thai/buffet: LACUZ THAI FUSION CUISINE

LACUZ THAI FUSION CUISINE
No. 29, Lane 236, DunHua South Rd, Sec. 1
(02) 2771-2033

website: lacuz.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 12-3 pm, 6 pm-1 am

$$

Kid friendliness: lots of non-adjustable spicy things on the menu, but also some finger foods.

Visit reviewed: 7/16/2008



I've passed by Lacuz Thai quite a few times while sitting in a taxi around this area. Every time I passed it, I wondered what the food was like and I finally got a chance to try it out.

Even though it's all you can eat, the food is made fresh to order. This has its pros (it's served hot and adjusted to the number of people in your group) and cons (the food takes a little longer than if you could just grab it from the buffet). The menu is slightly confusing as there is more than 1 option (NT$390 for 38 dishes, NT$450 for 65 dishes and an extra NT$100 gives you another 15 Japanese barbecue dish choices.), but splurge for the 65 dishes if you want to try everything on the Thai menu.



The menu had little chili peppers denoting spiciness, lemons denoting sourness and higher number next to the chili grading the spiciness- 5 being spiciest.

I'd skip the pad thai and order the pineapple fried rice as well as the fried chicken (both of which we had second orders). Actually everything they fried (the seafood pancake, shrimp cakes) was pretty tasty and served with various dipping sauces.



Even though they size each order to portion with the number in your group, some things like the fried chicken were gone in just a few bites and you should grab the waiter to put in the order of whatever you like, so you can get it sooner than later. I don't know if it was because we were in the back room, but it was sometimes hard to wave down a waiter.

Also, ordering this way, sometimes you'd eat out of sync- for example, they wouldn't necessarily deliver the appetizers/salads first. In fact, our appetizers came after we were done eating a lot of our main dishes. If this bothers you, then you probably wouldn't be able to eat here. It seemed to be whatever the kitchen was able to make was whatever came to your table.





It was actually sort of overwhelming to figure out what to order from their extensive menu, so we stuck with our favorites. Some of the stir fried dishes were quite spicy and some were surprisingly bland.



My mom got the vegetarian set since she couldn't enjoy most of the options in the buffet, but it ended taking longer than our food. Most of the vegetables were also stir fried with little chunks of lemongrass, which ended up being quite sharp and tough to chew, so she'd laboriously pick them out of each dish. For flavor, it was good, but too tough to actually chew.



I liked also the eggplant, long green bean and curry dishes, but the seafood in the tofu dish seemed frozen/not fresh which was a turn off.

Don't forget to order dessert. The tapioca soup was sweet and a good way to mellow out the spices lingering in my mouth.



It was funny to see the long receipt at the end, since I guess they take your "order" even though you pay the flat price. All in all, NT$390 isn't a bad price for an all you can eat lunch- definitely cheaper than Spice Market. It's a modern space with private couch seating rooms in the back and good for groups.



Would I go back? If I was craving Thai, I'd probably still end up at Mei Kung first and then Thai Town, but it was fun to try it. I don't think it's an option for a quick lunch though.

Any leads on more places for good Thai food in Taipei?

japanese/buffet: i recommend SHIN YEH JAPANESE BUFFET

SHIN YEH JAPANESE BUFFET
Fnac Future Center Building, 6 FL
12 Kuanchian Rd.
(02) 2371-3311

hours: 11:30am to 11:30pm
230-430 $460
$750

$$ (about NT$540 for lunch; NT$690 for dinner when I went)

Visit reviewed: 5/2007



A lot of variety and even some fresh made to order options in this Japanese buffet by uber popular Taiwanese eatery Shin Yeh. Suitable for large groups, families, or even a party of one, if you like Japanese food, you should be able to find a lot of things to satisfy your stomach.

Granted, it has been over a year since I've eaten here, but I still remember sitting at the extra long table with my grandma, cousins and relatives, each taking our turn at wandering around the hot and cold food sections. Isn't that what most of our memories are about? Not necessarily what we ate and how it tasted (unless it's an amazing meal), but who we were with and how we enjoyed spending time with each other.

