Went back to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon last week with the parents for a second try. Overall experience was still pretty good, although I was less impressed than the first time. I think my choices on the first visit were probably the best ones.
I started with the spaghetti, which was simply topped with shaved Parmesan, a poached egg, and reasonable amount of shaved black Périgord truffles. It was pretty nice as the flavors blended well together, but of course it had better be at US$90.
Next was la tête de veau, and I was curious whether it would work out as well as the pig's head at the Fourth Floor at Harvey Nick's. It was interesting but I didn't like it as much. Basically two large balls of skin from the veal's head, kinda done like the Chinese pig trotters but without the soy sauce. The balls were stuffed with ground veal, and topped with a combination of dill, parsley, capers and green peppercorns soaked in vinegar. Not something I would have again.
Finally I had the lamb chops, which were simply nice and crispy - nothing but a bit of salt and a sprig of rosemary on the side. A spoonful of the rich potato purée was the perfect accompaniment.
Once again I had a very nice dessert, which came off a totally different dessert menu from my last visit less than 2 weeks ago. The grapefruit jelly with lychee sorbet and a touch of rose (seemingly a favorite ingredient of the pastry chef) was delightfully refreshing after my last two courses.
The parents had an adventure - a rare occasion where dad's choices were far better than mom's. Mom complained immediately about her foie gras ravioli in chicken consommé - apparently the ravioli was tiny and she never tasted the foie inside, so all she got was a bowl of soup.
The coquilles Saint Jacques were better - at least she got three of them and they were substantial/visible enough - but she was not impressed.
The poached seabass came wrapped in another pasta skin, proving to her once again that ordering anything ravioli-like is a mistake.
Dad started with the cod, which seemed to get praises from both of them. He next took le caille on my recommendation, and seemed satisfied enough even though he didn't realize that the stuffing was foie gras...
The last course was the mini burgers (as I expected), and he passed on the two pieces of pan-fried foie to mom and gave her a happy ending.
A pistachio soufflé was shared and she declared it to be the best she's had in the 12 years since her meal at La Petite Auberge in New York. Apparently no one knows how to do soufflé in Taipei...which is not a surprise since there is only one high-end French restaurant in the city I would ever patronize.
BTW we had a half bottle of '97 Troplong Mondot and it drank beautifully.
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