1789 Café by Cyrille Courant 忠孝店 (Taipei, TAIWAN) ★★★☆☆

Both V and I had a little too much to drink last night so we passed out almost immediately after getting back to our respective hotel rooms. Not only did we miss out on breakfast the next morning, by the time I re-gained my consciousness, it was almost noon.

Rather than waiting for V's call, I cleaned myself up and went out for "brunch".



I have always wanted to come and check out 1789 Café by Cyrille Courant, a French patisserie on Zhongxiao East Road, just a short distance from SOGO.



1789 is pretty famous for their modern take on the French éclair, a little like L'Eclair de Génie in Paris but with some nice local twist.



I was immediately greeted by the store manager. After telling her how great their éclairs looked, she started to reveal what made them so popular (and tasty). She explained that because their éclairs only has the lifetime of one day, they could afford to make the cream a little less gluey and thick. That's their secret. Well, I guess you can never go wrong by eating fresh!



Grand Cru hot chocolate (NT.160) - This was almost as strong as coffee which got me awake instantly.



N°3 Vanilla cream (NT.120) - It came with vanilla cream icing and toppings of caramelized Macadamia nuts. Not bad but I thought the choux pastry could have been a little more fluffy (Even better if it has filling of macadamia nut flavored or praline cream!).



N°20 Raspberry litchi (NT.150) - This had a mix of raspberry purée, fresh Taiwanese lychee and vanilla cream.



I love the fact that they used local ingredients in this one. And the balance of acidity (raspberry) and sweetness (lychee and vanilla) was spot on. 



While I was enjoying the éclairs, the store manager came over to offer me a cup of complimentary champagne peach sorbet. That was very nice of her, the perfect "gift" in the hot days of summer.



I have seen this getting more popular in Taipei, desserts that came in a jar. I've heard Jar Pâtisserie (瓶子甜點) is very good at this.

Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: #10, Alley 4, Lane 217, Section 3, Zhongxiao East Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Closest Metro Station: Zhongxiao Fuxing
Tel: +886 2-2772-5889
Website: www.1789.com.tw