By Jasmine Ong
Known for their “flavour design” cuisines, Taipei’s Restaurant Week returns in the month of September where chefs were challenged to take inspiration from the theme Design Taipei, which invited four designers from the Alliance Graphique Internationale to present their personal philosophies and visual interpretations of Taipei.
Image courtesy of Taipei Restaurant Week.
Chefs from participating fine dining establishments and Michelin-starred restaurants across Taipei were tasked to creatively translate the urban visual impressions from the designers into edible creations, by combining international techniques and ingredients with Taipei’s collective memories as the foundation.
We had the privilege to visit Taipei where we dined at two of the restaurants: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Taipei and Robin’s Teppanyaki.
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Taipei
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
If you are one of those who might find the restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon familiar, then yes, we once had a Singapore restaurant of the same name until its closure in 2018. Since I didn’t get a chance to try it when it was available, I decided to give this a try for lunch.
In addition to this being my first try at the restaurant, it was also the first time I tried lamb. As someone who was more inclined to go for the pork, chicken or fish on the menu, lamb was definitely something I’ve avoided just as a preference and the slight worry that it was either too gamey or smelled weird.
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lamb chop at the two Michelin stars L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Taipei not only proved my theories wrong, but was actually pretty delicious. Paired with the cous cous on the side, the flavours not only came to life but the meat and the pasta also managed to complement one another with every bite.
Alongside some of the restaurant’s signature, the special Taipei Restaurant Week menu featured the star dessert that was inspired by graphic designer Yeh Chung-yi’s version of blue created for Taipei Restaurant Week, which captures the colour dialogue between the city’s sky and skyline.
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
The exclusive dessert showcased the designer’s grey and blue vision on the plate through the use of a black sesame mousse to create the soft gray hue, that is then topped with delicate blue and white chocolate shards.
I have to say that the dessert was definitely the best dish of the menu for me because it tasted as good as it looked. Even though it looked like a French-style dessert, the flavours felt Asian to me and almost tasted like an elevated version of black sesame soy milk. It’s suffice to say that I did not take my time with the sweet treat at all and it was gone in sixty seconds.
Robin’s Teppanyaki
Located within Regent Taipei is Robin’s Teppanyaki, the hotel’s Japanese teppanyaki restaurant that has been recommended by the Michelin Guide for nine consecutive years.
While I’m not someone who particularly enjoys teppanyaki, I do enjoy watching how the chef prepares the food on the hot sizzling plate and for my dinner, I had a front-row seat to that.
Images courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
For their special Taipei Restaurant Week menu, Robin’s Teppanyaki prepared five dishes that included three that were inspired by Ho Wan-chun’s restrained shade of red that encapsulates the warmth between Taipei’s people, the accumulation of time within the city, and the subtle transition between the old and new.
In their own take, the team at Robin’s Teppanyaki created dishes that integrated French, Japanese, Italian and Spanish culinary elements, which captured Taipei’s dynamic evolution, where diverse cultures, eras and lifestyles naturally coexist.
Of the three, the standout for me were the Seafood dish which comprised a grilled king prawn and ratatouille paired with piperade sauce, and the Strawberry Pavlova for dessert.
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
I’ve always been a fan of prawns but lately, I’ve learned that I am actually allergic to them and would either break out in hives or suffer from flaky lips, if I ate any that were not prepared well. Even though this is a constant worry that plagues my seafood decisions whenever I am out, I would more often than not throw caution to the wind (and keep my antihistamines handy) when faced with a craving for them.
This prawn creation from Robin’s Teppanyaki was not only aesthetically pleasing but the taste of the dish was fantastic. The natural sweetness of the prawn mixed in with the ratatouille and piperade sauce gave it a nice mix of savoury flavours that had a bit of a spicy kick, which gave it that nice, well-rounded finish with each bite.
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
While I may be a savoury girl at heart, I always like to end my meal on a sweet note and the Strawberry Pavlova did the trick, even though I was expecting more meringue with the pistachio ice cream.
But, I wouldn’t say that was a deal breaker since there was a nice balance between the sweet of the meringue, the sour of the strawberries and the nuttiness of the ice cream, which balanced out the dessert in a good way, and didn’t leave me feeling like I had sucked on a sugar cube.
Regent Taipei
Image courtesy of Regent Taipei.
Located in the heart of Taipei’s vibrant Zhongshan District, Regent Taipei is a great home away from home with its easy access to the city’s shopping malls and cultural spots. The hotel features 538 guest rooms and suites, which include the more exclusive Tai Pan floors, that offer an exclusive lounge and business area with butler service.
Image courtesy of Regent Taipei.
For this trip, I stayed on the Tai Pan floors which were on the higher levels and offered access to the lounge where food and beverages were available at different times of the day. Even though I didn’t get a chance to fully utilise this, I liked having the option to at least unwind somewhere quieter without a crowd.
Image courtesy of Jasmine Ong.
The Tai Pan Rooms came with either a king-sized bed or twin beds, and was definitely spacious enough to accommodate more than one occupant in the room. I had the king-sized bedroom and loved the space I had, from the toilet to the bed and the sofa set up — it almost felt like I was living in my own apartment!
One thing to note about the hotel is that they use real keys instead of keycards for the rooms. While it initially posed a bit of a security worry for me, I thought the touch of analog really tied in with Taipei’s identity of embracing the old and new.
Additionally, the hotel is also home to the two-level Regent Galleria, which has more than 50 luxury boutiques such as CHANEL, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Dior.