TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Frassi, the Michelin-recognized restaurant led by Italian chef Iacopo Frassi, has launched its first refined lunch set, blending playful creativity with deep respect for Milanese culinary tradition.
The new menu offers a nostalgic yet inventive journey through Frassi’s culinary origins. Drawing from classic Italian dishes and his experiences across Europe, Asia, and Taiwan, Frassi incorporates seasonal ingredients and herbs grown in-house to create a unique dining experience.
A highlight of the menu is Italian orzo, saffron, bone marrow — a playful reimagining of Frassi’s award-winning dish from the Best Milanese Risotto competition over a decade ago. Using rice-shaped Italian orzo instead of risotto rice, the dish mimics the look of risotto while offering a pasta twist. Built on a chicken broth base, it features 36-month aged Parmesan, rich bone marrow, and saffron for a bold, authentic flavor.
Frassi said he chose this dish to give diners a compelling reason to visit, even though the restaurant is located slightly outside the city center.
Designed for lighter satiety, the menu balances reduced carbohydrates with premium ingredients, including seafood and a perfectly crisp veal cutlet.
The meal opens with fresh squid, parsley, chicory — a tribute to dripping di seppia by Italy’s first three-Michelin-star chef, Gualtiero Marchesi. Frassi sears fresh squid a la plancha and layers it over a base of homemade parsley, tomato, and squid ink mayonnaise, enhanced with honey and lemon juice. The dish also evokes Frassi’s memories of training in Milan and traveling to Genoa to satisfy his seafood cravings.
Another main course option is the Milanese-style crispy dry-aged veal cutlet, inspired by Japanese techniques. The Dutch veal ribeye is dry-aged for a week, marinated in sage salt koji, and fried in sage-infused clarified butter. It’s served with arugula salad, lemon wedges, and four distinct condiments: yuzu ponzu with arugula, tomato with yuzu kosho, and green beans with elderflower mustard.
The meal concludes with chocolate, coffee, chantilly, a dessert inspired by barbajada, a traditional 19th-century Milanese drink. Vanilla and coffee mousses are layered inside a crispy coffee mille-feuille and topped with Chantilly ice cream. The dish is finished tableside with warm chocolate sauce.
The lunch set is priced at NT$2,880 (US$96) per person.
Dining and Cooking