林園粗食(Means "simple food in a garden". Dont think they have an English name)

"便當"(bian-dang)is some kind of lunch or dinner box really popular in Taiwan and Japan. I actually really like them, not only because of the convenience, but because some of them could be really good.

In Japan, my favorite place to enjoy it is in some garden of  a temple, under the spring or autumn time sunlight, with perhaps a small jar of Sake. (Chilled or warmed, depends on the weather.)

I also love to have it on a train, bring along a Perrier and a bit of wine to go with it, but unfortunately, the kind of stuff they serve nowadays in Taiwan isn't good at all.

In Taipei, however, if you've got a bit more time than a rushed at work lunch, and you happen to be somewhere near 師大路(Shi-Da road) area, you can consider to give this restaurant a try.

This place used to be a small, crowded, noisy and greasy eatery also selling take-out lunch box, a few years ago the boss decided to dress the place up, although still selling the same type of food, but the ambiance is totally  changed, turned out to be a brilliant idea.

Now, you can sit down at a quiet corner next to the window, listening to classical music, and enjoy your dessert(although the portion is very small, but it comes with the menu, you can't beat the price, only around NT160 per set menu, including soup, main course, dessert and one beverage) with a cup of coffee.  

Entrance decoration designed to match their theme: simple dinning in a bamboo garden.

2010 Summer, North Fork, Long Island, NY

Longing to visit this newly developed wine country since a while. North and south forks of Long Island are the closest US wine regions across the ocean from France, used to be just farmland full of potatoes and cauliflowers, and a few wine makers trying to copy the Bordeaux style. Today, there's about 46 wineries in North Fork area and 4 wineries in South Fork.(The famous Hamptons, with it's sandy beaches and trendy stores, land here is way more expensive.) Wine makers started to learn the local "terroir" and try to develop their own styles. With the rich resources of seafood from nearby harbours, fresh vegetables, fruits from the region, and cheeses, ducks, fois gras, etc, this area attracted lots of Manhattan famous chefs moving here, some even settled down, opening  restaurants with their own farms and very stylish B&Bs. These newly developed wineries are not as big or famous as Californian ones yet, but therefore are way less commercialized (especially North fork ones), a bit rustic but homey, quiet and laid back.

Went straight without stopping from my sister's Manhasset home to Shinn Estate, Mattituck, North Fork. We were running late because we visited an aviation museum first. This museum wasn't a tourist trap, so there weren't very many people, but it was extremely educational, full of historical information, very suitable for you if you are travelling with some smart and curious kids. 

Paris 1930, Landis Hotel

Been wining and dining without stopping since mid October when Joel Robuchon was visiting Taipei. It was of course very  nice but a little bit too much since my metabolism's getting slower and I'm not rich. Thank God because since the holiday season is coming, hotels and restaurants are all focusing on X'mas and new year  celebrations, so they're going to stop bringing famous chefs or hosting wine tasting diners for a while. I can therefore let my palate rest a bit and also save some money for traveling, start  swimming, doing yoga, hiking, going to hot springs, etc.....(Still going to be hard since my sister's cooking gourmet meals every night, serving them with nice wines from our cellar, and very fine Taiwanese teas.)
Jean-Michel Lorain is one of the most honorable chefs in Burgundy, France. I went to some similar type of restaurants before he came(like Forchetta, a3, Marco polo and of course Robuchon)because I wanted to compare them so I could give a fair opinion.

Romantic flower arrangement on the table

a3 Italian restaurant, Bella Vita. Dinner with Dan

Dan had to pick up his surf board somewhere in this area. He hasn't tried this restaurant yet, so I took him here. Food has improved a bit since last time. Service is usually pretty good here.

Bread was better than before.

2 kinds of butter: "butter" butter, and "beef, Nori(Japanese style sea weed), sesame" butter

So Miso Japanese restaurant

Apple's turn to choose a restaurant. It's a nice little place. The ambiance during lunch time was nice and quiet, quite suitable for us to have a little chat. Food quality was good, the service was nice enough, (you could tell that they were trying hard to make their clients comfortable), but with some little defaults. Overall, the lunch set menu was NT580, way worth the price.

An elegant cellar, could still smell the wood. Although the collections needed to be expanded. Was in a mood to order a smooth, light red to pair with my beef main course, but there wasn't a satisfactory choice. Ordered a Sake instead.

First course:  Sashimi and salad, orange yogurt dressing

Sashimi part: seabass and tuna. Tuna was slightly cooked outside, covered with some sesame seeds. Inside part was raw.

Robuchon's new chef and sommelier #1

Came alone to try the new chef Angelo's cuisine. Usually I can be more concentrated on my target: food and wine when I am by myself. Met  Angelo and Benoit (the new sommelier) in October when Joel Robuchon came. Angelo is very  hospitable, and Benoit? He's very "Unique".

Sitting at the bar. It was a perfect place to spot the operation in the kitchen and talk to their very concerned, precise and helpful staff. Angelo came over several times to chat a bit about the food, too.

Dan and I both love the bar seats. It's very elegant but not too formal, and very welcoming and has a warm atmosphere.

Amuse Bouche

Pumpkin soup with snow pea and bits of ham. Good but a little bit watery.

Gillardeau Oyster

Great appetizer if you are not too hungry. Very fresh and good ones only need a little bit of lemon juice on top of it. One of my French friends sometimes only ordered half dozens of several kinds of oysters for dinner. One time I was invited to his place in Aurillac for X'mas, we had oyster and champagne for dinner, which was pretty nice followed by his home made turkey. But the next morning when I saw the oysters and champagne on the table, it was really too much. Personally, I prefer to just order one for a starter.

Robuchon's new chef and sommelier #2

Love Angelo's pasta, so I came back with Dan.

Pouilly-sur-Loire

Loire white made from Chasselas grape, never tasted it before.

Not very impressive drinking alone but went well with the dish below.

Saumon tartare with caviar, capers

Someone ordered it the other night, it looked luxurious. So I got it, too. There was some mist around it while serving(from the dry ice), tasted a bit salty but very good with baquette and the Loire white.

Lunch at Shanghai Pavillion 39F Far Eastern Hotel

A bit tired of all the recent gourmet French and Italian cuisine, I decided to visit the Shanghai Pavilion again. Although the service and food quality sometimes weren't as expected,  I really like the view and settings and atmosphere here.

stylish settings

Starters: cold chicken slices(flavored with rice alcohol); beef; cabbage heart; rose duck

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

Paul's brunch

Provencal vegetable soup

simple but hearty

Mumm champagne

A good bottle of champagne  to start with has become our Tuesday "Lady's Meeting" tradition.

Unfortunately,  we still have to bring our own "flute"( Lady VCP invented this kind of wine glass to better appreciate champagne) with our champagne to some restaurants in Taipei.