If any restaurant were ever guilty of paying homage to a single ingredient, The Stinking Rose would have to admit to being guilty as charge. The restaurant's catch line even rings: "We season our garlic with food!" That just about says it all.

The Stinking Rose's claim to fame stems from celebrating the culinary euphoria of garlic and the Taiwan franchise now serves hundreds of kilograms of the pungent herb each month. 

Garlic is one of the most versatile ingredients to ever grace a kitchen. It not only tastes wonderful; it's also very good for your health. The Romans first lovingly dubbed garlic the stinking rose. And that's not the only connection between them and the restaurant, as the menu is basically Italian cuisine prepared and adorned with garlic, and it strives to accommodate every palate. 

Everything from the pungent "hot tub" of oven-roasted garlic for the adventurous, to the milder New York striploin, to non-garlic leg of lamb for those who find the herb's folklore and aroma more appealing than its taste is available.

Stinking Rose's Chef Jason Wang, said that he's designed the menu to offer something for everyone. And to make sure no one can every claim to have exhausted the menu, new dishes are added monthly.

For our starters, Wang recommended the Rose's signature dish, "bagna calda" (NT$160), a hot tub of oven-roasted garlic cloves joined by a few anchovies bubbling in olive oil and butter. Served with house-baked bread, it was an interesting introduction to the world of vampire chasers. The little copper pot held more cloves of garlic than we could finish, but we only managed to find one anchovy.

Accompanying this was fresh mozzarella and tomato platter (NT$350), which consisted of one sliced tomato tiered by mozzarella cheese and served with roasted garlic cloves, peso and red peppercorns. Good for those on a diet, but prohibitive for those watching the pennies.

Finally - probably to test what we were made of - Chef Wang recommend we also try the calzone stuffed with Gorgonzola, apple and garlic (NT$350). Although an appetizer, it could easily pass for an entree. The dish consisted of a pastry shell stuffed with pungent Gorgonzola, sliced apple and whole cloves of garlic, to create an interesting combination for those who like their food humming. Served with a whole bulb of roasted garlic, I struggled to finish it.

Wang admitted that this strong smelly dish is not for everyone, and explained that as the three ingredients ordinarily do not work together (really?), it was more of a case of opposites attract, which rounded out the dish.

For my main course, I tried pork kebabs (NT$680), while my companion opted for garlic roasted salmon with lemon butter sauce (NT$650). The pork kebabs, which consisted of pork fillets rolled around a slice of spring onion and coated in a blackpepper sauce, were as tasty as they were beautifully presented, yet were guilty of lounging under the grill longer than they should have been.

The large wedges of garlic roasted salmon were first pan fried with butter and garlic, and then grilled till the outside was crisp, and served on a bed of mashed potatoes. Like its companion, it caught a few rays to many under the grill. Still, when swirled in the lemon butter sauce, it was quite tasty.

All desserts are garlic-free, which is a pity as the slightly nutty taste of really fresh roasted garlic ice cream is hard to beat. But the drinks menu does list a few cocktails that include a clove of garlic. Full, and excited about all the fun we were going to have gassing out our friends, we passed on both. 

For the sociably correct, the restaurant hands out sticks of gum at the cashier, but if you really want to neutralize your garlic breath, bring a sprig of parsley to munch on.