Restaurants: Corner 肥前屋

Want a guaranteed good-tasting meal and attentive service when you dine out? Here's a tip: Try calling ahead and telling the owner you're a journalist interested in reviewing their restaurant. I tried as much on a recent visit to Corner, a new eatery opened in an alley off of Fuhsing North Road and Minsheng East Road, and to amazing effect. I was greeted at the door by name, regaled with friendly conversation and treated to a delicious meal. No more surreptitiously photographing meals that may or may not be worth the price tag (no more eating meals with price tags, for that matter), I'm calling ahead.

In business less than a month, Corner seems to have already ironed out many of the wrinkles experienced by most new restaurants. But Corner is more than a restaurant; it's also a florist shop and flowers dominate every aspect of the place, from what you see to what you eat. Part-owner Chen Shu-hsuen (陳樹勳) left a career as an auditor to start the place and the dining demographic is the benefactor of his career change. He explains that he decided to sell flowers as part of the business because they are for the eyes what delicious food is for the stomach. Already, Corner's resident florist has successfully pedaled his designs to several local offices whose attention the glass-fronted, white-walled restaurant has attracted.

But local businesses aren't the only ones taken by Corner. The same night I had my meal, Chen was busy talking with producers from Formosa Television (民視電台), who plan to air three segments of a popular weekend dining program at the eatery, introducing it as a florist boutique, cafe and restaurant. They seemed as pleased with their meals as I was with mine. "It's been really exciting, all that's been happening in the past month," Chen said, "But I'm very tired."

Thus far it doesn't show. In fact, Chen's energy seems as vibrant as the floral arrangements filling the space. His motivation, he says, is finding new ways of doing things that will interest his clients. "Our food isn't Italian or French -- it's no style in particular," he said. "We rather find interesting combinations of flavors that you might not have had elsewhere."

Breaded baked cod on a bed of onions covered with a thin layer of cheese is a tasty example. Despite the many heavy flavors involved, the succulence of the fish is what stands out most. It shares a plate with super-spicy Italian sausage, steamed vegetables and a lightly pickled okra. For desert, lavender-flavored gelatin topped with kiwi looked great, but I think I'd have preferred kiwi-flavored gelatin topped with lavender. You can't have everything, but tell them you're from a newspaper or TV station and you'll certainly get a lot.