brunch/new american: i recommend SPOT TAIPEI

SPOT TAIPEI

No. 58, Lane 233,  Dunhua S. Rd., Sec. 1
台北市大安區敦化南路一段233巷58號 

(02) 2775-4117

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall

Hours: 11AM - 10:30PM

website: Spot Taipei's FB page

visits reviewed:  5/18/2015 & 9/7/2015

Yesterday at lunch, my friend nudged me to put up some posts of newer places sooner. "You eat at all the new places first, so you should be the first to post about it." I responded by saying, that I do post quickly, but mainly on instagram and she gave me a mental kick in the butt to do it for the blog too. So I'm gonna try to do a blitz of posts of new places and menus for y'all... every time I scroll through my Instagram, I do feel a tinge of regret that I don't have the time to do full posts at the same time, but usually when I'm blogging, that usually means I'm not sleeping. Like right now.

Opened four months ago, Spot Taipei is a great new addition to the New American and brunch scene in Taipei, featuring affordable prices, generous portions and most importantly some hearty, tasty American dishes not yet found in Taipei. Not be confused with the also lovely Spot Theater, the independent movie house founded by Hou Hsiou-Hsien, Spot Taipei is a restaurant tucked in an alley behind Ming Yao Shopping Center (i.e. the mall with the huge Uniqlo, now next to the huge Forever 21) on ZhongXiao East Road near SYS Memorial Hall. 

I recommend going with a group if you can, to be able to share and sample more plates, and order some of my favorite dishes. I've been twice since its opening, once during its soft opening and my second visit was yesterday, so the menu has changed slightly since my last visit. 

The most popular dishes are from Spot Taipei's all day brunch menu, such as the chicken waffle sandwich, the corned beef hash, the french toast and eggs benedicts. Most restaurants in Taipei have a signature dish-- the thing you see on social media that makes you want to eat your next meal there. For Bing Burger, it's their bone marrow burger. For Belle Epoque, their boba milk pancakes. For Drip Cafe, their cronuts. For Pig and Pepper, it's their funnel cake. For Spot Taipei, it's their Ferrero Rocher French Toast and chicken and waffles sandwich, something that's big back in the US that's yet to trend in Taipei. (You can also find fried chicken and waffles at NOLA and previously at Bakery 49, but that's all that comes to mind.)

Let's start off with some of my favorites from today. Favorite things today at @spottpe were the spicy chicken wings, scallop crudo, ribeye steak and roast chicken with creamy mashed potatoes. Skip the green salad (too salty and plain), the miso pork belly (too dry). Otherwise the service was good- they were accommodating and friendly. Still have yet to try the pancakes here!! 

Scallops crudo- Hokkaido scallops with candied chorizo and homemade rice crackers (NT$290). Scallop lovers could easily eat 3-4 pieces, which if my eyeballing estimate is correct is about one scallop. Not looking at the menu, I thought the toppings were sundried tomatoes.

Chicken wings - dry rubbed and fried, pickled celery, dijon sriracha with blue cheese sauce (NT$180 for 4) 

THESE CHICKEN WINGS were some of my favorite things of the meal. If you are a chicken wing lover, you gotta order this. I had two of them, but could have easily eaten more. The skin was crispy and coated with spicy sweet sriracha. I didn't taste the blue cheese at all, but I didn't miss it. Fun twist on traditional buffalo wings.

Pan roasted chicken - half chicken deboned, wilted chinese kale, potato puree, chicken jus, chives and chervil (NT$460)

The pan roasted chicken is a table favorite every time I've been here. The potato puree is buttery and creamy (rivals the mashed at Robuchon) and the whole dish just works.

Fried chicken waffle sandwich- batter fried chicken, asian ranch, gruyere cheese, pickled onions (NT$400)

I enjoy the chicken waffle sandwich- the waffle isn't too heavy, the chicken is tender, the portion is hearty, so it can be a filling meal for one, or shared between two or four people. Each time I've eaten it, I wished both the waffle and chicken are crispier. If they could offer a version of this sandwich with the same level of crunchiness and flavor as the wings (with a little cabbage slaw) that would be AAAAAmazing. Right? Fried sriracha chicken waffle sandwich!! It sells itself.

