Today, I get to tell you about a new friend of mine and her amazing restaurant in Taipei. I am pretty excited to be writing this restaurant review because I believe deeply in the power of raw food. There are certain foods and supplements that are essential to maintaining my health and my well-being and truth be told, I’m a huge juicing and smoothie addict.
I just finished placing a home delivery with NAKEDFOOD prior to writing this article and am receiving a box of wholesome goodies in the mail on Monday! (This is my kind of grocery shopping, by the way. If I could buy everything online, I would.)
Raw Vegan Dining in Taipei
NAKEDFOOD Taipei is a live and raw food restaurant which also has a nice selection of wine, although I am not wine drinker. I had my very first glass of gluten-free beer during my first visit to NAKEDFOOD which was delicious. NAKEDFOOD bases its food philosophy on the belief that a healthy life should not only be an artful one but should also indulge in flavor and satisfaction.
NAKEDFOOD offers a beautiful and enriching dining experience from start to finish. Their mission is to share their passion for life-giving food. Everything that they serve is raw vegan in its natural state, and wow, would you be amazed at how this food looks and tastes.
I met the owner, Prashantha Lachanna, who goes by Prish, at a Women’s Conference in March 2016. After listening to her presentation about how she turned her dream of building a raw vegan restaurant into a reality and sampling some of her raw chocolates, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d be stopping by her restaurant to sample more.
Raw vegan pizza with sliced pumpkin, tree nut cheese, avocado, tomato, marinated onion, beet root carpaccio, and preserved lemon. I ended up ordering a number of things on the menu, including the tree nut cheese pizza, the raw cacao granola and the raw chocolate banana pie. It was all incredibly delicious and nutritious.The food was beautifully presented and the atmosphere is beautiful and relaxing.The staff are very informative and the food is bursting with flavor. I left satisfied, fully informed, and knowing that I will visit again.
The owners add so much to their dining experience. They both took the time to sit down and talk with me during my meal, even though it was 5:30pm and they had recently returned from a full day of catering. I felt so welcomed by both Prish and Leiven. They are both extremely passionate about their food and this clearly shows with every detail.
NAKEDFOOD’s tree nut cheese
NAKEDFOOD is one of the best restaurants I’ve visited in Taipei in a long time. This is a beautiful restaurant, but it’s also very homey with lots of pillows and natural sunlight.
I was also very impressed with the prices. I expected this to be a pricey dining experience, but everything was very reasonably priced. When you stop to consider how much love and effort has gone into making this food, it doesn’t seem expensive at all. They use only the freshest ingredients and produce. Everything is hand-made, They select their produce carefully and use a variety of organic and market-fresh ingredients.
NAKEDFOOD’s cultured tree-nut cheeses are made from nuts, like cashews and macadamias, for example. This cheese is really yummy and its extremely good for you. (I ordered a jar. I am sure it will be gone within a week.)
The menu has enough items on it for all budgets. I felt that the value I received with my meal at NAKEDFOOD was very reasonably priced. I loved learning about my food and knowing that every delicious bite was good for me. In fact, it was so reasonably priced, I had money left over and I ended up taking some treats home.
Raw banana cream and chocolate pie
Chocolate macaroons are a specialty here, but my favorite are the chocolate and oat berry squares to the right of the photo. They give you tons of energy!
There is no better person to check out new restaurants with than Jenna Robinette.
RAW FOOD WORKSHOPS IN TAIPEI
NAKEDFOOD offers raw vegan culinary workshops regularly. They also host private events and they cater for special events. They have a massive stainless steel kitchen that looks perfect for these types of workshops. I had hoped to attend their special Coconut and Spice Workshop with Emily Quah this weekend, but it wasn’t in the cards for this weekend.
I’ve only taken one cooking class in my life and that was in Bali, Indonesia. I can’t even remember what we cooked, but I remember being terribly embarrassed at how badly I use knives. Ha. Anyways, hopefully I can hone my skills and participate in one of their workshops coming up later this year.
Doesn’t this look like a lovely place to have a class in?
DETAILS:
NAKEDFOOD
No. 22-1, Lane 160
Xīnshēng South Road Section 1
Zhōngzhèng District, Taipei, Taiwan
Nearest MRT: Dōngmén Station
Canadian expat Carrie Kellenberger has kept a home base with her husband in Asia since 2003. A prolific traveler, Carrie has funded her travels primarily as a writer, editor, travel blogger and photographer, but she has also worked as an educator, voice over artist, model and nightclub singer. She draws upon her 15+ years of travel experience to write about travel-related issues and the countries she has visited on her award-winning web site, My Several Worlds.
Her photography and travel articles have appeared in both print and online publications around the world, including Travel and Leisure Asia, Unearthing Asia and Hip Compass Escapes.
