Showing posts with label area- MRT zhongxiao/ fuxing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label area- MRT zhongxiao/ fuxing. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2016

ramen/japanese: i strongly recommend TOTTO RAMEN



TOTTO RAMEN 鳥人拉麵
 No 9, Alley 5, Lane 107, Fuxing S. Road, Sec. 1
台北市大安區復興南路一段107巷5弄9號
(02) 2778-9866

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

hours: 11:30AM- 2:30PM; 5:30PM-10:30PM (Saturdays 12PM-12AM)

$$ (about NT$250/person)

Kid friendliness: kids will love the chicken broth original paitan, no high chairs spotted and very narrow tight seating so no room for strollers 

Visit reviewed: 10/30/2016 & 6/17/2016



WHAT SETS TOTTO RAMEN APART FROM OTHERS is that its broth base is made from chicken stock rather than the more popular tonkotsu pork bone broth. For a first time visit, the server recommended we try the unadorned chicken paitan (NT$200) which is a velvety version of chicken noodle soup, with two slices of charsiu pork and thin al dente noodles. Paitan translates into white soup, so you'll see it's a milky, opaque, almost creamy soup rather than the clear chicken stock Amercians are used to. 


Some of you might recognize Totto Ramen from NYC and the Taipei shop is the real deal. Located in the alleys behind ZhongXiao Sogo, it seats about 20 people in one row of tables and one row of bar seating. On my third visit, I discovered they were more adamant about seating customers after everyone in your party had arrived (which I always find annoying especially since I was one person waiting for one other person and would occupy 1 table) even when the restaurant isn't full and there is no line. 



If you sit at the bar (or are waiting to be seated) then you can spy huge vats of chicken and chicken stock bubbling away, to become the base for the ramen broth. 



Totto Ramen's menu has four basic bowls- Chicken paitan, miso paitan, vegetable ramen and mega paitan and then spicy versions of it. There are small rice bowls available and some side dishes like seaweed salad or kimchi tofu. No grilled shisito peppers from their NY menu, as someone asked me on Instagram. You can add extra stuff to your bowl like bamboo or kimchi, or extra noodles for NT$30, or even chicken.



The cucumber (NT$90) is deceptively spicy. 


I always find myself gravitating towards spicy miso paitan (NT$230). Pretty delicious and yes it's the same one as the one in NYC. The chili oil and miso paste is added into the chicken paitan broth, so if I ordered this again, I would ask for the sauces on the side. The last time I had it, it was a bit heavy for me, maybe since I had it after a workout. But if you're looking for a rich spicy miso, this will fit the bill. Another thing to note is that the chicken paitan comes with a slender straight noodle (and no egg) while the miso paitan comes with a thicker wavy ramen and half an egg. I felt the pork was also fattiest on my most recent visit, so I ended up being a bit charsiu deprived after peeling away all the fat. 





For a heartier bowl, the mega paitan (NT$290) comes with more pork (I think three different kinds), and bears the number one label on the menu. If you're hungry, this is worth the upgrade. (Still cheaper than the chicken paitan I had in LA which started at US$12)


Anyways, head over to Totto Ramen before too many people discover it. And let me know if you find any other chicken paitan ramen spots in Taipei. The first place I ever had chicken paitan ramen was at  Afuri Ramen in Tokyo and then here at Totto Ramen in Taipei and then Tentenyu on Sawtelle in LA. The broth reminds me a little bit of the intense chicken soup at G-woo, although this is for a fraction of the cost. I would kind of kill for a bowl of this right now at one in the morning, as I'm finally updating some posts.



Monday, May 02, 2016

taiwanese/breakfast: YONG HE DOU JIANG DA WANG - REN AI


YONG HE DOU JIANG DA WANG 永和豆漿大王
No. 63 RenAi Road, Sec. 4
仁愛路四段63號
Phone number(02) 2751-2713

MRT: ZhongXiao DunHua or ZhongXiao FuXing

hours: 

visit reviewed: 4/12/2016


When in Taipei, you must try Taiwanese breakfast at least once. There are breakfast shops like this all over Taipei- look for the signs with the characters above or a basket of long fried crullers out front. I am the type of person that will get excited about a photo of a basket of you tiao.. If you are too, then you are in the right place. 

Typically the shops are most busy in the morning, but some are open twenty four hours. The most famous one currently is probably Fu Hang Dou Jiang because of its mention on CNN's list of 40 Taiwanese foods we can't live without. (Look for number 28 and then 18 and 35 for my picks)

I am still unsure if all the Yong He Dou Jiang's originated from the same source at one point, or did they all spring up individually? This Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang layout is quite similar to the other one with the same name, with the work space to make the you tiaos in the front.

