food court: i strongly recommend Q SQUARE

QSQUARE 京站時尚廣場
1 Chengde Road, Section 1, B3 中正區承德路一段1號

MRT: Taipei Main Station

website: qsquare.com.tw

hours:

$-$$

Kid friendliness: mall food court with lots of options

Visit reviewed: 11/13/2010

There's no shortage of malls in Taipei to window shop in and same goes for the food courts, since most malls have a food court somewhere in their basement. Q Square is a newer mall that some might not have discovered yet, but definitely worth checking out. Easily accessible by MRT, it is even connected underground through the walkways at the Taipei Main Station stop.

The snapshots of the QSqaure food court are from a few years ago and I know since I've been there recently that it's gone through some changes since then. There's two sides to the basement floor- one side with the traditional square of food court fast food eats, plastic bento displays and plenty of seating and then the other side with mini stations of bakeries and cafes like Richard Blanc, Cloudy Cupcakes, Ariel Le Cafe and Movenpick.




There's also plenty of sit down restaurants if you don't want to bother with the food court, but during peak dining hours there's often a wait- ramen, curry, tempura udon sets.



Japanese bakeries like Yamazaki to stock up on some freshly baked sweet bread.


Jasons Supermarket if you need to pick up some fresh fruit or gourmet items as a local or tourist.

Food courts in Taipei are actually an affordable and tasty way to spend a meal. I enjoyed my bimbimbap (NT$160) with crispy rice from the stone pot....

Perfectly crispy underneath!

My friend didn't have as good luck with the Hainan Chicken rice which was lacking in chicken, instead fluffed up with shredded cabbage.

This cold soba/udon tempura combo was also a surprise in value and size, but sadly I think the Japanese shop was changed into a different store and menu on my most recent visit.


Or stick to Taiwanese eats with sticky rice ba zhang and wonton soup.



One souvenir that I've turned friends onto is the kimchi flavored popcorn from Planet Popcorn. Ask for samples if you spot this stand- it's kind of addictive with a spicy, sweet and slightly sour kick. My friends usually take home a bucket or two. There are plenty of other flavors- classic kettle corn, chocolate, cheese, caramel or wasabi.


Skip these cream puffs- I bought a box as a gift and disliked their frosting like filling and soft puff.

Lots to explore at Q Square- there's also restaurants like NY Bagel and Alleycats on the 1st floor; Ariel Le Cafe on the 2nd floor, and a whole floor of restaurants on the 4th floor including Crystal Spoon, Momo Paradise, Eat Together buffet and Vieshow theaters for movie watchers.

Oh yeah, there's shopping too!