Diner at Forchetta

Heard about this restaurant a while ago about the special chef who gave up his original career to open this place because of  his passion of traveling and savoring all kinds of good food around the world.
Our friend Chris (also in the hotel business) prearranged a menu with the chef, which contains Spanish style tapas, Italian Ghocchi, and some part of fish that Japanese really love to use in their cuisine(only male fish have it). Ingredients and styles vary but blend in together nicely. Also a good value for the quality: NT2500 per person.

Starters: Spanish tapas

Sardine fish puff, scallop, Chorizo served with mixed salad and sherry vainegrette

Baked squid with cheese served with Gnocchi and Gongozolla cream cheese

Leek of cream soup with black truffle and organic eggs

This one actually contains the famous curious male fish part.

Bizzard? Mais c'est delicieux!

Fresh organic green apple sorbet

Chef loves organic stuff, very healthy.

Nevertheless, the sorbet was not fluffy enough to refresh your palate.

Pan fried local fresh four-finger fish with lemon butter sauce

Pretty good with the sauce for one or two bites, after that, was a bit too creamy.

Prefer just to grill the fish with a bit of salt and lemon juice, so you can taste the fish better.

The baby corn on the side was excellent: fresh, juicy and sweet.(Still inside the husk.) 

(This is one of the main courses, You have a choice of fish or veal.)

Pan fried veal chop with Madeira red wine

Lions or cheetahs might like it. The veal was under cooked and tasteless.

The Madeira wine sauce was good though.

Bertrand and Carole's 40-year Port

(Dan's favorite. Got a hang over from it.)

Chris brought a very interesting red from his South Africa trip too.

We should have brought some good champagne or chardonnay to pair with some fish dishes.

My birthday gift

Very nice and natural body lotion from Italy.(Lillian has been to the House in Italy)

Didn't expect it. Thanks to Lillian and all friends that night!

Dessert was a beautiful chocolate cake. No picture because we started our celebration and forgot all about it.

We were pretty international that night, friends from Belgium, France and Taiwan. Lots of Europeans so we did the dinner European way: Met at 8:30 and started around probably 9:00.

By the time we finished, it was way past midnight.(Chris suggested to go to a whisky bar nearby but Lillian was too tired. ) 

Dan and I decided to take a walk so we said good-bye to our friends and went along An-He Rd.

Although it wasn't like along La Seine, where there's endless surprises to discover: (Apart from the dog do, mostly nice ones.) Shakespeare book store, little boutique which sells carnaval masks, various styles of cafes( Greek, Jewish, Lebanese, and French of course.), and all the nice architecture of museums and bridges, the night of Taipei was quiet and nice without many people and car exhaust .

For some reason, walking in the thin mist, although it was late autumn, we felt like in the early spring: the air was a bit damp,  but tender and soft.