Dear Steemit friends :
To most inhabitants in the Far-East, Taiwan is commonly known as a food paradise. Even with the diverse food offerings in the vast expanse of China, Taiwan is often the first place Chinese connoisseurs think of when they wish to indulge on the more localised food offerings of the Formosan island.
For this edition of Miss. Delicious we'll be headed to the northern part of Taipei just a few kilometres East of the infamous night-market, Shilin, to the Silks Palace Restaurant. In-fact, this area is primarily known for the National Palace Museum - one of the largest museums in the world in terms of the numbers of artefacts on exhibit.
The National Palace Museum is the home to over 700,000 artefacts from ancient imperial China, they range from the neolithic age all the way to modern and represent over 8000 years of Chinese history.
Because of the historical and cultural importance of the National Palace Museum, it is a must visit for guests to Taipei and thus, the Silks Palace restaurant (which is beside the Museum) has become an equally alluring restaurant featuring the fusion of Chinese art and Chinese cooking.
With such an important collection of treasures by the doorstep of the Silks Palace Restaurant, great care has been taken to design the restaurant building such that it's presence blends in with the surrounding area, taking on the character of the National Palace Museum as well as respecting the environment.
From the outside, the building looks almost like a greenhouse with vines just behind the clear transparent glass. The architect Ren-shi Yao intended for the building to respect the lush green surroundings but also, diminish the impact it has on it's neighbouring buildings.
Let's go inside!
Escaping the crowds of people standing outside, you'll be pleased to know that the restaurant's high end appearance and sheen does well to retain a feeling of exclusivity. However, despite it's classy appearance, it feels neither drought or too busy.
Most visitors will come either for lunch before visiting the museum, or for dinner after the museum closes. In either case, when you walk inside, you will be dazzled by very distinctive interior lighting which draws attention to the open layout of the restaurant.
Guests are seated with plenty of space to separate between tables. Obviously this is a really good for anyone who feels claustrophobic in dining areas packed with people.
Like the artificial vines we saw outside through the glass windows, the same web of vines are used to divide between different sections of the restaurant. In terms of the seating choices, it really comes down to whether you prefer a view of the natural green forests on the outside, or the intricate interiors of the restaurant on the inside.
In the back corners of the restaurant, you will find the traditional large round tables which are preferred by people who come in groups of 4 or more people.
Final preparations to the soup, noodle and steamed dishes are made on a table just beside the dining area. Garnishing the food with the last touches or even serving things such as soup and congee from this intermediate table means quick serving to the waiting guests.
This is the largest table in the restaurant which as you can see has space for up to 10 people. This kind of traditional table has a rotating centre piece and is usually served by a dedicated team of waiters and waitresses. I also noticed the traditional painting on the wall which shows either people from the Ming or Qing dynasty having the ancient equivalent of afternoon tea.
This is an example of a fine white and blue porcelain, otherwise known as Legendary Porcelain. Of course, this is an imitation of the real piece which can be found inside the museum. Still, it is a very beautiful example of the intricate detail that the ancient people used to paint on their porcelain vases.
The Menu
The art of drinking tea
As we saw in the painting above, drinking tea has been a past time of the Chinese for thousands of years. Over time, drinking tea has itself developed a tradition with it's own sets of etiquette. Taking a look at all these pots and bowls, can you take a guess at what they are all used for?
Actually, the exact etiquette varies from period to period, and place to place, but this particular arrangement of teapots, bowls and cups are used as follows :
The largest pot is where the hot water is kept. It has it's own stand with a burning flame underneath to keep the water hot.
The smaller teapot is where the tea leaves are. Hot water from the large pot is poured into the smaller pot to brew the tea.
Once the tea has brewed, it is poured into the larger cup to avoid over saturation of taste if kept in the teapot.
From the larger cup, the tea is poured to the smaller cups and ready to be consumed.
Finally, the large bowl is used to discard the tea from the large cup if the tea has become cold.
Repeat these steps as necessary!
For my visit to Silks Palace, I was particularly interested in this Classic Chinese Dessert selection served in a Curio Box. For those unaware, the curio box was used to display curios (a rare or unusual object). Here the curios are replaced by hand-made curio-like snacks. Some of these are treasures found inside the museum!
