The Villa - Herbs

Visit: April 27, 2012
Address: 台北市樂利路11巷30,32號
Number: (02)2732-3255
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thevillaherbs/info

Menu (partly)
 
Deep Fried Baby Chicken Legs Stuffed Olive (酥炸橄欖鑲雞腿) $280 NT

Deep Fried Baby Chicken Legs Stuffed Olive

 The fried chicken came looking very normal served on top of Doritos.

Cut Open Fried Chicken

 However, when you cut into it, where the bones were supposed to be, were instead replaced by olives and dried apricots. It's the most spectacular little surprise (: The chicken was pretty tender and crispy, but the most awesome part was that you didn't need to work your way around the bones, because it is now replaced with something yummy and edible.

Braised Lamb Shanks in Herbs White Wine Sauce (白酒風味凱莉茴香燉煮小羊膝) $580 NT

Braised Lamb Shanks in Herbs White Wine Sauce

 At a restaurant borderline lounge, I was expecting all the food to be fried and salty. The lamb shanks though, was served light in watery white wine sauce without being too bland. Although the lamb shanks had a little bit of a smell, it wasn't too bad. The soft texture of the lamb made up for the smell.

Braised Veal Ossobuco and Black Eyes Bean in Red Wine Sauce (勃根地紅酒燉煮小牛膝，季節食蔬及黑眼豆) $580 NT

Braised Veal Ossobuco and Black Eyes Bean in Red Wine Sauce

 The veal, like the lamb, wasn't too heavy though the lamb was still a bit lighter. The veal was good, but I still thought that the texture of the lamb was much softer.

Tiramisu (提拉米蘇) $180 NT

Tiramisu

 I really wanted to get the apple pie, but my date for the evening was allergic to walnuts :(, so instead we got the tiramisu. The tiramisu was supposedly the restaurant's specialty, and I guess it wasn't too bad. The mousse part of the tiramisu was yummy, but the cake layers would have been soggy had it not been for icy frozen texture. It was also a little weird that the tiramisu was a bit frozen, but not really. Overall though, the tiramisu wasn't too bad.

What I really liked the most about The Villa - Herbs is its atmosphere. Unlike most dark and lounge-like restaurants, the food was actually pretty decent and not overly heavy. I would recommend The Villa -Herbs to anyone interested in grabbing a decent dinner with drinks.