Rooftop restaurant-bar Cé La Vi debuts in Taiwan

It’s official! Cé La Vi has opened its newest – and highest – location on the 48th-floor rooftop of the Breeze NanShan skyscraper in Taipei, with a star-studded event over the span of two days. The grand launch featured a guest list of local and international celebrities, who all came to celebrate at the brand’s highest rooftop lounge that Cé La Vi Taipei now calls home. The event also featured two renowned DJs to add to the festive atmosphere: French disco DJ Dimitri from Paris and local DJ SL. The new opening in Taiwan is aimed at kicking off a spate of new Cé  La Vi openings in the region, with new locations in Shanghai and Tokyo  opening in the summer and winter of 2019, respectively. 

In the brand’s words: “With sweeping 360-degree views of Taipei, Yangmingshan National Park and the Taipei 101, Cé La Vi Taipei has become the most coveted Instagrammable destination in the city within its short period of operation. Cé La Vi Taipei has solidified the city’s position amongst the upper echelon of metropolitan cities across Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, Colombo and Kuala Lumpur.” The space comprises a restaurant, a bar and a lounge; entertainment is provided by a roster of hand-picked DJs. The interior design relies on clean lines and refined elegance, inspired by the city itself. It overlooks the sea with a sky deck that is accessible year-round, due to climate controls installed in each alfresco booth. 

Before the official opening, the Cé La Vi restaurant welcomed special guests for a tasting. Combining French culinary techniques with Taiwanese ingredients and Southeast Asian spices, the main menu, developed by a team led by group executive chef Joey Sergentakis, featured foie gras with Taiwanese mountain pears, slow-poached black cod with dry shiitake dashi and kizami wasabi, and wagyu beef carpaccio served with green mango and Taiwanese pickled chillis. The dessert menu for the tasting was created by Jason Licker, the Iron Chef Thailand Pastry Champion 2014, and includes a molten milk tea tart and a guava crème brûlée. All this and more can be tried at the restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner as well as weekend brunch and afternoon tea. 

At the bar, which stretches more than nine metres at the south end of the restaurant, customers can try cocktails inspired by local flavours. Among the concoctions are the Grass Jelly Milk Tea, a cocktail that combines Chinese herbs and milk tea; the Taiwan High Mountain Tea, featuring a classic Old Fashioned with hints of Taiwanese tea; and the Gaoliang Cocktail, a combination of distilled sorghum and citrusy plum.

Cé La Vi Taipei prides itself on curating a menu and experience crafted for the Taiwanese market – and the upcoming openings are set to do the same. The project is a joint venture between Taipei-based nightlife entertainment giant theLOOP and Cé La Vi Group, and delivers “a touch of luxury, a hint of cool and a lot of style to the skies of Taipei.”