Since opening earlier this year, NakedFood has established itself as a contemporary raw vegan restaurant catering to a crop of health-conscious diners who enjoy a hearty sprouted buckwheat granola and a smoked raw chocolate mousse for breakfast. Located near Dongmen MRT (東門捷運站), the establishment is a welcome oasis in a sea of roadside stalls hawking beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) and danzimian (擔仔麵, “peddler’s noodles”).
NakedFood is not your typical restaurant. In addition to weekly private dining events, they also host regular workshops, along with cheese and wine tastings once to twice a month.
Their next cultured tree-nut cheese and wine tasting, which takes place on Sept. 20, will feature a number of cheeses including a preserved lemon and rosemary cultured tree-nut cheese paired with a crisp Chardonnay from South Africa. Also on the menu is sun-dried tomato and kalamata olive cultured tree-nut cheese paired with a South African Pinotage Rose.
Photo courtesy of NakedFood
Two new cheeses will be introduced as well — NakedFood’s signature aged cheese and blue cheese, both of which pair well with a medium-bodied, smoky but smooth red Heumann Lagona from Hungary.
LIVE TO EAT
NakedFood co-founder Prashantha Lachanna tells the Taipei Times that pairings in cafes, art galleries and even home parties are becoming more popular these days as diners are beginning to engage with food differently.
Photo courtesy of NakedFood
A South African expat, Lachanna says that while tasting events were once reserved for the elite, they’ve become more accessible and the atmosphere more relaxed. This is reflected in the restaurant’s interior, which boasts elegant, large communal tables, a living room with a bed where patrons can relax, and an open kitchen plan where workshops are taught.
Lachanna and co-founder Leiven Hwang (黃立文) discovered raw food in 2012 in an effort to make a healthy lifestyle change. Since then, the duo has been hosting raw food workshops around Taipei before opening NakedFood.
“We did not simply want to operate a restaurant,” Lachanna says. “We wanted to continue teaching workshops, host tasting events and cater.”
Far from just sitting and eating, the restaurant is meant to bring people together and foster a sense of community while bonding over delicious vegan food and desserts. Their business philosophy is “creating community around food.”
Lachanna says it derives from the notion that as society becomes more globalized, we are also becoming increasingly disconnected from the familial connections we intrinsically seek. As a result, we turn to other connections to sustain us, and food is an important one.
“Food has claimed a place of prominence far beyond mere sustenance,” Lachanna adds. “It’s discovery and fascination, fun and flirtation.”
HEALTHY INDULGENCE
Food safety is a huge issue in Taiwan, as the recent food scandals have shown (no, I do not want my veggie skewer dipped in sweetened gutter oil).
Moreover, vegetarianism in Taiwan was once associated with Buddhism, where religious principles took precedent over health, environmentalism and the overall culinary experience. But a handful of Western-style vegan eateries and bakeries have been popping up in Taipei over the last few years, providing healthier, tasty alternatives, something which Lachanna sees as a promising sign that there’s a growing market for food like this.
“Taipei has positioned itself as a ‘cheap and fast’ city when it comes to food,” she says. “But there is also a large group of people who seek elevated dining experiences, who enjoy diverse food styles and seek healthier menus.”
Recognizing this demand, NakedFood operates on the premise that once you’ve tried fresh, handmade delicacies, your body will reject chemically preserved or processed foods. Even choosing to eschew meat and eating raw, vegan food once a week can be beneficial. In fact, Lachanna believes that doing so will make you feel thoroughly revitalized.
“Desire is the hardest thing to change, but with this lifestyle, your mind is not changing your desires, your body is,” Lachanna says.
NakedFood sources most of their ingredients from Taiwan, which Lachanna says is blessed with “super fresh and beautiful produce,” although their raw cacao powder, raw cacao butter and nuts are imported from other countries, as are their wines.
The idea is not to preach health-consciousness though — the Internet is replete with information like that.
Rather, it’s to provide a different dining option — and according to Lachnna, “it’s one that happens to be healthy while still allowing for enjoyment and indulgence.”
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