Restaurant: Evergarden 長園

Shanghai- or Zhejiang-style cuisine is an unstoppable trend in Taipei at the moment and restaurants are competing to refine the dishes for picky taste buds. The Evergarden of Evergreen Laurel Hotel Taipei changed its main menu from Cantonese to Shanghai cuisine at the end of last year.

It is not a stereotypical Chinese restaurant, where you see chairs of embroidered patterns and hear the strains of a Chinese zithar. Instead, the decor of Evergarden looks like a western style cafe with a bit of old-fashioned saxophone mood music. As a contrast, the food here is traditional and upscale Chinese.

Choosing from the set menus is the preferred choice for most patrons, with prices starting at NT$680 per person.

Stir-fried shrimp with asparagus (蘆筍枸杞蝦) comes with a smooth brown-sauce and Chinese wolfberry -- a kind of herb that's supposed to give you energy. This dish can also feature beef instead of shrimps, which is equally tasty.

Braised pork with preserved bean curd sauce (冰糖腐乳肉) is a typical Zhejiang dish. The preserved bean curd sauce gives off a pungent smell similar to cheese. This gives the pork extra flavor and washes out the grease and the sweet flavors of the meat.

Braised pork spare ribs with brown sauce (蔥烤無錫骨) is another typical Shanghai dish that goes well with rice. The ribs are grilled and braised with Chinese scallions in the brown sauce for hours, so that the meat is tender and easily separated from the bones. Braised fish with bean curd and bamboo shoots in a casserole (粉皮魚豆腐) features shacha sauce and its spiciness will satisfy the strongest of tastes.

For more luxurious dishes, chef Robert Lee presents the "recommended set menu," which is updated every two weeks. For the next two weeks, Lee is presenting deep fried king prawns with almond and orange sauce (杏香福祿蝦); and stir-fried fish with Chinese wine sauce (糟溜鮮魚片). The former makes a show of juicy prawns and the latter is a dish fragrant with rice wine sauce.

Evergarden is also well known for its vegetarian menus because most executives in the hotel are vegetarians. Steamed konjac roll and mushroom features a very expensive kind of mushroom called "han rong" (韓茸).

According to Lee, the mushroom which is imported from Japan, costs NT$100 for a small piece and is used solely as ingredient. Deep fried bean curd roll with pea shoots (翠苗素黃雀) has a rich soy sauce flavor and completely overturns the stereotypical view of bland vegetarian dishes.