Few restaurants go for intentional humor, though many a howler can be found on the Chinglish menus and fusion dishes of the city’s East-meets-West establishments. L’Idiot, however, amuses with its satirical take on trendy dining.
Named after the uber-exclusive restaurant in Steve Martin’s LA Story, to get a table at which he has to schedule an appointment to make a reservation and is vetted by the Fourth Reich Bank of Hamburg before being told he’s not rich enough to order the duck, L’Idiot is a quirky affair, and knowing how to navigate the menu means the difference between a pedestrian repast and a good-value nosh-up. Opened two months ago in the space that used to house Tony Roma’s on Minsheng East Road, the dining room is dominated by two large sinuous sculptures that resemble Gaudi’s Park Guell serpentine bench and dragon fountain to the point of being pastiche.
The walls are painted peach, the ceiling maroon with wooden beams running the length of the room. Bric–a–brac sit on numerous white shelves, while an eclectic selection of photos and paintings, some tacky, others arty, adorn the walls. Unlike the dismal street views on offer at most downtown restaurants, the windows here look out on greenery and flowering shrubs.
L’Idiot’s menu uses playful headings such as “Aviators” for chicken and duck (roasted spring chicken with bacon and pear stuffing with calvados, NT$580), “Aquatics” for seafood (seared Hokkaido scallops with carrot puree and macadamia nuts, NT$560), “Swine” for pork (pork chop with caramel apple, NT$450), and “Cows and Baby Sheep” for beef and lamb (16-ounce prime sirloin with roasted garlic, NT$1,600).
Hospitable touches include plentiful warm bread, which is served with honey butter prior to each meal and complimentary hors d’oeuvre of bruschetta topped with a large dollop of ricotta drizzled with a honey and balsamic vinegar sauce.
At lunchtime, aside from the a la carte menu, two sets are available. Both begin with a choice of Caesar salad or baby sardine salad. The former was disappointingly bland, as the dressing was light and tasted calorie-reduced. The latter, consisting of radicchio, rocket, lamb’s lettuce and fried garlic, was a far superior medley of nutty, mustard and fishy flavors.
Set 1’s (NT$390) main course choices, crispy chicken wrap with spicy dressing (comes with fries) or pasta with smoked salmon in cream sauce, both passed muster, but Set 2’s (NT$590) pan-seared seafood with sauteed vegetables and caper sauce was the talk of the table. Artfully presented, the fish, on this occasion sea bream, had a golden crispy top with flesh that was tender and firm without being dry. The capers and slice of radish added a subtle piquancy. Unfortunately, the soup of the day offered in Set 2 failed to materialize.
From the cold starters selection, Fine de Claire oysters at NT$160 each are a steal, while from the charcuterie section, country pate (NT$240) was enough for four people.
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