Ribeye for 2- 22 oz USDA Prime ribeye, sous vide, chimichurri sauce, confit garlic, arugula (NT$1800)

At my first bite, I wished I wasn't so full so I could eat more. The ribeye was perfectly cooked to a nice medium rare, but still had a nice charred crust while being juicy on the inside. The confit garlic were creamy and melt in your mouth and I really liked the chimichurri sauce, which was slightly creamier than other places that I've had it. I ended up enjoying the leftovers at home later.

Duck confit croquette benedict- sous vide duck confit croquette with lemon hollandaise (NT$280) 

This came at the end of our meal, so I took a quick bite. The poached eggs were perfectly runny, the hollandaise had the right consistency and flavor and the lemon give the heavy dish a lighter accent. The shredded duck confit is mixed with sweet potato then fried into a croquette. Would be nice to see if Spot Taipei could do a great crabcake eggs benedict. Swoon.

Roasted Heritage Cauliflower - mix of griddled heritage cauliflower topped with almonds, raisins and lemon juice (NT$220) 

I liked the purple cauliflower the best, most of the broccoli and cauliflower were still quite crisp. I would have preferred them a bit more tender. But I love how Spot Taipei doesn't forget to include veggies on the menu and goes beyond salads. 

Mixed mushrooms- king oyster, oyster, maitake and enoki mushrooms (NT$180)

 

SPOT Burger - gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, chinese lettuce with fries and house pickles (NT$380) 

Miso pork belly - miso brined pork belly, 8 hours sous vide with mini salad and English muffin (NT$260) 

Today's pork belly was overcooked or too lean- it was quite dry and the salad was overly salty so we left this unfinished. The buttered English muffins were good though, so one could put this together to be a mini sandwich bite. 

Green salad- seasonal greens, fried shiitake mushroom crisps, sesame cookies and soy lime vinaigrette (NT$180) 

I wouldn't order this again. The first time, the vinaigrette was so salty, I had to reject it from my mouth. They replaced it for us without a problem, but the fried shiitake wasn't very crispy and the salad was quite plain. 

As you can see, the menu is mostly the same from the soft opening back in May 2015, with a few seasonal changes. 

Not currently on the fall menu - salmon carpaccio. I really liked the charred broccolini (NT$150) and corn mezzi rigatoni (NT$300) on the previous menu. Great dishes for vegetarians and I never thought about pureeing corn to make a creamless pasta. Will totally have to try that at home someday.

The coffee beef shortribs- with peppers, potato and egg on top (NT$280) was one of my favorite dishes of my first visit. Feels a tad healthier than corned beef and something I would totally order again.

Pan roasted chicken from first visit

Last but not least, the Ferrero Rocher cornflake crusted frenchtoast with nutella dipping sauce. (NT$300) Not too dense and almost tasted like a cinnamon bun stuffed with sliced bananas. The chocolate flavor doesn't really come out in the french toast, you need to dip it in the Nutella for the chocolovers. The whole thing is deep fried, so it is an indulgence. This dish takes #spottaipei a little longer to prep, and just as well, since it was like a dessert. Recommend for sharing, comes with 4 big pieces- it would be too much for one person as a meal.

Spot Taipei has been fairly popular since opening, especially on weekends, so reservations recommended. They have two floors of seating, great for larger groups, though the upstairs loft seating is a bit dark with low ceilings. Look forward to seeing new additions to their menu from their kitchen. Owner Eric Wang is from LA, Taiwanese American Chef Austin Hu opened New American restaurant Madison in Shanghai before joining Spot Taipei. (Email me when you get the crispy sriracha chicken waffle sandwich going!! Haha)

my kitchen: easy banana bread muffins

Even though I love banana bread, I had never made it myself. I just relied on the good fortune of friends who knew how to make it and would share their baking results. So when I found some overripe bananas in my kitchen recently, I finally picked one recipe to give a try (and there are SO many banana bread recipes out there!) and it turned out really great!  I like this recipe because it's a one bowl recipe and there's no fuss of mixing dry and wet ingredients separately. I used a muffin tin instead of making a loaf and it comes out just about a dozen muffins unless you fill the cups even more so you get the overflowing muffin tops.

