Showing posts with label french. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french. Show all posts

Monday, November 13, 2017

pop up/french: CHEF MATTHIEU DE LAUZUN x ORCHID RESTAURANT


shine bright like a diamond


[TAIPEI- DAAN] One Michelin star Chef Matthieu De Lauzun from Montpelier, France popped up in Taipei from 11/9 - 11/12 at Orchid Restaurant 蘭 using local vegetables and focusing on seafood. 

My favorite dish of the tasting menu was the poivron farci, or stuffed pepper. The sweet roasted red pepper was stuffed with fresh crab and the squid was presented two ways, as "noodles" atop and fried. 

This is Chef Matthieu's first time to Taipei. I got a chance to chat with him a little and he said he really thought the local ingredients were great so he tried to use as many vegetables and seafood locally. He also has had a chance to enjoy local eats, one of his favorites being the pepper bun from the night market. (Mine too! Can't miss it when visiting!)

With Michelin Guide coming in 2018, it's great Michelin starred chefs can collaborate with local talent and Taipei diners can also get a taste of what's already ranked as Michelin-worthy around the world. Thanks Orchid for the invitation and for continuing to discover and bring guest chefs to Taiwan



my weakness - bread and butter






saumon sauvage



the DIY version would be a tortilla rolled up with smoked salmon and cream cheese. or maybe i've been watching too many buzzfeed videos. 


Poivron farci

Roasting the red bell pepper brought out a sweetness that was almost fruity that matched the sea sweetness of the crab and squid, which were executed to the perfect texture. The lump crab is hiding underneath all of the "noodles." Loved this. 


Bar (de pêche atlantique)




truffe blanche (de alba)

I also enjoyed the truffle risotto with the perfect egg, the yolk in limbo between solid and liquid. 



filet foie gras joue de boeuf
so full at this point, but i was very happy to have the foie gras



Sphere framboise/ citron


citron et mandarine



Sweet ending. 



Saturday, April 02, 2016

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!






:)