My favorite part of the buffet was probably getting the made-to-order handrolls and getting an extra spoonful of bright orange masago (raw fish eggs) in my handrolls when I asked.

If you've never had masago/tobiko, the bright orange miniscule eggs are like the Pop-Rocks of sushi. As kids, we would squeeze the saltiness out of each egg or smush them between our fingers. There's a sort of crunchiness and taste of the ocean that you get when you eat it, without it being TOO salty like the larger ikura. YUM!



It's definitely a step up from Todai, (those in California and the states might be very familiar with), a popular all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet with everything from piles of seafood and rows of sushi to Americanized chicken teriyaki and stir fried noodles because it offers more authenticity and freshness at a better price.

There's a lot of options to satisfy even if you don't want to eat sashimi.



But if you like sashimi, load up your plate and grab the wasabi. Even better than having it sit out all night, you have to request (or point) to what you want, and the sushi chef will slice it up for you.



You can even grab a teapot of mushroom soup, which offers a light broth.



Of course, one of the best things about buffets is getting to sample more than one dessert. I love creme brulee with its crackable hard layer.



This of course is just a random sampling of all that was there... I was too busy eating to take a picture of everything! Writing up this post makes me want to visit there again soon. If I do, I'll let you know if it's changed or the locations are different.

Other locations:

No. 52, Chungshan North Road
(02) 2542-5858

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, A11
5 Songshou Road, 11 FL
(02) 8780-1366

Taoyuan shop:
No. 61, Chungcheng Road, 11 Floor
(03) 331-5511

revisited/pizza/buffet: PIZZA HUT

PIZZA HUT
No.343, Zhong Hsiao E. Rd., Sec. 4,
(02) 2776-6600

website: www1.pizzahut.com.tw

hours: 11AM - 11PM (though buffet ends at 9:30PM)

$ ($274/person at lunch)

Kid friendliness: only 1 high chair and 1 booster for the whole restaurant? all you can eat pasta and pizza usually satisfies most kids, though there can be a wait during peak hours

Visit reviewed: 11/20/2007
OId review here (for delivery): 2/21/2006

Maybe it's the cold weather or the rain, but every time I've been passing by the Pizza Hut lately, it seems to be packed, with people waiting outside the door! The last time we sat down was last November, when it wasn't too hard to get a table for 6 at a weekday lunch. The last time I went a few weeks ago, it was a 20-30 minute wait and we ended up just getting some personal pan pizzas to go (for a 15 minute wait).

I think it's pretty comparable to Pizza Hut buffet in the states- all you can eat pizza and other stuff with an assortment of various flavors, salads, pastas, hot foods and drinks- for about NT$300 (I think NT$270 for lunch and NT$300 something for dinner) . One cool thing is that if they aren't serving the pizza that you like, you can request that they make a pizza for you that they will serve to your table (for no extra charge). My friend requested the Takoyaki pizza which I never had before- it had squid, mushrooms, and drizzles of some sweet sauce and mayo.



It was, uh, interesting.. but demonstrates the extent of the local variety of flavors that even an American chain will produce. Along with Japanese Takoyaki, some other unique flavors on the Taiwan Pizza Hut menu include: Lobster Abalone; Fruity Sausage Cheesy Bite PIzza (and no I'm not making this up! Look here ), Korean Kim Chi BBQ; and French Style Seafood.

The salad bar and soups are not that exciting and the penne pasta is sometimes mushy (since it's baked and is sitting there), but if you like Pizza Hut's pizza and can eat a lot of it, then it's a fast way to try different flavors of pizzas. Since the personal pan pizzas are so cheap here (usually under NT$100), you can get that if you don't want to wait for the buffet or can't eat that much.