These snacks would have been enjoyed by royalty and even the emperor in the past, but now can be enjoyed like afternoon tea by regular people.
Let's take a closer look at each of these intricately detailed snacks!
This is the souvenir section near the entrance of the restaurant. Many of the visitors we saw standing outside actually skipped on having a meal at the Silks Restaurant and instead, opted for some take home souvenirs.
Since it is the Mid Autumn Festival, moon-cakes are the main produce on offer but you will also find a wonderful selection of other mini-snacks, as well as china, cutlery, traditional Chinese pots and plates, and other novelty items!
Personally, I really like the moon-cake set which comes with the 12 different coloured mini plates. Actually, you might have noticed that the desserts were served on these mini plates each with their own colour!
And that wraps up our visit to the Silks Palace Restaurant where we learned about one of the traditional Chinese ways of enjoying tea as well as tasting the Chinese equivalent of afternoon tea served in the traditional alternative use curio box.
It was certainly a very visually appealing venue, not only regarding the food, but also the interior design and building itself.
When visiting this venue, I recommend both variants of the Chinese Curio box desserts. The other one as seen in the menu has some additional dim-sum dishes for those looking for something savoury. Dinner is also available but the dishes are less unique and a little bit pricey compared to other places serving the same food. Stick to the curio boxes which are definitely the unique selling point of this restaurant!
Remember to upvote this post if you liked it, follow if you haven't already, and leave a comment to let me know what you think!
又是一年中秋节，今年的佳节很幸运的和十一长假碰在了一起，喜上加喜，大家的脸上都是一副喜洋洋的表情。记得去年中秋，我已经来到了Steemit的大家庭，和朋友们分享我的生活故事和旅行经历是最幸福的事情。今天我想带大家走进台湾一家古色古香，秋韵十足的餐厅—故宫晶华。
早在很久以前，我就通过网络和书籍对这家餐厅有所了解，故宫晶华是一家以追求食物艺术之美为主题的餐厅，位于故宫博物院院区内。故宫博物院是台北市非常具有历史性的建筑物，华美而不失古韵，而故宫晶华这座建筑不仅传承了故宫博物院特有的历史特色，也加入了现代设计的思维和态度，耗时2年半，终于在2008年开业。眼前这个透明玻璃帷幕建筑就是故宫晶华餐厅所在的大楼，我猜透明玻璃的设计大大减少了新建筑对于老故宫建筑的冲突，并可以更好的在经典故宫建筑的基础上吸收，传承和创新。门口有很多人在等位，还好我提前预约了位置。
走进餐厅，发现门口迎客的玄关，餐桌之间的屏风，墙面上的装饰纹路和建筑上带有碎裂感的玻璃花纹遥相呼应。听说这是中国艺术品的特有纹路—冰裂纹，它是来自宋朝烧青瓷的技艺，利用釉的品质与烧窑的温度，使得艺术品外表自然形成裂纹。冰裂纹的元素几乎贯穿了整个餐厅的设计元素。我特别喜欢这个冰裂纹的设计，它不仅是历史的象征，是中国艺术文化的传承，就算拿到当下也是极具现代感的卓越设计，个人觉得纹路好酷。
中秋佳节的欢乐气氛为整个餐厅增添不少传统和古典的气息，灯柱的红色是中国最传统最喜庆的颜色。我注意到餐厅大堂的吊顶非常高，中央有着挑空六米的天井，像极了历史上描绘古代客栈的绘画，也让我想起这样古色古香的建筑，和大陆著名的《大董烤鸭》十分类似。不过进门之后的五分钟，环视周围之后，我就确定这是我非常喜欢的餐厅设计，传统又不失时尚的分子，典雅大气也不失历史的味道，真是古今交错的完美融合。大堂左右是另外两个用餐区，区域顶上的吊灯特别吸引我，形状像是西周时期的青铜乐器排钟的设计，颜色是淡淡的鹅黄色，给人宁静舒适的感觉。大堂的尽头是中式点心的开放式厨房，砂锅里的浓汤冒出阵阵清香，让我不由得感觉饿了。我们被安排坐在右侧的厅内，厅底的墙面挂着一副宋徽宗文会图，描绘的是每逢佳节文人雅士相聚品茶，吟诗作对，其乐融融的场景，和现在中秋的气氛真的相得益彰。
看着精致的菜单，我最终选择了多宝格糕点和有机高山乌龙茶，作为庆祝中秋的点心也是再好不过了。乌龙茶的茶具非常小资，整体感觉很协调，走的是简单干净的风格，那隽永香醇的茶味非常走心。而这个多宝格御点集是以清朝皇帝珍玩宝物为概念，将小点心做成了故宫镇馆之宝的古董模样，可谓是精巧可爱，视觉与味觉的盛宴，深得大家喜欢。
寿桃小巧可爱，里面是红豆馅。玉皇鸭做的栩栩如生，它的原材料是绿豆糕。这个做工精致的南瓜果，外层是用真正的南瓜做成，上面放了一颗小葡萄干，画龙点睛。桂花红豆糕和驴打滚也很好吃。这个翠玉白菜是故宫最有名的玉器雕刻了，珍宝是由一整块翠玉，利用天然的色泽，雕出一颗相似度几乎百分之百的白菜。想到玉石做的白菜已经觉得超级可爱，没想到这个抹茶粉制作成的白菜糕点更是萌化了，里面的黄豆馅也很好吃，搭配底下的饼干味道更好呢。最后这个也是故宫第二大珍宝，肉形石，吃起来有些像马来西亚的千层糕。
