western/drinks: i recommend LOVE LOVELY

LOVE LOVELY 美好生活古董行
No. 3, Lane 345, Alley 4, RenAi Rd., Sec. 4
台北市仁愛路4段345巷4弄3號
(02) 2771-3800

MRT: Zhongxiao/Dunhua

website: Love Lovely's FB page

hours: 12PM - 10PM

$$ (about NT$300-600/person)

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kids meals available

Visit reviewed: 6/19/2012 & 9/7/2012



Part Alice in Wonderland, part vintage shop, part cafe makes up the whole of Love Lovely, another new cafe making its mark in Taipei's East District.



Opened earlier this summer, Love Lovely's lovely decor has already landed it on a new book about, what else, Taipei cafes. I was invited to check it out by my friend before they soft opened, but the menu has since been revamped, so I'll be writing about my most recent visit.

The store section of Love Lovely serves as a living room counterpart to the restaurant's roomy dining area, with a large white bookcase and long tables filled with treasures to Instagram about. All of the items are handpicked by the owner and brought over from Europe. There are no price tags or obvious way of knowing that things are for sale, so if something catches your eye, just ask (though some pieces are actually just for decor as part of the owner's collection and not for sale).

The vintage pieces feel quite classic and modern, or is it that what's old becomes new again? Love Lovely's vibe is more Anthropologie than Antique Roadshow. I haven't really seen the hybrid shop/cafe model in the states, but in Taipei, the eclectic VVG restaurants and Whiple House come to mind.

Lots of charm in the small detail in everything, from the menus covered with vintage newspaper articles to the napkins and letterpress paper coasters bearing the hand drawn illustrations that seemed to have escaped a tea party from Lewis Carroll.

The English and Chinese menu features mostly Western fare, with salads, pastas, chef specials and desserts. Lunch and dinner sets are available, that include choice of sparkling water, glass of red or white wine, coffee or tea with an additional NT$70.

There's also Little Princess Mermaid or Little Price Ranger meals for the kids (with the sets costing more than the adult fare. Haha!)

The Dutch baby definitely caught my eye and I made sure to order the oven pancake with carmelized apple before my meal was over.

I had to start off with the truffle fries (NT$180) which I devoured on my first visit.

I wanted to try the quiche, but it had unfortunately been reserved by another big group to serve the whole pie with a candle atop instead of birthday cake, so I had to pick something else. The Nicoise salad (NT$230) had big chunks of potato, hardboiled eggs, and sprinklings of tuna, olives and baby corn.

The set menus came with a cup of soup- it was a broth of something or another.

I really enjoyed the black and white fried calamari (NT$210), which had some pieces breaded in squid ink batter to give an eye catching appearance. The serving basket for this and the truffle fries are fun.

We all also talked ourselves into getting the Frozen coconut mojito, which was inspired by the signature drink from The Modern Honolulu hotel. I had no idea what it was until it arrived to the table, but food je t'aime was quite excited, having had the real thing before in Hawaii.

Coconut rum + lime juice + fresh mint + ice = mojito smoothie- Now this is definitely the way to have a lunch.

I wasn't as crazy about the sauteed mushrooms and shrimp (NT$150) as I was about the other appetizers.

Bolognese Tomato Meat Sauce Spaghetti (NT$280/set)

My cousin is a VIP customer at Love Lovely, so she was able to talk them into making her favorite dish from the dinner menu, the shortrib steak for us. I would definitely order this again, it was nicely grilled and tender with that shortrib chewiness.

Before we were done eating, I wanted to make sure to order the dessert so we weren't waiting too long while it was baking and made to order. The oven pancake with apples is definitely a must try and is quite large. It probably can be shared with at least 4-6 people- we had three and barely made a dent. The pancake was fluffy and slightly crispy on the edges and is basically a dessert yorkshire pudding (if you've had that at Lawry's). It's more eggy than sweet and tastes more like a fluffy cream puff shell than an American pancake, and serves as a crust to the carmelized apples. I'd definitely order this again, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream next time.

I think I'm going to have to try making this at home sometime.

So whether you're browsing for random pieces from Paris to put on your bookshelf or a place to linger for afternoon tea (for scones, cupcakes, whoopie pies or tea), wander over to the alley near Lane 216/Yanji St to find Love Lovely.

CLOSED! new in town/bakery: i strongly recommend LES BEBES CUPCAKERY

LES BEBES CUPCAKERY 貝貝西點（杯子蛋糕）

No. 149-4, ChaoZhou St  台北市潮州街149-4號 

(02)2358-2226

CLOSED!

MRT: DaAn (Les Bebes is near Yong Kang St, so about 20 minute walk from nearest MRT)

website: Les Bebes FB page

hours: 11 AM - 8 PM

$

Kid friendliness: cupcakes come in both mini and regular and lots of sweet flavors kids will love

Visit reviewed: 9/16/2012

Before I even stepped foot into Les Bebes Cupcakery's shop, I loved their cupcakes. I had received a box of six as a gift and even though not all the frosting survived intact, it didn't change that the cupcakes were moist, sweet and fluffy, unlike many of the pretty, but dense and not sweet enough cupcakes I've tasted in Taipei.

Opened a little over a month ago, Les Bebes Cupcakery is adorable inside out- from its cupcakes to its presentation to its store. Even the storefront looked like the entrance to a giant dollhouse on an unassuming, old school alley near Yong Kang St. The owner also founded the cooking studio Mise En Place, and when they kept getting custom order after order for their cupcakes, she decided that they might as well open a cupcake shop for everyone to be able to buy them.

