Lunch at RAW
The Michelin restaurant guide came out for Taiwan and I was happy to see one of the places I wanted to try was on the list, RAW. It was a place I missed out last time in Taipei simply because it was difficult to get a reservation. Now, I can imagine it’s probably next to impossible. However, we happen to land lunch reservations a few weeks before my visit. How luck! It does help that it was only the two of us, but still. We were fortunate to land a seat in such short time.
Anyways, on to the place. It’s high end and the dishes are quite creative. They are the creation of André Chiang who has been a part of several restaurants garnering Michelin stars. One being his very own two-star restaurant in Singapore and now in his home country of Taiwan. So we were so looking forward to this meal.
Whether you have lunch or dinner here, it’s a fixed menu. Two prices, $1850 and $2680 NTD per person. We took the latter which included a 9 course meal. One thing you should note is that the price covers the meal. The price does not include anything extra, like bread, which is understandable because it’s bomb, but even to the still water. Yikes, I know. You’ve been warned. Which the staff never did. Shame on on them. That’s probably the only thing you’ll complain about here. The courses come out at a slow pace. So for a 9 course meal, plan on an hour and a half. You’ll be fine because the interior here will have you talking. And I don’t say this often, but do check out the rest rooms there. It’s pretty unique.
RAW
No. 301, Lequn 3rd Road
Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 104
+886 2 8501 5800
http://www.raw.com.tw/
Verdict: You’ll need to try at least once. If you can land that reservation.
★ ★ ★ ☆
Here’s the bread which we weren’t told that it wasn’t included in the meal. It was okay and we only had two slices. We eventually took it home. The meal was more than enough to fill you up. I’d say skip it unless you’re very hungry.
★ ★ ★ ☆
Okay, on to the main meal. We started off our meal with a little refreshing drink. Yeah, you can say this was kinda like a boba drink because of the pearls, but this didn’t come with a pop through plastic lid. Just sayin.
$320 NTD
★ ★ ☆ ☆
The first course of the prix fixe menu, something that showcases Taiwan’s freshest dairy industry. It’s a cheese dusted wafer with a glass of milk. It was unique but the milk was a bit on the sour yogurt side. Not my cup of tea.
★ ★ ★ ★
Another unsuspecting dish, thinly sliced scallop seared, then topped with fried enoki mushrooms, and smoked basil. I missed what was in the sauce and I believe there was caviar in there. Either way, I loved the flavors in the dish. Tastes of seafood mixed with a bit of burnt. Fantastic!
★ ★ ★ ★
This was a very tasty bite. It may look simple, but the little dumpling you see holds most of the prawn. Dipped in the pea puree, it was a was great. And for more of that briny shrimp taste, there’s plenty of head left.
And here’s a view of the condiments. Yeah, instant food street food? I guess that’s what’s going on here. Cute.
The porcelain container open just looks like a plate, but gives everything that street food feel.
For the next course, it’s about presentation. These ‘mini lobsters’ were brought out to show how they were prepared. Then came these porcelain chinese food containers came out with crispy noodles along with some sauce packets.
★ ★ ★ ☆
Here’s a playful dish, a completely different take on french onion soup. A flaky bulb that you break into and mix to get those classic flavors. There’s freshly peppers grated to your liking.
Before we got our next course, the wait staff brought out the whole breast of smoked duck. It was nice to see all the greenery used to smoke it but man it made me hopeful for a huge cut.
★ ★ ★ ☆
This dish was neat. The server brings out the dish and pour the warm broth onto the raw sturgeon. You’re meant to mix it all up and have it as a soup.
★ ★ ★ ★
This was my favorite dish. Not because of the uni on top, it was what’s beneath the sliced sheet of corn kernels. It was the soft boiled egg and gnocchi in a light cream sauce. The flavors weren’t overpoweringly rich, but had that pronounce flavor when you mixed it all together. Nicely done.
★ ★ ★ ☆
Altogether, the course reminded me of having uncooked instant noodles but with some perfectly cooked baby lobsters.
★ ★ ★ ★
I have to say, I really enjoyed the dessert. I mean c’mon, it’s all made from rice. The creamy, gelatony, almost mochi like textures… what’s not to love. I loved it all.
★ ★ ★ ★
What we got in return, though smaller in scale, was a whole lot better. The duck breast was topped with, I believe it’s kelp, and some delicious foie gras. Oh man, makes you kinda forget about the cauliflower.