La Famille, French Patisserie in Taichung

In the interest of showing off Taichung's versatility, it's repertoire if you will, I present La Famille.  Like many other countries, the Taiwanese take their cues from the French when it comes to upscale consumerism.  La Famille showcases French-style pastries and is quite popular here in Taichung.  I think it's definitely a see-and-be-seen type of joint.  That being said, the pastries are really good and I think it deserves to be thought of as much more than a simple social outing. 

First, for those of you who might try to find LF, here's the sign and front facade.  Please note that it is very busy on weekends and you might have to wait to get a table.   If you aren't the patient type, takeout is always an option. 

Here's a picture of the pastry case/ordering area.

And this is the seating area on the first floor.  It looks small, and it is, but there are 2 more floors of seating above the ground level. 

Now that I got that out of the way, let's talk pastry!  I got there a little early so the pastry case was only about 75% as diverse as usual but here are some of your options:

From l-r, pear tart, apple tart and I dunno. 

From l-r, lemon tart, I dunno, berry millfeuille

from l-r green tea tart (filling is like a green tea ganache for lack of a better description), black tea infused chocolate tart with candied citrus peel (arguably my favorite)

Here are a few closeups of today's purchases:

from l-r, pear tart, lemon tart

from l-r black tea infused chocolate tart, green tea tart

Eagle eyed readers will notice that invidual tarts are about 110NT per piece.  This is very pricey by Taiwanese standards.  110NT can easily buy you an entire meal but it's still only about 4USD.  Not bad at all. 

Anyhow, here's the wrap-up.  Go to La Famille if you have a sweet tooth and don't want to eat anything with red bean paste in it.  The tarts are pretty darn good and they have a nice selection of tea/coffee.  Here's where you can find it: