Pâtisserie Rivière (河床工作室) – Delicate Japanese-Inspired Cakes in Taipei

We have travelled to Taipei countless of times but we always visit the same old shops for our meals. However, during my last trip there, a friend recommended us to try Pâtisserie Rivière (河床工作室) and I must say, I was blown away.

We started queuing 30 minutes before their opening hours because it’s a rather small space and it gets really packed. The patisserie is opened by two friends, Huang Ji and Henri, who both went to pastry school in Japan and France respectively. The glass fridge has about 8 different cakes on display daily. Each of these Japanese and French-inspired cakes are meticulously made from scratch, and baked fresh daily. Some ingredients are imported from Europe and Japan.

Tart and refreshing, their lemon tart is made with yuzu from Japan and Taiwan. The digestive biscuit is nutty and buttery. A yuzu egg comes filled with lemon curd and yuzu flesh. It’s a little sharp but that’s its character.

I am not a dessert person to begin with – most desserts are either too cloyingly sweet or too heavy for me. However, this Ispahan-inspired macaron is neither of those. Fresh strawberries and rose mascarpone rest between a homemade tart base and macaron shell, while lychee jelly and rose jam fill the base. Pleasant and well-balanced, this is such a delightful treat for my taste buds.

Pâtisserie Rivière is beautiful – enjoy your cakes while relaxing in the garden-like glasshouse. Each tiny hand-crafted piece is a work of art. When I visit Taiwan again, I would most definitely pop by.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the cafe featured here.