Restaurant: Bread Talk

There have been a flood of imports from Singapore recently, not least the Page One book store and Jason's supermarket, which are purportedly taking Taipei to new levels of consumer sophistication. On a smaller scale, there is now BreadTalk, which opened in Taipei two weeks ago in a newly refurbished building off Renai Road that goes by the name "Departures."

The BreadTalk has an air of simplicity and elegance. From the street, one can look through the spacious white interior into the well-ordered kitchen out back. Inside, the place reeks of concept rather than being perfumed by freshly baked bread. Lets say it's all a tad antiseptic.

According to Tiffany Wang (王薰婕) of BreadTalk, the establishment is still finding its way in the Taipei market and has decided to offer a selection of 66 breads, some inspired by its Singapore shop and others catering specifically to Taiwanese tastes. Some of the more exotic offerings displayed on their Web site (www.breadtalk.com) are missing from the lineup, but there are a number of never-to-be-imagined items that lift BreadTalk above the crowd of corn-and-mayo sticky bread outlets.

The Happy Hiam, a soft bread horseshoe filled with spicy shrimp, or the tomyam pao, which has a Thai-style sweet-and-sour paste filling that carries a real kick are there to tempt the truly adventurous, and in their own terms are remarkably successful creations. At a less terrifying level of creativity, there is the sweet potato and cinnamon role or the chillied whitebait triangle flavored with pandan leaf, which offers considerable gastronomic titillation. If this array of Southeast Asian flavors all seems a bit too much, the curried naan or the moshi mushroom (a chicken and mushroom pie in a sweet puff pastry) are more conventional. There are also many other breads that will be familiar to anyone who has visited a local bakery.

For those who see bread in exclusively European terms, it must be noted that BreadTalk also offers a really quite outstanding baguette that has not, at least yet, succumbed to the local preference of a soft, pasty and sweet character.

While the bread and sweet bun lineup has been pretty much established, its offering of cakes is still undergoing revision, but currently does not have anything that cannot be obtained from any of the major bakery chains. There are also plans to offer sandwiches at a later stage.

While the arrival of BreadTalk will not be a revelation in the Taipei bakery scene, its unique Southeast Asian flavors are a welcome addition to what is currently on offer.