Taiwan Day 2: European Style Bread at Maison Kayser / 梅森凱瑟的歐式麵包 (Taipei: Songshan District / 台北市: 松山區)

European style bakeries are popping up all over Taiwan, but the tried and true Maison Kayser (梅森凱瑟) still stands as one of the best in Taiwan.  The local Taiwanese palate is not quite tuned toward Western breads, for most of the locals believe that the texture is rather tough and not as soft and chewy as expected.  Good news for the locals here... Maison Kayser inside Breeze Center (微風廣場) bakes up both traditional pan as well as breads with flavors and textures tailored to local taste buds.

The French classic pain aux raisins is always a must.  The spirals are crisp through to the core, and the multiple layers are visible from the edges of the bread.  What I really like about this bread is that the center continues to be light and flaky.  Many pain aux raisins tend to have the heavy density of pretzels in the middle.

For something a little less sweet, the olive bread is one that hits the spot.  The crusted cheese on the toasty flat bread is a texture that I always look forward to, and I liked the sweet black olives contrasted with the briny green olives as well.  There was also a hint of either rosemary or thyme in the bread that gave an extra dimension in the flavor.

The pineapple danish is an example of a traditional European classic filled with local Taiwanese ingredients.  Since Taiwan is famous for its tropical fruits, the Taipei location of Maison Kayser offers the deep, rich sweetness of its island pineapple in the center of its crisp and flaky pastry.  The shredded coconut flakes decorated around the danish are small enough that it does not give the added chewy bite that its infamously known for but just plentiful enough that the aromatic tropical fragrance complements the pineapple.

Other top offerings include their pain aux chocolat and the expansive selection of cakes and other desserts at the front counter.  Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

Maison Kayser (梅森凱瑟)
台北市松山區復興南路一段39號
微風廣場 B2F
No. 39, Fuxing South Rd., Sec. 1, Songshan District, Taipei City
Breeze Center, Basement 2

ML - 20130701

Post 94: Pork Belly Tacos and Much More (LA-SFV: North Hollywood)

With all this talk about pork belly, I was hankering for more.  Bow & Truss, a relative newcomer to the LA food scene.  It is self-titled as a modern Spanish taverna, and some of their most popular dishes include the empanadas, paella, and of course, pork belly tacos.  Fellow foodie Angela and I dined here before meeting up with other friends downtown.

Soon after we were seated, our server Nicole dropped by our table with castelvetrano olives on the house.  The firm, green olives were basted in none other than olive oil.  They were sweet at first, slightly salty yet savory olives were a welcoming start to our meal.

The first item on the menu we ordered was the cheese & charcuterie board.  The assortment of meats and cheeses was a playground of jamon, salchichon, chorizo, and Felino sausage.  There was also mahon, a semi-firm, cow's milk cheese and caprichevere, a soft cheese made from goat's milk. The caprichevere was smooth and easy to spread over the crostini.  Although it was made from goat's milk, it was surprisingly milder than the mahon.

Spread around the playful platter were Bow & Truss' house made jams.  The first was a pineapple banana jam with serrano and chili pepper flakes, and the other was a pumpkin peach jam with vanilla bean, all spice, and cinnamon.  Two house mustards complemented the duo of jams (the grain mustard was a favorite), and the remaining cherry tomatoes, carrots, caramelized onions, and spicy sunflower seeds dotted the charcuteriescape.  This charcuterie board was an absolute delight.  It was the one that we continued to pick at throughout the meal of inventive dishes.

We followed the charcuterie with the highly recommended empanadas.  The petite pastries were packed with button mushrooms, red peppers, and cotija cheese.  A tamarind crema and tamarind soy sauce were served alongside the empanadas.  While Angela and I tried one dip at a time, the server suggested that we taste the two sauces together at the same time.  Mushrooms, peppers, cheese.  Savory, sweet, salty.  Crema, tamarind, soy.  Savory, sweet, and salty again.  Smart suggestion, Nicole.

Our third dish was the highly anticipated pork belly tacos.  The tacos were fresh and vibrant in color... and they were stacked high with toppings like Mexican sopes.  The pork belly was shredded, a eyebrow raising change from the typical square cut.  It was a good eyebrow raising change, for the meat was tender and succulent... although I am not quite sure if using shredded pork increased the difficulty of eating the taco or not.  Atop the pork belly were shreds of carrots, cilantro, pickled jicama slaw, all of which helped give the taco a refreshing, citrus taste.  The avocado sauce was a perfect substitute for salsa, which might have overpowered the fresh feel of the tacos.  Oh, and by the way, the pork belly is really good.  Really, really good.

As we were ready to close the meal with some paella, the manager brought out some chicken confit tacos, with handmade tortillas, arugula, anchiote paste, and pickled shallots.  Dennis Christensen, one of the managers of Bow & Truss, warned us that the chicken tasted like pork.  The chicken tasted like pork? It didn't make sense.  But I took one bite, and well, yes, the chicken tasted like pork.  This extremely flavorful chicken was very substantial... like if the chicken, before it was sacrificed for our glee, was a bad ass alpha male chicken that ruled the hen house.  That was the kind of breast pounding poultry that died for these chicken confit tacos... the delicious oxymoron kind.

