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[RESTAURANT REVIEW] Ao Ba Taiwanese Cuisine (青葉台灣料理)

Ao Ba is all about serving traditional food in an elegant setting. PHOTO: COURTESY OF AO BA TAIWANESE CUISINE

It is often in the simplest and least ostentatious dishes that a restaurant's quality is revealed, and when you taste the soup noodles (切仔麵, NT$80) served at Ao Ba Taiwanese Cuisine, you know that this is a restaurant at the top of its game. The dish, which can be found at every market in the country, is prepared in a way that truly shines. It's still simple, but the soup is light and full of flavor and the noodles are just the right al dente texture.

Making the most of Taiwan's culinary traditions, but presenting them in an environment of quiet luxury is what Ao Ba is all about. The restaurant was established three years ago as a re-branding of the Chin Yeh restaurant, which has a history dating back 40 years. It has modified traditional favorites in response to contemporary nutritional concerns, and even a heavily-flavored dish like sweet-sour pork (糖醋排骨, NT$280) manages to be light on its feet.

Well-informed wait staff is available to recommend dishes, and the menu includes a range of set menus, priced at around NT$800 a head, which aim to highlight different aspects of Ao Ba's cuisine. Pick from the traditional favorites set, the Ao Ba originals set (both NT$2,800 for four), or the seafood set (NT$3,800 for four). Banquet set menus for six or more start at NT$1,000 a head.

Ao Ba Taiwanese Cuisine (青葉台灣料理) Address: 116, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安何路1段116號) Telephone: (02) 2700-0009 Open: 11:30am to 3pm and 5:30pm to 11pm (last orders one hour before closing) Average meal: NT$800 and up Details: Picture menu with English and Japanese; credit cards accepted On the Net: www.aoba.com.tw

"We place great emphasis on being about to discuss the choice of dishes with customers," said Faith Chen (陳思穎), a manager at Ao Ba, "and we have staff who can speak English and Japanese." This emphasis is not surprising given the restaurant's mission is to showcase authentic Taiwanese food for international visitors.

The Anhe shop (Ao Ba has another location in the basement of Breeze Center) caters largely to well-heeled East District (東區) residents and corporate gatherings, and its interior, with a range of booths and private rooms, provides privacy and comfort. A partially open-plan kitchen brings some of the atmosphere of the marketplace into the dining room, and which, according to Chen, is a great favorite with foreign visitors. Dishes such as Taiwanese-style spring rolls (潤餅, NT$70), which Ao Ba spices up with a touch of curry, or the shrimp with egg yolk (蛋黃大蝦, NT$380), which incorporates perilla leaf and water chestnut, give the restaurant its own distinct style.
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