Kaohsiung, the third biggest city of Taiwan, is not only famous for its port, night markets, food, prettiest metro stations and enormous public artwork, but also the emerging scene of fine dining.
During our bike ride in Kaohsiung in late March, we had a chance to be the guests of our closed friends, at one of the great restaurants, the LA ONE Kitchen & Bakery.
Thomas Chien
Owned by one of the most influential chefs, Mr. Thomas Chien (簡天才), LA ONE Kitchen & Bakery is his third restaurants opened in early 2015.
Brought up in the Pingtung county of southern Taiwan, Thomas Chien is the former Executive Chef & Director of Pasadena, one of the best French restaurants in Kaohsiung.
Just like other Chefs who would like to have their own restaurants, Chien left Pasadena and started his own restaurant in 2012 to pursue his passion in cooking. Sharing his own philosophy and style towards food and cooking.
Within three years, Chef Chien has three restaurants, namely,
- Thomas Chien Restaurant – A contemporary fine French restaurant
- LA ONE Cafe – Serving modern casual dining right next to the Thomas Chien Restaurant
- LA ONE Kitchen and Bakery – Serving European cuisines that focused on local produces of Kaohsiung & Taiwan
LA ONE Kitchen & Bakery
The LA ONE Kitchen and Bakery is located in the Sanmin District of Kaohsiung. A two-storey building closed to the Heart of Love River.
Taken from their official website, LA ONE Kitchen & Bakery believed that good food is a collaboration of earth, ingredients and people. It is the quality of the ingredients that give rise to good food/dish, chef is just the servant who is responsible for bringing out the original flavors of the ingredients and to present them in their best form.
To explore the best in Taiwan, LA ONE Kitchen & Bakery utilises organic produces in the following three perspectives:
- 50% directly from Kaohsiung
- 35% from Taiwan
- 15% from the rest of the world
Our Memorable Food Journey at LA ONE Kitchen
Since we were leaving Kaohsiung in the evening, we came to the restaurant only for breakfast.
Right at the main entrance is the menu of the restaurant.
The bakery is located on the ground floor. We will take a look in later part of the post.
Let’s proceed to the LA ONE Kitchen on the first floor.
Since we had made a reservation the day before, we had a big table for six on the window side surrounded with a wonderful view of the Love River.
Unlike other Chef Chien’s restaurants that are located in business area, the LA ONE Kitchen is decorated in a more relaxed and cosy environment. Great for family or friends gathering.
Menu will be regularly updated. The latest menu is also available on their website.
So what had we ordered?
Scrambled Eggs with Bagel, Bacon, Mushroom, Potato and Salad for my wife.
French Toast with fruits and yogurt for my boy.
Croissant with Tomato, Mozzarella, Ham and Scrambled Eggs for me.
Definitely with a cup of coffee to start my day.
Braised Beef Cheeks with Egg, Vegetables and Bread for our dearest gentleman.
Terribly attractive 😍 but possibly too heavy for me. 😂
Breads served in the breakfast are coming from the LA ONE Bakery.
Finally, the number one breakfast dish of LA ONE Kitchen, the Sunny Eggs with Potato, Mushroom, Bacon, Sausage, Salad and Bread, for our sweetest host, Caroline.
The breakfasts are really good. Ingredients are fresh and cooked to their best presentation. 👍👍👍👍👍
Despite the average spending here is slightly on the high side, it definitely worth a visit.
LA ONE Bakery
Before leaving for our next destination, we had a short visit to the LA ONE Bakery.
As told by Chef Chien in one of his early press interviews, all the breads are supplied by his best friend, World Bread Champion, Wu Pao Chun’s bread shop. Not sure if the breads are made in LA ONE nowadays.
In addition to bread, high quality handmade fruit-jam, Pâté, pasta, salad as well as various kinds of seasonings are also available here.
I loved all those European breads. 😍😍😍
Unfortunately, I was too full and had to leave Kaohsiung in the evening. Otherwise, I would definitely buy some of them.
Despite this is a short dining trip, I really enjoyed the foods, the environment and the cooking philosophy of Chef Chien. If times allowed, I will definitely come to Kaohsiung again to try his other two restaurants.
Last but not least, big thanks to our dearest friend Caroline and her family for the wonderful food and the caring during our trip.
New Chapter in Life 
Nice post
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Thx.
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