No matter how many times you’ve been to a country or city, it’s always difficult to plan and book things from abroad, let alone having to do that for a group of 12 people. Thanks to another bridesmaid’s tremendous help, I managed to pull off a rather successful bachelorette’s weekend trip to Taipei. From researching and planning, booking and panicking when places are full, to everything falling into place and finally getting excited, all the stress and frustration that had been mounting for months up, the emotions were just too overwhelming. It wasn’t until the very moment I sat down and buckled my seat belt on the plane back to SingaporeI that I finally gave way to exhaustion and relief, yet feeling bittersweet after having spent the last two and a half days with my best friend who I don’t see often and will very soon get married. I’d like to say that it was all worth it.
Taipei is a great place for a weekend getaway, especially if you live within the “proximity”. Of course now that I’m farther away it’s less convenient but still, a weekend is enough for anyone to eat all the crazy good local food in Taipei and go home with your mouth filled with ulcers (from all the “hot” food they have). Since we didn’t check out any of the attractions, I’d focus on all the food we had.
I wanted to start off our weekend activities “with a bang”, which means we went for Taiwanese spicy hot pot on Friday night. I heard and read so many good things about this particular restaurant one could imagine my delight when I found out that it’s located in a mall right beside our hotel. It’s basically a win on all fronts except for the fact that we had to go in our least attractive clothes and our hair tied up. We had a little section of the restaurant and a server all to ourselves. We ordered a half-half pot, with one side filled with pork broth and another with Taiwanese spicy flavorings. After the pot was heated up came dishes after dishes of beautifully curated food: the pork belly and Wagyu beef slices became flower petals, lettuces and mushrooms and all sorts of vegetables transformed into a floral arrangement… The food was literally too beautiful to eat and seeing our kind and patient server put in layers of food into both sides of the pot and fishing out cooked meat and vegetables for us simultaneously was fascinating. It was all like a show to us and at the rate we were eating with the amount of food we ordered, we were full very quickly.
Lunch on Saturday was no different in terms of how much we had (and over-ordering). I did not plan for anything since I wasn’t expecting everyone to be able to make it to lunch after the big night out I had anticipated. We ended up at a local Taiwanese restaurant that has small tables and serves up small dishes. With the limited space we had, we fit in as many plates we could: fried tofu, fermented eggs, bowls of prawn noodles, minced pork rice, rice with pork floss, bean curd custard… More than what we could finish (and the photo below included), but good for everyone to try a bit of everything. Nothing exceptional but quite nice overall.
For dinner we wanted to do European and somewhere nice. STAY (Simple Table by Alleno Yannick) was able to promise us that. A quick search on the name would bring you to recent news about him verbally abusing kitchen staff, but what it would also tell you is this 3-Michelin starred chef’s history and stint at the famed Parisian Hotel Le Meurice. What’s helpful about having a group of 12 was the ability to book private rooms and we can be as loud as we want. The menu was pre-ordered and we knew exactly what we were getting. Everything from the foie gras terrine, pan-seared scallops to the lobster bisque and ribeye steak was immaculate. One of my favorite desserts being the millefeuille was also done very well and just how I like it – crispy from top to bottom and incredibly hard to eat tidily.
I must say the most anticipated meal of the trip definitely had to go to our Sunday brunch at Mountain & Sea House. Again, it was one of the places where I read tons of great reviews on and both locals and tourists have raved about. We all knew we wanted some authentic Taiwanese food (if that makes sense) before we left Taipei and this restaurant was exactly what we needed. Set in an unassuming low-rise building with old Chinese paintings and tiles and wooden furniture, it’s every bit of where we’d expect to get some “authentic” local food. We didn’t understand most of what was written on the menu because of the fancy poetic titles of the dishes but we ordered almost all of them as suggested by our yet again oh-so patient server. I highlight this since patience is much needed in someone having to wait at least three full minutes before putting down a plate full of food on the table or having to present dishes in a certain way so that they are “camera-ready”. And that’s a lot of time given the number of dishes we ordered and at the same time they try their best to make sure we taste the food at their optimal temperature and sequence. It’s really not that easy trying to deal with us, and especially when there are more than 10 people individually attempting to take the most artistic photo as they can. Okay I digress, but it has to be pointed out. Anyway, we were completely blown away by the food. I don’t think I’ve ever said this more than once in my life about Chinese food from a restaurant (the only time being in Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong years and years ago). And the price turned out to be reasonable too even though we had to order a bit more to meet the minimum. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one at lunch who thought so highly of the food given all the “hmm’s and “ahh”s and “oh my god”s there were throughout the entire meal. The fried tofu with egg yolk was creamy but light, the chicken was served cold but smoked, the seafood congee was just so rich and hearty, the rice was chewy and soaked with flavors of chicken and mushroom, the fish was tender and with homemade sauce it just melts in your mouth… All very beautifully displayed and far more intricate than the ones at hot pot we encountered. This was on a whole new level of appreciating and enjoying the Chinese cuisine with local Taiwanese ingredients. Sure, there are lots of restaurants that serve up great Chinese food and are probably much, much cheaper but with all the thought and effort put into every single element of something as simple as a chicken wing, it’s definitely a place worth being recognized. It’s also what’s so special about Chinese food because after having that exceptional food, the first thing that came to my mind was to bring my family here. You always share all the food you have, and the more the merrier.
We definitely ended the trip on a high note (plus the much-needed massage session we got right after). Through a single meal, Mountain & Sea House managed to forever alter my perspective towards Taiwanese food to something far beyond even their beef noodles, their dumplings, their hot pots, their crazy fresh seafood and all the other things one can find in their night markets.
Although I’m glad that the trip was finally over and done with, and while I’m still somewhat recovering from the consecutive late nights, I’m happy that I was able to discover and experience things for the first time with old as well as new friends. No matter the difference we have as friends and as individuals, our appreciation for food will always tie us back together.
A Traveler at Heart 