The second time I used this recipe, I used 3/4 cup cake flour and 3/4 cup bread flour and lowered the butter and sugar to 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup sugar. My bananas were also not as overripe and I didn't add the ingredients in the order of the recipe. It turned out less cupcake like and more muffin/bready if that makes sense. It was more brown and beige, not as golden yellow and pretty as the first time, and not as sweet overall. It was still good, but definitely tasted more healthy. That's why baking is so interesting-- can you get the same results all the time or will each time always be different?

Anyone have killer banana bread recipes to share?

EASY BANANA BREAD RECIPE
(adapted from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients (I starred the ingredients with a  * for the ones I added to or changed from the original recipe)

• 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• *1/2 cup sugar (I used half brown and half white. The original recipe uses 1 cup, but says you can use less)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• *Pinch of salt (I only had salted butter on hand so I used that and omitted the extra pinch of salt)
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• *1 Tablespoon cinnamon (I love the extra layer that cinnamon gives plus it smells so good, but you can add less if you don't want it to be as strong)
• *1/2 cup chocolate chips 

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. 

Mix the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Stir in the baking soda and salt. Mix in the sugar, beaten egg, cinnamon and vanilla extract. 

Fold in the flour. Do not over mix, best to mix by hand once the egg is in.

Top with chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into your prepared muffin tin. Bake for 30 minutes (check at 20 minutes) at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool. Or taste test one hot out of the oven is what I usually like to do!  

CLOSED/brunch/american: i recommend PIG & PEPPER

PIG & PEPPER

No. 15, Lane 295, FuXing S. Rd.
台北市106大安區復興南路一段295巷15號
(02) 2708-7899

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

website: Pig and Pepper's FB page

hours: 11AM - 10PM

$$ 

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 11/24/2012 & 1/2/2013

One doesn't have to look far for American or Western restaurants in Taipei-- there's the ubiquitous brunch and burger type, the pizza and pasta type, the familiar chain restaurant (sit down or fast food) type, the fancy upscale type... the list could go on and on. So where does "New American cuisine" Pig and Pepper fit in?

Located not too far from the DaAn station, Pig and Pepper greets you with a bright yellow door to let us know we're at the right place.

Inside is inviting with seating areas broken off into different areas, with large groups sitting near the front window section.

For my first visit, I was surprised that my aunt chose Pig and Pepper for a family brunch especially since I had been meaning to try it out (which she didn't know). She had seen it featured in one of the popular Taiwan weeklys, so it's encouraging that the menu is appealing to locals as well. For my second visit, I rounded up a group of friends to try out a new place, lured by the promise of truffled mac and cheese.

You could do a scavenger hunt of the pigs decorating the restaurant in paintings along the walls.

So back to my question... where does Pig and Pepper fit in? While there is brunch, and there is pasta, Pig and Pepper is a bit out of the box, offering New American cuisine to Taipei tastebuds. Opened by two sisters who moved back from Los Angeles to Taipei, Pig and Pepper is a bright spot in Taipei's restaurants featuring American fare. The menu boasts a range of crowd pleasing dishes that is a "contemporary, upscale" take of both American comfort foods and "melting pot" dishes. There is no where else I can think of in Taipei that offers truffled mac and cheese, or polenta.

Brunch menu offers dishes like green frittata or corn beef hash, while lunch menu includes salads, pastas and an open faced burger with fried egg and fries. The dinner menu features tapas and different things altogether like steak with fried oysters, shrimp and grits and duck confit sandwich. 

Some of my favorite things from Pig and Pepper were the salads- though they were all different, I loved them all. Good size for the price and plentiful fresh ingredients topping the greens.

Warm mushroom salad with pecorino and hazelnut (NT$280) - I loved that the sauteed mushrooms were served warm and the large slivers of pecorino cheese gives the salad a nice sharp accent.