Once you step in the narrow store, you are drawn to the countertop where rows and rows of cupcakes sit under the glass, wearing little hats and crowns of frosting, waiting to be chosen. 

Both regular (NT$80) and mini cupcake (NT$30) sizes are available in about 10 or so flavors, with favorites like chocolate, red velvet, carrot cake (called Bunny Eats), strawberry shortcake and more unique ones like Bailey's or Earl Grey. I love how the frosting on the cupcakes is simple yet elegant and different for the various cupcakes with the tiniest of sprinkles as a finishing touch.

Carrot cake is foreign to a lot of Taiwanese people, as is red velvet, so there's a small learning curve for locals. "Why is the cupcake red?" "Is the carrot cake sweet?" I could hear the other customers asking the shop. 

My favorite cupcake and must order is the peanut butter chocolate which comes with creamy peanut butter frosting atop a chocolate cupcake, perfect for those who love Reese Peanut Butter Cups or spooning peanut butter straight out of the jar. (I gotta figure out the recipe!!) Close seconds are the red velvet and the carrot cake.

Their Kitchen Aid mixer even fits in Les Bebes' color scheme in the shop and packaging, where bright yellows pop out from the white and grey. I totally covet this!

Once you decide what flavors of cupcakes you want and how many, they take them out and put them on a wooden tray to pack up. Mini cupcakes boxes come in 1, 3, 5 or 10, while regular cupcake boxes come in 1, 3 or 6. I asked for a sample when I saw others getting a mini cupcake as a tasting sample and for a limited time, if you post a photo on your Facebook or check in, they will give you a free large cupcake or 3 minis free (the signs were in Chinese so I didn't know until I asked).

I ended up getting 10 mini cupcakes- the red velvet and carrot cake came with sweet cream cheese frosting, the coffee cupcake had what tasted like ground espresso beans in it and the chocolate cupcake was rich on the darker chocolate side. That way you can find out which one is your favorite. The cupcakes and frosting are the closest I've found in Taipei to taste like the ones that I make myself.

I love the bright, mod patterned packaging too, where the cupcakes sit into little slots that then fit perfectly in the takeaway box that comes with a handle. It keeps most of the frosting from getting mussed up, but you still do have to be careful not to tip it over. I even saved some of the packaging to transport my own baked mini cupcakes a week later.

We celebrated a girlfriend's birthday at mala hotpot and the mini cupcakes were the perfect bite to end the meal. Mostly everyone tried Les Bebes' cupcakes for the first time and oohed and ahhed at the cuteness and then became fans after eating them. A few even returned to buy a week later.

Cupcake lovers will flock to Les Bebes Cupcakery and fall in love too. 

revisited/desserts: i recommend VVG BON BON

VVG BON BON 好樣棒棒

台北市敦化南路一段161巷13號 

(02)2711-4505

MRT: Zhongxiao/Dunhua

website: vvgvvgblogspot.com Chinese only

hours: 12PM - 9PM; weekends 11AM - 9PM

$$ (about NT$630/person)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs, lots to see.

Visit reviewed: 4/9/2012
Previous visit reviewed: 7/27/2008

Figuring out a place to throw a baby shower for my friend led us to back to VVG Bon Bon, which I hadn't been for years...

Lots had stayed the same- the princess pink decor, the jars and jars of candy and sweets, rows of cupcakes, and whimsical touches...

But more loungy couch seating areas had been added in the front, like having tea in a hipster friend's living room.

And cupcakes looked fluffier, fancier, slightly bigger. There were also some other desserts, including bread puddings and the divine fudge chocolate marshmallow cake that I loved from the original VVG. 

Turned out to be the perfect place for a baby shower- there was even an adorable baby carriage near our seats that our friends asked us if we brought in. Haha!

The menu had also changed- though there was still four set menus to choose from- this season's sets featured lasagna, Indian styled beef curry pot and rice or burger, and an a la carte menu of pastas and salads.

When we started ordering, the waitress told us that they only certain numbers of certain sets available. I thought it was sort of strange, especially since we were the first customers at lunch and we had made reservations in advance, so they knew we had a large group coming. We worked it out, but I don't know if I'd be annoyed if a set I wanted was sold out.

Each set comes with a soup, salad, drink and cupcake and is served in VVG's signature bento style tray, which I've also seen at VVG Table's brunch. I ordered the Beef curry pot with Indian aromatic rice (NT$580) which had a nice sweet and spiciness and it was nice to have actual basmati rice to go with it, which quite a few Indian restaurants in Taipei skimp out on (and serve white rice instead).

 

Pumpkin soup, fresh greens...

And then the cupcake. I wasn't impressed with my cupcakes at my last visit years ago, but good for VVG Bon Bon, they improved them since then. I felt the syringe of sugar water was kind of strange as I didn't want artificial sugar added into my cupcake, but the chocolate cake and frosting was decent without it. The other cupcakes around the table were also very fanciful. We didn't get to choose our own cupcakes, but I suppose you could request your flavor in advance.

The seating in the back had been changed into a mini shop of sorts- an eclectic collection of candies, ceramics, stationary goods, bags, pillows and stuff. The candy land room was cluttered with salt water taffies, rainbow lollipops, cat shaped pillows, cupcake notecards, animal topped pens, and all sorts of cuteness.

The prices were too high for me to make an impulse purchase, but it could be a place to browse for gift giving.

One could have an Instragram/Facebook/Twitter/Weibo/Fill-in-your-social-media of-choice frenzy in here.

With all the new cute cafes and coffeeshops flooding Taipei's alleys, it was nice to come back to one of the first and see that VVG Bon Bon was worth revisiting.