CLOSED/french: i strongly recommend PAPILLON

PAPILLON
at San Want Hotel
No. 172, ZhongXiao East Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 2781-7063
(no longer a french restaurant)

Breakfast 6:30-9:30 am
Lunch 11:30 am-2 pm
Teatime 2:30-5 pm
Dinner 6-9:30 pm

website: sanwant.com

$$$

date visited: 12/25/2006




I didn't know what to expect since I had never heard much about PAPILLON, but I was pleasantly surprised- even amazed by the beautiful presentation and exquisite tastes of dinner that night. I had been invited along on a company dinner to sample a set dinner menu for the PARIS Je'TAIME film, which turned into a lovely quiet holiday celebration.



Located in the back of the lobby past the elevators of the San Want Hotel, the entrance is very unassuming and we were seating in a large elegant private room. The private rooms are for set menus only, while they have ala carte and buffet options outside. Papillon also services the all day buffet which has an entrance on the right front hand side of the hotel lobby.

They started us off with a cheese wonton that has served warm and crispy with a soft cheesy center, which whetted our appetites.





The experience was everything a fancy French restaurant should be- decadent, romantic, beautifully presented, mouth-watering and good service. Each dish had a combination of textures- soft and crunchy, sometimes sweet and salty. The sighs of happiness could be heard around the table.

The appetizer was a plate of mini-bites of seafood and jelly. I am not a big fan of jelly, but it was so beautiful to look at. The seafood was also propped up with tiny pillows of mashed potato. The flavors were enhanced by the diced mangos and apples in the center which also provided mini-bursts of crunch and sweetness.





The tuna tartare was almost like a spicy tuna roll with a base of rice at the bottom, but without the spicy and seaweed. I didn't think I would like it, but each bite was addictive- the tenderness of the tuna with the equally soft rice and the crunch of the salad above.



The waiters then delivered to us each a slice of bread that they said was shipped in from Italy especially for the holidays.. It was a sliver of a very large loaf and some googling revealed it is probably panettone bread.



The cauliflower soup was light, creamy and again perfectly flavored- served cappuccino style. I gave my smoked salmon sliver away because I don't like smoked salmon. It would have been cool if they had served them in cappuccino cups with little handles so we could have drank the soup that way.



I can't remember the last time I had lobster THIS good. While the menu said "lobster stew," it was actually broiled and tender and sweet and flavorful. I savored every bite and chewed slowly even though it was quite a sizeable portion. The fried wonton flower that it came in was slightly sweet and weirdly, it made a great partner to the lobster and the wisps of saffron sauce.




i could probably eat way too much of this

Practically after our friend at the table mentioned that they often served a refresher before the main dish, the waiters brought out a zesty lemon sorbet scoop for us to cleanse our palates for the filet mignon.




While I definitely enjoyed the filet, it was not as hot or as rare as I would have liked it. I asked for a 5 to 6, on the scale of doneness, and I guess I should have stuck to a 5. In Taiwan, they ask you for a number, 1 being raw and 10 being well done- most of the time the waiter will recommend medium or a 5. I also might have taken too long taking pictures. The vegetables on the side were also delicious, but my favorite was the eggplant.




can i order more lobster?

While our stomaches and tastebuds were reeling from the overload of flavors and courses of the night, the desserts arrived. Again, we ate with our eyes first, and we all oohed and aahed over the prettiness and girliness of this chocolate mousse. While I love dessert and I love chocolate, I don't really care for mousse, so unfortunately, this was one of my least favorite dishes of the night. But I definitely polished off all of the handmade vanilla bean ice cream.




But it was still amazing to look at-- as far as food porn experiences go, this one was definitely lived up to its appearance- it was orgasmic tasting as it looked. I was surprised, but I guess I should have been- another restaurant in the same hotel, Sumie, has been a favorite of ours for always having beautiful and original presentation of their delicious food.

I hope my pictures captured most of the experience- it was very low "romantic" light- so I bumped my ISO up to "High," turned on my digital macro, upped the exposure and adjusted the white balance. I didn't realize until dessert that some of the pictures are a little too purple, so adjust your food porn glasses accordingly please.

