Ephernité

I just stumbled across Chef Vanessa Huang and her restaurant Ephernite on social media a few months ago, but that alone has convinced me to pay the restaurant a visit when we made a quick return to Taipei in late July, our second time this year. Given the restaurant only opens during dinner service, we went on the first night we arrived in town after settling down quickly at our hotel just a few hours before. 

The small restaurant was located on a busy street in Da'an District but it feel like a hidden French bistro. Inside the decor was minimalistic but chic with dimmed lighting and a handful of clothed tables (20 covers or so max with private room at the back). There's that feminine hint - like the little bud vase and crystal tomato centerpiece on each table - but then it's also very industrial, giving the place a gentle, refined balance. 

Menu was simple - just the shorter Seasonal Menu and the full Tasting Menu which we chose, and both came with the optional wine pairing, which we opted for as well. The pretty of amuse-bouch trio soon arrived while the glass of lovely Cremant was poured. The crisp with camembert and ham, and the cherry glazed chicken liver parfait may be the ones with presentation (both were fine, by the way, except maybe the cherry-shaped liver parfait was a little cliche and unoriginal), I was most impressed with the pickled potatoes dressed with honey - so simple but with surprising flavor profile and good balance of acidity and sweetness. 

Another beautiful course soon arrived, and this time it's Kinmedai tartare served with bell pepper and pineapple sorbet and myoga with a butterfly-shaped crisp on top. Another great example of perfect acidity and sweetness balance with local ingredients prominently featured, and the hint of sweet pepper and myoga made this interesting. 

The scallop dish was done in classic French style. The piece of Hokkaido scallop was seared and served in its own shell, underneath was the sweet petit pois and Absinthe beurre blanc done with seaweed and on top, clam juice espuma and Astrea Oscietra Caviar. Plenty of seawater umami flavor was in play in this with hint of sweetness and herbs from the little peas and absinthe in the sauce, and that paired well with the Viognier with perfume-like floral aroma. 

Execution of the sweetbread course was excellent - rustic, rich but not overbearingly so, with the porcini sauce complementing the dish nicely. I wish the piece of morel served on top was more distinct but this won my heart with another perfect pairing with a subtly rustic Beaujolais with hint of smoke, sweet spice and plenty of black fruits. 

Chef did a great job featuring local ingredients whenever she could without limiting herself to just that. Our next course of sea cucumber was definitely more Asian than French. Sea cucumber was poached with a tender and bouncy texture and in the center it's stuffed with the rustic chicken mousse (made with local Huadong chicken with more dense in texture rather than bouncy and airy like some others might do). It's served a light chicken consomme which highlighted the leek flavor as much as the meat. It was delicious and I like this as an "in-between" entree course.  

So many ingredients came together in the fish course, featuring lobsters from Canada and squid from Penghu and served with a rich tarragon beurre blanc. They may all have contrasting origins, flavors and textures, but coming together, they complemented each other. Picking duck as the ingredient for main course may be a common choice in Taiwanese fine-dining restaurant - after all they were proud of their Yilan Cherry Valley Duck - but Chef Vanessa did well with her unique version with the rich sauce inspired by local smoked duck (鴨賞) and a splash of Taiwanese whisky, another proud product from Yilan County on the eastern coast of the island. The medium-bodied Bourgogne went well with the dish with nice red fruit on the palate. 

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The cheese plate was a simple one with young comte, camembert and gorgonzola served with fruits and jam, followed by the palate cleanser of guava sorbet topped with marigold foam served in a cute glass "bowl". The main dessert was a medley of citrus, with Satsuma Mandarin done in various form with yogurt and lime sorbet on top and a brush of pomelo-flower honey on the side. A glass of sauterne was a no-brainer choice, but this one was a young one so being over powerful either. 

We ended with a series of Mignardises - that's when Chef Vanessa came out from the kitchen and shared with us two special bottles of local liqueur - one infused with atemoya fruit  (鳳梨釋迦) and the other Taiwanese "Oriental Beauty" oolong tea. The former was good for the dessert and the latter was the perfect digestif with the soothing tea aroma and tartness.

Before I left the restaurant, I couldn't help but shared to Chef Vanessa that our meal was star-worthy in my opinion, and this turned out to be our best meal of this trip without a doubt. Well, end up they didn't get one this year when the guide was announced a month later (maybe I have jinxed it - sorry), but my feeling remained the same - chef poured her heart into the dishes and it showed, so if she kept doing this it shouldn't be an issue of whether but when. 

When? July 26 2024
Where? Ephernite, 233, Section 2, Anhe Road, Da’an District, Taipei
Menu Highlights? Aged Duck Breast, Candy Beetroot, Smoked Duck Jus
Drinks?
Domaine de Nerleux La Folie des Loups Cremant de Loire NV
2015 Dominique Piron "Cote du Py" Morgon 
2019 Jeanne Gaillard Clos des Camiers Viognier
2022 Domaine Alexandre Parigot "Clos de la Perriere" Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 
2020 Maison Sichel Sauternes
"Sanyang" Atemoya Liqueur, Kano Winery, Taitung, Taiwan 嘉農酒莊山漾鳳梨釋迦酒
Ainsi The Oriental Beauty Taiwan Tea Liqueur 萃釅東方美人茶酒
Web: ephernite.com.tw