indian: i strongly recommend SAFFRON

SAFFRON
38-6, TianMu E Rd
(02) 2871-4842

Hours: Lunch: 11:30AM - 2PM (closed Mon lunch)
Dinner: 5:30PM - 9:30PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 1/18/2009



The past week, two of my friends happened to bring up how Saffron is the best Indian food in Taipei. And I agree. Though it's a bit far for me in Tienmu, I've been daydreaming about going back and ordering the Chicken Murgh Mahkmali Tikka (NT$360) and the Lamb Safed Rajasthani Ghost (NT$380).



I'm a chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken kind of girl. Most of the time when I eat at an Indian restaurant, that's what I gravitate towards. That's what I know and like. I don't want it too spicy and I like it a little sweet.

So when the server handed us a menu with a lot of unfamiliar dishes and names and no pictures and recommended some new dishes, I was nervous.



But I'm glad I ordered out of my comfort zone because otherwise I would have never gotten to try some of my new favorites. And although the names don't roll off the tip of my tongue yet, it's okay because I'm more confident that the others dishes on Saffron's menu will be equally satisfying.

Next time, I will probably pick the vegetarian samosas (NT$170) over the methi pakora (NT$170) which is chopped fenugreek, onion and potato and green chili deep fried in chick pea batter.




The naan (NT$75) is made to order by the chef in the corner working at the tandoor- it's huge, hot and puffy and good. You can wander over and watch while you wait for your food to come.




At first glance, the portions for the curries seem small, but the dishes are deep and there's a lot hiding inside. I also like that Saffron's curries are rich without being greasy, and all the flavors were distinct from each other, rather than each curry being indistinguishable from the next as I've experienced at some places.

I enjoyed the sweet eggplant Baigan Bharta (NT$270) which were charcoal flamed aubergines flavored with garlic, coriander and onion...



and the spicy bhindi masala, (NT$240) okra cooked in kadai spices sprinkled with coriander.



The Murgh Makhmali Tikka (NT$360) had a creamy, nutty taste and the boneless chicken was tender and juicy.



Being one of the newer Indian restaurants in town, it's elegantly decorated with some fun seating in the corners with colorful pillows and areas to lounge. It's right next door to the Spice Shop which I've also heard is good, but it's funny that they are seriously right next door to each other.

Writing up this post, the pictures have my tastebuds salivating over all again. Has anyone been? Where is your favorite Indian restaurant in Taipei?


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street food/taiwanese: i strongly recommend XIN YI MITSUKOSHI STREET FAIR

XIN YI MITSUKOSHI STREET FAIR
at parking lot/sidewalk outside A8

hours: Some weekends. Not all the time! :)

$

Kid friendliness: lots of room for strollers and lots of finger foods

Visit reviewed: 4/18/2009



Finally, finally! I see these bright red and white tents pop up on occasion near the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi malls in Xin Yi, but I never have the time to eat there. I usually spot it after I've eaten, but this time, I saw them setting up and made a mental note to save all of my stomach to have a little sample-fest.

Basically, if you like night market food, you'll like the food here. If you've never had night market food, then it's a good place for you to explore and see if there's anything you dare to eat.

I started from one end and walked to the other and just bought whatever looked good. These are my favorites:

1- Indian wrap (beef) NT$60



Someone has gotta tell me if this is something that is actually from India, or something like Indian Taiwanese food- a wrap filled with curried ground beef, chicken or lamb or vegetables- sort of like an indian wrap, roll or burrito. I've spotted it at Rao He Night Market, Shih Lin Night market and now here (but never in the states.)



This vendor has probably been doing this for a long time, as he attracted customers by calling out in Chinese and flipping up his paratha like pizza dough before letting it bake on a hot, curved oven.



There's even dessert options if you feel like having peanut, chocolate or butter- kind of like a crepe, I suppose.



2- Fried Mushrooms NT$50

There were quite a few vendors, but this is the first one I saw. I got a mix of the two- I think abalone and chantrelle. They weren't hot off the frier, but still warm and crispy.




4- ren bien or Taiwanese summer roll/wrap/burrito



This vendor was very efficient, wrapping multiples at a time. It was very fresh, as you can see the man making fresh skins to wrap all the vegetables and meats, and she was also stir frying the cabbage.



There was quite a few different vegetables, including something pickled, so there was a crunchy as well as a soft texture; sweet from the ground peanuts as well as salty. It's not as refined as the ren bing from Shin Yeh, but just as tasty.