So the next time you need to go out for an anniversary, birthday or celebrate something special, take a seat at Papillon. (Did I say how much I loved the lobster?) In the meanwhile, I'm definitely trying the buffet next.

indian: TANDOOR

TANDOOR
No. 10 on Lane 73, HeJiang St.
(02) 2509-9853

lunch: 12 pm-2:30 pm
dinner: 6 - 10:30 pm

$$-$$$

website: tandoor.com.tw

date visited: 9/24/2006

Tandoor is one of the oldest Indian restaurants in Taipei. You can often find other Indian families or customers there, which is a good sign (don't go to a Chinese restaurant in LA that has no Chinese people there!). And I have had good experiences there in the past, except that I was thrown by the fact that the samosas (NT$120 for 4) are made out of won ton paper skin. They are still tasty, it's just an example of how they tweak the food here for Taiwanese customers.

On this night, we had a large group, some who had never eaten Indian food before. I was excited because then we could order a lot and share. The menu is English and Chinese and has all the usuals.

my plate: clockwise from the top- lamb korma, aloo gobi, mushroom rice, chicken curry, eggplant, chicken tikka masala

Like most of the other Indian eateries here, the portions are bit small for the price. But on this night, everything was SO spicy, even the Tandoori chicken (NT$480 full/NT$240 half), served on a sizzling plate with four pieces of thigh-legs on a bed of onions.

if my tastebuds could cry from the spiciness, they would have

I've never had Tandoori chicken that was spicy at all, much less THIS spicy. We didn't specify to the waiter about the level of heat we wanted, and he never asked-- but it seemed like either (1) we were being tested or (2) someone in the kitchen lost their tastebuds. Everything we ordered was painful to eat, I had to gulp down with lots of rice (NT$80) and naan and water- the chicken curry (NT290), chicken tikka masala (NT$350), lamb korma (NT300) and eggplant and aloo gobi. Only the rice was not killer spicy, but it was a bit dry. It's not really worth it to pay extra for the mushroom pullao rice (NT$200) since the mushrooms seem like they are canned and it doesn't taste that much different. The lamb was also a bit stringy.

I want to say this is an "off" situation because it didn't happen to me on the previous visit. So until I try it the next time, I can't offer a recommend since my tummy didn't feel well from the spiciness that night and the next day. It also made me like the flavors of Aaleja in contrast to our experience here, even after I was disappointed with their last visit.. maybe I wasn't having the best luck with Indian restaurants that month. I just couldn't enjoy the curry's flavor. So far warning- be clear about what level of heat you can handle, even if the wait staff doesn't ask you when they take your order. In addition to that misstep from our servers that night, I have to note that they are hard to wave down.

It seems that quite a few other people have had the same experience with inconsistency of their visits. It's tough since there are such few good places to eat good Indian food in Taipei- but there are few more around that I haven't tried yet, New Delhi and Ali Baba's, and even some that I've been hearing good things about- the Spice Shop. For the best value, I guess you should check it out during their weekend lunch buffet (12:00~2:30PM or 6:00~ 10:30PM) to see if it's for you. You can also check their website for different coupons each month.

breakfast/brunch/buffet: CAFE at HYATT TAIPEI

CAFE at GRAND HYATT TAIPEI
No.2, Sung Shou Road, 1FL
Taipei, Taiwan
(02) 2720 1234

Breakfast 6:30am - 10:30am
Lunch 11:30am - 3:00pm
Dinner 5:30pm - 10:00pm

$$$

date visited: 11/16/2006

(Can I just say how much I LOVE my new camera?? It's a Canon Digital Ixus 800 and only a few days old and I've taken so many food close up photos already. Hope you enjoy the new and improved photos.)

porridge closeup

The buffet at the Hyatt doesn't come cheap at NT$650/person, but it does offer a large array of both western and eastern style breakfast and brunch. From scrambled eggs, omelettes and eggs made to order and sausage/bacon/ham to dim sum and congee/porridge with all the sides such as pickles, thousand year old egg, dried pork, mushrooms, peanuts, and more to lots of doughnuts, pastries bread and made-to-order pancakes, french toast or waffles station with honeycomb honey- you shouldn't leave hungry.

porridge with chinese pickles, mushroom, dried pork, 1000 year old egg and chinese doughnut

I started out with the bowl of porridge- they have plain or the one with spareribs and bamboo. After getting all the sides and tasting it, I had wished I just got the plain one. Either the bamboo or the meat made it taste a bit sour, and I just found something off about the flavor overall.



