chinese/dessert: i recommend HONOLULU CAFE

HONOLULU CAFE 檀島香港茶餐廳

at Xinyi Mitsukoshi A11, B1

No. 

松壽路11號B1 

( 02) 6613-1013

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: Honolulu Cafe Taipei facebook page 

hours: 11AM–3PM, 5–10PM

Price: $$

Kid Friendliness: 

Visits reviewed: 

THE SATISFYING FLAKINESS OF 192 LAYERS of pastry and a jiggly, custard-like center. This is the egg tart that has lured me and all the other people to Honolulu Cafe's first Taipei shop. 

If you hadn't heard of Honolulu Cafe, the famed cha chaan teng from Hong Kong yet, then the trays of freshly baked egg tarts from the entrance's window and the line of people wrapped around the corner outside the building might pique your curiosity to wait in line too. The store introduces itself with well placed signage "Honolulu Cafe | Since 1940" at the entrance, and hand drawn posters diagramming its egg tarts features for newbies. 

Even though I had been a fan of Honolulu Cafe's egg tarts for years, even bringing boxes back to Taipei from Hong Kong, I didn't know there were 192 layers until I saw it on the poster. I just knew that the flaky crust was one of the best egg tarts I had eaten. So I was extremely excited to hear about the opening at Xinyi Mitsukoshi A11. 

Honolulu Cafe's menu is a dizzying array of choices, especially without English translations, but luckily the waiter drops off an iPad menu of glossy photos to browse and order. 

As we swipe through the menu, everyone excitedly agreed that each person will get their own egg tart, and everything else we can share family style, including a few pineapple buns with thick slabs of butter inside, another classic Hong Kong treat.

The pineapple bun is spongy and sweet with a crumbly crust. Those who love this dish devour it with the butter, those of us who can't just eat straight butter nibble around it. I would choose the egg tart over the pineapple bun, which is not as moist as the Taiwanese bolo pineapple bun or the cha siu version of it at Tim Ho Wan. 

And let's not forget, the drinks. Iced lemon tea, coffee brewed with sweetened milk tea, or iced coffee, something that I've never had at the original shop. 

To be honest, I've never actually eaten inside Honolulu Cafe in Hong Kong, I've only picked up takeaway of a half a dozen egg tarts from their shop's front counter outside the store every time. So stepping into their restaurant I'm surprised by the bright modern decor- there are several seating sections, all slightly different with booths, tables and outdoors. 

After we've ordered, a medley of Hong Kong classics arrived to fill our table and the ones around us- dim sum favorites like steamed shrimp chang fun, platters and noodle soups of roast bbq meat, and claypot tofu dishes. 

For a filling bite, I also enjoyed the Hong Kong style french toast, two slices sandwiching a layer of peanut butter and then drenched in maple syrup and a pat of butter. 

My favorites were the roast bbq pork, crispy pork and duck that come with four different dipping sauces, the deep fried soft shell crab, and the sausage claypot rice. And of course the egg tart. 

Try to eat the egg tarts as soon as it's served. It's best eaten hot, though of course don't burn your tongue. The crust is flaky which makes it messy to eat, and the filling is more custardy and soft than dense and sweet like bruleed Portuguese egg tarts, but that's what I love about it. If you prefer the shortbread crust and filling that doesn't wobble, this might not be the egg tart for you, but for me, I'm happy since I won't have to haul back boxes from Hong Kong anymore!!! 

chinese: i strongly recommend PARADISE DYNASTY

PARADISE DYNASTY  樂天皇朝

No.68, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec. 5, 4FL

110台北市信義區忠孝東路五段68號4F 
(02)2772-6545

MRT: Taipei City Hall (exit #3)

Website: Paradise Dynasty Taipei's FB page

Hours: 11AM - 9:30PM / Thurs- Sat 11AM - 10PM

Visit reviewed: 1/18/2016

I first spotted Paradise Dynasty's colorful dumplings on Instagram before I had even heard of it, when Breeze Xinyi first opened and a flood of people started posting the newest food blogger eye candy. Then I did a walk through Breeze Xinyi's restaurant floor when I went to Crate and Barrel there, and it was pretty busy even mid afternoon. So I was excited to try it last week when a friend wanted to lunch there, and somehow managed to snag the private room they have in the back. (Later on I found out why, because there's a steep NT$8000 minimum for 8 people for the private room reservation, which is actually difficult to do because their menu is affordable).

Paradise Dynasty's signature xiao long baos are different colors because they are different flavors, though you can order individual flavors by the basket too. It is  Besides xiao long bao, they also have a full menu of Szechuan and Cantonese dishes from rice, dumplings and noodles, to seafood and vegetables to dim sum and dessert.

I also quite liked the "la mian" or hand pulled noodles -- the dan dan noodles with spicy sesame and peanut sauce (NT$130) and the dry noodles with dried shrimp and scallion oil (which was like a fragrant pork bone broth to spoon into the noodles). 

