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L’Air Café Néo-Bistro 風流小館
Add: No.5, Lane 174, Jinhua Street, Taipei
Tel: 02 3343 3937
Hours: 12-3pm, 6-10pm (closed on Wed)
Price: [lunch] 1200+ TWD [dinner] 4000+ TWD
Visited: Jun 2016
L’Air Café, as casual as the name suggests, is actually a refined bistro serving delicate French cuisine. It’s a collaboration between the owner of Boite de Bijou, a boulangerie/patisserie I raved about back in 2011, and head chef Dana Yu, who has honed her skills under Singapore celebrity chef Justin Quek and Robuchon Taipei among other prestigious establishments. L’Air Café has been a favorite among many of my friends living in Taipei since its opening in 2012, but as I had left for Paris that year, it wasn’t until this recent trip that I finally got to pay my first visit.
風流小館是台灣知名的珠寶盒面包店和兔子聽音樂的老板開的法式餐廳，是我很多住在台北的朋友都喜歡的店。餐廳位于永康商圈一個安靜的角落，有大片的落地窗，望出去是金華公園的一整片綠。掌管廚房的女主廚 Dana 在新加坡名廚 Justin Quek 手下工作多年後，加入了台北的 Robuchon 的開幕團隊，最後來到了風流小館。 之前在網上和她稍有交流，這次回台北，決定來嚐嚐她的料理。
L’Air Café is located at a quiet corner in the Yongkang neighborhood. I came by during lunch time, and my mood was immediately elevated by 1) the ample sunshine pouring in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and 2) this lovely-looking menu dotted with Spring and Summer colors, bright enough to cast away any dark clouds.
當季菜單的設計，非常春夏的顔色，拿在手裏心情都輕飄飄了起來。
The meal started with this: white asparagus jelly, lemon-flavored crab meat, white asparagus slices, chorizo, and caviar. From the color to the flavor to the texture, each element is light and elegant, a most pleasant start.
Dana 的料理風格溫柔細致，比如這道白蘆筍凍搭配檸檬風味蟹肉、白蘆筍片、西班牙香腸及魚子醬，從顔色至風味和口感都清淡優雅，非常怡人。
Sweet fish (ayu), sweet fish liver, honeydew.
香魚與香魚肝佐哈密瓜。
Roasted abalone, green bamboo shoots, basil caper sauce , crispy seaweed.
炭烤鮑魚佐綠竹筍薄片、羅勒酸豆醬汁及海苔脆片。
Sakura shrimp, green bamboo shoots, green peas, rice, seared red shrimp, white asparagus.
櫻花蝦綠竹筍青都炊飯搭配煎紅蝦及白蘆筍。
The next dish, a recently creation by Dana, is off the menu. She uses Japanese flour to make these fluffy, slightly sweet buns (guabao in Taiwanese), sandwiching succulent lemongrass pork patties and duck foie. Different from her other dishes, this one looks decidedly Taiwanese instead of French, but somehow fits in perfectly with the rest.
接下來的這道料理不在菜單上，是 Dana 突發奇想的嘗試，目前僅用來招待認識的客人。她用日本面粉自制了微甜而富有彈性的刈包，搭配香茅豬肉餅和鴨肝，實在美妙。一反其他法式的菜色，這款造型有著明顯的台灣味，不過依然優雅，出現在風流小館也毫無違和感。
Roasted New Zeland lamb, spiced bread crumbs, garlic lemon sauce.
爐烤紐西蘭小羔羊排裹香料面包粉佐蒜味檸檬醬汁。
I chatted with Dana briefly after lunch, and she mentioned her aspiration of working in a Parisian kitchen to further hone her skills. The restaurant she aspires to the most is Yam’tcha, a Sino Franco restaurant that I also love. Whatever Dana decides on doing for the future, I really look forward to what she will conjure up next for us. Apparently her kitchen also makes excellent crepes, served between 2-5pm…there is no question about it, I must come back here on my next visit to Taipei.
飯後和 Dana 稍爲聊了一會兒，她提到希望自己有機會去法國的廚房裏進修，而最盼望能前往學習的餐廳，是我個人也非常愛的 Yam’tcha。這名字看起來很中式（讓人覺得是港式飲茶），但餐廳的主廚確確實實的是位法國人，之前因爲在香港住過兩年並且先生是香港人，她在料理手法上也融入了不少中餐的靈感。不知道 Dana 是否真的會去巴黎工作一段時間，但總之很令人期待她下一步的發展。
Cafe L’Air Neo Bistro 風流小館
地址：台北市金華街164巷5號
電話：（02）3343 3937
營業時間：12-3pm, 6-10pm (週三休)
人均：午餐約1200台幣，晚餐2500－4000台幣
造訪：2016年6月
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