Next I had some corned beef hash and fruit. The fruit was very fresh and naturally sweet, unlike the overly sugared fruit from Pearl Liang in the Hyatt on the 2nd floor.



While the waffles weren't as crispy as I'd have liked, I was happy to have found the station since it was hidden away near the front of the entrance, sort of disjointed from the rest of the buffet area, which has a natural flow. I could have even left without eating anything from it, but I asked my mom where she got all the pastries from. When I found it, I was so excited- you could choose to have freshly made waffles, pancakes or french toast, with honey from a honeycomb or various syrups and toppings including whipped cream or chocolate sauce. I tried a little of both the french toast and the waffles and added my own bananas.

jam

french toast and waffles.. i added fresh bananas

For a hotel buffet, it's got a lot to offer. But the wide variety of selections of Chinese and American brunch options doesn't come cheap. At hotel prices similar to Vegas all you can eateries at over NT$600 (or US$18), you'd either have to be very hungry or looking for the convienence and ambience.


tea
jam

korean/bbq grill: FIRE TREE SILVER FLOWER KOREAN BBQ

FIRE TREE SILVER FLOWER- KOREAN ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ (as translated by my friend)
(in chinese: HUO SU ING HWA 火樹銀花-韓式燒烤)
No.3-10, Jinan Rd., Sec. 2,
Jhongjheng District
(02) 2321-2729

Lunch: 11:30AM-2PM
Dinner: 5PM-9PM

$

date visited: 9/28/2006



I was going to wait until I found out/translated the address until I posted this, but I will go ahead and do a preliminary post in honor of my first trip to Korea today! I am headed to Pusan/Busan for a week and will hopefully be eating a lot of GOOD Korean food. I haven't decided if I will feature any of the food there, since it is sort of off topic (not in Taipei!)- but we'll see!

I was invited by some friends to go eat Korean BBQ- I was quite excited since I really like the sweet and spicy marinade of bulgogi, kalbi and the like. This place is a little different than I expected, since it is more like a traditional Taiwan bbq with a Korean twist. It's all you can eat for a set price (NT$285/person at lunch, NT$329/person at dinner), with an area where you can grab your own meats and vegetables to grill/put in a soup at your table, and a panchan cold dishes bar to also plate up. The dishes are a refreshing partner to the taste of the grill.

my selection of panchan: edamame, spicy fishcake, seaweed,
soybean sprouts, tofu

What's different here is that every so often, the kitchen will bring out a few dishes of something- in our case, it was sweet fried chicken, seafood pancake or ha mul pajeon , and candied fried sweet potato dessert. The sesame fried chicken was slightly sweet and breaded, kind of like orange chicken. I like orange chicken, so I liked it.

While the waitress brought the pancake from table to table to ensure everyone got a piece, they placed the sweet potato down- which made for a mad frenzy of each table sending a representative to go grab enough for their table. The seafood pancake was light and slightly crispy, and so good that we asked the waitress if they were having another round later. At first she said no, but towards the end of the night, we got a pleasant surprise by getting a plate all to ourselves.

the seafood pancake or ha mul pajeon

The candied sweet potato had a hard crunchy shell, I think from dipping the sugar coated fried sweet potato into cold water, and was sticky and sweet and goooood.

the candied sweet potato

I kind of wished that you could order a Dol sot bibim bap or a stone rice dish with vegetables and meat, like they had at Bullfight Yakiniku, but it's available during lunch for a very affordable NT$100. I am not sure if that's something you can order ala carte, or an extra fee you have to pay with your all you can eat fee. They also didn't offer any jap chae, a stir fried vermicelli dish.