Personally, I like Pizza Hut over Domino's and there's something about the crust that I like and I usually get it delivered, but if you want to hit up the buffet- I think it's only at this location. It always seems to be packed with family and friends, so it's something for people visiting looking for something familiar as well as locals who just want some hot cheesy pizza (with some takoyaki on top).

japanese/hot pot: i recommend MOMO PARADISE

MOMO PARADISE
at Neo 19, 2nd FL
No. 22 Song Ren Road
(02) 8786-1128

website: humaxasia.com.tw/momo Chinese only

hours: 11:30 AM - 12midnight; weekends and holidays 11:30 AM - 1 AM

$-$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs or boosters- booth seating

Visit reviewed: 11/3/2007



A good option for affordable all you can eat shabu shabu or sukiyaki (depending on what you choose) in a modern, if not popular setting. You might have to wait during peak hours and weekends since people can take their time at an all you can eat place, though I think Momo Paradise sets a cap at 90 minutes. Shabu shabu is basically you cooking meats and vegetables in your own pot of boiling water.

Sukiyaki is more of a grill where you can cook the vegetables and meats in a sweet soy sauce. To complete the experience, Momo Paradise gives you a raw egg that you can beat and use to dip the cooked marinated meats which gives it a slippery coating that might make some queasy, but completes the sukiyaki flavor for others.



What I liked is the variety of options and that they bring everything to you. There is a vegetable cart that they will plate up for you, but you can also add a mushroom plate or other things such as tempura or bowls of rice for no additional charge.



You can also pick from beef or pork or seafood (though I liked the pork better than the beef on this occasion). Though their meat is sliced paper thin, it's quite filling if you get enough trays. Plus it cooks faster that way.



Their charges vary per person if you want one or two pots at your table (say if you guys want both shabu shabu and sukiyaki for a bigger party) or the third option of a miso soup hot pot. From NT$299 lunch to $399 dinner up to NT$499 if you want all three pots at dinner. They also have slightly discounted prices after 10pm at their Neo 19 and Chung Hsiao locations. US$12 for all you can eat shabu shabu for dinner sounds like a pretty good deal to me!


forgot to take a picture while it was full of stuff! sorry, next time. this is basically the hot pot after you've eaten everything

Also, as you can see from the 'after' picture, the soup is not really for drinking, since they start off with plain water and not a broth. The Chinese hot pot places that start with the broth (like Hundred Mushroom Garden) has soup that you DO want to drink.

For an extra charge of NT$130, you can add udon, drink and dessert to your meal, although you already get a complimentary coffee jelly dessert with the regular meal. There are also limited sides available. I liked the udon, though I wished there was a tad more and that it wasn't an extra charge for it- though I think there is vermicelli and regular noodles or rice offered with the regular price.





Everyone probably has their own favorite local shabu shabu or hot pot joint, but for a chain I feel like this is a good choice too for couples, families or even business lunches, or even as a way of introduction shabu shabu to newcomers. The only downside is that their menu is only in Chinese and Japanese, but since all the offerings are mostly available on sight, you can pick and choose. I actually first had MoMo Paradise in Japan a few years back and was so stuffed by the time we left, trying both the shabu shabu and sukiyaki pots. Having had great memories of that experience, I'd say that the service is a little different here (less cozy, more casual) at the Neo 19 location, but maybe the other locations are different.

Growing up Chinese American, I never really gave the concept of hot pot a second thought, but for those of you who watch SURVIVOR- the last season had them competing in China, where one of the rewards they had hot pot on the Great Wall. The three Americans were confused (and later complained) about what to do with the hot pot, plates of meats and vegetables that was on the table. It was actually pretty annoying how much they complained about it (if you're starving, then then hot pot is a pretty good reward and they had a LOT of stuff available!), but it definitely reminded me that not everyone knows about what it is or how it works (though hot water + raw meat = food).

OTHER LOCATIONS:

2F, 293, ZhongXiao E. Rd., Sec. 4
(02) 2772-1577
Hours: 11:30 am-2 am (3-5pm closed)

Bistro 98, 5th FL
No. 9, Zhong Xiao East Road, Sec. 4
(02) 2752-6609
11:30AM-12midnight

KMall, 5th FL
No. 50, Zhong Xiao West Road, Sec. 1
Zhong Zheng District
(02) 2382-2668
11:30AM - 11 PM

No. 6, NanJing East Road, 2FL (near Chung Shan MTR, exit 3)
(02) 2562-2328
hours: 11:30 AM -12 midnight

