Pasadena, a restaurant specializing in French and Mediterranean cuisine, is an unexpected find in the northern purlieus of Kaohsiung City, but one that in the one year it has been running, has established itself as a favorite among both the local and foreign community. Managed by David Sha, Pasadena places particular attention on refined taste, a quality that informs the food, the wines and even the crockery and cutlery used there.
"We enjoy using luxury items," said Sha, who currently has many dishes sporting sevruga and oscieta caviar. The subtle taste is brought out to great advantage with the garoupa served with cream and caviar. While not cheap, there is little doubt that you are getting value for money, and the feeling of luxury is further enhanced by the Wedgewood china and heavy French cutlery.
The best of everything pretty much sums up what Pasadena is all about -- the best, and then a little bit more. "Just take something like beef tenderloin. Everyone does pretty much the same. So we made it a bit more special, adding truffle puree -- and the truffles are imported fresh," Sha said.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
Pasadena's chef Thomas Chien (
Pasadena is a large restaurant, but Sha has allowed for wide areas between the tables to give the atmosphere an expansiveness that would be hard to find in often tightly packed Taipei eateries. "We like to give our guests some sense of privacy as well," Sha said, adding that expansion plans currently include a number of private rooms for publicity-shy celebrities.
With plans to expand with its own patisserie, it is no surprise that both the bread and deserts at Pasadena are also outstanding, offering still unusual types as rolls with squid ink and multi-grain with pumpkin seeds.
A set menu featuring the garoupa with cream and caviar will set you back NT$1,300, but this price includes a selection of four appetizers (including the salmon terrine), a soup, a sherbet to cleanse the palette, the main course, followed by desert and coffee, a set up that encourages leisurely dining, perhaps with the addition of a bottle of wine from the restaurant's wide selection.
For something a little less expensive, Pasadena's afternoon tea, with its bottomless coffee -- good coffee it is, too -- and limitless supply of cakes, is a great way to spend the afternoon for just NT$250. Given the comfortable surroundings and formal yet friendly service, you might even be tempted to stay on for dinner.
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