ZEA — Restaurant in Da'an District

What an experience! Making it short, something fresh in the local dinning scene, narrative of flavors are carefully curated, cohesive & gradual with wows(有故事性的起承轉合，just like the dark side of moon album of Pink Floyd, every song stands by itself but together make a whole story)

well executed flavor combinations & layers, elegant palette with Latin American punch, good wine pairing. You must try. Brings me back to the feelings where it all began.

Starting with 3 well balanced little bites( taco of local quinoa, arepa of crab and avocado, fried corn with chili jam and feta)

Followed by a mouth watering scallop ceviche, authentic leche de tigre, very well balanced level of acidity, sweetness and spiciness, elegantly put together with a punch which really opens the appetite.

Bread is well baked with aroma, crunchy on the crust and soft on the inside, paired with 4 different varieties of extra virgin olive oil from the most elegant gradually to the most astringent (still on the elegant side of spectrum), from fruity floral to greener one, adding to the fun part of experience.

The oyster dish is probably the best oyster dish I’ve ever had in my life. I usually enjoy oyster straight with no seasoning but this seasoning really brings it up to another level, the umami, oceanic iodine flavor of the oyster with cream, potato and just the right amount of acidity, freshness and some crunchy texture really elaborates it.(paired w/ sake)

And it only gets better.

White asparagus with Slow cooked congee, pork stock, mate and clams, every element plays its role to support the unique sweetness and herbal notes of the asparagus. (Paired w/ a fruity sake also)

The lobster well cooked with lobster shell jus, side with homemade seafood chorizo and Taiwanese rainbow tomato they are OFF the chart( you must take a bit of the chorizo with a bite of tomato together and see how it flirt with your tongue), paired with a orange wine made of cava grapes. One of the best pairing I had in Taiwan.

The trout, cooked with a crust, a red deep spicy broth with green peppers to add freshness, plus the spicy sauce of devil, a deep complex (almost like spicy hot pot) symphony in the mouth.

This dish is paired with a Pinot noir from Patagonia, strawberry, cherry, exotic spices and dried patel. The flavors and maturation levels are equally weighted, right amount of oak to not take over the dish, aromas accomplish each other, well done!

And the main, Lumina lamb saddle, fillet and belly, with an outstanding jus, a refreshing salsa tomatillo, and Lairén(a vegetable root with a really interesting texture). This has to be also one of the best lamb dish I have, just enough aroma/ flavor of lamb not too strong not tasteless, perfectly cooked pink with a really crunchy, well charred skin. Paired with an Uruguayan tannat - bold, deep ruby, dark fruits, chocolate, oak, smoke. Very compatible to the dish, another very well done pairing.

What amazed me is that these wines are not necessarily my kind of wine but they complement the dishes so well. That you feel refreshing even with not very high acidity in these wines.

First dessert strawberry with orange to refresh the palette then comes custard apple, coconut crumble, tapioca and cardamom, intertwined aromas and flavors well pulled together by the cardamom, paired with a late harvest Alsace.

The last 3 small bites with a dulce from Argentina with pink guava and a cold brewed tea blending 3 different types of oolong( milky, buttery, fruity and floral), second one with coconut and paired with a hot brewed ruby black and the last of the beautiful smoky chipotle chocolate with coffee rum.

Experience was sophisticated, pace was perfect, space is elegant, down to details, down to earth chef & host the most hospitable.

It’s been a while for me to feel so excited, to have so many wows in a night, will most definitely come back.

Forgot to take pics cause I was all focusing on the experience. Even getting totally drunk with all the pairings I still feel like I need to come here to talk too much.

Try...

My friend and I went to Zea for the first time last Thursday and LOVED the experience! We both lived in different Latin American countries and were looking forward to Chef Joaquín’s mix of Latin dishes. It did not disappoint! We loved every dish; each was creative and artistically presented, but most importantly, they were delicious! My favorites were the nicuatole (corn, coconut, cassava), the caesar (red seabream), the empanada, and the avestruz (ostrich). I would have never thought of eating ostrich in Taiwan! It was served medium rare and was tender and flavorful.

My friend and I ordered the 7 glasses wine pairing and enjoyed the conversations we had with Danny, the Sommelier. We especially enjoyed Malagousia (from Greece), Vinos del Mar (from Uruguay), and the sake from Japan. The highlight of the evening was meeting Chef Joaquín. He brought some of the dishes to us and described in Spanish the ingredients in his creation. At the end of the meal, we had the opportunity to continue speaking with him in Spanish and learn more about his creative journey. The take home alfajor was one of the best I’ve ever had – they melt in your mouth! Next time I’m in Taipei, I will definitely...

The chef is from Argentina and you can tell that he definitely spends a lot of time and energy into making every single dish Each dish was absolutely divine and well paired The shrimp appetizer was the best Seafood so fresh and paired well with the sauce That was our favorite dish This restaurant is representative of Latin American food So you can really taste the combination of different Spanish-speaking country foods from each dish We paired it with the wine pairing, and it was very cool to see all that different wines different countries There were three desserts in the end Each one unique The chef also came by to chat with us Overall, a very amazing experience Will strongly recommend coming here Very reasonable set menu price as well The only one downside is that because the restaurant utilizes mostly hard surface for interior design, voice bounces off and is can be quiet loud when the restaurant is full It can be a bit difficult to hear...