No. 29, Ching Chen Street
(02) 2546-2838
lunch 11:30~ 3PM; dinner 5PM - 11PM

Taida
No. 68, Roosevelt Road, Sec 4, 3FL
(02) 2363-8998
hours: 11：30 AM - 11 PM

indian/buffet: i recommend ALIBABA

ALIBABA
56-58 Nanking E., Rd., Sec. 2, 2nd Floor
(02) 2567-7163

Hours: 12pm to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11pm

website: ali88.com.tw


$$

Kid friendliness: 2 high chairs available. Service semi-kid friendly when they are busy.

Visit reviewed: 11/25/2007

(Blogger seems to not let me upload multiple pictures.. I've been trying to post this for a month.. finally, I did them one at a time and it slowly worked! argh!)

After my terrible experience with the empty trays at Aaleja's weekend buffet, I was a bit hesitant to try another one. But you can't blame a restaurant for an entirely different place right? In the end, it was a lot better than the empty trays at Aaleja's weekend brunch although they were s-l-o-w on refilling the tandoori chicken.

Ali Baba's buffet (NT$399) offers up an array of curries, appetizers, seafood and vegetarian options and even self serve ice cream. They were crowded during the lunch hour, so much so that they tried to squeeze us in this tiny table by the door. A few minutes later we were able to request a different table on the other side with some persistence.



I thought the flavors of the various curries I tried were good- not too spicy to accommodate a wider crowd- and I liked that they had the option of different naans (ie garlic instead of plain) and drinks as part of your lunch buffet, as well as samosas if you could get to it in time. The naan is fluffy and crispy, not like the dense flatbread at Aaleja.



Personally, I'm not a big fan of seafood curries or seafood in Indian food, so I didn't sample that, though they offered up some fried fish and seafood curry, as well as quite a few vegetarian options. The good thing with a buffet is that everyone can pick and choose what they want and it's a good way to sample more than one dish for the price of one dish.

You might not know that Alibaba Indian restaurant is there when walking by on the crowded street... it's on the second floor and this sign hangs in the stairway entrance.

buffet/indian: i do not recommend AALEJA weekend buffet

the buffet trays were practically this empty

AALEJA
6, Alley 5, Lane 70, Yanji St.
(02) 2773-3227

hours: weekend lunch buffet: 12 PM - 2:30 PM

NT$399

Revisit reviewed: 6/10/2007

It's 1:20PM and the natives are getting restless. For at least 30 minutes, more than 80% of the trays have been table scraps- bits of meat in curry or last few bites of oily veggies in curry or the bed of onions that usually houses the tandoori chicken.

Well, there's rice. And it's good rice because I'm starving.

The restaurant is half full and quickly fills up with new tables of customers- each one eyed like competition for the new food when it comes out.

If it ever comes out.

Everytime the kitchen bell *dings*, all eyes dart towards the kitchen to see what's coming out. Scenario from a game show? No, Sunday afternoon lunch buffet at Aaleja. My first time at the weekend buffet and most definitely my last time- I'm too disappointed to be angry really. From the bits and pieces of meat and curry I've gathered with my rice, the flavors are quite distinct and hearty, (if not a bit oily). The eggplant, the lamb, the beef, the vegetable curries all mildly spiced for a wider range of tastebuds.

Some garlic and plain naan makes it way to our table to fill us up, but it's heavy as a pizza without any toppings. It's not fluffy and magical like I'm used to.

was the naan always this dense?

The waitress half heartedly apologizes to us in Chinese saying that "everything is made fresh to order" when we complain that there's nothing to eat. I hear her echo that to at least four other tables in the room. Sure I can sort of understand if you are packed busy and my food is going to take some time to get to me. But it's a weekend buffet! Aren't you supposed to be prepared with trays and trays of food- it's not time to be "making things to order"? Refill it before it even gets close to running out, not to mention making customers wait for an hour with no results.

