BellaVita is a high-end mall in Taipei that catered to rich tai-tai type of clientele. Besides L’Atelier de Joёl Robuchon and Ton28, there’s fine dining Italian restaurant, Beata té.
Beate té which translates to “lucky you” from Italian was the brainchild of the owner Alberto Zombotti of the venerable Italian restaurant Chianti 洋緹 at Da-an district, the food section was so-so as they transformed from a rustic Italian restuarant to a high-end one. Then they brought in Riccardo Ghironi. And immediately in typical Taiwanese style of promotion, the chef was taunted as 7-star hotel executive chef, blah blah. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
First up, basket of warm bread that included a really tasty carrot brioche and charcoal bread. It was served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a nice tomato salsa.
Zuppa
A consommé is a clarified broth that can often to highlight a particular ingredient, in this case morel mushrooms. The morel, or morchella, is actually more related to the truffle than it is to other mushrooms and, like truffles, is the fruit of a fungus that sprouts in the moist soil of woods and forests. It has a very intense and complex flavour profile that I really enjoyed.
This was an interesting minestrone with added kale. Remember that this was 2012, and kale was not in rage yet. Quite surprised by the lightness of the soup.
Antipasto
The caesar style salad dressing was separately served as requested.
Four classic Italian hams served honeydew or cantaloupe as they are referred to in the US.
The antipasto platter for two included stuffed brussel sprouts, salami, parmegiano-reggiano, paté on toast and traditional Tuscan vegetable torte drizzled with melted fontina cheese.
Pasta
The spaghetti nero (squid ink pasta) came with Italian scampi with an assortment of seafood. In my opinion, not salted enough.
Risotto in Asia has always been cooked to death, and not al dente.
Secondi
Seafood tasted great when grilled perfectly.
Porchetta is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The carcass is deboned, arranged carefully stuffed with liver, wild fennel, all fat and skin still on spitted, and/or roasted, traditionally over wood for at least 8 hours.
Dolci
In Italy, il dolce is not only a sweet way to end a lunch or dinner—it’s also the way many Italians start their day. The term dolci literally means “sweets,” though the French term “dessert” is also frequently used in Italy. It encompasses everything from small pastries, piccola pasticceria—including pasticcini, or tiny tarts and biscotti—to the larger, more elaborate forms of pasticceria such as cakes and pies (torte),as well as all kinds of other goodies such as gelati and mousse.
Tiramisu is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts.
A good chocolate cake is probably one of the most beloved foods in the world, enjoyed especially in countries where excellent chocolate and cocoa is produced or available—Italy being one of them. Though there are dozens of way to prepare it, a great chocolate cake allows the sublime flavor of chocolate to prevail over any other ingredient. The best torta al cioccolato is dense yet feels light, smooth and buttery— and most importantly, the chocolate should be exquisite. Using only the finest and freshest ingredients—cocoa, dark chocolate, eggs, flour, sugar and baking yeast—is crucial for a superb homemade torta al cioccolato.
The macaron is traditionally held to have been introduced in France by the Italian chef of Queen Catherine de Medici during the Renaissance. There are two main methods for making a macaron – the “French” method and the “Italian” method. The difference between the two is the way the meringue is made. The Italian method involves whisking the egg whites with a hot sugar syrup to form a meringue. Sifted almonds and icing sugar are also mixed with raw egg whites to form a paste. The meringue and almond paste are mixed together to form the macaron mixture. This method is often deemed more structurally sound yet also sweeter and also requires a candy thermometer for the sugar syrup.
Afterwards
OK, the food was solid and well executed, but there wasn’t any surprise. If not for the hype around the marketing on the chef, I would say this was a pretty decent Italian restaurant in Taipei. Service was earnest, but did not fit the Western fine dining setting – too intrusive. It was Chef Ghironi’s first run in the restaurant, I think they were trying to get feedback. If only they were truthful that the hotel in Milan was really called Seven Stars hotel, and not really graded as 7 stars.
Beata té 你好幸福義大利餐廳
台北市信義區松仁路28號BELLAVITA 4F
Tel : 02-8789 1799
Date Visited : Dec 2012
Closed in 2020
0 comments on “Beata té 你好幸福 @ Taipei”