Hidden away in an alleyway between Anhe Road and Leli Road, Aura is not a place you will easily happen upon. And even if you walked by, you might easily mistake it for one of the innumerable coffee and cake establishments that litter the east district of Taipei.
That would be unfortunate, as Aura Cafe offers an excellent menu of Sicilian food, the product of chef Maurizio, who has brought the food of his native island to Taiwan. He prizes above all the rough and ready quality of Sicilian cooking, with its strong flavors and its emphasis on enjoyment of food over the presentation.
The presentation, despite its simplicity, is more than adequate and tends to emphasize the quality of the ingredients, their textures, colors and fragrances. The carpa cartoccio was a fine example of Maurizio's style. This dish, a carp packed in salt and baked, then with the crust of rock hard salt and skin removed, is served off the bone with a simple mix of olive oil and herbs but without any sauce. The flavor is very strong, but after the shock of the first mouthful, the subtle blend of flavors becomes evident. Add to a mouthful of fish a sip of white wine and you are simply in heaven.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
The carpaccio di vitellio has a special mayonnaise-based sauce drizzled over it, a sauce that Maurizio would only describe as a Sicilian dressing. It, like the fish, managed to be pungent and light at the same time.
"Sicilian food is like this," he said. "The flavors are very strong but the food itself is light. The food at Aura cafe would certainly appeal to people watching their weight, but for the hearty eater, it never appears skimpy."
Not all the dishes are calorie-conscious creations. If the chocolate cake is anything to go by, the desserts, while not the architectural confections favored by Taiwanese bakers, have plenty of layers in the taste, proof that Maurizio's rough and ready culinary manifesto does in no way exclude subtlety of flavor.
The high quality of the a la carte dinner menu, with main dishes priced from the mid-NT$300s, is somewhat let down by the club/cafe dinning environment, which seems more suited to the lunch set of various kinds of pasta.
To do justice to its name, Aura Cafe prides itself on its coffee, of which chef Maurizio also takes personal charge.
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