PASTA FROLLA
No. 12, Lane 236, Tunhua South Road
(in the lane right behind Tunhua Sogo)
(02) 2773-3736
website: pasta-frolla.com Japanese site
orangecobo.com.tw Taiwan site
11:30 AM- 10 PM
$
Visit reviewed: 2/15/2007
My friend was giddy with excitement that she had someone to accompany her to eat "all you can eat cakes" for afternoon tea. Not a bad deal considering that NT$199 (US $6) you could eat until you couldn't eat another mouthful of frosting. But you could also buy cakes ala carte for about NT$50 each, so you would have to each eat 4 cakes to make it your money's worth, which if you think about it is a lot of cake. But if you've ever had a fantasy of eating whatever cake you wanted out of a bakery, here is your chance- mousses, cake, cheesecake, creme brulee, pie, even green tea jelly. You can also go for the full buffet- one entree and the all you can eat dessert and salad bars for NT$269.
My favorite out of the bunch was probably the creme brulee. Crackilicious sugary roof over a creamy sweet pool of creme brulee. But it was probably among the most rich creme brulee I've ever had- it was very very sweet and sugary.
We had a seat in the back during the crowded afternoon hour. It was fun watching the chefs make cake and artfully arrange the fruit on the cake, ladle sugar over it and put it in the fridge.
You get one plate and then take that plate to the counter where you point to the slice of cake you want. It's to prevent you from eating one bite from many cakes for sampling. Their cake slices are pretty big to finish, so it's best if you go with more people to sample and share. There are no signs for the cakes in English, so you have to ask or go by sight. The pinkish cake above we thought was strawberry cake, but was actually cherry. The frosting was light and whipped. 
We eventually got a slice of the fruit cake we were admiring them make. It was like a hybrid of a cheesecake-mousse cake with lighter chocolate cake underneath with a flaky crust.
If you get the afternoon tea buffet, you also get to wait in line for their hot foods, such as this au gratin potato dish, which appear every half an hour. Once the server comes out, there is a mad dash and a long line. The cakes and decor is more Japanese western style than American western style which I would guess their pasta dishes taste too, but I didn't get to try the pasta. Overall, the cakes are decent- not the best desserts I've had in Taipei and definitely nothing that made me gasp "ohmygod" and want to camp out in front, but pretty affordable price for all you can eat and large variety to choose from. The setting is more plain jane cafe and crowded with students than a luxe white linen setting like Joyce East or Sabatini in the new green Sogo, but hey, their afternoon tea sets are at least two to three times as expensive.
Couldn't find anything online about Pasta Frolla except food porn pictures from blogs in Chinese. It seems to be a Japanese chain brought over here, based on their Japanese website. There also seem to be some sister cafes that are very similiar- Berry Berry 62, Orange Cobo and Apple Cobo. It gets very busy in the afternoon, so head over a little earlier to beat the crowd and bring an empty stomach and your sweet tooth if you decide to go.
Other location:
No. 38, Lane 187, Tun Hwa South Road
(02) 2731-4980
1 comment:
all you can eat desserts? it's a good thing i didn't go there, i probably would have eaten everything in sight!
Post a Comment