Tasting Journey #197 - RAW

RAW
台北市樂群三路301號
02.8501.5800 / 0905-353-897
www.raw.com.tw

This is probably the most difficult restaurant I've ever had to make a reservation for.
Known for its michelin-star rated chief, this Singapore chief decides to open up a menu-less restaurant in Taipei that serves nothing but local ingredients.

With all this hype, the reservation takes place exactly at noon, 2 weeks in advance.  After many many many attempts, the only way to get a reservation (unless you know someone who knows someone who can get you a booking), is to sit in front of a computer at 11:50am, log onto their website, and be ready (not to mention you need fast internet connection). Like cindarella and her pumpkin, you need to be extremely quick with your fingers as soon as the bell hits twelve. All reservations typically are gone within the first 30 seconds (hence the copy & paste function becomes critical). This is also tricky when you are at work, and have to set aside everything to stare at the clock.

So the day finally arrives and I am so excited to finally be able to try it out.  The service is extremely professional. The food is amazing, utilizing so much local Taiwanese ingredients that you could possibly imagine. From fly fish sauce (orchid island) to popping candy, every dish is infused with some ingredient that represents different parts of Taiwan.  Not to mention the presentation of each dish is amazing.

 

What's even more unbelievable is that this five-star rated meal costs only $1,800/person!
All in all, I strongly suggest a revisit, as you get so much value out of your buck. The only thing is, I don't know if it's worth so much trouble to get a reservation.  Maybe be a bit more patient and wait another few months till the reservation hype dies down a bit?
 

Tasting Journey #182 - 486 Cafe

486 Café
台北市復興北路313巷6號
02.2715.2486
http://486cafe.com/contact.php

A restaurant catered towards young families with kids.

It's even got a nursing room which makes it very toddler friendly.

Clean, spacious, and well-lit.
Decent quality food for this type of themed café.
Friendly service.
Acceptable price.

 

Tasting Journey #176 - 勺勺客陝西料理

勺勺客陝西料理
台北市中正區仁愛路二段41巷15號
02.2351.7148
http://www.shaoshaoke.com/

 

We were just randomnly scootering around late at night, looking for a place to eat when out of the corner of our eyes, we saw, in a faint distance, a restaurant filled with people.  How could a place in the middle of nowhere attract such great attention?  What first caught my eyes, aside from the crowd, were the scribble-filled worn walls. That's where we will have dinner tonight.



We walked in.  The restaurant is old, and worn - probably also the retro ambience it is trying to create. We were sat in the corner, next to sealed door, of what probably used to be the old entrance to the building.  The tables aren't clean, the walls aren't clean, but ain't no matter as long as the food is tasty.

ShanXi - a province located in northern china.
I'm not too familiar with the delicacies there, so I let Mark do all the ordering while I googled on some reviews of this place.  I guess because of its location, many of the dishes were either pickled, spiced or flour-based noodles/dumplings.  



 

One interesting dish worth mentioning is the 泡饃, a semi-cooked dough based pancake where you need to also do some work to eat this dish. They first serve it to you in a dough form.  You are then to tear it into little pieces like 貓耳朵, where, upon size approval, they would then pour a bowl of hot broth over it to fully cook it (they'll review the sizes, and if too big, they'll ask you to tear it into smaller chunks).  Interesting concept, but the taste was plain.

Dumplings were flavourful, and all the pickled dishes were mouth watering tasty.
I thought we had accidentally came across a hidden gem.  To my surprise, I sent the photo to 2 of my coworkers and they rightaway responded with the name of the restaurant.  Guess it's not as of a secretive find as I thought. :)