dessert/bakery: i recommend 1789 CYRILLE COURANT

1789 CYRILLE COURANT
No. 97-1 RenAi Road, Sec. 2
台北市中正區仁愛路二段97-1號
 (02) 3322-2089

MRT: ZhongXiao/XinSheng

website:  http://www.1789.com.tw and FB page 

hours: 11AM- 8PM

$-$$ (average NT$120/eclair)

Kid friendliness: buy an extra so you don't fight with the kids over your favorite flavor

Visit reviewed: 12/31/2013




1789 Cyrille Courant is a little shop specializing in French pastries and chocolate truffles, opened last December. The shop was opened by Cyrille Courant and his wife, fulfilling a life long dream for them. Previously, Chef Courant worked in Germany and Shanghai and won several prestigious awards in London and France. Of course I didn't know that when I stopped by the shop when I was in the area, but the pictures of the eclairs that I spied on @starvingchef 's instagram were enough to entice me.

If you could only pick one eclair, get the salted caramel eclair (NT$120), otherwise I definitely recommend splurging on a box to share with friends so you can try the different flavors. At first, they told me the salted caramel was sold out and I thought I would leave empty handed, but luckily there were a few more in the kitchen.  Good thing since it did turn out to be my favorite flavor.

Eclair flavors include N. 1 Chocolate Sugar Free, N. 2 Tiramisu, N. 3 Vanilla, N. 4 Salted Caramel, N. 5 Mango, N. 6 Raspberry, N. 7 Lemon, N. 8 Black Forest, N. 9 Mont Blanc and N. 11 Blueberry Mascarpone. New flavors come out seasonally and can be spotted on their Facebook page, such as N.16 Pink Grape Fruit Éclair with Korean Yuzu, topped with fresh Wasabi Mascarpone Cream or bright green Granny Smith Apple.

Truffles also for sale with unique flavors such as Earl Grey (NT$65), Litchi, Sesame, Hazelnut, and Framboise (Raspberry) chocolate ganache. 

You might spy Chef Courant in the kitchen filling the eclairs or making new creations. 

There's a few tables in the back of the shop for a cup of coffee or tea.

 

From left to right, lemon, raspberry cream, mango, salted caramel, chocolate and tiramisu (NT$750/box of 6). The eclair's shell tastes more similar to a cream puff than a doughnut and I loved how the fillings tasted actually like lemon or raspberry rather than just cream or sugar. The eclairs aren't super big, so you might find yourself wanting to eat two in one sitting. 

 

The Cat in the Hat red and white stripes are fun for the raspberry cream (NT$120).

Super cute to take a box to a dinner party or use instead of a birthday cake, or instead of waiting in line for Krispy Kremes (haha). The royal purple and white packaging is simple, but elegant. I picked up this box to take to a New Year's Eve dinner, or you could get a box of just two for yourself.

ramen/japanese: i recommend BUTAICHI RAMEN

BUTAICHI RAMEN 豚一族拉麵
at Hankyu Mall 阪急百貨
No. 8, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec. 5, B2
忠孝東路五段8號B2
(02)2773-3330

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: Butaichi's FB page

hours: 11AM- 9:30PM; Fri/Sat 11AM- 10PM

$$

Kid friendliness: boosters available

Visit reviewed: 3/2/2014

Too many new ramen shops to keep track of... ended up at Butaichi Ramen because we were looking for a quick place to grab lunch with friends who were staying at the W Taipei Hotel and had to leave for the airport right after lunch. Wandered around the food court at Hankyu mall and this shop had seats available for six people without a wait. There's actually lots of great Japanese eats to be found at this mall- the tempura shop in the corner is a hidden find (with eggporn-ilicious tempura soft boiled egg), or Anzu Tonkatsu. I'm not crazy about the tsukemen or Ramen Kagetsu Arashi even though you'll usually spot lines there too.



Tight seating quarters so people usually don't linger, but there are some adjustable table seats on the edges in case your group or family is larger.

Menu has English and photos (thank goodness) and is quite straightforward. The ramen at Butaichi is on the long and skinny side (Hakata style) with the choice of three types of tonkotsu pork broth- Shiro (original pork bone broth in a white bowl), Kuro (caramelized garlic in a black bowl) or Aka (spicy chili oil in a red bowl), with or without egg. You will also be asked if you want your noodles to be cooked al dente, regular or soft and can ask for kaedama, one complimentary additional refill of noodles which come served on a plate.

Appetizers include gyoza, deep fried chicken, fried fishcake/age, edamame or grilled chashu pork. I liked the gyoza and fried chicken (Sorry no pics though, my pictures were strangely blurry!)

The free side dishes are hidden in the buckets on the table (I totally forgot to try them)- bean sprouts, ginger, mustard greens. Fresh garlic to press.

I stuck with the classic Shiro pork bone tonkotsu broth with a perfectly soft boiled egg - Shiro Tama (NT$220). The ramen was long and thin and I found the "regular" hardness to be fine. The ramen is served with a small ball on the side which I thought was a meatball until I took a bite and my friend clued me in that it's to be added to your broth if you want the broth to have heavier flavors. Duh.

I liked it enough to eat there again. The broth was porky and rich enough to drink almost the whole bowl, without being too heavy or salty. For chashu lovers, you can order the signature ButaIchi ramen which comes covered with pork pieces, or add 2-3 pieces for an affordable NT$20-30. I think it's comparable to Ippudo even though it might not be as well known. I liked that they give you a sizable portion of extra noodles for free, so noodles aren't wasted on those that might be lighter eaters.

