Anniversary in Taipei

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When we planned this trip to Taipei for dad's birthday, we knew that Foursheets' birthday and our anniversary would fall in the same week, so we made a conscious decision to spend more time with the Parental Units and, for the first time, celebrate our anniversary with them. This means we weren't going to be at our beloved Caprice on this special day, and would have to choose a place in Taipei instead.

I was busy planning my trip to France, and when I returned I dithered a little about where to go... It would appear that the fine dining scene in Taipei is doing pretty well, perhaps thanks to the booming stock market over the last few years, as a number of places I wanted to book were all unavailable. So in the end I chose Ephernité - a name that's been in the back of my mind for a few years.

Since it's our special day, I opted for the Chef's Tasting Menu for us, preferring to have ingredients that are meant to be more premium and interesting.

Salmon tart - made with diced smoked salmon and a fie roe sauce.

A grateful celebration

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I try to spend each birthday with the Parental Units, but this particular birthday has extra meaning for dad. Having started chemo right after mom's birthday this year, and having some through some tough times during the latter rounds, we have been told that the Big C is now in remission. So... in a sense, we are celebrating dad's re-birth at the ripe old age of 86. For this occasion, I decided to take us back to trusty Tutto Bello, whose cuisine has long been to mom's liking.

We are back in the familiar, dimly-lit dining room. One thing I am confident about this place is their wine service. I've opened a few old bottles here, and they've always done a good job. Meanwhile there was a group of wine lovers near us drinking up Henri Jayer and the like... and I thought I recognized one of them. They were a little loud, but that happens when you ply a group of people with lots of good wine...

The beauty of this place is the ability to order à la carte. However, one needs to read the menu a little more carefully than I did tonight... or end up getting more food than one would want.

One small annoyance was that our starters took about half an hour to arrive... leaving us with just a few pieces of bread to begin with. Oh well... I guess they were catering to the table of big spenders near us.

Cappe sante alla pancia / granchio / zuppetta d'aragosta bianca - I hadn't read the menu carefully enough, so I didn't realize there was also crab meat in the lobster bisque. Very nice.

Deep-fried peony

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We're in Taipei for a few days while we do some celebrating, and first up is Foursheets' birthday. When I asked her if there was anywhere she'd like to go, I was glad she chose Mudan Tempura (牡丹 • 極上 天ぷら). On our first visit 3 years ago, we were absolutely floored by the quality of our lunch. The technique was very, very good, and the execution on some of the items was nothing short of perfection. In the back of my mind, I had always wanted to find an excuse to return, as it is clearly the best tempura restaurant I have dined at outside Japan. Well, here was my chance!

As usual, the chefs presented the ingredients to be used for our meal before we started. We noticed immediately that there was something on the menu that we don't eat, and we asked for a substitution. We were also offered an extra course of matsutake (松茸), but once I was told they come from Vancouver, I turned this down. We were the only cheapskates who said "NO"...

Classics from Oncle Joël

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After a fun evening out at Caprice last month, the Tea Supplier very kindly invited the gang to dinner at Le Jardin de Joël Robuchon. To be honest, I don't visit the Hong Kong outpost of the Robuchon empire very much, and as they've gone through an extension renovation, this was a great chance for me to see how different the place is.

We were across two tables in their large private room, which was pretty stunning. I was fortunate that the Mushroom Supplier kept us company.

Cream of corn soup with smoked duck and foie gras terrine - there was a spicy kick from the piment d'espelette. Did I mention how bling this dish was? LOVE IT.

The four Italian horsemen

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More than 3 months after our last gathering around wines from Years of the Horse, our foursome is back popping a few more bottles. When it was suggested that we open some Italians, I suggested to the group that we bid on a particular lot of wines from top Italian producers that I saw at an auction. There were exactly four bottles, and they were all top cuvées from renowned producers. Well, we managed to win the lot.

I saw a few dishes on social media posted by Chef Liu Zhen (刘震) of Yong Fu (甬府), so I suggested that we pay the restaurant a visit - especially since the others haven't been in quite some time. Thankfully the team could accommodate us, even when I insisted that they include a dish from their set dinner. Thank you so much, Yu zong!

I LOOOOOVE mahua (麻花), and it's even better when they come covered in powdered seaweed. Oh, and their peanuts come with seaweed, too!