Far From L.A.
Friday, March 28, 2008 16:07I typically don’t post an entry here unless it’s relevant to restaurants in L.A. or home cooking, but seeing how I received a couple of emails from friends asking if I’m still writing for lafb since I’ve been MIA, I thought I’d drop a note here and say, “Yes, I’m still alive!” I have not abandoned lafb. I’ve just been out of the country for the past month and will be returning to L.A. in about a week. I will share a few observations about food in Taipei and ask for comments from our dear readers:
1. The best creme brulee - I had grown rather tired of this dessert, but I fell in love all over again with it at a bakery called Maison Kayser located at Breeze Shopping Center. The bread there is absolutely wonderful as well, but back to the creme brulee… It was so fragrant and flavorful. It was also a steal at approximately $3.33(US), which included the little ceramic ramekin it was prepared in. So I had to find out if there was a branch in L.A. I was pleased to discover that even though there wasn’t a Maison Kayser in L.A., owner Chef Eric Kayser does have a store in town. The one in L.A. is called Bread Bar (8717 W. 3rd St). I’m just wondering if any readers have been there, and if so what did you think?
2. The best chocolate fondant - I did some digging on the web and found a highly recommended French restaurant, Le Bistro de l’Olivier (No. 145, Sec 2, Ah-Ho Road, Taipei). This place was highly praised by visiting French tourists as being very authentic. The food really was excellent, but the pièce de résistance was the fondant du chocolat. This is better than any lava cake I’ve ever had, and way better than the chocolate fondant at Beard Papa! I asked the owner, Maggie Liu, where she picked up her recipe from. Basically, she kept modifying the recipe until it became the perfection that it is. All her effort was worth it. Unfortunately, to try this dessert you really do have to go to l’Olivier, as Ms. Liu has not opened any restaurants outside of Taipei (yet).
3. Unusual fruits - I encountered a fruit I’ve never seen on this trip. The literal translation is Fire Dragon Fruit. It reminds me of a pomegranate merged with a kiwi. I hear it was quite the rage back in 2000, but it wasn’t very sweet. For whatever reason, every one of the fire dragon fruit I’ve tasted is extremely sweet. This is my new favorite fruit. My sister told me that Whole Foods actually sells this but for $8 per fruit. I’m getting it for $1-2 here. I’m just curious if anyone has purchased this fruit from Whole Foods, and if so, what you thought of the fruit.
4. Vegetarian is in - I’m a bit shocked to find that the type of cuisine (if you can call it that) I’ve eaten the most frequently since I’ve been here is healthy and vegetarian. Purple rice is currently very trendy these days, as well as vegetarian buffets. Now, I love vegetables and fruits, but I never thought they could be turned into meals as filling as the ones I’ve been having. I’ve only been to 2 buffets and 1 standard veggie restaurant here, but from what I can see, the variety in food is really amazing. The restaurant is very unique. For those really, really curious, take a look at their site. You can see their menu, photos, etc. I’ve never been to a restaurant quite like this one. As for the buffets, I was really surprised by how big they were. They are larger than many regular buffets I’ve been to in L.A. I know there are tons of vegetarian restaurants in L.A., but I don’t remember seeing any vegetarian buffets. Can anyone help me out here?
So I realize that there have been some bloggers here who have posted from out of L.A. and shared recommendations that are slightly out of the way. I think I’ve got them all beat in distance. Thanks for indulging me in going on about food in Taipei, and if anyone can answer my questions about Bread Bar, fire dragon fruits, and vegetarian buffet in L.A., I would really appreciate it!
By Pauline (see more of her posts).
Wandering Chopsticks says:
March 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Hey Pauline,
Thang long (Dragonfruits) are common in Vietnam. When I was there in the 90s, I heard that Taiwan was importing dragonfruit like crazy, so I’m sure you’re still seeing the tail end of it now. You can find them in Vietnamese or sometimes Asian grocery stores for around $3-4. My family grows them in our yard so if you want to see what the dragon fruit cactus vine looks like, you can just search on my blog.
