chinese: i recommend DIN JEN FONG

DIN JEN FONG 鼎珍坊
No. 1, Alley 219, Fuxing South Rd, Sec. 1 台北市大安區復興南路一段219巷1號‎
(02) 2781-2518‎

MRT: ZhongXiao/Fuxing

website: d-jenfood.com Chinese only

$$ (about NT$600-900/person)

visit reviewed: 3/3/2011 & 9/2/2010

Din Jeng Fong features homestyle Cantonese dishes in a old school restaurant, perfect for large family meals. The first time I went, I was impressed with the variety and flavors of dishes that kept coming out for our large table of 20 people. So when we were deciding where to take some out of town friends from Manila (who had already to been to and loved Din Tai Fung and Shin Yeh 101), we decided to take them to Din Jen Fong.

The sizes of the dishes are quite huge, so I don't know how you would eat here solo or even as a couple. Some of the signature dishes also have to be reserved in advance. The menu is in Chinese only, but has photos for each item, with a lots of fried rice, noodles, seafood, braised meats and stews.

duck tongue

Some of my favorite dishes of the night and must orders were claypot tofu with seafood- the tofu was so silky and melt in your mouth. Perfect with rice.

The panfried dumplings that came with a paper thin crispy bottom and juicy meatfilled center. Everyone squealed when these came out the first time I ate at Din Jen Fong and we had to order a second plate. They weren't as crispy on my second visit, but you could request that they be made extra crispy.

When the Crispy chicken (NT$430/half) comes to the table, be sure to grab a piece with the delicious, crispy skin that crackles as you chew it.

The tender braised beef slices

Needing to be booked in advance, the Claypot sausage rice comes with three types of sausage and is massive. The rice is carmelized and slightly crispy from being cooked in the claypot with sesame oil/soy sauce and a savory accompaniment to the sweet sausage.

Ending the meal with a Chicken cabbage soup.

The prices at Din Jen Fong won't be as dirt cheap as some of other local Chinese restaurants offering up equally delicious food, but the huge family style portions and signature dishes place it on my list of places to consider while taking out family or out of town friends.

snapshot/bakery: FLORIDA BAKERY's Halloween cookies

Only one more week until Halloween! There might not be candied carmel apples or candy corn in Taipei, but you can get a little into the Halloween mood with some of these cute cookies spotted at Florida Bakery.
 

Also if you've ever wondered where to get Halloween costumes in Taipei, after eating at Ippudo, I stumbled upon a whole street of shops selling grown up and kids costumes and Halloween decorations, near Chengdu Road, on Changan Rd (長安路). There's also some rental shops in Ximending for more elaborate costumes, near the Police Station/Ximen MRT exit 6. I remember hearing in years past about Halloween parties at various restaurants, or special menus, like at DN Innovacion, but haven't heard much this year. Anything fun happening this weekend or next week?

burgers/brunch: i strongly recommend M ONE CAFE

M ONE CAFE 

No. 6-1 Lane 6, RenAir Rd, Sec. 4
台北市仁愛路四段27巷6號之1
(02)-8773-2136

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua or ZhongXiao/FuXing

hours: 7AM - 12AM midnight

$$ (about NT$300/person)

kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. booths available.

visits reviewed: 5/4/2011,  6/21/2011 and 8/28/2012

Not too far from the RenAi circle, M One Cafe is a modern cafe that serves solid breakfasts and burgers in an intimate space with about 20 or so seats. Decor feels more upscale than a typical burger brunch place with warm wood paneling and glass tables paired with lots of black. Passerbys might not even know that a restaurant was inside, as it's right next to the M One Spa, which shares the same owner.

Two of the best things about M One is that it's open early (you'd be surprised at the number of Taipei Western breakfast spots that are not open at 8AM) and the other is that the omelets can come with a small side of French toast or pancakes as your "bread" as part of the price (or bagel, toast or croissant if you prefer).

A funny thing is that the first time I went the TV played a rotation of popular US music videos as a soundtrack, and I saw Ke$ha, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and more hypnotizing music videos that I had seen in a really long time. But the TV wasn't on during following visits.

