It is surprisingly difficult to get really good Cantonese food in Taipei, and the Grand Formosa Regent is attempting to step into the breach with the creation of its new Silks House (晶華軒) restaurant, which opened last month. It's taking over the premises of the Lan Ting (蘭亭) Shanghainese restaurant with very little modification to Hashimoto Yukie's calligraphy-inspired decor. The food, on the other hand, has made a considerable transition under the guidance of chef Wu Hong-chen (伍洪成), who's gained an international reputation as the chef of presidents, having been for many years the executive chef of choice to preside over state banquets.
One of Silks House's main attractions is the "dim sum" menu, those delightful Cantonese snacks most often served in a steaming basket and designed to be eaten with tea. These snacks can be coupled with one or two main dishes to make a meal that does not break the bank. For more lavish dinning, Silks House is not short of spectacular banquet dishes, either. Wu is renowned for his research into Cantonese cuisine's classic dishes and has added a number of rarely seen specialties to the menu.
Silks offers a wide range of high-quality teas priced between NT$60 and NT$120 per person, from the usual jasmine and pu'er to exotic, high-end brews for connoisseurs. The snacks, which range in price from NT$90 chicken's feet, in this instance jazzed up with XO sauce, to NT$280 for baked egg tarts with bird's nest (燕窩烤蛋塔). Silks has made a concerted effort to make its snacks exotic with the addition of high-priced ingredients, and while this works in some cases - the pan-fried turnip cake with dried scallop (瑤柱蘿蔔糕, NT$100) is refreshingly light and the scallops give it a really surprising taste - in other cases, as with the egg tarts, the benefits were negligible.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRAND FORMOSA REGENT
Main dishes start at around NT$400 and feature a mixture of traditional favorites excellently made, such as stir-fried grouper with yellow chives (韭黃炒龍膽魚球, NT$480), to variations of tradition such as the roast duck Grand Formosa style (晶華片皮鴨, NT$2,000), which is sliced at table, served with unique oat pancakes, wrapped with an unusual mixture of sweet peppers and young ginger, and includes a soup made from the bones of the duck.
There is more than enough variety to keep even the most ardent foodie busy. The Silks brand will also be expanding, with the new Silks Palace scheduled to open in the grounds of the National Palace Museum mid-May.
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