L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Taipei

[Peech]

I was told by the people at L'Atelier HK today that they are opening in Taipei this September. The guy (who is French) couldn't tell me the exact location. Would be interested to see if anyone on the board knows about this.

Taipei will finally get a decent Western restaurant!

[klyeoh]

There's never been a meal at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon which I do not enjoy (Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong) and my first experience at its Taipei incarnation was no exception! Service was fabulous (though a bit reminiscent of its Tokyo counterpart's almost neurotic emphasis on tight discipline) & the food was absolutely "Robuchon" :-)
My experience:
Complimentary bread basket was a delight - tiny, light croissant puffs, bacon-flavored bread, rolls.
Amuse geule 1 - foie gras emulsion with parmesan foam (a bit passe but good nonetheless);
Amuse geule 2 - asparagus mousse with consomme jelly (don't think my wait-staff told me what consomme it was)
Appetiser: L'Oeuf - soft-boiled egg with eggplant-tomato stew;
Soup: Le Petit Pois - green pea soup with ricotta cheese & mint leaf;
Main: Le Veau - Red-wine braised veal cheeks with cumin-scented carrot fondant, and a small pot of absolutely decadent pommes puree (well, Robuchon has never intended it to be "healthy", so his pommes puree was perhaps 30% potato - the rest was cream & butter!!). Somehow, the only chink in my meal this evening was the pommes puree - it tasted gummy/gluey. But I was having too good a time to complain.
Dessert: Ile Flottante - classic! Taste-wise, so-so. Guess Robuchon's got some way to go on the dessert area.

Love the whole set-up - it's longish counter is similar to the one in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Bellavita 5F
No 28, Song Ren Road
Taipei
Tel: [phone]
Open daily: 11.30am-2.30pm (Lunch), 6.00pm-10.30pm (Dinner)

[klyeoh]

Some pics of L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Taipei to share:

[Peech]

going there in 10 days! Let's see if the parents like it.

[klyeoh]

If they liked L'Atelier HK, they'll like L'Atelier Taipei, Peech - Chef Suga is a wizard. Book one of the tables - hopefully more comfy than the counter seats.

[Peech]

mom didn't like L'Atelier HK, thanks to me ordering the wrong dishes. Trying to convince them otherwise. Already got a table, and corkage is a mere NTD 1k...

[K K]

I know three of you here can read Chinese...

Here are some more reviews (and better pictures), enjoy.

http://blog.yam.com/peray1/article/25081447

http://blog.yam.com/peray1/article/25061316

http://blog.yam.com/peray1/article/15...

[klyeoh]

Hey, how come the food items looked better than HK's?!

[Peech]

Yeah Peray goes around eating at all the good places...

[mountsac]

from what i understand, the taipei restaurant is going to be in the soon-to-be-open high-end mall called "bella vita" (owned by zhen-yi) in xinyi disctrict.

[Peech]

Bella Vita is now operational, although news report suggest that L'Atelier would be open around mid- to late Oct. A source of mine attribute the delay to the difficulty of getting the right kitchen equipment manufactured in France due to a strike. Let's hope this opening isn't delayed any further!

[klyeoh]

Quite an informative write-up here:
http://blog.rti.org.tw/english/?p=1918

[hong_kong_foodie]

Not sure where the restaurant will be located, but our waiter at L'atelier in NYC told us two weeks ago that they are opening in Taipei as well.

[klyeoh]

Saw this article on NY Times (Mar 17 2009):

YOSUKE SUGA, who has been the executive chef at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York since it opened, will move on to the Taipei branch of the restaurant on April 10 and will be replaced by Xavier Boyer, who has been at the London branch.