TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Flare Taipei, a bistro in Xinyi District known for its "cafe by day, bistro by night" concept, has introduced its new evening menu.
The menu was created by head chef Robert Tsai (蔡慈偉), who uses his background in traditional Chinese cuisine to deconstruct and reassemble Taiwanese street foods and Eastern ingredients.
The culinary lineup is paired with 11 country-themed cocktails developed under the concept "Around the World." The menu combines Cantonese slow-cooked old hen soup with international cocktail profiles to offer new options for local diners and international travelers.
Tsai, who joined the team in 2025, drew from everyday Taiwanese culinary memories to reimagine street foods, Cantonese elements, and Eastern spices across a series of hot dishes, mains, and desserts.
For small bites, the Guiding chicken liver mousse features purebred Guiding chicken liver infused with Hunan cured meat juice, spread over sourdough bread, and torched with brown sugar. The Japanese oysters are coated in seaweed breadcrumbs, deep-fried, and served with a yuzu kosho soy milk sauce.
The featured hot dish, slow-cooked old hen soup, is modeled after traditional Cantonese techniques. Tsai simmers old hen, scallops, and Jinhua ham for 18 hours before a second round of stewing with native chicken thighs and vegetables, creating a rich broth.
The gua bao features beef tongue braised with Western vegetables and Chinese spices. The beef tongue is pan-seared and served inside a handmade, naturally fermented sourdough bun.
The dish is layered with peanut sugar, cilantro, and Korean spicy scallions, and is best served hot.
The Sichuan dandan noodles combine a house-made chili oil with Japanese sesame paste to create a creamy, numbing spice profile. The dish is tossed with thin Japanese noodles and served with braised beef tongue, a soft-boiled egg, and fresh vegetables.
The main courses include crispy pork belly pan-seared and glazed with a caramel miso sauce, accompanied by spiced grilled corn and pickled mustard greens.
The sake-steamed abalone kamameshi features live abalone cooked at a low temperature with Japanese sake, served over rice infused with rose liver sausage, and finished with a house-made abalone liver soy sauce.
For dessert, the Sun Moon Lake Ruby Black Tea pudding balances tea aroma with bitter caramel. The mango pomelo sago reimagines a Cantonese classic by pairing mango sorbet with pomelo sago and coconut milk.
Because Flare Taipei frequently serves international travelers, the bartending team designed 11 themed cocktails named after various countries, with flavor profiles spanning Asia to Europe.
Taiwan Kaoliang uses 38-degree Kinmen Kaoliang liquor as its base, blended with brown sugar plum, passionfruit liqueur, and fresh tomato juice. The tart flavor profile evokes the Taiwanese tradition of cherry tomatoes with plum powder, referencing the island's outdoor banquet culture.
Spain smoked tomato is inspired by Spanish gazpacho, using a milk-washing technique to create a clear tequila base with herbal notes. China Dahongpao spice infuses gin with Dahongpao Sichuan peppercorns through a sous-vide process, combined with ginger juice and allspice syrup to deliver a spicy note balanced by hawthorn sweetness.
Alcohol consumption may be harmful to your health.
Flare Taipei's new evening menu and 11 themed cocktails. (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
