Taipei at Hong Kong prices

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Afu had been wanting to catch up and show me his restaurant after they finished renovations, but unfortunately they were hit with delays and could not complete on time. I was surprised when he suggested we meet for lunch at Longyue (朧粵), a relatively new Cantonese restaurant that Little Rabbit didn't think much of. It was perfect, then, that we were also joined by the Prince of Napa - whose critical opinions are even harsher than mine... if you could believe it.

Afu did the ordering and we figured he would know best. I just sat back and waited for the food to show up.

Roasted pork belly (冰燒三層肉) - the crackling was actually decent, but not enough fat for me. Mustard and shichimi (七味) on the side.

Steamed shrimp dumpling (朧粵蝦餃皇) - 13 folds here. Very old school.

Steamed crab meat dumpling with egg white (蟹肉蛋白餃)

Steamed pork dumpling with abalone and shrimp (鮑魚燒賣皇)

Steamed rice roll with fried softshell crab (軟殼脆蟹腸粉)

Double-boiled sea whelk soup (滋補燉響螺湯) - this was so-so.

Boiled amaranth with whitebait (吻仔魚莧菜)

Chef Kan's signature fried rice (魔鬼炒飯) - with bits of fatty pork. A little spicy. The rice grains were nice and dry, a little chewy. Very good effort with good wok hei (鑊氣).

Traditional grinded almond milk (生磨杏仁茶) - definitely ground and can feel the texture on the tongue.

Crispy egg tart (酥皮蛋撻) - I love that they do the puff pastry version, and I dearly miss the ones from Honolulu Cafe (檀島咖啡) which used to have over 100 layers. The pastry here, though, tasted a little off... Maybe the lard or whatever they were using had gone off.

We all thought the food was pretty decent, but the Prince of Napa and I immediately objected when we were told of the amount of the bill. This would be at the very top end of prices in Hong Kong if not higher, but here we were in Taipei. For me, there would be no reason to make a return visit. After all, I wouldn't be looking for Cantonese food when I visit Taipei... would I?!