CLOSED! mexican: i strongly recommend DOS CHINOS

DOS CHINOS 多斯奇諾
No. 8, Lane 38, TongHua St.
通化街38巷8號

a/o 11/2013 CLOSED indefinitely! It was a good 9 month run

MRT: Liuzhangli or DaAn (probably a 20-30 minute walk away)

website: Dos Chinos' FB page

hours: Closed Tuesdays.
M, W-TH: 12PM- 3:30PM; 5:30PM-10PM,
Fridays 12PM-3:30PM, 5:30PM-12:30A,
Saturday and Sundays only open for dinner 5:30PM-12:30A (Sat), 5:30PM-10PM (Sun)

$-$$

Kid friendliness: limited barstool seating

Visit reviewed: 3/13/2013

Barely four weeks old, Dos Chinos is the newest "Mexican in Taipei" spot to try. While not as small as Taco to Go (which I saw smartly revamped its space to make the kitchen smaller to make more seating available), it's pretty dang tiny with only seven seats inside.

Dos Chinos= two Chinese guys opening up a taco shop in Taipei. 

Dos Chinos keeps it simple by offering only soft tacos and burgers with fries and drinks. No chips, no pico de gallo, no hard taco shells, no quesadilla fussiness. Just chorizo, carnitas, chicken and veggie tacos. Don't know if that will change in the future, but they make the most of their supplies by also offering a pulled pork or chorizo egg and cheese burger.

The tacos are NT$50 each, or 3 for NT$130, with a fries and drink meal option for NT$175. 

Chorizo is definitely a rare find in Taipei and Dos Chinos makes a good rendition of the spicy ground pork. Tortilla, a pile of meat, cilantro, onions and some green chili sauce. Squirt on some lime and you're good.

There's also a spicier red chili sauce that we had on the side. 

I like how everything is made to order so the food comes out hot. While places like Juanita are quick, a complaint I've heard from friends is that the food sometimes is not hot, especially towards the end of the day. I also don't mind that the tacos have only one tortilla instead of two.

Next up, the pulled pork tacos. Spot on. While the tacos are not huge (as they are not supposed to be), I think they put a fair amount of meat in them. That being said, one would probably need to eat 4-6 of them to be full.

My two friends and I shared two trio of tacos which wasn't really enough, so we ended up trying (and splitting) a pulled pork burger (cuban style) (NT$175) which came with muenster cheese and pickles.  The chef was kind enough to cut it into thirds for us. Haha. Mostly everything at Dos Chinos is housemade, including the pickles and the chorizo.

While Taipei will probably never get a taco stand that will please everyone, Dos Chinos is one step closer and definitely worth a try. It's definitely better than the overpriced tacos you'd get at many of the sit down restaurants around town. You could drop by before going to the Tong Hua night market or late night on friday nights for their happy hour. Thanks to reader Jackie for giving me the heads up!

pizza/italian: i recommend ZOCA PIZZA

ZOCA PIZZA

No. 149 Linjiang St

台北市臨江街149號

(02) 2707-2212

MRT: DaAn

website: zocapizza.com

hours: closed Mondays

Tues-Fri 11 AM - 2:30PM; 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Sat/Sundays from 11AM - 9:30 PM

$$ (about $400/person)

Kid friendliness: high chairs available; lots of kid friendly toppings or plain cheese avail

Visit reviewed: 1/29/2013

Has this ever happened to you? You secretly make some new year's resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more often, write snail mail to friends, watch Homeland, clean out your closet, as well as blog up a storm, but then real life hits and all of sudden it's already February. And all of the resolutions got postponed. Not to mention my laptop's "start up disk" is full so I have over a month's worth of travel and food photos from my iphone, s95 and DSLR to upload. Eek. Time to clear the digital clutter and reorganize.

But until then, let's talk about a great little pizza place in the Daan district I tried the other day, Zoca Pizza. Some of you might have discovered it already, as I've been told to try this place at least a few times by a few readers. (It is also across the street from the shuttered WeiB which I saw was being torn down.)

Opened over a year ago, Zoca Pizza is a casual little shop near Anhe Road, offering over 40 kinds of different thin crust pizzas on the English, Italian and Chinese menu, as well as a daily soup, a few salads, calzone, lasagna, and a pizza by the slice lunch set. There is also a wine list and house made limoncello. The variety of pizzas is quite overwhelming with all the choices, but luckily our friend helped us order. The pizzas also cook quickly and come quickly to the table, so you could always add a pizza after your initial order if you aren't full. I like to order different ones and share.

You can even spy the chef making the pizzas in the open kitchen and firing it in the brick oven.

