A trip to Taipei for my birthday, and our 5 year wedding anniversary, was a perfect reason for a booking at Yen, the Cantonese fine dining restaurant at the top of the W Hotel.
Upon making the reservation, we were pleased to know that a vegetarian set menu was available, however when we sat down I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by the list before us. There was fungus, fungus, and white fungus in each and every plate. I actually thought the veggies on the a la carte menu looked more interesting, but was encouraged to stick with the set. So fungus it was.
The stand-out feature at Yen is the view. We were lucky to have a window view, although not looking over the famous Taipei 101. We'd had a nice drink in the bar before hand, and watched the sun go down over the mountains surrounding Taipei. Instead, from our table, we watched the hoards of scooters buzzing around on the streets below. From the arial view, the traffic looks exceedingly uniform and rule-abiding, which seems counter to what you'd expect on a back-drop of a very Chinese looking city. Taipei was wonderful - the people were so friendly, and the Putonghua so clean and easy to listen to. We had a great time walking around, finding our way to various temples and coffee shops. There's a calmness, and an easy buzz to the streets, which are teeming with design stores, food stalls, and leafy, open-air shopping. I reflected on the fact that I could live here happily as we sat and watched, chatting, waiting for our food.
The meal was very nice, and had the characteristic lightness of Cantonese fare. We had blanched vegetables, soup, a rice dish, and yes, plenty of fungus. For a restaurant famous for it's duck, they'd done a nice job of a vegetarian banquet. However I found myself more impressed with the decor and our own company, as opposed to the food itself. The wait staff were friendly and professional, but as we were sitting at the far end of the restaurant we received little attention apart from when new food arrived. A nice evening for sure, but I found myself writing home about the vegetarian restaurants we'd discovered on the streets of Taipei, rather than Yen!
Phone: +886 2 7703 8887
Address: The W Hotel, 31st Floor, 10 Zhongxiao East Rd, Section 5, XinYi District, Taipei
Web: http://www.yentaipei.com/en/
Upon making the reservation, we were pleased to know that a vegetarian set menu was available, however when we sat down I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by the list before us. There was fungus, fungus, and white fungus in each and every plate. I actually thought the veggies on the a la carte menu looked more interesting, but was encouraged to stick with the set. So fungus it was.
The stand-out feature at Yen is the view. We were lucky to have a window view, although not looking over the famous Taipei 101. We'd had a nice drink in the bar before hand, and watched the sun go down over the mountains surrounding Taipei. Instead, from our table, we watched the hoards of scooters buzzing around on the streets below. From the arial view, the traffic looks exceedingly uniform and rule-abiding, which seems counter to what you'd expect on a back-drop of a very Chinese looking city. Taipei was wonderful - the people were so friendly, and the Putonghua so clean and easy to listen to. We had a great time walking around, finding our way to various temples and coffee shops. There's a calmness, and an easy buzz to the streets, which are teeming with design stores, food stalls, and leafy, open-air shopping. I reflected on the fact that I could live here happily as we sat and watched, chatting, waiting for our food.
The meal was very nice, and had the characteristic lightness of Cantonese fare. We had blanched vegetables, soup, a rice dish, and yes, plenty of fungus. For a restaurant famous for it's duck, they'd done a nice job of a vegetarian banquet. However I found myself more impressed with the decor and our own company, as opposed to the food itself. The wait staff were friendly and professional, but as we were sitting at the far end of the restaurant we received little attention apart from when new food arrived. A nice evening for sure, but I found myself writing home about the vegetarian restaurants we'd discovered on the streets of Taipei, rather than Yen!
Phone: +886 2 7703 8887
Address: The W Hotel, 31st Floor, 10 Zhongxiao East Rd, Section 5, XinYi District, Taipei
Web: http://www.yentaipei.com/en/
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