A touch of Taiwan at grand cafe

For three years running, chefs from the Grand Hyatt Taipei have visited Beijing to show off the island's cuisine, and this year they had to think harder to try to make the visit to the Chinese capital even more successful.

"What we try to present is a mixture of the traditional taste of Taiwan and a presentation of Western cuisine," says Smith Lu, sous chef of Grand Cafe, Grand Hyatt Taipei. Lu and his colleague Hsieh Cheng Chih, sous chef of Pearl Liang Restaurant, led the culinary team at Grand Cafe, Grand Hyatt Beijing to prepare more than 50 Taiwan dishes at a buffet.

The media tasting started with an appetizer platter of abalone, jellyfish and dried mullet roe. To make it just a little different, the salted mullet roe, a famous Taiwan delicacy, was skewered together with white radish slices and shallot sprouts to balance its rich sea smell.