There’s a handful of vegetarian Chinese restaurants in the SGV, but my favorite Vietnamese vegetarian with faux meats is Au Lac in Fountain Valley. The claypot “catfish” flakes like real fish, and the seaweed outside looks like real fish skin.
sneakypeteiii says:
March 28th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Breadbar is great, if a bit floofy. I didn’t realize he had an outpost in Taipei! Kayser’s doing well for himself, though, with Ducasse partnerships and the like. He did come up with an ingenious method for feeding his sourdough cultures mechanically, which is why I think he has been so successful.
Anyway. Breadbar has had, by a large margin, the best, most authentic baguettes I have tasted in this area. I realize this is heresy to Euro Pane and La Brea Bakery devotees, but seriously, people, Kayser is without equal. The crust is evenly caramelized, crunchy, and smoky, ears peeking up in all the right places. The crumb has his characteristic (subtle) sourdough tang and bounce. It gives the bread a genuine flavor in addition to that classic Parisian texture, which I really like. While it’s not quite the baguette Monge in his Paris shop, I don’t really mind so much the convenience cost :)
Bob LLama says:
March 30th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Sneakypeteiii,
Eric Kayser is not actually involved in Breadbar. He put up a little bit of financing for the initial venture, but is in absolutely no way associated with the chain. In fact, the management there is more or less in direct competition with him…
Will says:
March 30th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Vegetarian food is a lot more popular in Taiwan than mainland China.
Not buffets, but there are a lot of veggie Chinese and Taiwanese places in the greater LA area, as well in the OC. I put a list of a lot of them (at least the ones near the SGV) at:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/350963#2118708
A couple of the Happy Family restaurants, as well as House of Vege in Lomita have an all you can eat dinner deal that’s great - the food is made to order, and you can order two dishes per person at a time; if you finish those (good luck), you can order as much more as you can eat in the restaurant. (I do know of some vegetarian Indian places with buffets; personally I think food always tastes worse when it’s been sitting out.) Keep in mind that this type of restaurant typically uses oil, salt / soy sauce, and processed soy products very liberally, so brown / black rice or not, it’s not necessarily healthy just because it’s vegetarian (and I say this as someone who loves vegetarian Chinese food, and who has been vegetarian / vegan for about 15 years).
Dragon fruit is definitely available; Asian markets should have them much cheaper than Whole Paycheck.
sneakypeteiii says:
March 30th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Bob,
Reeely…I was led to believe that it fit squarely into his brand (and his plan for world domination). My tastebuds also think that he had more to do with Breadbar than just financing; the bread’s quasi-levain taste seems unique to Kayser specifically because of his process. I even did a side-by-side of Maison Kayser vs. Le Boulanger de Monge vs. Gosselin last year in Paris, and his stood out as fundamentally different from his contemporaries’. The crust is just a hair chewier, the crumb a bit more cream-colored, and, above all, less sweet and more fermented-tasting. That’s my two cents, at least.
maggie says:
March 31st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
i’ve seen dragon fruit at ranch 99, usually selling for $3-5 a piece.
Pauline says:
March 31st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
W.C - The cactus vine looks neat! Hmm… I might have to hit you up for some free samples!
Pete - Thanks for the feedback on Breadbar! I now know that it’ll be safe for me to go and check it out to see how it compares to the Maison Kayser in Taipei.
Bob & Pete - If Kayser is not associated w/ Breadbar anymore (if ever), then did he just license the right to use his name to help Breadbar get set up? Or is this a question I should ask Breadbar when I go try them out?
Will - Thanks for the vegetarian restaurant link! That’s quite a list! I agree that buffet food that’s been sitting out for a while isn’t so appealing. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been impressed with the veggie buffets in Taipei. They have spots for you the choose your veggies and the amount of oil/seasoning you desire, and then you hand them to staff who make them into a hotpot stew or sautee them for you.
Maggie - Thanks for the 99 Ranch tip. $3-5 is still a bit expensive for me, but way better than the $8 I was quoted at Whole Foods!
condiment says:
April 28th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Lama is correct, actually. Whatever involvement Kayser had in Breadbar at the beginning has been over for a long time. And although the Breadbar product isn’t bad (well, maybe the croissants are), it is stylistically quite different from what you stand in line for at the Rue du Bac mothership. Unfortunately.