"Tea Room" and "Library"

Dan had a rehearsal at BS, dropped me off at Eslite. Wanted to get a new French dictionary and check out some "new arrivals"(books, magazines etc...)

Often forgot about the time until my legs started to feel something. They do have nice sitting benches and the like but I'm usually more used to just walking about and reading whatever there is in sight before choosing anything. Plus the music is pretty interesting most of the time. It was some very perfectly performed piccolo trumpet music that afternoon.

Stopped at the 3rd Floor Tea Room 2 hours after to rest and have a before dinner drink.

Always nice to have a view.

It was a rather cold afternoon,

so I ordered a "Matured Beer" from Austria.

It had a sweet aroma but didn't taste sweet.

They offered me a piece of dark orange chocolate to pair with it,

but it wasn't quite a good match because they were both kind of sweet.

It was tempting to get some appetizers to go with the beer,

but they only serve sandwiches which were too filling,

or otherwise desserts.

The alcohol percentage was quite high,

(Although the strongest one I've tried was 18%)

Dan joined me after the rehearsal, Julie(A very elegant lady who works at The Library restaurant.)took us first to their Cellar to pick up wines. We already checked the menu at the Tea Room and decided what to order, so here we just told Mok(who's in charge of the Cellar)which dishes we were going to get and which type of wines we preferred, then everything was settled, they brought wines, decanters and the right kinds of wine glasses straight up to the 6th Floor restaurant, very significant service.

1 of the 2 appetizer menus

1 of the 2 main course menus

You pay NT$660 additional to the main course price,

then you get the main course which you choose plus all 3 appetizers on the menu above.

Appetizer Menu#2

Main course Menu#2

This one you pay NT$750 additional.

There were also suggested pairing wines on the menu,

but some were out of stock,

so it was better to go first to the Cellar.

Meursault Perrières 2006

Bouchard Père & Fils

A very elegant Chardonnay.

Clear and Crispy,

but also has very nice nuance.

Creamy finish, quite long on the palate.

They first poured it in the decanter and then put the whole thing into the ice bucket,

so it would "wake up" on time for our appetizers.

Shouldn't let it get too cold, either,

otherwise you won't be able to taste all the interesting layers in it.

Again, very smart to offer "half bottles",

so one can try different wines with diverse dishes.

Volnay Caillerets 2007

Also from Bouchard Père & Fils

Volnay used to be one of the best valued Burgundy reds,

since it's getting more and more famous,

it's rarely the case anymore.

But fortunately, it's still very qualified and reasonably priced,

at least compared to other famous Burgundys.

This one was still young, could wait a little longer,

but by the end of the meal it started to open up,

quite nice still.

Decanter and corks,

I always like to admire them while savoring wines.

Eslite also imports wine decanters, glasses and such,

so all these glasswares that night were very professional.

Different shaped glasses and decanters for different types of wines,

(white, red, different vintages, grape types, and so on...)

Restaurant settings

Really felt like you're in a corner of a library.

A bit of flowers on the table, simple but nice.

Chestnut Soup

The taste was good but way too watery.

Curry sea food soup

Kind of a Thai style soup,

quite good but probably better with a beer.

There were 2 salads before the soup,

but we were too busy discussing wine fares with Julie and Mok,

so we forgot to take pictures.

The chicken salad with raw papayas and red pepper-peanut dressing was also Thai style,

but with a much lighter flavor, which made it better to match our Chardonnay.

The squid salad with basil and tomato was a bit fishy for my standard,

but better after taking a sip of Chardonnay with it.

Excellent pan seared scallops with red curry sauce,

tasted really good with the mashed potatoes underneath it,

brilliant idea!

Warm baby octopus salad with a light soy sauce dressing.

Also good.

US prime Wagyu beef

Great quality for just NT$950,

Very nicely roasted, too!

The cats that we feed on the hill behind our apartment also enjoyed the leftovers.

 Osso Buco (Stewed)

Tasted kind of Irish-Taiwanese,

very tender and flavorful.

Cheese cake with a bit of blueberry and grape,

simple but good.

Crystal brown sugar

Espresso was pretty good but could be stronger.

Overall, the food here tends to be less complicated than 1930 or Robuchon,

but with good ingredients and quality.

Wine service was surprisingly significant!