The waitress told us that the owner and chef of Zoca has been making pizza since he was a boy in Verona, Italy, and also learned how to make the Italian desserts and housemade gelatos that beckon when you walk in.

The pizzas are large enough to share, so my friends and I ordered a few to try. My friend recommended we come here insisted we order the Dolce Vita pizza (NT$400) and it ended up being my favorite of that day as well. 

Topped with prosciutto, mascarpone cheese, nuts and honey provide contrasting flavors and textures with the tomato sauce and cheese base. When my friend first described the pizza to me, I thought it was a dessert pizza, but it is quite savory and the creaminess of the fresh mascarpone really perfects the pizza. And the chewy crust is thin, but bendable and gives a great bite- not heavy and not crispy. The neapolitan pizzas at Zoca are similar to Fifteen Pizza, for those of you that have been.

The carbonara pizza comes with a white sauce and topped with bacon and a well done baked egg. I missed the tartness of the tomato sauce with this one and prefer a less well done egg, but it might be good for fans of carbonara pasta.

I thought it was funny (and very appropriate) that the pineapple and ham Hawaiian pizza was called Americana pizza (NT$320) instead. It reminded me of how we're so used to bastardized versions of other cuisines in America, but we end up craving it anyways because it's what we've grown up with. Like how some people look for or desire things like orange chicken and moo shu pork that are nearly impossible to find in Taipei because they are essentially Chinese Americana.  

We couldn't leave without trying the desserts, so we shared a hazelnut tart, a cannoli, and limoncello cake which they called bobo. I thought the cake would have a strong lemon flavor, but it was more of a strong alcohol flavor, which was actually too strong for me. Haha, you can tell I'm not a big drinker.

My favorite was the cannoli (NT$150), which I've only seen at Solo Pasta otherwise in Taipei. I'll have to come back another day to try a scoop or two of the Italian ice cream.

CLOSED! new in town/mexican: i strongly recommend JUANITA BURRITO AND TACOS

CLOSED! a/o 2015

JUANITA BURRITOS AND TACOS

No. 51-1, Lane 160, Dunhua S. Rd, Sec. 1

大安區敦化南路一段160巷51之1號 

(02) 2752-7576

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua

website: Juanita's FB page

hours: 11AM - 10PM

$ (about NT$200/person)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted but some room for strollers. kid friendly options on menu like rice

Visit reviewed: 9/24/2012

This is what a typical Taipei alley looks like- long and narrow, lined with pedestrians and parked motorcycles, with an array of endless colorful storefront signs in Chinese characters for hotpot, noodles, tea shops or cafes.

This is NOT a typical sight in Taipei- an English only sign for Mexican food, the newly opened Juanita Burritos and Tacos, in an alley not too far behind old Sogo on Zhongxiao East Road. The name is an interesting choice as I can't even imagine how Taiwanese people will butcher the name, trying to pronounciate "Juanita," not to mention that the J sounds different in Spanish than it does in English, as do double LLs like in "tortilla."  (I had a co-worker tell me recently that the name Heather was too hard to say, but that's a story for another day). But the name is memorable and stands out.

The warm wood paneling storefront is an unusual, but welcome sight for me and for other burrito lovers in Taipei, as I am happy to see more and more entrepreneurs try to make finding good Mexican food in Taipei a reality after it being so many years an impossible dream. It's definitely interesting seeing more burrito places like Juanita open up this past year, as well as Barrito at ATT4Fun.

Juanita's kitchen and counter takes up most of the shop, with some seating in the front and back. It's a tad roomier than Macho Tacos, seating about 20 people or so.

I admit that I was quite surprised to see only English on all the red and white signs above the counter. Perhaps they expect customers who step foot inside to already be interested and kind of know what they are getting into. Anyone who has been to US fast casual chain Chipotle will definitely be drawing comparisons, since Juanita has pretty much ripped a page (or the whole book) from their menu. 

You start by ordering choosing a meat (or vegetarian), then what form you want it in (burrito, fajita burrito, burrito bowl, salad or tacos) and then your toppings/salsas which are all in view behind the glass counter. Prices are competitive, ranging from NT$150-170. There's no nachos or quesadillas (which are two of the most popular things my local friends usually order), but I'm curious about the fajita burrito.

There's a choice of pinto or black beans, only one choice of cilantro lime rice and a range of salsas including roasted chile corn as well as fresh Haas avocado guacamole. I also liked that the option to add in cheese was free. Horchata, frozen margaritas and beers are also available, along with soft drinks.

I ordered guacamole on the side (NT$30) for my barbacoa beef burrito, as well as the free side of chips we were given for the soft opening period. Without specifically asking for it on the side, I was also given some pico de gallo and tomatillo green chili salsa, both fresh and flavorful. Just the sight of the right colors and the right textures of the sauces was a great sign and integral part of the meal. Fresh green guacamole not made with Taiwan avocados!!