Next to the pair of chicken confit tacos were two mixed mushrooms tacos (the head chef must really hate odd numbers) piled with cotija cheese, pickled jalapeños, and chives.  They were very juicy.  In fact, the mushroom blood that dripped all over almost made the taco slurpable.  We really enjoyed the tickle of spiciness from the jalapeño and the hint of saltiness from the cotija.  The use of mushrooms in both the tacos and the empanadas were smart meat substitutes.  I didn't even realize the dishes were carne less.

Stuffed to the brim already, Angela and I attempted to dig into a beautiful cast iron dish of seafood paella.  Of the four choices of paella on the menu, the shelled option is cooked with clams, shrimp, mussels, scallops, chorizo, and chicken.  The shrimp was highlight of paella because it was cooked just barely through... still tender and translucent, not tough and overly white.  The clams and mussels pointed skyward so that the freshness of the shellfish was apparent on first glance.  The rice itself was flavorful from absorbing all of its surrounding tastes.  Ah, this dish was beautiful in both taste and appearance.

Finally, the last course of the night was a tequila lime tart that was so, so good.  The texture of the tart itself was more like a buttery, holiday shortbread cookie.  The pool of honey on the side helped the dessert be naturally sweet, and the lime helped cut the sweetness in a balance check.  The honey and lime combination just added to the perfection of the tart.  I almost lost consciousness watching the honey drizzle each time I dripped the tart into it.  It was so good that we took two extra tarts home for our friends.  And each of them agreed that the tequila lime tart was simply delicious... a great way to end the meal.

Thank you to charismatic Dennis and congenial Nicole for taking the time to explain each dish and list each ingredient and method of preparation.  Thanks also to Angela your adept services in lighting and photography.  Of course, a big thank you to Erinn of Platform Media Group for setting me up with Bow & Truss and helping me discover a new way of having pork belly.  It was an awesome from beginning to end.  The charcuterie, tacos and the tequila lime tart really sealed the deal for me.  We are definitely returning in the near future.  Until the next pork belly craving, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20121020

Post 26.5: Vancouver - Day 1 (Dinner Substitute)

Have you ever eaten so much that you feel like you can't breathe anymore? After a morning of donuts, dim sum, and dumplings... the landfill that was my breakfast and lunch had piled so high in my stomach that I could have sworn that my esophagus was blocked, and the extra weight from all that food was pushing my lungs into my chest.  There was barely enough space left in my lungs to let any oxygen in, but there wasn't any power left in there to blow the carbon dioxide out either.  Even Albuterol would have been useless.

Hot Cheetos from the USA.

I brought these for Amanda; Canada doesn't sell Hot Cheetos!

And even after I found respite in Amanda's couch, I continued to munch on the uniquely Canadian chips that were found at Superstore.  Superstore (like Costco) carries President's Choice brand (like Kirkland Signature), and although it's just the basic of all basic brands, it was like culinary Gucci to me.  Canada is famous for having ketchup flavored chips, but they also have these flavors too:

Szechwan (Sichuan) flavored chips.

Szechwan is famous for kung pao and the peppercorn that provides a numbing spiciness.

General Tao chicken flavor.  It's Panda Express in potato chip form.

Indian tandoori barbecue flavor.

If the chips really were made from naan, that'd be pure genius.

Continuing to eat at that state of being was almost masochistic.  Okay, it was purely masochistic.  But the pungently putrid scent of the feta cheese beckoned me to continue eating chip after chip.  I was a fly... hypnotized by the smell of... well, you know.  And no matter how stinky it was... nom, nom, nom.

Greek flavored chips.  With olive and feta cheese.

Super stinky.  Super delicious.

Ketchup flavored Pringles.

They confuse the tastebuds at first but get addicting later on.

Dill pickle flavored Pringles.

Once you pop... you can definitely stop.

But no worries.  I would be quickly rescued by an intense calorie-burning activity... carrying Amanda's three-tier, strawberry mousse, chocolate cake... MADE. FROM. SCRATCH.  We were on our way to a Hawaiian-themed barbecue.  Amanda was dressed as a hula girl, and I... well, I carried the two-ton cake, so I was Superman.

All smiles. 

The master baker presents her jaw-dropping product.

I have no clue why those mini cakes were so damn heavy because the strawberry mousse was light and fluffy as hell.  Holy bujeezus.  Amanda, have you ever thought about opening your own bakery? What are you doing working at VCC?!

A stack of strawberry mousse.

Three tiers of heavenly fluffy mousse... like clouds on your tongue.

And, of course, the barbecue was really a party, so Amanda made jello shots.  Of all the colors from a box of crayons.  Festive! And slightly dangerous.

Five floors of festive fun.  The pagoda of Jello shots.

No more eating for me.  Okay, maybe just a little bit...

Next post: A Day of Japanese Meals