Chez Pierre

I have several circles of "gourmet friends"--in these circles each person takes a turn to buy the group a meal. Last night Olivia, a member of the Dim Sum group, took me and Dan to Pierre for a change. Pierre is a French restaurant owned by a Tawanese man who went to Paris to learn French cuisine. Chez Pierre is located in an old residential area of Taichung where there are no other restaurants. When you drive on that street, you can't miss it because of its eyecatching Greek blue exterior.
The best dining area is its right alcove where there are only three tables. If you dine in there in the summer, you can have a breeze wafted to your table. If you dine in there on a wintry day, you can have some "background wind music" while enjoying your food.
As for food, I have to say everything served in that cozy restaurant is tasty, especially their dessert creme brulee. I, a pasta lover, order the exactly same dish every time--seafood pasta with tomato sauce. On average, I go there only 6 or 7 times a year, so I never get tired of eating the same thing. When I ordered the pasta last night, I asked the lovely server Zhi-wen to tell the chef (owner) to make my pasta a little bit tougher (chewier). Then it turned out to be perrrrrrfect--the noodles were chewy, the sauce had natural sweetness of tomato, and the colors of the various ingredients made the pasta even more appetizing--emerald green snow peas, creamy yellow baby corn and pure white squid lying on the top of the  spaghetti dipped in the light red tomato sauce.
Dining at Pierre is always wonderful because I go with friends who enjoy the food and my company. Years ago I read an article about "gourmet friends". The author said that it was hard to have friends to talk to/with, but it was even harder to have friends to eat with because everyone has different taste. Well, in Chez Pierre you can always have your taste buds tickled no matter what your preference is--lamb, duck, steak, salmon, or pasta. How about those who are on a diet? My observation is that they don't need gourmet friends! They can live "happily" by just calculating the calories of food. As for myself, I can't live without good food and good friends!

Yuan Dong Street



Salmon with Pesto mashed potato