The burrito was a decent size, though some might might think too small or not enough meat if comparing to the heartier sizes in the states. I would have appreciated more meat though I was adequately full (and satisfied) afterwards and enjoying my chips with the guac and salsas. Juanita actually reminded me of when Taipei counter burrito pioneer Oola first opened, before the owners parted and it went downhill (and transformed from Taipei's first Chipotle clone into some weird nightclub/mexican + burgers/pizza place).

So hopefully Juanita can avoid their fate and keep the customers happy with good food and service. Keep things fresh, keep things consistent and keep portions sizeable. Opened over a month ago, they are still quite new, so we were even handed some customer satisfaction surveys (in English!) to fill out. One of my comments was to keep giving us free chips! (Haha, we'll see if they listen)

Reader Diane was the first to message me, saying Juanita did a good job being "Chipotle in Taipei." Most Taiwanese people (and some non-American expats) have probably have never heard of Chipotle, let alone eaten there. But I know a number of you have been craving it. Who's tried it and what do you think? Where is your favorite Mexican spot in Taipei, or are you still waiting?

chinese: i strongly recommend GWOO

GWOO 雞窩

No. 63, Lane 81, Dun Hua S. Road, Sec 2 台北市大安區敦化南路二段81巷63號

(02) 2704-3038

MRT: DaAn Station

hours: 11:30AM- 2PM; 5:30PM- 9:30PM

website: gwoo.web66.com.tw

$$ (about NT$500/person)

kid friendliness: high chairs and kids dinnerware available

visits reviewed: 5/5/2009, 3/6/2011, 5/12/2012

Cold and rainy night in Taipei and you're tired of hotpot or Grandma's got a little cold and you want to bring some food to her... where to go? Gwoo is the answer to those needing hearty chicken soup that will warm you up from head to toe. 

Opened in 2007, the space still feels fairly new with the wood and brick design and can seat large groups up to 10 at their round tables in the main dining area. Private rooms are also available. Service and food is fairly quick. 

A jumble of Chinese characters in a Chinese-only menu with too many dishes to choose from can make for a confusing dining experience in Taipei. But don't let that deter you from trying some of the good eats in Taipei like GWoo. If you are desperate, you can study the collage of photos outside their restaurant of some of their more popular eats (or take a pic of it on your phone) to refer to avoid any confusion. Or just bring someone who can read Chinese, since that's what I do.

The centerpiece and must order of the meal is the signature chicken soup. You can order the original version, or if you order the soup with mushrooms or cabbage and tofu, they'll serve it the original first and then add hot water and the vegetables for the second round.

The Gwoo chicken soup comes in a huge ceramic clay pot, steaming and full of chicken falling off the bone as the result for being cooked for hours. Comes in small, medium and large sizes, depending on how many people you need to feed- menu prices for the original soup range from NT$360 feeding 1-2 people, jumps to NT$1400 feeding 3-4 people and NT$2400 feeding 4-6 people. Prices get more expensive from adding tofu and cabbage to mushrooms to bamboo/pith and then shark fin being the most expensive. I've also ordered to-go from them, and the soup comes bundled in a large enough plastic bowl and double bagged to ensure no leakage. 

The broth is so "thick" that an ultra thin layer forms to coat the soup when you don't drink the soup right away and the cooler air touches the soup.

The meat is so tender, unlike some chicken soups which have all the juice cooked out of the meat. If we were in the states, there'd be some noodles floating around it. But since we're in Asia, you can order some puffed rice squares (NT$15/2) to dip in it. 

Now that I've been there quite a few times, here is my usual must orders. These dishes also come in small, medium and large sizes depending on how big your group is, but I usually order medium for these since I like these dishes.

Boiled pork or lamb with vinegar dressing

Scallion pancakes and string beans -  the string beans are a bit more fried and greasy here than I've had it in other places, but they are addictive tucked and rolled up inside the scallion cake. I also wrap the pork inside the pancakes too.

Fried bread - best eaten hot and crispy

Sometimes we'll also get the stir fried noodles which sometimes comes heavy on the onions.

Fried shrimp with mayo and rice puffs. (Make sure you get the right kind, they have several types of fried shrimp and shrimp and I've ordered the wrong kind in the past not knowing the Chinese name. Again, you can try to reference the photo in front of the restaurant, which they should just offer a copy of in addition to its menu)

Veggies of the day

You can see once they add the cabbage and tofu after everyone has had a bowl of the original chicken soup, they also add hot water and the soup is not as rich.

Fresh fruit to end the meal.

So the next time I'm craving chicken noodle soup, you know where I'll be.