3- Sausages on a stick. 1 for NT$35 or 3 for NT$100



4- Stinky tofu

Okay, finally stinky tofu that was tooo stinky for me. One bite and I felt sympathy for all the people who didn't enjoy stinky tofu. Probably because this was boiled and then grilled, stuffed with a bit of pickled vegetables. With two sticks, I didn't even know how to begin to shove this in my mouth, but after one pungent bite, I gave it to my friend.




And some stuff I saw but didn't eat

Dim Sum



Sugar cane juice




And a lot of other stuff like fishballs on a stick, sausages stuffed in sticky rice (yum!), watermelon juice and squid vermicelli soup. I can't tell you when or when the street food fair happens, but sometimes you can spot them setting up Friday night or Saturday morning and they stay up through the weekend. Stop by for just a snack, or gorge on street eats the whole night for a meal.

There was a whole other section I didn't get to (between A9 and A11) but last time I spotted the tents, there were quite a few carnival style games for prizes for kids and kids at heart.



Happy Earth Day by the way!

snapshot: chicken tikka sandwich at NY BAGEL

NY BAGEL
147 Renai Rd, Sec 4, Taipei
(02) 2752-1669

$-$$

open: usually 24 hours

nybagelscafe.com mostly Chinese

Snapshot visit: 1/19/2009
Last review: 2/2006


Thought I'd try something new for lunch when meeting a new friend at NY Bagel on Ren Ai Road, but the next time I'd probably stick to what they are known for- bagels and breakfasts. What I imagined in my mind as a chicken tikka sandwich (NT$180) was totally different from what I got. Mysteriously brown shredded and spiced chicken that had no place being labeled as "chicken tikka." I guess I should have complained, but I was hungry and it was edible, it just wasn't Indian.



What is your favorite dish at NY Bagel?

Other location

No. 122, Xin Yi Rd, Sec. 5
Xin Yi District
(02) 2723-7977

No. 306, Nei Hu Road, Sec 1
(02) 2627-2886


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food court: BREEZE at TAIPEI MAIN STATION

Indian Fans
Yokohama Station
Sababa
Sweetberry &
Little South Gate at

BREEZE at TAIPEI MAIN STATION
3, BeiPing W Rd, 2F
(02) 6632-8999

website: breezecenter.com Chinese only

hours: 10 AM - 10 PM

$-$$

Kid friendliness: lots of options, relatively new and clean.

Visit reviewed: 2/22/2008

If you're looking for a casual place with something for everyone, or you don't have a lot of time but want to have a tasting menu of Taipei eateries, you should head to Breeze at Taipei Main Station. And with all the MRT lines going through the Main Station, you could stop by before you head home or off to your destination.

Essentially, it's a GIANT, full circle food court, with four main sections filled with lots of familiar eateries- Taiwan "Night Market" Chinese food; desserts/bakeries; Curries, and even a whole food court of eight different beef noodle soups shops to choose from. I guess you could have your own Iron Chef tasting if you wanted to. I'll have to give that a try next time.

When we went, we walked around the whole thing to see what our options were, and then settled on trying out the section that seemed to be where all the non-Chinese/foreign options were- curry from Indian Fans, Sababa chicken pitas and Yokohama Station's fried pork tonkatsu and omelette rice.



The Plata Sababa was reliably tasty (with hummus and roasted eggplant) and I introduced Sababa to my friend who enjoyed it. (Although I think the prices at Main Station are slightly higher than their other locations (maybe because of rent) or maybe they raised prices overall?)




The bite of omelette rice and tonkatsu I had were forgettable.




For some reason, my friend got some food from Indian Fans.The flatbread from Indian Fans didn't even look like naan, and the curry was watered down. I usually love Indian food, but the offerings on menu were not appealing to me- it seemed more adjusted to Taiwan flavors. I didn't see any tikka masala or saffron rice. This old Taipei Times article reinforces my gut reaction about the place. I'd rather eat at the other mall court staple, Indian Palace.



There is a lot of seating for each section with wooden benches and you can even take your food from one section to the next if you really want to eat something different from your family/friends.



Of course, you have to save room for dessert.




The desserts section is a white, brightly lit mod area with options like Xiao Nan Men (Little South Gate) do-hwa, Meet Fresh, Pinkberry knock off Sweetberry, Beard Papa or Oishii cream puffs, Movenpick, Mr. Donut, or various bakeries. There's also Starbucks or Mr. Brown coffee if you need a caffeine burst.