Some of the meats were REALLY spicy, and when grilled and stirfried together with the less spicy meats and the vegetables, I found the overall taste of the meats to be more spicy than anything else. I guess you could prevent this by not having any of the spicy chicken on the grill in the first place and sit with people who don't want spicy foods either. It's not that I don't like spicy foods, I do, it's just that the heat overcame any of the other flavor that I could enjoy.

the meats and vegetables on the grill

time for the next round!

Lots of people finish off their meal with the soup in which you can put vegetables, seafood and meat.

While I found their meat selection to be less varied and not marinated like I expected with only 1 selection each of chicken (very spicy), beef, lamb and pork, the Korean appetizers that came out made up for it. It's a good option if you like your flavors spicy or you are bored of the regular bbq/hotpot experience, but if you really want higher quality meat and seafood, you should probably go to Momo Paradise or Bullfight Yakiniku, . You also have to kind of guess/eyeball what you are getting since nothing is really labeled in the areas where you grab the meats, vegetables, cold dishes. Their dessert selection is slim- limited to a few fruits, but they send out the candied sweet potatoes as their grand finale.

It's not a huge space with about 15 tables crowded together, so you might check for reservation earlier in the evening if you want to go. I wouldn't say it's very baby friendly as the tables are quite close together and the restroom is a squat toliet- although they do open early at 5pm so you could go for an early dinner. But the servers are very friendly and helpful as its seems like a Korean family/friend run business, compared to some of the nonchalant attitudes you might get from the young local waiters who work at the various hot pot/bbq places. I wouldn't rule out going again, but it's probably more fun with a group of friends rather than a couple or a business lunch. In the back of my mind, I compare this place to a place my friend took me in Orange County, near UC Irvine that had some of the best Kalbi I have had in awhile- and this place didn't quite compare. I have heard about other good Korean restaurants here so I will probably try them out first. And we'll see what the food is like in Korea!

indian/revisted: AALEJA

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

Lunch 11am to 2pm
Dinners 5pm to 10:30pm

$$

kid friendliness: high chair available, no kids setting offered

revisted review: 9/19/2006

Today I headed to AALEJA again, getting a seat right before the busy lunch hour. Good thing too, especially as the restaurant started to fill its tables, it was hard to get service, and it was hard to wave someone down for more water, a forgotten bowl of basmati rice and the bill. Though the two waiters were friendly, it was too understaffed for the six to eight tables that were there when we left. STRIKE ONE: not enough servers during lunch hour

The Tandoori Chicken (half order) was disappointing as the pieces seemed bony rather than meaty. I felt a little this way last time, though I thought it was because I got the leftover pieces from a group of eaters. However, with a half order, we got a bony thigh, a medium meaty breast, and a tiny leg upon the hot plate of onions and tomato. The flavor was still tangy and tender, but just expected more bites out of the order, especially in comparison to experiences at other Indian restaurants. STRIKE TWO: more bones than meat from the Tandoori Chicken

STRIKE THREE: Another disappointment this day- the Naan! It was dense and heavy, like pita bread rather than fluffy crispy naan I've come to love. Did I order wrong, I thought to myself? I asked for original flavor in chinese, but this was not like the Naan I had before. I even compared it to the picture from the last visit. As the servers were busy attending to other customers and we were ready to leave, I didn't bring it up to the waiters.

The Mutton Korma and potato side we ordered were still very good. The rice was a good accompaniment, though more like sticky rice than basmati rice, maybe to accomodate to the Taiwanese tastes. As I heard other customers order the lunch special set (which I didn't know about since I didn't see it on the menu and the server didn't mention it), I was a little curious- but it definitely on the light side with one meat dish and rice, naan, soup, fruit, drink (though I heard there are different levels of lunch sets). Our lunch for two ran about NT$1210 (with service fee), as my friend also ordered soup and a strawberry lassi. I will have to try the other Indian restaurants before returning to AALEJA to compare, but for now I'm revising my "strongly recommend" to a neutral recommend because of their three strikes today.


original review posted: 6/20/2006
visit reviewed: 4/23/2006

I really enjoy Indian food, and I think that I've had some of the best Indian food in Asia- Singapore, Hong Kong and now Taipei. There are actually quite a few Indian restaurants in Taipei to choose from, but sometimes that becomes more confusing- which one is "authentic" and which ones cater too much to the Taiwanese tastebuds?

