Lunch at the award winning,
‘ Mountain and Sea House Restaurant, Taipei ‘.
Our long anticipated meal at this distinguished culinary temple was an upscale Michelin 1* affair, featuring both modern and traditional takes on authentic Taiwanese cuisine. This unique encounter was a first for both my wife and I.
Located on a quiet street and house in a splendid and elegant mansion. The front-of-house is adorned with both western and oriental historic artifacts and decor, augmented with retro furniture of noble families. The ambience was relaxing, tranquil and bright.
The refined food offering was dainty, elegantly crafted and artfully plated as reflected by the gorgeous looking appetizer platter of Drunken Prawns, Smoked local free range chicken, Taiwanese sausages, Braised Abalone….etc. Ingredients used were locally sourced, exotic and of high quality……Stirred fry shredded shark fin and Taiwanese vermicelli with whole local crab! Other dishes that highlighted the creativity and skill of the kitchen included a multi-component Taihei-cho Rose Prawn roll ( prawns, mullet fish paste, salted duck egg yolk, Erfan Tofu skin…..). Its creation, labour intensive…… the end result, visually appealing and delectable. The rest of the menu, comprising umami packed dishes like the Braised Winter Melon, 4 precious double boiled soups and Mullet roe and conpoy fried rice, were refreshing, delightfully delish and light. Perfect for lunch! The only exception was the red braised pork ribs which were tasty but a touch on the heavy side.
All in all, an eye opening and wonderful ‘ Taiwanese C
entric ‘ luncheon experience.
Next, we Uber to Taipei 101 and roam around the massive, modern mall in the hope of working off some calories!..Unfortunately, I came across this Patisserie/cafe displaying near perfect looking Croissants and Pain au Chocolate using 67% French Valrhona dark chocolate……!! Oops!! 
