Skip to main content

Taizu, Tel Aviv



Delicious, delicious, delicious, Asian - Mediterranean restaurant, but let me start from the beginning.

Taizu is located in a nondescript office building, a place where one would usually find a coffee shop or a mediocre restaurant, but mediocre is not how I would describe Taizu, far from it.




 The very high ceilings gave me a serious Las Vegas restaurant vibe but what helps to create an intimate feeling is the fact that Taizu is divided into five different rooms.
 

 The design concept, like the menu is based on different elements and represented in concrete, bamboo, and metal.




We were able to observe the bustle in the kitchen and the interesting serving process; once the plates were placed on the counter, they were picked up by a server and handed to a waiter who would check the contents and deliver it to the table. 

Our waitress was very helpful, guiding us through the menu, recommending some dishes and advising to start with milder flavors and building up to the bolder seasonings.


 The menu is based on five elements of ancient Chinese philosophy: Fire, Water, Metal, Wood & Earth, and it represents a span of delicious cuisines from Southeast Asia: India, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.




 Our starter was a yummy radish in rice wine.  The paper-thin slices of a radish were nicely marinated and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.



 Water section - White sweet potato, salmon, Shimeji mushrooms, white horseradish and cucumber flower.



This was a wonderful, delicate and nicely textured one biter.


 Wood section - Shanghainese Dumplings - veal cheeks, beef soup, pistachio masala, pomegranate broth.



 Spectacularly seasoned meat in a delicious broth.



 Fire section - Soft chicken tandoori - steamed bun, sour cream, aioli, coriander and red chilies.  My husband and I shared this, regretfully.  I could have eaten five of these heavenly babies by myself. 



Earth section - roasted short rib, apple cider, Japanese pumpkin, Taizu naan.   Another hit, the naan was hot, soft and perfect for dipping in the sauce. 



Perfectly tender short rib arrived in a little pan.





Metal section - tandoori sea bass fillet, yogurt, mustard seeds, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds.  


The fish was covered with a wonderfully prepared sauce which was nicely flavored with garam masala, coriander, ginger, garlic and some cumin.   By the way, each Sunday Taizu holds an Indian feast from 7pm to midnight.  I heard that it is fantastic. 


 Being totally full after this exquisite meal we had barely any room left for dessert, but were curious as to what it would taste like given the high caliber of everything else we enjoyed at Taizu.






 We settled on one dessert.  Well, my husband told me to get whatever I wanted since he had no interest in dessert. 

Everything on the dessert menu looked tempting but this sounded heavenly:

Caramel cookies, milk tuile, passion fruit cream, micro toffee, milk ice cream.


  A terrific combination of flavors, milk ice cream might sound bland, but it was out-of-this-world delicious.



Taizu
23 Derech Menachem Begin
Monday - Thursday - 6:30pm - midnight
Thursday - Friday - 12pm - 3:30pm
Friday - 6pm - midnight
Sunday - Saturday - 7pm - midnight

Joanna


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bordier Butter - The Best Butter in France

France is in the midst of a butter shortage!  Due to a decrease in milk production and a substantial demand for French pastries all over the world (mainly China and the Middle East), the price of butter has increased by 60% in one year.  The French are stocking up and thus creating shortages.  French newspapers are publishing articles titled "A guide to cooking without butter".  So, with hopes that the shortages are temporary, here is my ode to the best butter in the world.  I'm not kidding.  The. Best. Butter. In. The. World. Mr. Bordier, a grandson and a son of cheese mongers, became a butter artisan in 1985.  He acquired a creamery originally founded in 1927.  The supreme taste of the Bordier butter was first recognized by a chef from the Plaza Athenee while vacationing in Brittany, a beautiful region in northwestern France. Bordier is the lone butter master to still use the old method of kneading the butter according to the 19th century t...

Indian Accent, NYC

Often when a question arises as to what to eat for dinner, I think of Indian food.  I am a very happy gal with chicken makhani, basmati rice, an onion kulcha or a nan laid out in front of me.  I have heard some very good things about Indian Accent, a relatively new restaurant in midtown Manhattan, adjacent to the Parker Hotel. The décor here is unlike most Indian restaurants I have visited; no boldly colored fabrics, beautiful tapestries, intricately carved wood, or lanterns.  Indian Accent restaurant looks like something that Daniel Boulud would envision.  There are about fifteen wooden tables and a few small booths, fabric covered modern chairs, a lit bar with glass shelves and golden accents throughout, and large glass vases filled with flowering branches. The menu is complicated, however, our terrific waiter took his time and explained each dish and even made some wonderful suggestions.  Actually, everyone at the restaurant was really professiona...

A. Lacroix Patisserie, Paris

My visits to Paris are usually carefully planned out; practically every meal is decided far in advance, and same goes for pastries, ice cream and macaron.  While I have not visited every pastry shop in Paris, that would be almost impossible given their numbers, I am aware of most of them.  Imagine my happiness when I came across a brand new patisserie, one that is barely a year old!   A. Lacroix is a lovely tea room/patisserie opened by an American woman and a Parisian pastry chef.  Jackie, the founder, is originally from Ohio but has been living in Paris for nine years.  She left her job in the telecom industry in order to pursue a dream of opening a tea salon.  I'm so glad she did!   This is a charming patisserie/tea salon with beautiful stone walls, wooden beams, plenty of seating space, and location that just can't be beat.  One side of the place looks at the Notre-Dame Cathedral! A. Lacroix is not just a pastry sho...