D+N innovación+

During my visits to Spain when Dan was living there, we rarely ate out in the restaurants because he assured me nothing was good enough and usually everything was too salty. I did enjoy hopping around small eateries or cafes and try different tapas with glasses of wine or beer, or follow him to local markets, look around all those interesting cheeses, vegetables etc., and try to guess how he's going to combine them and surprise me with a simple, but healthy and very tasty dinner! (It was very nice to have dinner at his small balcony with a candle while looking at the passing trains in the distance. I miss it a lot!)  But overall, Spain back then(about two decades ago) never got a reputation of a great kingdom of gastronomy.

Things have probably changed. Spanish wines did improve a lot. Even in Taipei there are a few Spanish style restaurants. Tried one a couple years ago, food was OK, not quite authentic and tended to be a bit too pricey for the quality. This one right next door to Brown Sugar advertises themselves as "creative" Spanish cuisine kind of drawing my curiosity, come with me and give it a try!

The Entrance

The most private table by the window.

3 kinds of olive oil to go with bread sticks.

The olive oil tasted a bit stale.

Homemade Tuna "Salpicon"

Mixture of tuna, onions and chives, reminds me of some Taiwanese snack before it's cooked.

Assorted breads.

Soft and puffy, quite Spanish but not our favorite kind.

Olive oil with some herbs, orange butter and pistachio butter.

Tapas:

3 kinds of Spanish cold cuts,

"Ajo Blanco"(White almond mousse.)

Salmon mousse with wasabi and tomato jello pearls on top(in the box.)

Poached egg with truffle foam.

Pairing wine with tuna:

Nun Vinya dels Taus 2008, grape type "Xarello"

Quite interesting white from Penedés region,

refreshing, yet have layers, acid, fruity, nice aroma.

But as it gets warmer later, you can smell more and more alcohol.

The finish was bitter.

French 3A white asparagus with French summer black truffle, chive, Spanish black salt.

Pairing wine with Tapas and truffle:

A typical German off-dry reisling.

Vegetable Saffron Rice.

Too much chive and olive oil.

Pairing wine with lobster:

Erre Punto Blanco(R.)

Grape type: 40% Malvasia, 60%Viura

A crispy white, also a bit bitter.

Boston lobster.

Side dishes and sauce to go with the lobster:

Vinegar Martini, sweet pepper + olive oil,

Lobster cream(from the head),

celery and cucumber.

café solo

good and powerful.

***

The service here is very precise and concerned, such as:

as soon as you sit down, someone brings you a cushion to put behind your back,

if you prefer not to go for their set menus, chef Daniel will come out and discuss with you,

then design a menu which suits your mood and palate that night.

(and will give you a copy after dinner.)

Sommelier Tony is pretty professional and very helpful,

but the 3 glasses wine set I ordered(NT$880) tends to be interesting but honestly not good enough.

Everybody here really tries to make their clients as comfortable as possible.

It was quite pleasant overall.