First and foremost, here’s wishing my readers who are celebrating the Lunar New Year,
Gong Xi Fa Chai!
Let’s strive for good health, great happiness and plenty of luck!
I did not post any CNY recipes this year but I did baked one. Only one? Yup, because I was busy experimenting with choux.
Alright, let’s continue on with my Taiwan food adventure.
If you remembered my past post which I said we had a slightly disappointed afternoon on day 4 in Taiwan, it was actually due to pâtisserie Sadaharu AOKI paris. Earlier that afternoon we went to Bellavita and after searching high and low we could not locate Sadaharu Aoki’s shop. Apparently it has closed down at Bellavita. 🙁
Valencia!
Not giving up to try Sadaharu Aoki’s creation, we went to his other shop at Regent Galleria after our wonderful dinner at Din Tai Fung. It was only a short walk… about 6 minutes from Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Nanxi.
Regent Galleria is located at level B1 and B2 of Regent Taipei Hotel, which houses a high concentrated of high fashion boutiques and luxury shops. We reached there around 8pm and the place (B1 and B2) were so empty. Like a ghost town. Due to lack of directory information at Regent Galleria and us not jotting down his shop’s exact address, it took us some time to find it.
And when I finally saw his shop, I was so excited. Oh yeah, adrenaline flowing like crazy. Well that’s because I 💓 dessert (especially cakes!).
The plan was to try the degustation set but unfortunately they were sold out. In fact very few of his cakes are left. Plenty of choices still for macarons, chocolate and viennoiseries though. I wanted to try his eclair but none were left. 🙁 We choose some of what we wanted to try and had it packed. Sorry no photos are allowed inside the shop (just like Pierre Hermé and Ladurée in Paris), therefore I can only show you what I bought below. I actually took the initiative to ask the salesperson because I don’t want to be told “you can’t take photos here” which would be rather embarrassing (experienced it at Pierre Hermé 😛 ) although this time no other customer was around except us.
Love the packaging. The cake and macarons were packed with ice packs.
Love the extra care given to the cake as well. Very thoughtful!
Valencia entremet @ NT$200. A mix of citrus (orange) + almond chocolate + milk chocolate + hazelnut.
All the beautiful layers of varying textures… once eaten… you’ll experience symphony of perfection in your mouth! Definitely a must-try. This cake was divided into four to be shared. Yeah I know… so little for each of us, hor?
Hojicha macaron and rose fraise macaron. Each NT$90.
They are delicious though I wish for more ganache. The best macarons I’ve had is still from Pierre Hermé.
Madeleine @ NT$60. Normal… did not wow-ed me.
Adzuki chocolate croissant @ NT$80.
My first reaction was not of the beautiful layers but of the little amount of adzuki. Haha
But once pop inside the mouth… it easily became one of the best croissants I’ve ever had. Just perfection.
I only have one advice that is to go early for more choice and variety. Ohh and be prepared to splurge because French pastry definitely requires more output from the wallet. *kaching*
Address:
pâtisserie Sadaharu AOKI paris
Regent Galleria of Regent Taipei Hotel
B2, No. 41, Lane 39, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N Road,
Zhongshan District,
Taipei,
Taiwan.
Tel: (+886) 2 2511-5000
Opening time: 10am-9am, daily
Nearest MRT: Zhongshan MRT
Map:
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