The pink and green branding of Sweetberry was just TOO similar to Pinkberry to not be a shameless knockoff. See the same shades of pink and green and similar font in exhibit number 1 from dessertbuzz.com! It's laughable that they even made the logo pretty much the same (but it's a heart). I guess since no one has heard of Pinkberry here, they thought they could get away with it. But I have!


exhibit number 1


exhibit number 2

The expensive price for the extremely small portion (NT$80) and even smaller portion of fruit was a big disappointment. The flavor was appropriately tart (like Pinkberry) and yogurt-like, but I was shocked at the lack of strawberries. I'd stick to the Xiao Nan Men do-hwa or soy tofu custard. If you want frozen yogurt in Taipei, then you'll have to head over to Yogurt Me.



Next time, I'd like to try Minder Vegetarian restaurant and some of the other desserts as well as the Beef Noodle Soup (Niao Rou Mien) section.


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indian/food court: i recommend INDIAN PALACE

INDIAN PALACE

(this location is now closed and a Cafe India has opened in the same spot a/o 8/2012)
at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi
A4: 19 Sung Kao Rd, B2

Miramar Mall, B1
22 Jing Ye 3rd Road
DaZhi, Taipei

Taipei 101 Mall food court
MRT: Taipei City Hall
website: indianpalacetaipei.googlepages.com

$

Kid friendliness: actually at Mitsukoshi they will deliver your food to your seat, rare for a food court eatery. Miramar has enclosed eating space.

Visit reviewed: 2/3/2008 and 12/7/2007

It's hard to find good Indian mall food in the states, let alone Taipei. For awhile, I was in love with this tiny corner of the old Century City Mall food court, near Ben and Jerry's and La Salsa that had combination plates for about $7 or so. Everything was just right and you could a meat and vegetable curry and naan. But one day I went to fulfill my craving and it was gone. I was pretty sad. But I guess it doesn't matter since that whole food court ended up getting torn up and there's a new fancy food court with Lawry's Carvery now. hahahah

Anyways- with Indian mall food in Taipei, I've had some terrible experiences at Curry and Tea House at 101 and some okay experiences at Tandoor at Far Eastern Mall AGES ago, but Indian Palace is the first time I've had a good experience where I would totally go back. It was actually recommended by a friend the first time and a relative the second time.



If the curry and naan are good then you can forgive everything else- the strange bland rice despite its cute heart shaped presentation, or the vague milky dessert and tea in the set menu.



I was reminded of how pleasant the whole experience was when my aunt asked me if I wanted to get some food to go from there from the Miramar Mall Food Court the other day.



Though they don't list it on their menu, they can make Chicken Tikka Masala for you. There might be other things as well if you ask. The server was as friendly at the Miramar location as they were at the Xin Yi Mitsukoshi location. The Miramar mall has their own private seating area as the host beckons the crowd to "try something different."

The glass window into the kitchen displays three Indian chefs, one of who is making naan to order in the hot tandoori oven. It's promising when you see Indian chefs right? Like when you see Mexican cooks at that hole in the wall taco place or the Chinese restaurant filled with Chinese people and the menu has Chinese and Chinese servers (nothing against ones that don't... but generally the food seems more authentic that way). At the Mitsukoshi location, you only see their picture on them menu since their kitchen is enclosed...



On both occassions, I tried to order samosas (NT$100 for 3) and they were "out." I wonder when they are offered as I went on different times of day, weekend and weekday at the different places. But no worries, their set menus (NT$180 - NT$250) with meat (Butter Chicken or and vegetarian options like Aloo Gohbi (potato and cauliflower) or lentils, include a small salad, soup and naan or rice. The size is pretty decent and probably about the size that the sit down restaurants offer for a higher price.

The curries seem quite similar to what you'd get, not too watery, not too thick. The aloo gohbi was interesting in that they cut the potatoes in slices instead of dices and there was a lot of curry rather than the drier variety I'm used to in the states. But tastewise it was fine.

My aunt also said that the tandoori chicken was too spicy the first time they ordered it, which I found strange, but not THAT strange after my visit to sit down Tandoor where EVERYTHING including the tandoori chicken was crazy spicy. So wander down to Indian Palace next time you feel like something other than Chinese mall food, be clear about how spicy you want stuff, feel free to ask if there is stuff off the menu, and let me know if you actually get some samosas!