When uploading photos, I noticed that prices went up a couple dollars since last year- most of breakfast items are NT$30-60 more than last year's menu. So not as much a steal as before, but still not a bad price for the set. Egg brunch items come with a small juice, coffee or tea and "bread" although not with the eggs benedict regrettably since they already have bread (the english muffins). 

But the Eggs Benedicts with Spinach (NT$280) are worth getting, as they are probably one of the best in Taipei with a toasty muffin and hollandaise sauce that's the right creamy consistency and generous amount. The last time I got Eggs Benedict at a different popular brunch spot, the sauce was so watery, it pooled onto the plate and I had to send it back to be redone.

Generous amounts of spinach underneath to start the day with some greens.

The Turkey mushroom omelette (NT$220 then, NT$280 now) is light and fluffy, with thin layers rolled into a long rectangle and topped with cheese. The hash browns are perfectly crispy. The first time I ate at M One, I loved their potato salad, but sadly they replaced it fruit on my visits afterwards. Maybe it was too much potato on one plate for some, but it was so good since it reminded me of the way my mom made potato salad when I was a kid.

Not too thick, not too thin, the side of French toast is just right with the meal. I love it since I usually can't decide between eggs or french toast or pancakes, and this way you get the best of both worlds. 

At lunch, be sure to order the burger as it was a surprisingly good burger. Cut in half to reveal the medium rare pinkness, the mushroom cheese burger (NT$260) had a good layer of toppings and great texture to the meat and wheaty bun.

There's also toppings like blue cheese (for those craving Father's Office?), avocado bacon, and I spotted kimchi as a new topping on my most recent visit.

Wouldn't order the cheesy wedge fries again that my friend got, too heavy.

Revisited M One Cafe after a long absence, but thankfully it was still good. Thanks to @thethousandthgirl for joining me for breakfast. The sets start off with a mini orange juice and coffee or tea. 

This time I opted for a side of pancakes, which were cute and mini and came with syrup.

The turkey mushroom omelette (NT$280)  still had enough bite sized toppings inside though it was a bit bland this time, but the hash browns were still perfectly crispy. It's funny to see that I ordered the same thing as my past visit without even realizing it! LOL.

I split my plate with a friend and she gave me one of her spinach eggs benedict which tasted better than I remembered. It's all about the sauce and the runny poached egg once the fork cuts open the first bite.

Tastes like food from back home and that's a good thing. Reservations recommended as the space is pretty tiny.

thai: i recommend THAI MADE

THAI MADE 泰美泰國原始料理
台北市大安區東豐街34號
(02) 2784-0303

MRT: Zhongxiao/Fuxing or DaAn

website: Thai Made FB page

hours: 11AM-2:30PM; 5:30PM-10PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, but many non spicy items on the menu

Visit reviewed: 3/11/2012

Joined late to a dinner with my friends at the fairly new Thai Made on Dong Feng Street. It's a cute little space, on a lane with restaurants that have cute little spaces including the Citizen Cane turned Cubano turned Fourplay bar down the street. Good for date night or family dinners.

There's about twelve or so tables with an open kitchen along the side and a semi private room in the back. Fresh green coconuts and vegetables line the counter, and the aroma of stir fried chilis and spices sometimes permeate the air.



The menu is quite varied and expansive in English, Thai and Chinese, with curries, salads, soups, rice, noodles, stir-fries, vegetables, grilled meats and seafood.

One of Thai Made's signature dishes is a seafood red curry in whole coconut (NT$400). My friends had already almost finished it when I got there - it was sweet with a lot of bits of crab and chunky curry.

Thai hot and sour prawn soup (NT$350) 

Northern style grilled pork on skewers with peanut sauce

Northern style grilled aromatic beef (NT$280)

Everything tasted fresh and the right amounts of sour, spicy, sweet. I'd definitely go back to explore more of the menu, though I haven't had a chance to yet. I'd recommend going with a group of people so you could order more and share family style.