在把玩珍宝同时品味精致的点心之后，我们来到门口餐厅的纪念品商店，挑选限量月饼，并赏玩了精致的艺术品。有吃，有玩，有鉴赏，这就是故宫晶华餐厅太给我最完美的享受了。在这里再次祝大家中秋节快乐，美满幸福永远。谢谢大家和我一起品鉴台北故宫里的传统美食点心，之后还有更多有趣的美食日记要和大家分享。
Wow, the place looks really beautiful and the food is just art! I found the etiquette of the tea very interesting too! Hopefully, I will to go to China some day, and I will be able to drink tea that way!
i hope you get the opportunity my dear, this is in Taiwan though, there are some subtle cultural differences.
Oh sorry, I miss-understood. But for what I can see, Taiwan is also worth visiting! I will keep an eye on your posts, I am sure I will discover a lot of interesting things :)
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Hello dear I appreciate your posts under different genres...
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Magnificent scrumptious delicacies!
Wow! For once that I can catch you on my time, it is a delight to come across your high quality post. This place would be heaven for me, as you know I am a foodie too, and would probably die from food ecstasies overindulgence! Your post is very convincing.
Thanks again for your presence among us, keep your beautiful smile, thrive on and namaste :)
missed you a lot eric-boucher, I will do my best to post more frequently at this time to catch you! :)
Your warm heart radiates all the out out here, thanks a bunch for this very very kind gesture. I look forward to reading more of your beautiful postings, I missed you too.
Namaste :)
@sweetsssj and @eric-boucher i have a poem share with you hope you love it guys..
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hey! you are so cute
Thanks sweetsssj
love you♥
Delicious! Taiwan!!!
the food in taiwan is WOW , you can't imagine the feeling being there
here is some of the food i like most ,but after i finish writing this comment ,i have to go and eat something cause it really makes me hungry 😌
This looks scrumptious! Thanks for sharing, namaste :)
::: ^ :::
半夜看到，简直深夜放毒
Yummy!!!! Looks like Singaporean/ Malay style crab ?
That's absolutely delectable looking. I miss these foods already!
Awesome I am always having this food for my entire life
so good
Wow so sweet and delicious seafood I love it so much Thanks for sharing this @rinaalone
I want to go this amazing place...
Nice
yeah
NICE
Namaste :)
ovv wery good
right
Very Warm place and very warm kind of beautiful post. thanks for this it's really amazed me and predictable, I enjoy reading this. I will surely following to your blog. have a sweet day ahead.@sweetsssj
Taiwan also has award-winning whiskey and coffee beans. Give them a try!
東西拍得好美啊！後製也很棒，你設立的標準真是越來越高了呢！中秋快樂啊，family... :D
我本来觉得是他，后来改了她，到底是他还是她。哈哈
谢谢Deanliu哥呀，标准提高其实更辛苦呢，哈哈，中秋快乐，想念台湾family的大家^^
Wow such a great post......thanks for providing the knowledge about the Silk Palace Restaurant.......I really liked the desserts and the moon plates very much....... and you look good as always
Sweetsssj, What do you with all the food? There's no way you eat all that, and keep your physique? Do you have assistants that come and finish off all the dishes?!?! Can I be one????