On this occassion, I was actually searching most of the day to choose one Indian restaurant for a group family excursion and set with the near impossible task of finding one that might have a private room- as they do in many Chinese restaurants. Calls placed to Tandoor, Ali Baba and New Delhi asking if they had a private room resulted in varied interesting responses (one "no" and then hang up, one confused no and one polite no.) After scouring various internet boards, quite a few TaiwanHo! forum posters recommend Aaleja. To my surprise, they actually had a private room available (and were friendlier than some of the other restaurants on the phone I had called)!

After a few twists and turns, you will find the entrance, which at night is light by a neon sign and a large lit entrance collage of food photos.


The dinner was great. We got an assortment of curries: the mutton karahi (NT$410), chicken vindaloo (NT$300), beef korma (NT$310), the eggplant masala (NT$190), as well as the chicken tandoori (full chicken NT$550), samosas (3 for NT$160) and naan (NT$50)/ garlic naan (NT$70). We also got a rice dish (which I can't remember the name) and to my surprise it was curried instead of plain basmati rice.

Each of the curries were had distinct and complimenting flavors to another, and the meats were stewed to tenderness .



Our full order of chicken tandoori was split into two hot plates. The chicken was tender and flavorful.


The naan was soft and crispy.


The samosas was the only disappointment because the skins were slightly soggy and not crispy.


Our table of seven people finished everything!

The private room had very cool mural along one side of the wall and a tv in the other corner that played Bollywood films, perhaps to help transport you to India. The restaurant area was crowded and boisterous. The service was friendly and accomodating. The food took a little while to be served, but once the food came, it all came fairly quickly. I'd like to return to try their weekend brunch buffet, mmmmm.

revisited/afternoon tea: CHA LOUNGE

CHA LOUNGE
Grand Hyatt Hotel
No.2, Sung Shou Road
Taipei
(02) 2720-1234

Hours: 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Monday - Friday)
1:00 pm - 6:00 pm (Saturday, Sunday and Holidays)
Evening dessert buffet: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

$$$

date reviewed: 4/27/2006



I suppose the key to ANY buffet style venue is to go early. Everything will look beautiful, you will get to have the first pick of array, and everything will be freshly made. You will get to have the first slice of desserts, or the first scoop of fruits, rather than having to settle for other people's leftovers.

My second experience to Cha Lounge was very different from my first one. This time, the cakes stood up straight, there weren't missing elements in the buffet, and we didn't feel rushed.

While I still think it's quite expensive for afternoon tea at NT$600 or US$18 (I have since discovered a lot of coffee shops and different places offer afternoon tea to drum up business during sleepy hours), it's a place you could go with a bunch of girlfriends to treat yourselves, or to have a business meeting where you could charge it to the company. The lounge is quite stylish and the Hyatt is very easy to find.



Their assortment of desserts varied from cakes to ice cream to fruit tarts, as well as the chef station, which apparently they change up every so often. Nothing too special, but a lot of variety. Last time, it was sauteed strawberries.


This time it was some mysterious funnel-cake like pastry, though it was not crispy or sweet like funnel cake. Unforunately, it looks better than it tasted.



So though this post is to soften my previous "do not recommend" to a try it if you want to try it. I ended up here since my friend wanted afternoon tea and Joyce East closes theirs at 4:30pm. Just be sure not to go the last half hour or so. There's not much left and they promptly remove everything on the dot of their closing time.

thai: i recommend SPICE MARKET

SPICE MARKET
Eslite Mall (XinYi)
11, SongGao Road, 6th Floor
(02) 8786-0029

Weekdays 12-2:30 pm NT$550, 6-9:30 pm NT$680
Weekends/Holidays 12-4 pm NT$600, 5:30-9:30 pm NT$780

$$

kid friendliness: high chairs available, ice cream and dessert buffet, some of dishes on spicier side so check for varying spiciness

last visited: 3/7/2006 & 4/19/2006

The first time we went to Spice Market, I was very impressed with its wide array of mini-stations including a curry bar, a seafood bar, a noodle soup bar, a bbq meat bar, appetizer and salad bars, and a dessert bar; its earthy, pretty and clean decor with lots of cherry woods and Asian-inspired designs and variations in seating; but most of all with the spring rolls- they were crisp, freshly made and satisfying. I was very excited to come back- after all, I barely skimmed the surface of the buffet and left stuffed.

