Where would you go for dinner in Taipei if it were one of the most important dinners of your life? The night you planned to pop the question, for instance, or were set to sign on a big deal or job offer.
It would most likely be a place you trusted and the Bel Air restaurant on the second floor of the Grand Hyatt could be it. Confirmation of this can be found as you enter the marble and stone-clad restaurant space, with its skylight and fountain, where there is a white linen-covered table by a large window looking down on trees that is said to be the most popular dining table in town for a marriage proposal.
The reason for Bel Air's success was not hard to see. On Wednesday, while a pair of businessmen were still talking casually at their table over coffee though lunch had ended two hours previously, the kitchen staff had already cleaned down the kitchen and were starting to prepare for the evening orders, cleaners were busy, a florist was adding fresh arrangements and a designer was showing potential clients how a certain effect at the restaurant had been achieved. Chef de Cuisine Thomas Chiu (邱兆毅), meanwhile, was explaining his philosophy on food.
There was a quiet professionalism to the proceedings and this is what separates Bel Air from other restaurants. From top to bottom, everyone did their job well and that's what really good catering is all about. It's not a matter of luck.
Chiu said that his job was to "present the ingredient," which he does so in a deceptively simple manner. On a related subject, I said my father was in catering for 40 years and said the reason why England had such poor cuisine was that in the past the quality of the raw ingredients was so good that, unlike the French, the English did not have to cover them in sauces and never needed to improve on the best that nature could offer.
Chiu laughed politely and replied, "Start with a good beginning and have a good ending." He said it was the restaurant's policy to bring in the best food from around the world and serve it fresh. The steak is from Nebraska, lobster is from Boston, Bali supplies butterfish, the salmon is wild and from New Zealand. He said the potatoes were from Idaho, the fish tanks held live fish and the steak was fast-frozen in a vacuum. "It tastes exactly the same as it would in the US."
"We use the ingredient and present freshness. We do it in a way that has a professional foundation and maybe with a twist in presentation. For instance, we give the guest the option of choosing their sauce, or dressing, puree or chutney, with their meat or fish. They decide how much they want, maybe they just want to taste the fish," Chiu said.
"People like simpler and healthier things now and too much sauce spoils the ingredient. I bring out the real taste of the ingredients because right now people can easily buy food from a supermarket. They want something different, they want to taste the freshness."
And you can. From the seared king Maine scallops (with a citrus-rhubarb compote, of puree, syrup and mayonnaise) to the pan-roasted Mulwarra lamb (on eggplant mash, with rosemary juice, potato rissole and pepper compote), to the dessert of chocolate fondant (with coffee cream and cocoa dentelles), flavors separated and delivered a punch of nature.
RSS