TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Michelin-starred restaurant Circum- is now offering a unique dining experience focused on seasonal crabs, prepared with innovative Chinese, French, and Japanese techniques, for the first time since the restaurant's 2023 debut.
T+T, a four-time Michelin-starred restaurant, expanded in 2023 with Circum-, a new venture at the Regent Taipei that earned its own Michelin star this year. Chef Leo Lo (羅偉誠) and sous chef Benson Chen (陳泊均), both T+T veterans, lead the kitchen.
The name Circum- is derived from Latin words for "around," "among" and "nearby," and includes a hyphen to represent Chinese cultural values of fusion and reunion. The restaurant's debut "Autumn Crab" menu features 12 dishes, including an off-menu mapo wagyu rice and a signature crab meat rice soup.
Dish names reflect classical Chinese poetry about crab dishes in autumn, with poetic titles like "Taste the Season" and "Golden Embrace" adding mystery to the dining experience.
The "Crab Soirée" dinner set showcases seasonal Chinese mitten crabs and snow crabs prepared with Chinese, French and Japanese techniques. The opening course, "Liam-thi-thi," inspired by Macau's water crab porridge, combines female snow crab roe with a broth of Taiwanese rice, crab shells and chicken stock.
"Taste the Season," a Hong Kong-style spring roll filled with king crab meat, roe and pickled myoga ginger, is served with chrysanthemum and Zhenjiang vinegar jelly.
The yuzu crab salad "Whispers" showcases Japanese influences, topped with Japanese snow crab legs and featuring crab meat mixed with a refreshing sweet-sour jelly made from Japanese citrus, ponzu, kombu dashi, and sake.
"Stain" features crispy fried king crab meat paired with house-made Chencun rice noodles (陳村粉), which are a Cantonese specialty made by soaking rice for 8 hours, stone-grinding it into paste, and steaming it before cutting it into noodles. The springy noodles are served with a fragrant, mildly spicy Hong Kong-style curry sauce.
"Bliss" uses premium Koshihikari rice with a sauce made from 30-year-aged Shaoxing wine, chicken stock, and wok-fried crab shells. The sous-vide crab roe creates a rich, thick sauce, complemented by crab meat, sweet peas, and shaved black truffle.
The surprise finale, an off-menu mapo wagyu rice, features Sichuan peppercorns, chicken stock-fried Koshihikari rice topped with crab meat and tender Japanese cod milt, finished with Japanese A5 wagyu beef and a special spicy sauce.
The limited set costs NT$4,980/ per person (US$158) and is available through Dec. 15.
(Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