If you want to eat where the locals eat, then start with your neighborhood Yong He Dou Jiang... My personal picks are a cup of cold soy milk with shao bing you tiao (pictured up top as first photo) 燒餅油條 or sesame flatbread with fried Taiwanese crullers. Or as my friend Chris said when he tried it for the first time, a carb sandwich!!! 

wouldn't say this is my favorite Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang, but it's a good place in Daan District to grab and go when you don't want to wait in line. (My favorites are all getting too damn crowded) It's right off the RenAi circle and near Jiu Ru, which has really delicious won ton soups and tang yuan, though I haven't been in yearsThis shop preps a lot of the food in advance, so my you tiao wasn't crispy although the shao bing was good. The you tiao wasn't crispy inside the fan tuan either, which was a bummer. The best fan tuans for me are from the street carts... they always manage to have crispy you tiao inside. NT$87 for cold soy milk, shao bing you tiao and fan tuan. Can't beat that.



Thursday, October 29, 2015

drinks/snapshot: HELLO KITTY BUBBLE



HELLO KITTY BUBBLE 
NO. 172 DaAn Road, Sec. 1
大安路一段172號

MRT: ZhongXiao FuXing or DaAn

Kid friendliness: Oreo, banana and banana chocolate smoothies available for non-caffeinated drinks as well as winter melon lemonade 

Visit reviewed: 10/29/2015


Just a peek inside Hello Kitty Bubble, a small tea shop decked out in Hello Kitty and friend that's been open since last year. The red bowed storefront is a magnet for a Hello Kitty lover like me so I had to get a few pictures to post and share. (Although I remember passing it a number of times before when the storefront just had some decals outside and not such an elaborate entrance). Along with Hello Kitty, the Little Twin Stars, My Melody and Badtz Maru are all getting their fat straw drink on. Maybe a place to check out if you've already gotten your photo ops at Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining (formerly Hello Kitty Sweets) and the Hello Kitty snacks souvenir shop. 

Menu includes hot or cold teas, milk teas, sodas, smoothies and lattes, with drinks ranging from NT$30-60. 






And if you don't want to be seen carrying around a Sanrio cup but need some coffee since your girlfriend dragged you out to take pictures here, there's a Cama coffee right next door. 


Friday, October 03, 2014

ramen/japanese: SANTOUKA



SANTOUKA at FUXING SOGO 山頭火 
No. 300, Zhongxiao E. Rd, Sec. 3, B2
台北市忠孝東路三段300號B2
(02) 2731-7533

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/

hours: 11AM to 9:30PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, but kids should like ramen, pork cutlet and fried dumplings

Visit reviewed: 6/6/2014


Be prepared to wait. I wasn't prepared for the 20 minute or so wait for Santouka, since I assumed the hype had died down, but there they were, 10 or so people standing in line in front of me for a late weekday lunch at 1PM. If you expect a wait, and there isn't one, then it's a happy surprise. So by the time I sat down, I was ready to order, ready to eat. 








The first time I tried Santouka was in Los Angeles, at Mitsuwa, a chain of Japanese supermarkets in the US. Yelp and word of mouth already made it a place for legit ramen on the westside, so there were lots of people in line at this random supermarket food court. So there I expected a wait. I struck up a conversation with the tall, blonde guy in front of me and he said, "You must order the spicy miso ramen." So I did. The spiciness and saltiness of the broth was great, even though the deep red color was intimidating. So it was with high expectations I tried Santouka in Taipei, which supposedly had four hour waits when it first opened in 2012.

The Santouka Taipei menu is quite similar with shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, hot miso ramen, tsukemen, or cold ramens, or order a la carte or combos with fried pork tonkatsu, fried chicken, gyoza or a small salmon sashimi rice bowl chirashi. Prices range from NT$200-NT$320 for noodles, and you can choose regular, small or large sized bowls. The menu has some English and photos, but is mostly in Chinese and Japanese. And if you really love meat, then try the toroniku ramen, which comes with a plate of simmered pork cheek slices. 




That day I opted for a cold ramen (NT$300) which is comes with julienned cucumbers, ham, cold pork and a shrimp on a bed of cold ramen with a vinegary sauce. After my first few bites, I regretted ordering it because I'm not a fan of cold char siu pork and this was basically the main element of Santouka's cold ramen (unlike some cold ramens that also have egg, carrots, tomato or chicken). WHY DID I NOT ORDER THE SPICY MISO RAMEN? DOH! The toppings and sauce were kind of skimpy for the price, and in proportion to the ramen, and the meat was kind of dry. But I didn't look at the menu carefully and the details of the dish were in Chinese, so it was my bad.




Luckily, my dad got a miso ramen combo (NT$370) which came with a small sized ramen and a fried tonkatsu. It was mostly good except the egg was a dry yolked hard boiled egg, not the gooey soft boiled egg we are used to seeing in ramen egg-porn. WHY DID I NOT ORDER THE SPICY MISO RAMEN?!! With pork bone broth boiled for over 20 hours??




I also have to note that service was incredibly slow. We probably waited nearly 15 minutes after sitting down, even after preordering while waiting in line for over 10 minutes, and got our food after the people next to us, who sat down after we did. So I was a bit hungry and annoyed throughout this lunch, which is never a fun experience. But luckily my dad is the best and he shared some of his soupy ramen with me. Thanks Dad!