Sorry for the long lags between posts. Life has been so crazy and busy as I'm sure it is for all of you. I haven't given up on blogging, I've just prioritized sleep and other things over obsessing over photoshopping photos and writing posts that can never be perfect. But I recently got a new laptop and finally downloaded the past six months of photos, so I hope to be back to more posts soon. There's lots to eat and share and hopefully everything won't be old news by the time I write about it here. For those of you who can't wait, follow me on instagram @hungryintaipei!

CLOSED/snapshot/japanese: i still strongly recommend SUMI SUSHI

CLOSED 12/2014 -- new version at IZUMI BY SUMI

SUMI SUSHI 澄壽司 
No. 17, Lane 248, ZhongXiao E. Rd, Sec. 4
 台北市大安區忠孝東路四段248巷17號
(02) 8771-9986

MOVED April 2014 to Ximending
No. 17 lane 53, Hankou St. Sec 2
(02) 2361-5550

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall

website: Sumi Sushi's FB page

hours: 12PM- 2:30PM / 5:30PM - 9:30PM Closed Mondays

$$ Cash Only

Visits reviewed: 1/22/2014 & 12/2013 & 5/2013
Previous review: 2/2011

I have been getting my fix for Americanized sushi rolls at Sumi Sushi every so often the past few months. I love fancy omakase "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" sashimi as much as everyone else, but I hold a special place in my heart for monster rolls topped with scoops of orange roe and special sauces. While it can get quite pricey if you order a lot of rolls (expect to pay around NT$300/roll and order 2-3 rolls per person), I've tried to find the ones that are bigger and more filling like Spider or Sumi rolls to get more for my money.

Besides my go-to spider roll, dynamite and crunchy roll (with scallops atop and mysterious crunchy bits. Favorite!), I tried some new rolls that were equally delicious- Blue Gordon with tempura shrimp, avocado, Philly cream cheese (taken out on request) topped with tuna and fish roe (pictured above), guilty pleasure Sumi Sushi roll (smoked salmon, cream cheese and eel and the entire thing is deep fried). Also try the seared salmon belly as well for some melt in your mouth bites. 

Deep fried signature Sumi Sushi roll- unagi, philly cream cheese and salmon with the entire roll deep fried and topped with tobiko and special sauce- has become one of my favorites as it's served hot and is still warm even in a to go order.

Philly roll with salmon, cream cheese, tempura shrimp and avocado- not one of my personal favorites but my friend ordered it. I also wasn't crazy about the lobster roll as I had hoped.

Order of rolls to go! 

Dynamite, crispy and Philly rolls.

Bummed that Sumi Sushi will move to Ximending sometime later this spring (May 2014) since it's farther for me, but I will make the trek to fulfill my cravings.

CLOSED/korean: I recommend MAJOR K

MAJOR K 主修韓坊

No. 116, AnHe Road, Sec. 2

大安區安和路二段116號
(02) 2736-3737

MRT: LiuZhangLi

website: MajorK.com.tw

hours: 11:30AM- 2:30PM; 6PM - 10PM

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available, room for strollers; lots of kid friendly items

Visit reviewed: 12/14/2013

Is it just me or have a ton of exciting new restaurants opened up in Taipei in the last year- gastropubs, wine bars, salad cafes, sourdough chowder bowls and lobster rolls... Major K brings modern, trendy Korean to Taipei with a menu of both classic and dishes that have a new take on the familiar. The interior is sleek with black and wood accents with a bar in the center for soju and shots.

Major K's menu is full of soups and stews, along with some appetizers, meats and rice/noodle dishes ranging from NT$280-NT$1300. Major K worked with CJ Group, Korea's largest food conglomerate (Founder of Bibigo which some of you might have seen in LA or Bejing), to help train their chefs in Korea and advise on the menu, so you know the menu and food's foundation is legit.

The Major K Sweet and Spicy Rice Cake (NT$320) was one of my favorite dishes and one I would recommend as a must order. Instead of the typical slices of fish cake you usually get mixed in with the rice cakes, there are long strips of sweet potato. Both have a caramelized outside from being grilled and is coated with a honey and chili sauce that is addictive. It's carb heavy to order as a main dish, but perfect for sharing.

SO good!

Another must order dish is the Mandoo Soup (NT$380) which comes with a robust, eggy chicken broth with accents of scallions and seaweed. I loved the broth as much as I did the dumplings which were large and plentiful. While I haven't been a fan of the mandoo dumplings I've had in the past in LA/OC which came with more watered down broths, but this I would order again and again.

The Ginseng chicken soup (NT$780) was also a hit at the table with the therapuetic broth and fork tender chicken.

Royal Glass Noodles (NT$280) aka japchae comes topped with lots of bell peppers and spinach.

Fried White Chicken NT$260

The assorted pancake delicacies (NT$580) comes with 9 small pancakes that are seafood, kimchi and fishcake (?) flavored. I wouldn't order this again despite liking the kimchi pancakes because the pancakes are so small for the the price- almost US$3 each if you do the math.

Instead you could try the regular seafood pancake (NT$400) which offers up eight thick shrimp and squid filled pieces for less.

Hot Stone Bimbimbap (NT$430) with fresh cucumbers, soy beans, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, egg and beef to mix together with the rice and gojuchang sauce I asked for on the side. The rice didn't get very crispy in the bowl, but the veggies were bright and fresh.

I didn't get to try any of the meats as we already had a table full of food, but I definitely want to try some next time. There's a lot to choose from- from braised bbq short ribs and kimchi pork to bulgogi, grilled LA galbi and ribeye. Meats are grilled in the kitchen rather than on the table so those looking for Kbbq will still have to look elsewhere.  

Some dishes also took awhile to come out of the kitchen, as we went during the soft opening, so the kitchen was still figuring itself out. But Major K feels and tastes different than any other Korean restaurant in Taipei (which are mostly soondubu tofu stew or korean bbq or local takes on Korean), so it's worth a try, but be sure to make sure to order one of my must order dishes.