[Taipei 台北] RAW

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RAW

Add: No.301, Le Qun 3rd Road, Taipei
Tel: (02) 8501 5800
Hours: [Wed-Sun] 11:30am-2:30pm, 6-10pm (closed on Mon & Tue)
Website: www.raw.com.tw
Price: 1850 TWD + 10%
Visited: Jun 2016

Please note that this was an invited tasting.

My friends’ first reaction to me going to RAW was uniformly – “How did you get a reservation?!”…and immediately after: “Can I come with you?” It’s no surprise they are so shocked – since opening in 2014, seats at RAW get snatched up literally seconds after being released, everyday – even many of my friends living in Taipei haven’t had a chance to go yet. What’s the big deal?

請注意這是餐廳邀請試吃。

朋友們聽到我要去RAW，第一個反應都是：“你居然訂到了！”，然後就是 “可以帶我去嗎？” 的確，這家餐廳自2014年開幕以來每天都被秒殺訂滿，連我很多住在台北的朋友至今都還沒吃到過。這麽難訂的餐廳，值得嗎？噢，絕對值得。

The reason why RAW is so wildly popular, other than the fact that it’s conceptualized by André Chiang (of the Restaurant André fame), is also because it consistently offers delicious and creative cuisine at a reasonable price of 1850 TWD+10%. RAW positions itself as “bistronomy” – the combination of bistro and gastronomy – meaning that it’s not as uptight as fine dining restaurants, but is more refined than the typical bistro both in terms of decor and cuisine. I’m quite familiar with this style as I frequented many neobistros in Paris, and was curious to see the Taiwanese version at RAW.

RAW的定位是bistronomy（bistro和gastronomy的結合），沒有高級餐廳需正襟危坐的拘束感，又比普通小館子來得精致，在料理上更是下足了功夫。而它這麽紅的原因，除了因爲主廚是江振誠（台灣名廚，在新加坡的André餐廳已連續好幾年名列世界前50餐廳榜單），當然還是因爲料理本身出色，而且價格實在令人無法抱怨（1850台幣＋10％）。

A no-choice, seasonal menu is offered at RAW, identical for lunch and dinner. The summer menu I tasted was composed of 8 dishes, starting on a light note with an adaptation of Taiwanese breakfast 清粥小菜 (congee with side dishes). The “congee” was really a cold puree of rice, intended to let guests taste the pure sweetness of rice when the palate is at its cleanest. The accompanying dish is slightly seared turnip and shredded turnip sandwiching a layer of crab meat, with a dot of fermented bean curd on the side. A most refreshing and creative start.

我這次嚐到的是RAW夏季菜單，第一道 “清粥小菜” 就讓我驚豔了。RAW將台灣傳統的早點做了創新，設計了適合夏天的冰清粥，讓客人在剛坐下，味蕾最乾淨的時候品嚐大米純粹的香氣和甜味。搭配的小菜是稍爲煎過的大頭菜和大頭菜絲，中間夾了一層蟹肉，旁邊點綴的是腐乳醬汁。

House-made country bread, accompanied by whipped butter sprinkled with with buckwheat, cocoa nibs, some sea salt and garlic (not included in the set menu, order separately). The trick is to not eat too much of this delicious bread and save room for what’s to come next…

自製麵包（不包含在套餐內，需另店），搭配打發奶油和蕎麥、可可豆、海鹽、大蒜。

Next came seared scallops with cauliflower purée and cauliflower bits in a slightly spicy sauce. The mother-of-pearl presentation is whimsical, and the fact that scallops have already been cut into small pieces is yet another thoughtful touch.

香煎扇貝佐白花菜泥和白花菜碎，搭配微辣的醬汁。用貝殼做容器很有意思，而且扇貝很為客人著想的被切成了小塊，方便食用。

牛舌餅, or “beef tongue cookies”, is a Taiwanese snack that’s shaped like beef tongue but in fact has no meat whatsoever. At RAW, they made it quite literally: the bottom is Italian grissini in the shape of beef tongue, and on top layered stewed onions, garlic mayonnaise, beef tongue, vinegar, and chives. The acidity from the vinegar made this and especially appealing dish on a hot summer day. Oh, and not to forget – there’s a raw egg yolk at the bottom the bowl, to be stirred and then sprinkled on top of the biscuit.

“牛舌餅”。台灣牛舌餅通常是甜的，不過 RAW 把它做成真的有牛舌的鹹味牛舌餅。底下是意式面包棒 grissini 擀成牛舌餅的造型，上面堆疊著炖洋蔥、蒜味美奶滋、抹了鮮貝醋和撒上蝦夷蔥的牛舌，略帶酸味，非常清爽。把碗裏的溫泉蛋拌開淋在牛舌餅上，又是另一種風味。

One of my favorite dishes of lunch was next: charcoal-roasted deepwater rose shrimp with warm salad. In this dish, celery has been worked and reworked into various forms – shredded celery root, shredded celery, celery oil, and a dab of smoked celery puree. What’s being poured is buttermilk, slightly acidic from fermentation, delicious with the deepwater rose shrimp.

