le Meurice, he remains one of the most influential chefs in modern French cuisine. That was precisely why we picked him over Joel Robuchon on this particular night.
There are currently 3 branches of Simple Table Alléno Yannick (S.T.A.Y.) scattered around the world - Dubai, Beijing and of course, Taipei. The Taipei outpost can be found conveniently situated on the 4th floor of the 101 Tower right in the heart of Taipei.
We have seen a fair amount of changes in the dining scene of Taiwan in recent years and even 101 Tower itself has seen many of its restaurants come and go. But we are certainly hoping that chef Yannick Alléno's S.T.A.Y. and Sweet Tea are here to stay.
It's always nice to see a familiar face. Girard William, executive chef of S.T.A.Y. Taipei has worked for Whisk, Mira Hong Kong at a similar position. We had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions and definitely liked what we have seen from him. His cuisine is considered modern and innovative, precisely what we are after.
Like its cuisine, the dining room of S.T.A.Y. was a marriage between modern and tradition.
Our first impression of the restaurant was a very good one. Our server was very attentive and most importantly, she spoke very fluent English. That's crucial considering how bad our Mandarin was.
By the way, is this the chef's table in the middle of the dining room here?
Our amuse bouche came in the form of two spoons and a skewer. Starting from the left, a deep fried pumpkin mousse, followed by a pork cheek terrine and finally a beetroot mousse topped by a touch of smoked eel. They have a very nice mixture of ingredients with contrasting flavors and textures. Very nice (7/10).
Before we could finish up our photo-taking, our starters were almost ready to be presented. I called this the "20th century Russian salad" which included smoked eel remoulade, beetroot and potato salad.
They were very clever in using a thick beetroot foam here. It worked extremely well with the smoked eel tartare which was also marinated with beetroot giving the dish surprising good balance (8/10).
Our second starter was a foie gras and seaweed terrine served with yuzu lemon marmalade and sea salt. Again very nice combination of ingredients which was quite tantalizing for our palates (7/10).
Pumpkin velouté was next. I am a huge fan of pumpkin velouté and this was very creamy yet not too intense. The Meaux mustard flavored cream, bacon and toast provided an excellent finish to the silky smooth texture (7/10).
More successful was the other soup on the menu - a perfectly seasoned oyster soup that was poured over leek compote and served with a melba toast (8/10).
I couldn't wait to get started with my main courses (2 per set). First up was the langoustines cassolette. This was a gratin type of dish served with a nage sauce flavored with lobster coral and chervil. The sauce was slightly heavy and I thought it was probably the least impressive dish of the night (5/10).
The first meat course finally arrived and it was a beauty - a crispy ravioli stuffed with duck confit and foie gras. A little garnish of cherry and ginger chutney was served on the side.
I was guessing that the chef was drawing inspiration from the famous Peking duck and therefore added the hoisin sauce on top of the ravioli.
This was a truly well designed dish and the execution was equally superb. I liked the extremely flavorful meat from the duck leg confit. The ravioli was crispy on the outside but soft inside and the touch of cherry worked so well to balance the richness of the ravioli. To me, it was the best dish of this meal (9/10).
We seldom see such simple steak served at a fine dining restaurant but don't judge a book by its cover, it tasted much better than its appearance would suggest.
A US prime beef tenderloin served medium along with some homemade french fries and a black pepper sauce (6/10).
Our main course was drawing to a close and our final dish was a fish course of steamed cod fish with seaweed butter, razor clams and diamond potato (6.5/10).
Success managed to carry over to our dessert starting with a dish called the "apple compression" which was a small apple tart with walnut cookies, cinnamon, raisin and green apple sorbet (6.5/10).
If you have a sweet tooth like me, then the next dessert would most likely be your cup of tea - Tahiti vanilla tart, strawberry juice and sorbet. Very sweet and delicate (7.5/10).
Petite four first started with a mix of white and pink marshmallows that were sprinkled with sugar. Sweet~
Then mini mango tarts and raspberry operas to close out this wonderful dinner.
I liked the fact that they didn't do too much trying to impress us and instead stick with the basics. The result was a solid michelin worthy meal that came with impeccable service and cozy ambiance.
Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$$
Address: 4/F 101 Tower, No.7, Sec.5, Xin Yi Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Closest Metro Station: Jieyuntaibei101 / Shimao
Tel: +886 (0)2 8101-8177
Website: www.yannick-alleno.com/restaurant/taipei/
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