NUAGE

Located in the Neihu Technology Park, about 20 minutes’taxi ride from Taipei 101, international tapas bar Nuage was founded by a young entrepreneur and Sex and the City fan. Like the four main characters in the famous TV series and movie franchise, she and her friends love hanging out at trendy restaurants and that passion has resulted in this three-story eatery. Thirty-something head chef Maxine Lo may be young, but she has had solid experience in Continental cooking, including a stint at L’Institut Paul Bocuse. Since Taiwan has restrictions regarding food importation, she uses a lot of local produce. We tried the deep-fried green peppers with garnished peppercorns (NT150/$5.00), sautéed assorted mushrooms (NT220/$6.70) and crispy Italian bread with homemade sun-dried tomato (NT160/$5.40), with every dish simply perfect in texture and seasoning. On the drink side, there is everything from beer and Japanese sake to wine and single-malt whiskies.You can also sample special cocktails such as gin and tonic with Earl Grey tea (NT250/$8.40), a combination we never thought would go down so well.