Fine Cantonese Cuisine
Taiwan
has recently been graced by the world-renowned food bible, The Michelin Guide. Out of the 126 restaurants in the Michelin
Guide, only one made it to the highest star accolade. A 3-star rating was
awarded to Le Palais at Palais de Chine Hotel in Taipei and we
were honored to be able to make a visit to Le Palais recently on our Taiwan
trip.
The
moment one steps into Palais de Chine
Hotel, it’s a revelation of Chinese and Western cultures cleverly married
into harmony of elegance. The tradition of yesteryears has been given new life
and updated to today’s modern style. At the foyer, one will meet Lady, the
horse sculpture that signifies the earliest mode of transportation for
travelers.
Located
on 17 floors, Le Palais epitomizesd
the same chic and elegance the hotel reflects. Gorgeous ambiance of mysterious opulence,
the dining room is designed to impress. A main dining area of glorious brass
and gold, dark steel, mirror ceiling, elegant furniture, Chinese oriental ceramic
pieces, Chinese paintings and beautiful table setting will set an air of fine
dining to follow.
Le Palais also has lots of private rooms
flourished with much grace as its main dining area. Lavish light pieces, huge
round tables in dark ambiance, the restaurant clearly is out to impress its
diners.
Helming
the kitchen are culinary duo of Executive Chef Matt Chen (陳泰榮) and Head Chef Ken Chan (陳偉強).
Cantonese cuisine is their forte and Le
Palais menu is filled with signature Cantonese cuisine that includes dim
sum to Hong Kong roast and other classic dishes.
Our
epicurean journey began with dainty morsels of plump dumplings. Dim sums are
always irresistible, especially when they are made to perfection. Whether they
be steamed dumplings or fried dim sum, it takes a skillful dim sum chef to
churn out consistent baskets of dim sum with quality and fresh ingredients.
Tuck
into pretty pleated Palais de Chine
Steamed King Prawn Dumplings and one will be awarded with juicy sweet
prawns encased in thin crystal skin. Crustacean sweetness, the dumplings are a
joy to eat!
The
Chicken and Lard Dumplings topped with
Abalones are equally as delicious as the earlier dumplings. Delicious
flavours and bouncy filling finished with lavish baby abalones, these siew mai
had all the check marks of the perfect classic dim sum.
Hong
Kong style Barbecue Pork uses a lean
cut of meat. Le Palais version was scrumptious! Tender and succulent, the pork
has a solid balance of savory and sweet notes. We certainly could not fault this
lovely piece of roast…
Another
roast appeared in Crispy Roast Baby Duck
and boy did this one rocks! Duck, specifically selected from Vietnam, has been
truly honored with meticulous preparation that resulted in a luscious aroma
wafting through the air as soon as it was presented. Lacquered to rich hues of
red amber, the duck is cut in front of us and served with a side of salt pepper
mixture and lime wedges.
The
duck is amazing in flavours. The crispy skin, the moist and tender duck flesh
and the salty sublime notes was perfection on a plate. The chefs added that
they selected this 28-day old duck because of its perfectness for roasting and
we fully understand this once we savored the duck.
If
indulgence is the motive for this dining experience, then one simply must order
the Braised Middle East Abalone &
Goose Web in Oyster Sauce. Premium ingredients like abalone and goose web
requires a skilled chef to cook them well. This land and sea duo was excellent.
The abalone was toothsome to bite and delicious with a delicate brown sauce. The
goose web, highly prized for its soft and gelatinous goodness, was also cooked
very well and beautifully glazed in the same sauce. Plump mushroom was well-braised
and crisp tender asparagus shoot completed this dish.
The
Stir-fried Shredded Tofu, Chicken and
Ham is a dish that really showcase knife skill to new heights. Tofu cut
finely and cooked gently with finely cut chicken and ham in a delicate broth.
It’s a classic Cantonese dish that has rather simple and comfort flavours. This
one would go well with steamed rice.
Our
final dish of Stir-Fried Tiger Grouper
Filet with Asparagus fared decent. It was a dish cooked well. The fillet
fish was cooked just right and so was the asparagus. It was a faultless
pleasure.
Le Palais showed a combination of exquisite
fine Cantonese cuisine with quality ingredients set in an amazing ambiance. We
heard that their reservations are full for the next few weeks so make sure to
call in for reservation way ahead on your trip for a taste of this 3-star
Michelin restaurant in Taipei.
Please
contact Le Palais at +8862-2181-9985/86 Fax +8862-2181-9971
LE PALAIS
17F, Palais de Chine
Hotel
No. 3, Section 1,
Chengde Road,
Datong District,
Taipei City,
Taiwan 103
Tel: +886 2 2181 9999
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Palaisdechinehotel/
Business Hours:
Monday to Sunday
Lunch 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner 5:30om to 9:30pm
