Restaurant: Flavor 洋玩意兒

By Steve Price
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Friday, Oct 14, 2005, Page 15

Swedes rule the roost in cooking. PHOTO: STEVE PRICE, TAIPEI TIMES

Swedish is enjoying worldwide attention: Its national team of chefs won gold medals at both the 2003 and last year's Culinary Olympics. Now Taipei has its first Swedish restaurant (the small cafe at IKEA doesn't really count).

Run Swedish chef Ola Kronkvist and his Taiwanese wife Stephanie Wang (王舒妍), Flavor is a small place with seating for 21. Naturally, the focus is on Swedish dishes and the ingredients used are imported by Ola's mother. Lingonberry sauce, cloudberry jam and elderflower vodka make up some of the exotic flavors.

"If you go to any old Taiwanese-Western restaurant and they serve you pesto spaghetti they use Chinese basil. Come on, that's not pesto. As a good chef you have to take advantage of the season's fresh produce but remain true to tradition," said Kornkvist, who is a convivial host.

He's obviously proud of his cultural heritage, and has prepared an information pack that explains Swedish cuisine for patrons.

The potato, onion and herb soup served with homemade bread is rustic and tasty. Heavy, spongy bread dipped in the soup is comforting fare. The main courses are large, and could be shared between two.

Beef pork meatballs served with potatoes, first boiled and then sauteed in honey, accompanied with a small pot of lingonberry jam, and a traditional brown sauce made using the juices from the cooked meatballs, cream and sugar is delicious and contains a surprising combination of flavors.

There is, apparently, a method to eating the dish. Take a meatball, dip it in the sauce, which is made to a 100-year-old recipe and add a little of the jam. The jam's sweetness cuts through the salty taste of the meatballs but is not over-powering, resulting in a mellow, savory flavor.

As meat was a rarity when Sweden's economy was predominantly agricultural and meals generally consisted of herring in one form or another, many traditional recipes are based on food eaten at festivals, and special occasions. For example, there are roasted rosemary potatoes, tender ribs marinated for three days in orange juice and a secret combination of spices and then slow cooked in an oven for three hours.

The restaurant has a range of flavored vodkas, made by Kronkvist and Wang, using fresh berries. A shot (or two) between courses perks up any bloated stomach.