indian: i strongly recommend THE SPICE SHOP

THE SPICE SHOP

No. 6, Alley 10, Lane 50, Tienmu East Rd, Taipei
台北市天母東路50巷10弄6號
(02) 2873-7775

MRT: Mingde or Shipai (closest MRTs but would probably still need a taxi to the restaurant, or 30 minute walk. Near/behind Tianmu Shin Kong Mitsukoshi mall)

website: Spice Shop's FB page

hours: 11:30AM - 2PM; 5:30PM - 10PM

$$ (about NT$500-600/person)

Kid friendliness: I always think Indian is a more difficult kid friendly cuisine unless your kid can tolerate spiciness- some non spicy options- naan and tandoori chicken.

Visit reviewed: 5/29/2013

I'd often passed by Spice Shop on my way to its next door neighbor Saffron, also an Indian restaurant. I  was curious and heard good things about Spice Shop, but didn't want to give up a sure thing for a delicious lunch for a new unknown, especially when I had made the trek to Tianmu. 

So luckily someone asked to meet me there for lunch so I had no more excuses to not try it, and I'm glad I did. It's equally delicious as Saffron, with a more casual vibe and slightly more affordable prices. It seems they've remodeled since the last time I passed it by, making the decor more modern and upscale from the brighter, eclectic decor they had before. It's not too crowded for a weekday late lunch, though it's probably best to make reservations for the weekend.

The menu is expansive, with lots of vegetarian options to choose from. Since my friend was vegetarian (and chose the restaurant), we ended up with two vegetarian dishes and one meat. Dishes range from NT$260-NT$560, so if you want variety, it's better to come with more people to share. That's definitely one thing I miss from the states- the weekday lunch buffet and get stuffed with a plate full of different curries and chicken tandoori for US$10. Does anyone do a weekday brunch here? I only know of Ali Baba and Tandoor on the weekends. Oh and Aaleja (I almost blocked it out, it was so traumatizing).

Complimentary papadam

The food came out fairly quickly, in small deep bowls. I loved the flavors and mild spiciness of all the dishes and even though I only got to try three, it was enough for me to want to come back again. If you like it spicy, you should let them know what level of heat you want when you order.

The baigan bharta (eggplant curry) (NT$270) had a sweetness from the additional cooked tomatoes and onions.

Aloo gobi had a lot of cauliflower and large chunks of potato.

Butter chicken (NT$360) has become a new favorite of mine, with its creamy, sweet curry, being a less spicy cousin to my previous favorite, chicken tikka masala. I usually sop up the curry with plain naan (NT$80) or basmati rice (NT$30). So good!

For those of you Hungry in Hsinchu, there's a Spice Shop there as well! 

OTHER LOCATION

No.19 Xinguang Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan
(03) 5710687

CLOSED! indian/food court: i strongly recommend CAFE INDIA

Closed! summer 2015

CAFE INDIA 歡迎寶來屋印度風味餐廳
at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4 food court
台北信義新天地A4館
No.19, Song Gao Road, B2
台北市松高路19號B2

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: cafeindia.com.tw English, Chinese and Japanese

hours: $-$$

Kid friendliness: food court seating and limited bar seating

Visit reviewed: 2/6/2013 and 2/27/2013

I know that you guys are looking for great places to eat Indian food in Taipei too... my slightly outdated shortlist page is one of the top most visited pages for hungryintaipei.com so lots of you are googling for "Indian food in Taipei."

The first time I tried Cafe India was last month when I was looking for a quick bite in the area and I wasn't feeling like the usual food court suspects. I was a little hesitant to try Cafe India since my last experience with the food at that location, previously housing Indian Palace, was less than ok.

But a new name should mean a new owner and new chefs right? So I quizzed the Indian cashier and chef in English and settled on the butter chicken set menu, which comes with a similar looking mini salad and watery cream corn soup. The English and Chinese menu has about 15 different types of curry, including vegetarian options, fried rice, tandoori sets and lamb and fish curry options.

At first glance, the curry was already a lot better last my last time- the butter chicken (NT$250) looked creamy and ready to be sopped up the naan and was the right vivid color. The taste was perfect too- sweet and spicy with sizeable chunks of boneless chicken and the huge naan was fluffy and airy, the way I love it. 

Following the tradition of other Indian food court trays, the curry comes with a choice of naan or yellow rice, a soup and small salad. The creamy corn soup is bit too sweet and syrupy for my tastes and the salad falls into the "pleasing the Taiwanese customer" flavor.

I had been thinking about Cafe India so much that I ended up choosing it as a dinner spot for some friends before watching SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. I kept getting texts from them confirming "Where? In the food court?" and responding "Yes! The food court! B2!"

