Lao Tao is definitely the top seafood restaurant in the city of Taipei, in my humble opinion. My approach to seafood is quite similar to Clara's - I normally spend a few minutes checking out the fish tanks as well as the "catch of the day" boxes, then discuss with the chef/manager as to how to best prepare the dishes using these nice ingredients. In the past, I have had the pleasure of enjoying rare catches at Lao Tao - prepared exactly the way I requested it.
青衣、星斑、花蟹、沙公、象拔蚌、滷鮑魚等為老饕常備之強項，但有時亦可見紅喉、老鼠斑、蘇眉等 rare catches. 不過小弟近年來為維繫生態平衡，已經不主動點食蘇眉 (亦稱拿破崙魚) 等量少又無法養殖的 endangered species。
Some interesting tips/observations from this frequent patron:
1. 老闆對食材品質之要求、個別烹調手法等知識，在台北鬧區無出其右。這位老兄為學習烹煮高級食材，曾經赴港重金禮聘名師，功夫有一定水準。然其個性孤癖，不喜交際，即使對政商名流或常見熟客亦常板著 poker face，從未寒暄，這「不愛哈啦」的個性在高檔餐廳老闆中尤其難得，堪稱一絕。換個角度看，也許老闆對自己的手藝有極度的信心。
老饕的外場經理、主任等人員訓練有素，多可傳達客人之需求，而東西也著實好吃，故老闆之「結屎面」並未嚇走太多客人 (in case you are wondering, the owner looks to be in his early to mid 50s, and usually walks around the place in fine Italian clothing and that patented poker face - LoL.)
2. 廚房內有不少 off-the-menu items, 例如台南烏魚子、港式臘腸 (經理會招待熟客)、砂鍋燜魚、清蒸沙朗片、象拔蚌 shabu 等。此外，其脆皮雞亦頗具水準 (top 3 in Taiwan for sure)，但須一日前預訂。
3. 將蒸魚及蒸蝦蟹汁留下，不但可淋在麵線上，亦可請廚房用來炒蛋。
4. 外場吳經理 (I always call her Lao Baan Niang, which pleases her a lot - more on that later) likes to promote high-priced items, especially if she knows you can afford them. You have to be firm if you don't really want them - do not do anything that you are not comfortable with just for the sake of face or relationship.
5. Ordering portion: one thing that I like about 吳經理 is that she usually tries to prevent her customers from ordering too much food. If you are a big eater like myself, all you have to do is to order WHTATEVER you want and prove that you can finish it all. That should shut her up fast enough, and, you guessed it - she was not a bit unhappy when she presented the bill to me.
That's it for now. At some point I really need to buy a "handwriting pad" again...
Sunshine
老饕食堂