OTHER LOCATIONS: 

QSquare
1F, NO.1, Sec.1,Chengde Rd.
台北市大同區承德路一段1號1樓
(02)2558-2577

Tianmu Sogo
8F., No.77, Sec. 6, Zhongshan N. Rd., Shilin Dist.,
台北市士林區中山北路六段77號8F
(02) 2837-1211


Monday, April 14, 2014

CLOSED/dessert/french: i strongly recommend LADUREE



LADUREE 法國百年馬卡龍
Xinyi Mitsukoshi A9
新光三越 信義A9
No. 9 Song Shou Road
北市信義區松壽路9號
(02) 2722-8918

we will have to go to paris for laduree now. the lines were crazy at first and then after they died down, we couldn't keep laduree for long.

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

website: laduree.com

hours: 11AM- 9:30PM

$$$ (NT$98 for one small macaron)

Kid friendliness: kids might want a colorful confection too, but will eat it quicker than you can say NT$100

Visit reviewed: 10/21/2013 &11/13/2013


Two words- Salted caramel. If you were to get just one macaron from one of the two Laduree shops now in Taipei, go for the salted caramel. Of course, it's not as colorful as strawberry, pistachio, rose or lemon, but it's always my favorite. 


When Laduree first opened up shop in Taipei at Breeze Center, my friend messaged me while waiting in a 2 hour line asking if I wanted a box. Everyone wanted a little piece of the famous French macaron, especially to gifts. "YES! Get me salted caramel!" I messaged back. And when he messaged me again that the person in front of him had just taken the last few, I was disappointed, until he wrote back a minute later that they had located a new batch in the back and so I'd have some by the end of the day.

But nowadays, you can walk up to the shop without a wait. This is a peek at the first floor shop at Xinyi Mitsukoshi. It's kind of weird because it's located where the makeup counters usually are, but is a good spot for luring customers who shop (or Instagram) in the high end mall. Squint your eyes at the mint green counter display with macaron trees and rows of macarons to pretend that you are buying them in Paris instead of Taipei (or wander upstairs to Paul for some napoleons and crepes. Haha!)





For first time Laduree macaron buyers, when you are at the counter, you should take a look at the color coded macaron chart as well as the boxes pricing list. Macarons are NT$98 per piece, but the price goes slightly up if you choose a gift box. It's definitely not cheap for such tiny pieces of sugar, but they are air shipped all the way from France. You could get a box of 12 Krispy Kremes for the prices of 3 macarons, but it depends on what your cravings are. 


There's the typical flavors like chocolate, coffee, lemon, vanilla, pistachio, raspberry, rose, and more unusual flavors like gingerbread, marshmallow strawberry candy, orange blossom, blackcurrant violet or pink pepper. 


The most expensive box is listed at NT$6860 for a 70 piece box (around US$230)! Crazy.

When buying the macarons, they'll usually ask if you are giving it as a gift or not. If you say yes, they'll encourage you get get a gift box which can extra, depending on which box you select. You can also get the free box (especially if it's for yourself), but you need to get a box of 8 (NT$784). The complimentary green box is more thin and flimsy than the gift boxes but works perfectly fine to carry them home. It's about the same cost as the box of six in the fancy box,  but you only get six macarons instead of eight. (And pay NT$130 per macarons instead of NT$98. That's the Asian frugal part of me calculating). I've had friends who didn't know so they thought they had to get the fancy box so their macarons wouldn't get smashed on the way home, and got shorted a couple of bites.


If you're giving it as a gift, then there are lots of different beautiful boxes to choose from, and the cost will go up a bit and they charge different prices for different boxes. If you are just getting one or two to taste, then they will put it in a paper bag, so it's best to eat it right away. If you don't eat your macarons within a few days, you can put it in the fridge, or even better in the freezer to put them in "hibernation" until you are ready to eat them.



Previously, my first and only time tasting Laduree macarons was when I received them as a gift from a friend that visited Paris- in a Hello Kitty box no less! In the US, the only shops are in New York, and in Asia, there are shops in Tokyo, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, and now Taipei and Taichung. So those of you visiting from LA might even find yourself taking some home instead of pineapple cakes.


My other favorite place in Taipei to get macarons for their flavors and adorable packaging is Patisserie La Douceur, but they stopped making a lot of my favorite flavors like wasabi and balsamic vinegar. Maybe one day I'll have a salted caramel macaron taste test from all the shops around Taipei. Haha!


Even Laduree jams, chocolates and souvenirs are available. 


These pink and silver boxes of six were gifts to me. Actually for awhile, I was getting macarons from a number of friends! Thanks to my dear friends J & C, G and Vs for the sweets. It's a splurge for the treat, but costs about the same as the other macarons in town, so it's a fair price to pay for one of the best macarons in Taipei, if not the world.  


OTHER LOCATION

at Breeze Center 微風廣場
No. 39 FuXing S. Road, Sec. 1
北市松山區復興南路一段39號1樓
(02) 8772-4409

:)