Dolce & Crepes
Address: 31, Ln 330, Songjiang Rd, Taipei (台北市松江路330巷31號)
Telephone: 0910-202-340
Open: From 2:30pm to 8:30pm on Sundays, 9:30am to 8:30pm on other days of the week except Wednesdays. Closed on Wednesdays. Hours are subject to change; a call for confirmation is advised.
Average meal: NT$1,000 plus 10 percent service charge
Details: Menu in Chinese, cash only
A ndrew Huang’s (黃學正) Dolce & Crepes is literally in his home, with his two elementary school-aged daughters often seen doing homework on a round table in the living room that doubles as the dining area, where patrons eagerly await the feast they ordered from the menu scribbled on the wall.
It is under this domestic veneer that Huang works his magic. Using nothing more than the usual pots and pans, he produces dishes of a culinary refinement on a par with that of Taipei’s top fine dining establishments.
Huang’s menu contains only around a dozen dishes, but each is hard to resist. The chocolate duck leg confit (油封鴨腿, NT$380), for example, consists of lean meat cooked to tender perfection and seasoned in an appetizing vinegar-based sauce, while the aroma of cocoa delivers an exciting punch to the meat.
The lamb shoulder stewed with figs and apricots (無花果杏桃燉羊肩, NT$680) is another delicate composition which sees the divine match of fresh figs and succulent lamb exploding in the mouth, smoothened by the sweetness of apricots and sauteed vegetables.
Chinese culinary influences also have a strong presence on Huang’s menu. The Sichuan-style spicy chicken (川麻口水雞, NT$580) and king oyster mushroom (川麻杏鮑菇, NT$580) use various types of Sichuan pepper to create an enticing, tongue-numbing sensation, and the homemade pepper oil and sauce taste so good that it is almost a crime not to lick the bowl clean.