Taipei’s creative new American cuisine restaurant: Unique dishes crafted by chefs from three countries!

Text/Photo byThree High Sir

is a new American-style restaurant that opened near Anhe Road last year. New American cuisine is said to be heavily influenced by French cooking, characterized by its diversity, multiculturalism, and creativity. The three head chefs—Taiwanese-American, Korean, and Guatemalan—each have their own roles. Since its opening, the restaurant has received quite positive reviews. I made a reservation several days in advance for an 8 PM weekend dinner, and it happened to be another solo meal for me.

Upon entering, I found the space not very large, but the business was quite good. Facing the open kitchen, there were about seven or eight bar seats. The overall service wasn’t bad, but the staff weren’t entirely familiar with all the current menu items. They were also reluctant to change utensils between courses unless specifically asked.

The Roots Creative menu is divided into appetizers, Earth/Sea/Land categories, and desserts. “Earth” refers mostly to plants grown in soil, “Land” to land animals, and “Ocean” to seafood, of course. First came a complimentary appetizer of raw shrimp, followed by the salad I ordered (Kansai Grass Jelly). Later on, I realized something was missing—there was no bread.

The plate featured a thin layer of grass jelly made with king oyster mushroom and other broths. The texture was soft and smooth, topped with romaine lettuce, mint leaves, cherry radishes, and fried crushed cashews. The grass jelly had a savory umami from the mushroom broth, which paired uniquely with the greens and the aroma of the cashews. However, the broth flavor was quite strong, making it harder to appreciate the grass jelly’s own delicate fragrance. This dish is better shared by two or more people; eating it alone eventually felt a bit monotonous.

I initially thought the dish name “Tribute Pork” referred to some historical offering, but later learned it’s actually pork from a certain brand (fed with pineapple fermented feed). It was prepared by the Korean chef at the grill station. The plate included an apple sauce base, topped with sliced green apples, fried pork rind, and cabbage rolls. The outer layer of the pork was slightly crispy but a bit dry, matched with a medium-rare doneness, while the center was tender and sweet. The overall balance was just right.

The sweetness of the pork, the charred aroma from grilling, the tangy sweetness of the green apples, and the sweet scent of the apple sauce blended harmoniously without clashing. Cutting a bit of the fried pork rind to eat with it added layers of flavor—it was delicious. Fried pork rind is commonly used in Taiwan but is also a popular snack in Central and South America. The version here had a uniformly crisp and light texture, which I really liked. As for the cabbage rolls, perhaps deliberately using coarser ground meat, the spices brought out a cumin-like flavor, giving it a somewhat exotic touch.

Before dessert, I was served a plum ice cream. It had less creaminess and was rather refreshing—pretty good.

It was actually a vanilla soufflé, with a hole dug out in the center and filled with a sweet syrup made from Kavalan whisky and coffee—thus turning it into an Irish coffee-flavored soufflé. I heard the original Irish coffee should use Irish whisky, though I wonder how many people, like me, first heard of Irish coffee through a certain web novel over a decade ago when we were still naive college students. Turns out, I’m a bit of a literary youth too~

The soufflé texture was really excellent—slightly crisp on the outer edge, fluffy inside yet smooth. However, the syrup tasted a bit like coffee with milk to me; it would’ve been better with a stronger alcohol aroma.

I forgot about the fortune cookie at the end and only remembered when I saw it at the counter while paying. Ha~ Of course, I ended up getting one to take home. The bill came to about NT$1,800. If possible, it’s better to come with more people for a group meal—more variety increases the chance of finding dishes you really like.

Roots Creative
Address: No. 24, Lane 63, Section 2, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City
Business Hours: 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM (Closed on Sundays)
Phone: 02-27073348

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