炭烤胭脂蝦搭配法式溫沙拉。RAW 將西芹做出不同的質地和口感，包括西芹根的絲，西芹絲，西芹油，和一小球煙熏的西芹泥。中間淋上的是酪奶 buttermilk，牛奶發酵過後帶點酸味，搭配胭脂蝦一起吃非常美味。

The salad, composed of 16 local Taiwanese vegetables – lotus root, mountain yam, bamboo shoot, lily bulb, etc. – is beautifully constructed on a plate and presented on top of a twig wreath so that it’s closer to the customers. The vegetables are only slightly seasoned, allowing each to be enjoyed in its most natural form.

由16種台灣在地食材組成的沙拉：蓮藕、山藥、竹筍、百合等蔬菜被美麗的搭建在盤子上，而盤子的下面還墊了樹枝圈，為了讓這到菜能夠離客人更近。蔬菜的調味非常清淡，讓每種食材的原本風味能夠被完整的呈現。

The fish dish was done in the method of French-style sole meunier, cooked with butter, onion, capers, basilic, and lemon, except it was much lighter than the traditional version. RAW chosed the engawa (fin) of butterfly fish, which is rich, fatty, round in the mouth, but paired it with spring onions, mussels and clams, then drizzled with hot vinegar sauce for a refreshing finish.

下一道用了法式煎魚 sole meunier 的做法，在魚身上拍打了面粉，搭配奶油，洋蔥，酸豆，巴西里，跟檸檬一起烹調。RAW 選擇的是蝶魚鳍邊肉，油脂豐富，口感圓潤，搭配了青蔥、海瓜子、還有淡菜來增加整道料理的鮮味，再淋上熱的醋汁，讓味道更清爽。

The main course is chicken wrapped in red quinoa from Northern Taiwan, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Accompaniments included oyster mayonnaise, yellow mustard foam, stewed cabbage with smoked shark (a very Taiwanese dish), and a sheet of curry-flavored cabbage crisp.

主菜是被台灣南投紅藜麥包裹著的雞肉，外脆內嫩的兩種質感對比非常有趣。一旁是生蚝蛋黃醬、法國黃芥末做成的泡沫、台灣鲨魚煙炖菜、和以咖喱調味的高麗菜脆片。有點海陸搭配的感覺？

Desesrt: mixed grains, almond mochi ice-cream, freshly shaved koya tofu (freeze-dry tofu), and Hakka Leicha (a traditional Southern Chinese tea-based beverage).

甜點的底層是綜合谷類，搭配杏仁麻薯冰淇淋，刨上高野豆腐增加一些淡淡的豆香，最後淋上客家擂茶。

To end the meal, a mini coffee flavor canelé bringing us back to France. Cute coffee filter presentation.

最後招待的可麗露，將這餐又帶回了法國。咖啡口味來自是店裏自己淺烘的豆子，帶有一點迷人的酸味。外面的包裝也很用心的做成咖啡濾紙的造型。

I took a sneak peek of the kitchen after lunch and was mesmerized by how organized and shiny it looks – it reminded me of the last restaurant I worked at in Paris, where everything was scrubbed down 3 times in a day. On the right of the following photo is Alain, the chef helming the kitchen at RAW, responsible for executing each dish to perfection for the guests.

讓人驚喜連連的一餐，（如果訂的到位子的話）請務必要去RAW試試它的料理。順帶一提，這裏的廚房亮晶晶的非常整齊，我看了也好想在裏面工作（雖然甜點區比較小，嗚）。

It’s an inspiring experience seeing the chefs at RAW coax the best flavors out of beautiful Taiwanese produce, highly recommended for locals and visitors alike. So, how do you get a seat at RAW? There are two options. For under 8 people, reservations are accepted two weeks in advance online (get ready to click exactly at noon time). For 8 people and above, you must opt for chef’s table option (more expensive at 2680 TWD+10%), which can be done one month in advance by calling. Worth the trouble? Most definitely.

那麼，究竟如何能夠訂到 RAW 的位子呢？有兩個方法：8人以下的訂位可以在兩週前通過網站訂位（請在中午12點就準備好，據說坐位都是被秒殺的），8人以上的訂位可以選擇 chef’s table（價格比較貴，每人2680台幣＋10％），在一個月前打電話預約。這麼麻煩，值得嗎？非常值得。

RAW

地址：台北市樂群三路301號
電話：（02）8501 5800
營業時間：[周三－日] 11:30am-2:30pm, 6-10pm (周一二休)
網站：www.raw.com.tw
人均：1850台幣＋10％（不含酒水）
造訪：2016年6月

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