I've filled up on juice, rice and curry and managed to snag a few pieces of tandoori chicken that must have been on a diet, and my friend managed to get two samosas. There's no hope left for us getting anything else coming out of the kitchen in our lifetime, especially with a full house now of at least 40 customers and the hungry newbies milling about the still empty trays. It's like that episode of Survivor where all the contestants are drooling at the mere promise of food and we'd pay NT$399 even though we don't know what we're getting- in this case, not our money's worth.

maybe standing in front of the food will make it appear faster

Couldn't have been that bad? I can't believe it still and I was there. Honestly, it was the first time I wanted to walk out of a restaurant and refuse to pay. We should have, maybe it would have made them get their act together. Hello, Aaleja management- it's a weekend brunch BUFFET, please hire more chefs and don't run out of food in the first hour of your buffet! Is there any decent weekend Indian buffet in Taipei?

what about the last time I ate at Aaleja?

afternoon tea/dessert: PASTA FROLLA

PASTA FROLLA
No. 12, Lane 236, Tunhua South Road
(in the lane right behind Tunhua Sogo)
(02) 2773-3736

website: pasta-frolla.com Japanese site
orangecobo.com.tw Taiwan site

11:30 AM- 10 PM

$

Visit reviewed: 2/15/2007

My friend was giddy with excitement that she had someone to accompany her to eat "all you can eat cakes" for afternoon tea. Not a bad deal considering that NT$199 (US $6) you could eat until you couldn't eat another mouthful of frosting. But you could also buy cakes ala carte for about NT$50 each, so you would have to each eat 4 cakes to make it your money's worth, which if you think about it is a lot of cake. But if you've ever had a fantasy of eating whatever cake you wanted out of a bakery, here is your chance- mousses, cake, cheesecake, creme brulee, pie, even green tea jelly. You can also go for the full buffet- one entree and the all you can eat dessert and salad bars for NT$269.

My favorite out of the bunch was probably the creme brulee. Crackilicious sugary roof over a creamy sweet pool of creme brulee. But it was probably among the most rich creme brulee I've ever had- it was very very sweet and sugary.

We had a seat in the back during the crowded afternoon hour. It was fun watching the chefs make cake and artfully arrange the fruit on the cake, ladle sugar over it and put it in the fridge.

You get one plate and then take that plate to the counter where you point to the slice of cake you want. It's to prevent you from eating one bite from many cakes for sampling. Their cake slices are pretty big to finish, so it's best if you go with more people to sample and share. There are no signs for the cakes in English, so you have to ask or go by sight. The pinkish cake above we thought was strawberry cake, but was actually cherry. The frosting was light and whipped.

We eventually got a slice of the fruit cake we were admiring them make. It was like a hybrid of a cheesecake-mousse cake with lighter chocolate cake underneath with a flaky crust.

If you get the afternoon tea buffet, you also get to wait in line for their hot foods, such as this au gratin potato dish, which appear every half an hour. Once the server comes out, there is a mad dash and a long line. The cakes and decor is more Japanese western style than American western style which I would guess their pasta dishes taste too, but I didn't get to try the pasta. Overall, the cakes are decent- not the best desserts I've had in Taipei and definitely nothing that made me gasp "ohmygod" and want to camp out in front, but pretty affordable price for all you can eat and large variety to choose from. The setting is more plain jane cafe and crowded with students than a luxe white linen setting like Joyce East or Sabatini in the new green Sogo, but hey, their afternoon tea sets are at least two to three times as expensive.

Couldn't find anything online about Pasta Frolla except food porn pictures from blogs in Chinese. It seems to be a Japanese chain brought over here, based on their Japanese website. There also seem to be some sister cafes that are very similiar- Berry Berry 62, Orange Cobo and Apple Cobo. It gets very busy in the afternoon, so head over a little earlier to beat the crowd and bring an empty stomach and your sweet tooth if you decide to go.