When you enter, there are rows of tables for parties of 2-4 with the typical wooden tables and chairs, but off to the right, there are mini-patio style seating areas with cushions, each with its own area for larger parties where you see a lot of families. When you turn the corner, there is a very long row of food, with hot foods to one side and drinks and desserts to the other side. Everything is self serve, including the drinks, but they are pretty timely about whisking away your dishes.


As I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the buffet area, you'll have to see the food from my plate. Spice Market has a lot of the popular fare- such as crispy spring rolls and shrimp cakes, the triangle shaped deep fried appetizers, as well as some stir fry vegetables of different variations. I liked that they seemed to refresh the areas often, perhaps because they kept the heat-lamp bowls smaller than typical trays of food, so that the food didn't sit out as long. But I liked the result- unbuffet-like hot and crispy eggrolls and vegetables that weren't soggy from sitting out too long.


The seafood bar at the end of the long buffet row had piles of crab, shrimp and mussels, for which I just sampled the mussels. True seafood buffet lovers might opt to get their hands dirty and dig into the shellfish. I went instead for the bbq meat station, which on my first trip featured very tender and delicious chicken, beef and lamb. On my second trip, the meats looked like they had been sitting out longer than they should. Perhaps because we were there during the last hour of the dinner buffet and not during the height of lunch? I don't know if I had requested to the bbq guy if he would have made me some fresh bbq grill. Anyways, the thing that I did not like from the grill was this mysterious sausage on a bone- but it was not really a real part of a distinguishable animal and it tasted like it had been cobbled together.


It might be a fun treat for kids, but not for me. I would rather eat a corn dog for my mystery meat quota.

Not a part of the bbq meat area, is a lone Thai prime rib station at the end, with pre-sliced portions. It looked promising, but the meat was a little tough and bland for prime rib. I was disappointed with it both times I visited.


Taste wise, my favorite hot dish was probably the noodle soup station. You can point to the vegetables, mushrooms, meatballs or noodles you want, or ask the Chef to decide for you, to get a hot, customized noodle soup. You can choose from a wide white rice noodle, an egg noodle, or a clear thin rice noodle as well as two different soups- a clear chicken broth or a spicier curry soup. I really enjoyed the taste of the chicken broth with the chewy wider rice noodle. In Chinese, a noodle that is "just right" is very "Q"- the right amount of chewy-ness, sort of like pasta when it's al dente. The noodles there were surprisingly Q.


The curry station featured 5-6 different curries with different meats- chicken, beef, pork and three kinds of rice- white rice, Thai black rice and a curry rice. I found the tastes of the different curries to be very similar and each packed a little bit of heat. I was disappointed that the only other thing in each curry and meat were huge chunks of potato- no other vegetables or bamboo.

The dessert station featured fruit, lots of little cakes, an area where you could put together your own jellies, tapiocas, beans or fruit into your own soupy dessert (similar to toppings you would see for shaved ice without the ice or Filipino halo halo drinks) and a Movenpick ice cream freezer, with sugar cones and chocolate and strawberry syrups on the side. You can even choose your own drink with their small silver cups- with a fountain featuring Calpis, Rose and Fruit Ice Tea, Mango juice or Thai Ice Tea.

The second time I went to Spice Market, I still devoured the spring rolls, the noodle soup bar and the desserts. I just felt that the level of "wow a buffet that has food that seems made to order freshness" was not the same, especially for the meat bbq station. As with any buffet- Spice Market offers eaters a chance to sample and choose from a huge variety of foods that they typically wouldn't be able to order in one sitting as an individual or couple. On my second trip, I found myself wishing they had other Thai favorites like Pad Thai or Pad See Yew or Pineapple Fried Rice, but I could also see why a buffet would choose not to have sticky noodles that wouldn't sit out well. So I definitely recommend that one could try Spice Market at least once, perhaps for lunch, because you will definitely come away full.