EMBERS — Restaurant in Da'an District

First of all, Please do NOT come to this restaurant if you love meat and expect meat as a highlight! Dining at EMBERS was a meditative and cleansing experience that brought attention to the raw, fundamental flavors of local Taiwanese produce (mostly vegetarian) prepared in unique and unexpected ways. Within the seeming simplicity of each dish also exists depth and thoughtful preparation of each ingredient. The service was professional yet amicable, and I left feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, and content.

Here are my impressions of each course below: Shrimp, Taro, Seaweed: We start off the course with an umami bomb that brought me excited for what's to come!

Taiwan cacao, Gnocchi, Banana: This dish is the epitome of ingenuity! I never would have expected anyone to turn banana into gnocchi with a chocolate savory sauce. It sounds odd and crazy but it tasted awesome.

Gac fruit, Melon, Bitter gourd: This dish is literally just slices of 3 melons and their juices and never should have worked in concept, but I honestly enjoyed eating these slices of melons so much. The balance between sweetness and bitterness was perfect and I would never have come up with such a simple yet unique concept.

Bottle gourd, Prickly ash, Whitebait: A perfectly grilled piece of gourd that tasted real nice.

Octopus, Celeriac, Manganji pepper: The octopus was paired with a gritty puree that isn't my favorite texture, but the taste itself was pleasant and subtle.

Ramie, Clove fish, Baby cabbage: This dish was literally just a piece of broiled cabbage. I mean, it's well made and tastes fine, but still...

Lotus root, Pandan, Pork: The pork was delicious and the lotus root that paired with it was rendered so meaty and savory that it sort of camouflaged itself amongst the pork. It's a nice dish.

Tenas, Potherb, Rice crust, Bamboo shoot Rice: A perfectly cooked bowl of Rice that paired with perfectly prepared rice crust (sort of like a socarrat). I loved this dish and the vegetables that came with it are so intensely flavorful and rustic. The tenas water barely added anything to the dish though (flavorless and not spicy at all), and it honestly didn't positively represent Taiwanese indigenous cuisine in my opinion.

Persimmon, Black sesame oil, Katsuobushi: A dessert that never should have worked in concept but was actually quite delicious. Persimmon ice cream with sesame oil and fish flakes!

Water caltrop, Avocado, Sweet soy sauce: Another surprising dessert that should not have worked but does.

Random side note: They're the first fine dining establishment I've seen that uses Evian water. It tastes WAY better than the San Pellegrino that is usually seen here, and is funnily enough a personal highlight of tonight's experience.

EMBERS was able to pack so much surprise in flavor using seemingly simple concepts, flavors, and plating. They daringly experimented on combinations of saltiness, sweetness, umami, and bitterness that somehow all work out and harmonize due to the delicate balance of each. EMBERS has given me a newfound appreciation for what Taiwanese food is and can be. However, I'm only giving a 4/5 stars because the experience ultimately felt a tad bit too overpriced. At 5000 per person minimum, I do expect just a tad bit more in terms of the value. I also think the nonalcoholic pairing is completely overpriced (mostly some bottled black teas and oolong) However, I absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone that wants to try out a unique, rustic, and vegetable-centered course that highlights local...

Came right before they opened at 18.00. Was very hard to find even though Google Map shows it because there was no sign and the door barely distinct. I knocked my head on the glass door when trying to get in. Came with two my colleagues for their farewell Appetizer: given the appearance of betel nut, the taste is light and surprising Shrimp Taro Seaweed: warm and balanced taste Taiwan Cacao, Gnocchi Banana: unique and unexpected taste that was good. This is the third dishes and it gets more and more interesting and intriguing. Gac fruit, Melon, Bitter Gourd: bitter and sweet. I only ate the melon and Gac fruit. It was smooth, light and pleasant taste. Bottle gourd, Prickly ash, Whitebait: unusual mixture but tasted fine without any excess of salt, sweet or pepper. Octopus, Celeriac, Manganji pepper: taste like purée but with a special flavor. Octopus was soft but in a small amount. Romie, Clove Fish, Baby Cabbage: The dressing was a good flavor adding to the mild cabbage. The fish could have more crunchy (my liking for such a small fish) Lotus root, Pandan, Pork: there was an order to eat this dish. Obviously, I wasn’t listening and I started with the pork instead of the Pandan. It was my first time to try Pandan. Tenas, Potherb Rice Crust Both Tenas and rice crust are to be eaten. The rice was well cooked and perfumed. However, there was no meat therefore I finished the rice but ate very little vegetables. I’m more a meat person and there was too many vegetables already. Soup: very comforting and light soup. Just great for digestion Persimmon, Black sesame oil, Katsuobushi: A good taste of fair sweetness with persimmon and a bit salt. It is light and refreshing. Water caltrop, Avocado, Sweet soy sauce: this is the last dish. An another surprise. The contrast in taste is unique and unusual. Overall, the service was great and the atmosphere good. This is a dinner for experience and memories where you can savor the unusual. If you are heavy meat lover and have zero tolerance for delicacy and finesse, it’s not for you. If you have room for surprise and first time for dish, then you should try at least once...

Underwhelming and miss opportunities.

Overall, for a Michelin starred restaurant, the service level was attentive, and food preparation of good standing. However, the general feel of the curated menu was haphazard.

The dinner started on the strong and savoury side. However, some dishes which follow are light on the palate; and there was a lack of intermission such as palate cleaner to enable the diner to enjoy the subtleties of the subsequent dish especially the 3rd course. If not for the sparkling water with douse of lemon; the dish would have came of lackluster instead of being my favourite dish for the evening.

The theme is the evening was heavily focused on local seasonable vegetables. One such interesting highlight was the bottle gourd, which could have easily passed off as fish with its texture and "flacky" appearence. This dish preparation was superb.

The main for the evening, which was the rice crust, bamboo shoot with accompanying vegetable was a huge missed opportunity. The questionable choice of plating decision aside, the big missed opportunity here was the reasons why Chef has identified those six vegetables to serve as the final main, and what is so interesting and story about each of the selected vegetable. The server has also not explained the dish beyond saying these are the seasonal vegetables.

As a Michelin starred restaurant, this small step would have made...