Other location:

PASTA FROLLA
No. 38, Lane 187, Tun Hwa South Road
(02) 2731-4980

chinese: i recommend JENDOW VEGETARIAN BUFFET

JEN DOW VEGETARIAN BUFFET
(Lien Shiang Zhai)
No. 353, Chang Chiung Rd
(02) 2547-4788

lunch:11:15 AM - 1:45 PM (NT$600)
afternoon tea weekdays: 2:15PM-4:30PM (NT$560)
dinner: 5:30PM - 9:00 PM (NT$660)

$$

website: jendow.com.tw Chinese only

kid friendliness: high chairs and lots of finger foods and desserts

visit reviewed: 11/19/2006



Who knew there were so MANY options for vegetarians? Well, apprarently, the owners of this vegetarian buffet did. Featuring many, MANY different stations of vegetables, tofu, dim sum, sushi, soups, fried options, fresh baked puff pastry soup, noodles cooked to order, desserts, fruits, salads, ice cream, and not one, but two chocolate fountains, there's much to eat even if you aren't a vegetarian.



And knowing quite a few vegetarians, I've been to quite a few vegetarian places, even buffets, and I've never seen a place that was a large or diverse, with a lot of little touches that both non-vegetarians and vegetarians can enjoy. They even had a fridge with complimentary Coca-cola in glass coke bottles!



I know a lot of people who make fun of faux meat- "why style and make your food taste like meat if you are a vegetarian"- but it's quite amazing what is available now... even fake sashimi, chicken nuggets and bbq pork buns!








There are plenty of signs in both English and Chinese to help you identify everything, including some of the more mysterious broths and offerings, as well as to point out what desserts include and exclude egg (in case you don't eat any animal products). Unintentionally, some of the wordings are quite funny and native English speakers will probably get a kick out of them. Honestly, I do laugh when I see them, and occasionally, when I even mention the mistake or correction to the servers (not here, but at other places) sometimes I don't think they even know what to do with it.


does this make any sense to anyone?

This in particular cracked me up- instead of calling it "stinky tofu" - they politely called it "beancurd of strong odor."


can you smell it from the picture?




There is so much food to try that you probably could not taste everything if you wanted, so I will just let you see for yourself some of the types of things that they had.











For a buffet, they have a lot of fresh/made to order type options that make it stand out from other buffets. Also, they have a cool system I haven't seen yet at other places. Each table has mini clips that are clipped onto a plastic stand at your table.. if you take them with you when you browse/order your noodles or veggies, they will clip it to your dish and know where to deliver it to you when it's done.



Although they don't do this for everything- you have to wait for your puff pastry soup (in line!) and for your handrolls- it's pretty cool that you're not glued to the veggie station while they steam it up for you.




One thing to keep in mind is that you should totally stock up on any desserts you have your eye on right away, especially if you are hitting the end of the meal time since they seemed to disappear fast as everyone was finishing their meals. And it seemed like once the buffet was out, they were out, and they didn't restock.

Although the chocolate fountains were quite impressive to look at, unfortunately, the white chocolate fountain was too oily.. it slid off the banana and other things I dipped into it and it was pretty nasty. Maybe it was just that day though. Also, they had things like grape tomatoes, melons and bananas that may have been previously frozen then defrosted (slightly brown) so it wasn't as appealing as I've seen chocolate fountains in the states with marshmallows and crackers and berries. I also noticed (probably a bit too late) a crepe machine in the same section, but a lot of the nutella was hardened and I was unsure if you were supposed to do it yourself or not.



I ended up getting some Movenpick ice cream and some creme brulee/panna cotta desserts. They offer the standard little cakes, creme brulee and fruit (with or without egg) as well as some almond soup, red bean and other Chinese type desserty soups.




I wasn't sure what this was, but someone at our table was eating it.. it seemed like aloe or the grapefruit jelly like stuff they put in the drinks, and he dipped it into a sweet syrupy type of mixture.



I was quite overwhelemed by trying to write about this place- there were too many pictures, too many things to talk about! But just like eating at this buffet, I just had to dive in, pace myself and not worry to much about it. I don't know if you can tell from this how large the buffet was, but hopefully you'll get a chance to discover it for yourself. If you do, reservations strongly recommended- the place was packed especially on weekends and I heard sometimes you have to find out when they have availability.


Other locations in
Kaohsiung
(03) 317-8000
Taoyuan
(07)386-1234
Shanghai
(21) 6457-2299