Jeff Taibe’s deep love for Southeast Asian cuisine has been unwavering for more than two decades, stemming from his time living and cooking abroad in Singapore and Thailand.
When Taibe and Steph Sweeney originally opened Taproot in Bethel in 2017, they initially focused on farm-to-table, chef-driven new American cuisine. But Taibe’s mind was still on the flavors he loved best — coconut, lemongrass, chilis, star anise — and he kept discussing the possibility of introducing new dishes with Sweeney, even well before COVID-19 disrupted the entire industry.
“It wasn’t the pandemic that caused the change; Steph and I had been talking about it for two years or so,” he said. “It was the not knowing what the end would be…every day there’s a new barrier. It was me kind of wanting to finally change it up, and yes, it is takeout-friendly. It’s fun and interesting.”
“A lot of restaurants are doing that new-American style,” Sweeney said. “It was more just to kind of branch out from the norm and do a little something different.”
In February, Taibe and Sweeney closed Taproot temporarily and relaunched with a fresh menu, featuring the flavors of Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
“A lot of it was nostalgic for me…things that I fell in love with when I was there,” Taibe said of his menu construction. Dishes like lobster mee goreng, with spicy fried noodles, egg and bean sprouts, and lamb murtabak (a stuffed Indian-style flatbread) evoked memories of his time in Singapore. Others, like a fried tofu banh mi sandwich and chicken satay, are more universally recognized.
Taproot offers bites and small plates ($9 to $14) with best-sellers like hot oil pork dumplings and smoked mushroom spring rolls. Vietnamese chicken wings are prepared with fish sauce caramel, and laab nua dib features beef tartare with fish sauce, lime dressing, shallots, aromatic herbs and ground rice. Miang kum is served with crispy pig’s ear, lettuce wraps and a coconut-tamarind sauce.
Veggies and sides ($4 to $14) include Indonesian gado-gado with charred cabbage and fried tofu; som tum nong moo (mortar and pestle mixed green papaya salad with dried shrimp, pork rinds, chilis, garlic, long beans and peanuts) and choy sum belacan, Chinese flowering broccoli cooked with housemade chili sambal.
Taproot’s “shiok” burger is both a nod to the popularity of fast food in Singapore and a relic of the original Taproot menu, Taibe said, available in single or double patties ($12 to $16) with sesame bun, beef patty, American cheese, special sauce, onion and lettuce.
“I just put a fun name on it,” he said. “Shiok” is a term used in Singapore to express excitement or joy over food.
Larger plates ($18 to $34) include goat rendang: goat braised in coconut, chilis, lemongrass, lime leaf and galangal; crab fried rice topped with a fried egg, half or whole chicken slow-braised in soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, sherry; and whole fried sea bass, glazed with fish sauce caramel and served with green mango slaw. Noodle dishes ($17 to $23) include chicken khoa soi, a curry noodle soup originating from Chiang Mai; shrimp wonton mee, with a Thai-style “street broth”; and pad mushroom woon sen with glass noodles.
The cocktail list is a collaboration between Taibe and Sweeney — “me knowing the flavors a bit more, but her coming up with some really cool combinations,” he said. The Gin Slinger is Taproot’s version of a Singapore Sling, and the menu also offers takes on a mai tai and Thai tea, with spiced rum and oat milk. Others feature flavors like Thai basil, pandan, yuzu and tamarind.
Taibe said the new concept has been well-received, particularly since many diners knew him as the opening chef at Kawa Ni, his brother Bill Taibe’s Japanese restaurant in Westport. As a chef at Oak & Almond in Westport, he also played with Asian flavors.
“It’s not a surprise for people that we did this, and I think I got the trust from a lot of people through those dishes, even before we had the final ‘OK, let’s go for it,’” he said. “So I think people who knew us were very comfortable with it, and then the people who didn’t necessarily know us were very excited to have a new style of Asian food in the area.”
Taibe and Sweeney said they’ll keep following COVID protocols to make their customers feel safe and comfortable. Even as restrictions lift in May, Taibe doesn’t plan to fill all 37 seats in the dining room. With the Bethel Cinema next door closed permanently, they’re able to offer extended space for outdoor dining.
Taproot has partnered with Nit Noi Provisions in South Norwalk, which carries a few of its menu items: smoked mushroom spring rolls, chicken khoa soi, cold woon sen and som tum nong moo, along with a dessert of khanom chan.
Taibe is also joining forces with Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield, launching an on-site food truck at its new biergarten. He’ll be there five days a week, he said, offering more American-style cuisine with a variety of changing items.
“We’ll just keep the menu rotating,” he said. “I think that’s a big advantage of me being over at Nod Hill. I’m able to kind of do multiple cuisines and I’m not stuck to one thing.”
Taproot Restaurant is at 269 Greenwood Ave. in Bethel. It’s open Tuesday through Thursday, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. 475-329-5395, taprootct.com.