I think the best way to eat Indian food is to have an assortment and share family style, so I was excited to be able to try more. I reordered the butter chicken (NT$250), then also got the palak paneer spinach, chicken lababdar, aloo gobi and tandoori chicken. I also upgraded one of our naans into a buttery garlic naan. I definitely recommend the naan over the yellow rice which was too mushy for me. 

I was happy the food was consistent with the first visit and still excellent so that my friends didn't think I was crazy. It was my first time having chicken lababdar (NT$250) and I really loved it. It had a strong creamy tomato flavor and notes of cumin. 

The aloo gobi (NT$220) wasn't too heavy and had a good mix of fork tender potato and cauliflower. I also really liked the Indian cottage cheese in the spinach palak paneer.

The tandoori chicken was a good size- 6 tender, meaty pieces for NT$298. Super tender and perfect for sharing family style (or hoarding to yourself). Came steaming hot to the table.

I didn't know until I asked the second visit that Cafe India has actually been around a long time. The A4 food court location is a branch of the original Tianmu restaurant, which also has buffets . Lucky for me, this location is much closer for me (as well as all those visiting the conventions in the TWTC Halls).

We ended up sharing four curries and one plate of tandoori chicken between 5 people, basically one set per person. I loved everything and we devoured everything. What I ordered was only mildly spicy, but if you like it extra spicy, be sure to tell them and I'm sure they can add the heat. The prices are good compared to what you'd get at a sit down Indian restaurant in Taipei (especially somewhere like Saffron in Tianmu which I also love, but also so far away for me), so as long as your friends don't mind congregating in a food court and have everyone stare while you take over a table and fill it with completely with Indian food, then get a group together ASAP.

OTHER LOCATIONS
No. 30, Koqiang Rd, Tianmu
台北市克強街30號
(02) 2837-7365

event: i recommend TAS FOOD FAIR 2012

TAS FOOD FAIR

at Taipei American School

No. 800, ZhongShan N. Road, Section 6, Tianmu

台北市中山北路六段800號

MRT: Mingde Station

$-$$

Kid friendliness: public event at the Taipei American School. Very kid friendly with games and bounce houses, but crowded

Visited reviewed: 10/27/2012

When I was in high school, oh so long ago, we had a food fair. I don't remember much except that we marinated chicken and made over 100 teriyaki skewers to grill, made paper signs for our booth and it was a in a dirt field at our school for students and teachers to raise money for their clubs. The food fair at the Taipei American School is a fancier and bigger version of that, with parents and local businesses doing the cooking and selling and open to the public.

With a NT$20 entrance fee, the parking lots of TAS have been converted into game booths, dessert booths and food booths. There's also performances in the center where I heard Gangnam Style being blasted at least 5 times throughout the morning.

I grabbed a sample of See's Candies...

and spied adorable bars of Halloween chocolate and custom chocolate bars from ChocoForAll.

It's best to show up early as it gets more crowded throughout the day and sometimes the food runs out and seating is limited. The first year I went, almost everything was gone as I went in the late afternoon. Last year, I grabbed some delish smoked paprika Galician styled octopus from DN Innovacion.

It's a great place to find some different flavors, with booths featuring food from Singapore (laksa and curry chicken), India, Korea, New Zealand (lamb chops), Germany (sausages and bretzels), Indonesia, Brazil, US (Costco hot dogs and chips), Taiwan, Turkey (Turkish ice cream), and more. Dishes and packaged in small portions and priced under NT$200.

Last year, I waited in line forever for sauteed mushrooms (NT$100) from Wendel's, only to have them run out when I was next in line. So this year, I had to grab a plate when the line seemed to be moving quickly. If you don't want to wait in line, you can order the mushrooms at any of their bistros.

Mmm.

I admit I'm a creature of habit, so I had to return to get my plate of Brazilian picanha bbq steak plate (NT$150). Homemade by TAS parents, it's a dish you're not going to easily find in Taipei elsewhere. I was a bit bummed to see there didn't seem to be as much steak, since they added some spicy sausage to the plate.

So good! Maybe one year they'll offer up fried plantains as a side dish.

The sun was coming out so it was time to get in line again, this time for mango snowflake shaved ice which came in a handy cone-like plastic cup, which made it easy to walk around and eat.

Cute penguin shaved ice machine.

Finally!

I didn't try it, but even the W Hotel came out this year, with some mini nachos and veggie paninis. They had some cocktails, but were sold out.

Another option for dessert this year was the new froyo player in town, Yoppi, which was on the game side of the fair. I got a small cup of original tart with two mochi toppings (NT$100).. they have a shop right near the school on ZhongShan, so was doing some promotions.

A fun and tasty event to visit if you hear about it, even if you're not a student or alumni (which I am neither!). The time changes every year, but is usually around October. TAS also has various other events open to the public during the year, as does TES, the European School, but the food fair is the only one I've ended up checking out. Expect to wait in a lot of lines, but bring some friends and flashback to your days in high school.