I went from the French bistro, Le Pain Grille, to Café Un Deux Trois in the luxurious 5-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Taipei. Let’s just say the price tripled if not quadrupled in the Mandarin Oriental. I did not necessarily get better tasting food; I got better presented food, a beautiful surrounding and a more elite group of diners. Maybe even complimentary parking. It’s definitely NYC priced but with more elbow space. I am sure glad that I put on a dress vs. showing up in my running shorts and a tank top, my usual attire in the hot summer days.
Room temperature butter. Good bread. 
L’ESCARGOT PETIT-GRIS BAKED SNAILS (6 pieces)馬爹拉甜酒奶油烤田螺(六顆) $450NT or $15USD parsley butter and condiments, deglazed with madeira. This was terrible. My ex French mother-in-law does it better. How was it terrible? The escargot were over-baked, too soft and too much butter was used.
LA SOUPE DU JOUR | SEASONAL DAILY SOUP | 主廚例湯. This was the pumpkin and carrot soup. My friend enjoyed it. 
FILET DE SAUMON | SALMON FILLET | 鮭魚佐柚香醬搭鮮蔬扁麵及蛤蜊 Vegetable tagliatelle, carrots, zucchini, clams, yuzu hollandaise 
LA SAINT-JACQUES | PAN SEARED SCALLOPS 香煎干貝佐薩丁尼亞麵疙瘩 $720NT or $24USD sweet turnip, fregola, spicy emulsion. As expected! No better and no worse. 
LE SOUFFLÉ NOISETTE | HAZELNUT SOUFFLE 榛果舒芙蕾佐柚子冰沙 $350NT or $13USD served with yuzu sorbet. This was fun. It had good flakes! The soufflé was ok but the sorbet was better. 
GRAND CRU CHOCOLAT THÉ | CHOCOLATE TEA GRAND CRU 茶香濃情巧克力 $350NT or $13USD red fruit tea infusion, chocolate cream, fruit confit. This was excellent! The tea and chocolate combination was tasty. I liked it especially because it was served chilled.
My friend ordered from the set lunch menu which ranged from $950NT to $1600NT ($36USD to $54USD). I went a la cart and ended up with around $73USD. The food was ok for this price but the decor was elegant and comfortable. The service was outstanding… They anticipated every need and were never intrusive. They jumped up when I knocked over my glass of water.
Would I return? Probably. The showcase for soap on the way out was extremely enjoyable. All right, it’s not a soap show case; it’s FUEGUIA 1833, a high-end Argentina perfumery. This was worth visiting. 🙂
But the best part of the entire experience was the company, my friend 何郁瑾. Thank you for listening.
This experience took place at
Café Un Deux Trois in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
No. 158, Dunhua North Road,
Taipei City, Taiwan 10548
+886 2 2715 6888
Peilin Corbanese 