I also really enjoyed the Sirloin Steak Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette (NT$350). I think the portion is generous for the price and this could be a meal on its own. The tender steak, crispy onions and spicy horseradish dressing complement each other. Reminds a little of the salad from Lawry's Carvery. My pet peeve is a salad where you can't find the ingredients especially when you pay extra for them (take note, Dressed)

Can't go wrong with proscuitto and candied walnuts in the Chef House Salad (NT$250)

We couldn't resist ordering some of the sides to share, like the truffled parmesan tots (NT$180), a grown up version of the tater tots I used to get from the school cafeteria. I splurged on them on repeat visits, though be warned they are on the small side for the price.

And both versions of the mac cheese- Bacon mac and cheese (NT$180) and Truffle mac and cheese (NT$180). If you could only pick one, skip the bacon version, go with the truffles. 

Thanks to all my girlfriends who wait to dig in until I get my beauty shots at each lunch and love to eat as much as I do, so that I can try different dishes like I did at this lunch. Luckily we had ordered things to share family style as things came out rather slowly from the kitchen, one dish by one- but note this was over six months ago since my last visit when they were still fairly new, so perhaps they've sped it up since then.

One of my favorite brunch dishes at Pig and Pepper was the Braised Beef Hash with Poached Egg and Toasted Bread (NT$360). I can never resist a poached egg and the fork tender potatoes and beef were addicting.

The French Toast with Berry Compote and Whipped Mascarpone (NT$260) was good, though I wish they'd serve it with some honey or maple syrup or even berry sauce on the side. When we asked about it, the server replied we were to just use the mascarpone and berries. 

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 I also enjoyed the creamy Parmesan Polenta Cake with Grilled Vegetables and Poached Egg (NT$360), though I think this is more a side dish than a main. You also pay a premium for this rare-for-Taipei dish. 

The Open Faced Burger with Fried Egg and Fries (NT$390) is definitely meant to be eaten with a fork and knife and is a cheesy mess. A good guy's dish and you can steal the waffle fries.

Personally, I'd skip the tacos since I can get my fix elsewhere for less, but my friends wanted to try them. Three grilled chicken soft tacos (NT$360) come with a side of yellow rice and lettuce and some tomato and green chili condiments. I don't really care for yellow rice- I have never seen them at any taco shops or Mexican restaurants that I've eaten in the states and I don't know why it's so pervasive in Taipei- at both the localized Mexican and Indian spots.

The Carnitas Soft Tacos (NT$360) have a bit more meat in them.

The Pulled Pork Sandwich (NT$360) looked like nothing that I imagined that it would, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the pulled pork tasted very similar to the pork in the tacos (if not the exact same thing but repurposed). It might remind some of a Vietnamese sandwich with the french bread roll and julienned carrots and radishes and cilantro, which is kind of an interesting take. Not a bad order, just don't expect a Southern pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw.

The Pork Bolognese Spaghetti with Poached Egg and Parmesean (NT$360) was a good rendition of the classic and the poached egg atop reminded me of Bellini's spaghetti (though Bellini's version is sweeter and saucier with the soft boiled egg less well done).

I wasn't crazy about the braised beef with butter garlic noodles (NT$390)- I found the dish to be too heavily seasoned for me.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the New York Street Style Spiced Chicken and Rice (NT$390) since I haven't eaten the real thing (and again am not a huge fan of yellow rice which was a main component of the dish), but a lot of my friends at the table dug it up, especially with the hot sauce mixed in.

Onto desserts! On my second visit, we had to try the new Funnel Cake which is probably my favorite dessert of the bunch since it's not something you'd find in Taipei. Though I appreciate the gourmet, glamour version with ice cream and layers of custard in between, I felt like the funnel cake had cooled down while it was being primped.  I'd love to see an option to order a plain funnel cake, just simply dusted with powdered sugar, so that I could eat it piping hot. 

I thought I'd love the Zepolli with dipping sauce and vanilla ice cream (NT$260), but I found the fried donuts a tad oily for my tastes.

Homemade cheesecake with seasonal fruit (NT$220)

Sticky fig toffee cake with peanut ice cream (NT$220)

So the next time you're craving a steak salad or tater tots or truffled mac and cheese or funnel cake, you know where to go (and where to say you heard about it when you make your reservations!) I may have to head back there soon to have some myself.