SEASON Artisan Pâtissier — Restaurant in Da'an District

walking in at 10:30 am on a Sat one might expect a bakery / patisserie to be in full swing

but that early at Season they're still preparing for brunch / lunch as it is a restaurant as well & presumably cakes & tortes -- their forté are to follow later in day or week -- they apparently sell out quick so nimble on your feet or on their feed & be here when you get the creations of one of Taiwan's renowned maître pâtissiers (he's in the pink book! Ch 2 section 1)

a tray of hand-long flat canelés is cooling on the counter

the manager in efficient English informs that canelés are all to be had at the moment

which i promptly pair with the first caramel sorbet on menu (there are 2) -- the seasonal fruit sorbet for another visit

feeling as if nestled somewhere Parisian i & my 2 desserts for breakfast look over Season's entry in the pink book (on the counter by the window)

i think about getting something bigger & rounder to go but being on foot -- thought better of it

next time i'll zip these delectables straight home & not let this heat kill these darlings

had a look at the tasting menu

the one for 2 to share seems shotworthy

it's just nice to have places like Season, Pure et MyCroissant near

for that hit of Paris when Taipei is melting

that brief respite in Season (canelé et sorbet) was / is / forever shall be

a lifesaver une bouée / un gilet

a preserver de la santé de goût d'un...

I'm from France, so this feedback might be biased. Overall it's an okay pastry shop, I think overrated and overpriced. I went there for the epiphany day when you usually eat a "king's cake". We ask but couldn't take it away, and had to it in inside, with a minimum of 1 pastry and drink each. I was okay with that but seeing the price, I had high expectations on it. Conclusion: I won't come again except if a friend want good pastries and don't care about the price. Paid 1100 for 2, with 2 pastries and 2 drinks, the 10% service charge included. Here my feedbacks:

Chestnut pastry: 5/5: excellent! Hot chocolate: 3/5: really great! but for this price (260) they could serve it in a big cup instead if a really tiny one. Marco Polo tea: 4/5, good fruity tea. Epiphany/king's pie: 1/5 It might not be a good choice. There was almost no frangipane/almond/pastry/custard in it, it just felt the really dry. However you can at least a small Fève as a consolation.

If you're looking for good epiphany cake, I had got highly recommended from other French people to try to try Mr.Bruno or Lutetia Taipei pastry shops, owned by french, more humble and definitely in the french spirit of...

老牌甜點店重新出發，掀開入口的的布幔，是一個小小僅容約10人的吧台座，復古的洛可可風格在現今甜點店裡獨樹一格，呈現如其名的劇場風格；但吧台裡的操作空間很小，所以除了最後裝飾外，絕大部分製作過程都是在後場做完的，少了很多可看性倒是蠻可惜的 主廚在出餐過程中都會提到關於菜色的故事、發想和個人生命經驗，不過感覺緊張了些，作為展演的一部分，希望能越做越流暢； 另外因為吧台座後方沒什麼走道空間，服務人員收盤子非常侷促，除了摔過盤子外，幾次把托盤從客人後方高舉過頭，都有些讓人擔心，或許動線設計可以再考慮一下，或是直接從吧台中央收盤子就好；然後光線氛圍很好，但好難拍照😂 餐點本身蠻喜歡，第一季的菜多有其發想由來的菜色，風味和諧不難理解，雖說是甜點店，但套餐鹹甜各半，一半是以甜點師角度做的鹹食，一半是是以廚師角度做的甜點，和以往吃盤飾甜點的感受有些不同 套餐也提供了咖啡、茶和酒的pairing。需要特別盛讚咖啡pairing，不只有喝到飽的Ninety Plus Lycello，其他3杯咖啡調飲風貌多變，單喝漂亮，搭餐也相得益彰，許久沒有體驗這麼喜歡的pairing，餐後還特別查了一下，操刀的是WSC世界虹吸咖啡大賽冠軍簡嘉程Stanley，值得掌聲

咖啡 Lycello 入口帶花香、尾段有茶感和一點焦糖味，漂亮輕盈但仍有body，續杯喝得很開心

咖啡 Yuzo 打了香菜氣泡，但氣味輕柔，入口隨即讓位給了柑橘香氣

小豬餅 呼應法式豬肉抹醬前菜，用豬油做了貓舌餅，內餡是濃厚的豬梅花肉泥和焦化洋蔥，搭配清爽酸甜的青蘋果醬；咖啡的香菜味和豬肉的鹹香非常合拍

蔬果漂浮蛋白 漂浮蛋白上放了糖片，再蓋上加了用柑橘打發的酸甜蛋白霜， 蛋白裡放了碳烤過的大蔥，蔥味濃郁加上蛋白倒像是蔥蛋😂，搭配綠蘆筍冷湯和香草油，稍微不懂的菜

熱水澡蕎麥可麗餅 熱水澡指的是用大蒜、鯷魚和橄欖油做的熱水澡醬，上頭擺了鵪鶉蛋和鹹蛋黃，然後是蕎麥脆餅，牛肝蕈醋粉的酸鮮漂亮的提味，入口酸鹹鮮美，蛋味濃郁，很滿足的早午餐感

Gargouillou 下一道菜的前奏，也是其發想由來的花草沙拉，用了南瓜片、馬鈴薯、櫛瓜、番茄、小圓茄和蘋果泥，帶著水果感的沙拉

水果潤餅 餅其實是軟糖的質地，也帶著甜味，夾了榛果、清脆的夜香花和帶著辛辣的辣根醬，但感覺用真的潤餅在風味和口感上似乎更適合

咖啡 Kambera 澄清牛奶、加上咖啡最後灑上肉桂粉，入口有漂亮的檸檬酸感，可惜沒有茶匙可以攪拌均勻，風味分很開

濃縮早午餐 夾著起司的麵包烤得很脆，柑橘和檸檬的酸味創造酸麵包的錯覺，加上萬壽菊、香蜂草和薄荷帶出清新尾韻

春季千層 做成烏魚子狀的蘋果，再用鹽昆布創造鮮味，底下的烤蘋果餡，加上酥餅意外有點烤地瓜感

咖啡...