most fine restaurants try to blend their architecture to match the locale, but the Silks Palace Restaurant goes further in matching its entrees to art objects on display at the National Palace Museum next door

Just as the objects of art in the National Museum are magnificent, the desert offerings are exquisite and match the treasures within the museum. Very appropriate!

Of course, one serves dessert with tea, and the attention paid to the ritual of tea-making enhances the enjoyment of these colourful and appealing delicacies.

The interior of the restaurant is designed to provide a sense of spaciousness while maintaining an aura of privacy, and this contributes to the peaceful ambiance that is so necessary when enjoying fine dining.

My wife, son and I were out dining this evening in an Italian Restaurant and although the food came highly recommended the cramped space of the restaurant dining area was quite off-putting. We stayed for drinks, but left. The dining area at the Silks Palace, however, seemed much more inviting.

I loved the curio box motif for displaying the beautiful, hand-crafted desserts. They truly seemed more objets d'art than mere fancy cakes, and merited being displayed like art treasures.

Every museum has its souvenir section so it was appropriate that the Silks Palace have theirs, and what better reminder of a Chinese version of high tea than a moon-cake set complete with the 12 different coloured mini plates!

This was a delightful glimpse into a different aspect of culinary artistry.