=) here's my serious eating face
Taiwan is not only known for its delicious meals, but also for the paradisiacal of its places and its beautiful islands.
the restaurant looks very cozy and luxurious, as far as the preparation of the tea is a true art, a whole serenity, I found a good technique, in my country we are great consumers of tea, we ingest of all type and color. that nice way to present the desserts, invite to be ingested. It's true I never heard that term Curio Box.
that beautiful details to be able to acquire the minis pieces of memories.
It was a real pleasure to accompany you on your visit to Taipei and the National Palace Museum, thank you very much for this wonderful work and all of your history.
Until the next post
I wish you a wonderful week, my friend, @sweetsssj
thank you jlufer, we have a lot of experiences to share with each other. Next post will be about the actual palace museum, but since i'm not too much of a historian, I will mainly be showing the photos! See you soon!
That good!! I will be looking forward to that publication.
The truth is excellent relating the chronicle of your trip, some of the best pos presented on the platform. Congratulations
I wish you a beautiful week
Thank you @sweetsssj for this great blast of the past. We have been here several times, and always loved it. The tea room is wonderful, and the museum is a must for someone interested in history. Even the walk around the grounds is so nice, and don't forget to feed the blind fish when done. Thanks for a great post.
Why are the fish blind?
The best we could tell was that they where very old. The would swim around via sound assuming noises meant free fish food.
most fine restaurants try to blend their architecture to match the locale, but the Silks Palace Restaurant goes further in matching its entrees to art objects on display at the National Palace Museum next door
Just as the objects of art in the National Museum are magnificent, the desert offerings are exquisite and match the treasures within the museum. Very appropriate!
Of course, one serves dessert with tea, and the attention paid to the ritual of tea-making enhances the enjoyment of these colourful and appealing delicacies.
The interior of the restaurant is designed to provide a sense of spaciousness while maintaining an aura of privacy, and this contributes to the peaceful ambiance that is so necessary when enjoying fine dining.
My wife, son and I were out dining this evening in an Italian Restaurant and although the food came highly recommended the cramped space of the restaurant dining area was quite off-putting. We stayed for drinks, but left. The dining area at the Silks Palace, however, seemed much more inviting.
I loved the curio box motif for displaying the beautiful, hand-crafted desserts. They truly seemed more objets d'art than mere fancy cakes, and merited being displayed like art treasures.
Every museum has its souvenir section so it was appropriate that the Silks Palace have theirs, and what better reminder of a Chinese version of high tea than a moon-cake set complete with the 12 different coloured mini plates!
This was a delightful glimpse into a different aspect of culinary artistry.
Great post, wish I can travel more
make it happen!
Absolutely, make it happen!
@sweetsssj I love the way you interact with people on your blog it's responsive. Please do not forget to check on @travelguide latest post. I sent you a message on chat about interviewing you on your experiences in steemit and tourism if you will like that please let me know as it will motivate lot of Steemians. https://steemit.com/steemit/@travelguide/best-online-image-editors-for-travel-bloggers
great post
absolutely amazing. that food looks to die for. :)
thanks ! I would say you are correct :)
Magnificent and delicious food, one day you will opened restaurant with all combinations menu food, keep traveling @sweetsssj andk keep smile
thanks my dear, that's such a good idea too, I may just have to open a cafe or something. I wonder if steemians will come visit ??
I think if you will Open one China or UK will be best but do feasibility study.
Look great!
Colorful places, colorful foods, and colorful @sweetsssj, post is throughout enjoyable and joyful to watch.
Wow..Dim sum looks amazing
Wow ! This place of silk Palace both interior and exterior look is so outstanding and authentic looking. I like the art of drinking tea and also like the cute little desert of curio box. So much colorful love to visit those ,Thanks for sharing.
Apparently my beautiful friend likes the same delicious menu.
Occasionally treat me to enjoy delicious specialties and feel the comfort in your beautiful city.
Amazed I saw it @sweetsssj .
thank for you share.
Nice post 👍
Thanks for sharing and and very useful information and good job ✌
You're so cute and smart woman. Wish I cn travel like u around the world. All of your contents are interesting.
wow. I see "kuih lapis". whether it's a joke. Hehehe. this is like a joke in my area. we often make jokes with the name of a "kuih lapis". I think this is a joke, but now I know. it is really a name, not a joke
Nice post. Would love to visit Taiwan one day :)
Amazing story, love the food and the photos are spot on as always.
The Desserts look fabulous @sweetsssj Thank you for sharing another amazing post!! :D
Sincerely,
@joeparys
wow, awesome places and awesome food! And you obviously :P
thanks as always !!
I missed you! You always have excellent posts!
The deserts look unreal. Would love to try this place if I ever make it to Taiwan.
oh, i'm sure you would make it there! The real question is whether you would leave! :)
Lol, well they say home is where the heart is, so I don't think he'd wanna stay there forever. Though, with beauty like the one in the pictures you shared I doubt anyone would ever want to leave. I really can't wait to have this kinda experience.
Wonderfull post, as always :-)
nice photo and article you have best information in every your post my friend
great pictures.
to perfection as always
我也好喜歡那個冰裂紋，而且裡外呼應，一氣呵成，真的可以看得出建造的用心。
多寶格糕點做得好精緻喔！像驢打滾，桂花糕這些原本就是源自宮廷的糕點，連外型都做成古物的形貌，享用這樣的糕點，心情一定會很好。
Great post I will definitely follow @sweetsssj I love Travel also, If you are looking for some travel inspiration I offer a Travel Bucket List series, follow back and stay in touch!
Notice us senpai... notice us! Just kidding, we gotta admit those desserts and tea look delicious.
This looks such a nice restaurant. Nice desserts, lovely nice service. Very often in Europe restaurants attached to museums aren't that nice to go in to.
I was in the ROM in Toronto a few months ago, the restaurant there was horrendous.
Thanks for the post.
Michael
nice your back =D
Do you go to any other style of restaurant? I feel l've read this before.
Go have a burger.
@sweetsssj WOW what a lot of Beautiful Colors and incredible food in these pictures. You always put so much into your postings and I believe that many on STEEMIT Love how you put everything you do into a very positive light..........Grateful for the Steemians that share amazing places on our Earth.
thank you stokjockey, i'm so glad we share the same appreciation of beautiful colours, from the moment I saw the rainbow coloured plates, I knew the curio box was the order of the day. No regrets! One thing I will say is that I really like to read my own posts, and I write them in such a way that I could come back to after a while and enjoy it!
Wow! What an Awesome place to visit. Beautiful Building, nice interiors and what a classical experience this is. To me it's a great way to connect to the tradition and culture, this is very beautiful my dear @sweetsssj thanks for bringing such wonderful post. I liked the tea pots, the souvenir section is so cool , did you bring anything from there? I must say this is very sweet, relaxing. I know you had been very busy this month , I am waiting for your reply dear , miss you alot on steemchat , hope to see you soon till then enjoy and take care. Love U 😊
Nevertheless, good post title and good presentation! :)
What a beutiful photo @sweetsssj. I look on your photo that u ve enjoyable travelling and challenging.You captured it well with suitable angle, color and editing. That's incredible and marvelous post fella. You deserve to get two thumbs and for appreciation i UPvoted.
thank you joe28, I appreciate your point of view and thanks for the vote !
Hahahaha, my vote nonsense.... But only that I can to do.
How @sweetsssj you like not I edit your photos.
hi fadlie, i'm not sure about these.. they don't seem to be very flattering atleast in my eyes..
Yes, maybe I am not proficient in photo editing, sorry @sweetsssj i have made your photo without your permission..
Can I try again, to edit your photo ..
Over 400,000 members on Steemit now, I hope they all see your great posts also.
Do they preheat the cups here so the tea doesn't get cold when pouring it in?
Good question, and the answer is yes, although that isn't widely practiced, it tends to be more common in the finer places.
wow this is a beautiful location and you look awesome...nice to see your posts again. Taipei is a great place to visit with all its great people, cultures and foods
hi charles, been meaning to drop by.. i promise i'll find some time to read and leave a comment on yours soon!
I apreciate that my dear @sweetsssj . I wish you more success
::: ^ :::
Wow! what a successful post it is. Congratulations!
@alexKARKI