The Dan Dan noodles here were more spicy and less peanut flavored than versions I've had elsewhere, but I really enjoyed the noodles themselves. Other options for the noodles included double boiled chicken soup, minced meat and mushroom, dumpling with chili sauce, Szechuan hot and sour seafood, or spiced beef.

Looks plain, but surprisingly good. The noodles are smooth and not too soft and the broth is so slurpable.

Paradise Dynasty's most instagrammed dish is their photogenic 8 treasures xiao long bao (NT$320). The flavors are distinguished by their colors- from the center- original (white), garlic (gray), Mala (red), ginseng (green), foie gras (brown), truffle (black), cheese (yellow) and crab roe (Orange). I thought the flavors were good, but the skins broke easily, spilling out the precious "soup" and the pork is better at DTF. Between the truffle xlb here and DTF, I might have to give an edge to Din Tai Fung since DTF's is more aromatic and just peppered with truffle bits. You can also order baskets of a single flavor. 

If you're not sure what the flavors are and the server doesn't give it you, you can request a little placard that states the flavors, as well as lists the order that they recommend you try the xiao long bao from original flavor counter clockwise to the spiciest red mala dumpling.

Cheese soup dumpling 

Truffle xiao long bao 

Scramble Egg white with Fish and Conpoy (NT$240) 

Stewed bamboo shoots in oyster sauce (NT$90)

Pork dumpling with hot chili oil vinaigrette (NT$120 for 6)

Massive bowl of poached beef in Szechuan chili oil (NT$450) with mushrooms, bean sprouts and glass noodles. I accidentally bit into one of the chilis and my whole mouth went numb and tears streamed from my eyes. Had to eat a sweet stuffed red date to counteract it!! This dish is good for spicy lovers- one of my friends drank the soup like it was ramen broth! Lol! I thought the price of this was quite reasonable for the size, though most of the bowl is the chili oil broth. It's hard to capture how huge this bowl was in the photo, I'd say you'd have to hold it with two hands.

Poached chicken in Szechuan Style (NT$280) 

Stir fried la main with pork and black fungus

Crispy garlic pork ribs (NT$280) 

Radish pastry (NT$100 for 3) 

Pan fried Shanghai Pork Bun (NT$90 for 2) This was one of the few things on the menu that I didn't like. I didn't feel like the bottom was crispy enough- save room for other things and get your pan fried pork buns at the night market for less. 

Lotus paste bun with salted egg yolk (NT$80 for 2 pieces)

All in all, I really liked Paradise Dynasty. I had no expectations coming in, didn't know that it was a popular Chinese restaurant from Singapore , opened by a restaurant conglomerate there. Once you get past the gimmick of the rainbow dumplings, there's actually a broad spectrum of Chinese cuisines and  reasonably priced dishes to choose from, to share family style or to even order if you are dining alone. In a weird way, it sort of reminded me of Chinese restaurants back in LA, with the fried crispy pork ribs and the soy sauce covered stir fried noodles. The menu was clear and beautifully photographed and the food we got mostly looked liked the photos in the menu. I can see why the restaurant got an early start with the crowds and lines in Taipei- not an easy feat to accomplish in a city already full of Chinese restaurants.

new in town/mall food: i recommend BREEZE XINYI

BREEZE XINYI 微風信義 

No.68, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec. 5

110台北市信義區忠孝東路五段68號

MRT: Taipei City Hall (exit #3)

Hours: 11AM - 9:30PM / Thurs- Sat 11AM - 10PM

Visit reviewed: 11/12/2015

Opened last week, Breeze XinYi joins the crowded luxury mall space near Taipei 101 (not be confused with the nearby sister shopping centre Breeze Song Gao). With a prime spot on Zhongxiao East Road, it's right at the Taipei City Hall MRT as well as across W Hotel. Like the original Breeze Center, Breeze Xinyi is full of shops that you'd spot in Beverly Hills, such as Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Chiara Ferragni, Max Mara,  Moschino, Red Valentino, Frette, as well as Taiwan's first Crate and Barrel, selling those drool worthy table settings, cheese and cake plates, baking supplies and furniture that feels more grown up than IKEA.

After window shopping and making a wish list at Crate and Barrel, I had to see what eats were available at Breeze Xinyi. Even the "food court" is upscale, instead with a floor full of sit down restaurants on the fourth floor, from casual to fine dining, including Osteria by Angie, Ben Teppanyaki, Anzu, Ramen Champ, Paradise Dynasty, Champion Beef Noodles, Trine and Zen and a lot of other Japanese/Korean eats. Some restaurants will take reservations, but only on weekdays, while others like Paradise Dynasty will only seat first come, first serve.

It's really impressive what they've been able to do with Breeze Songgao and Breeze Xinyi, and make both shopping center's dining options distinct from what already exists in Xinyi area. They'll even open Cova (from Hong Kong) and Morton's Steakhouse on the 45th floor later this year. 

Here's a peek at Breeze Xinyi. 

Kenzo pop up coffee truck

Instead having a basement food court like most Taipei malls, they have a restaurant floor called Master Chef's Kitchen on the fourth floor. 

TRINE AND ZEN 

MOTTO YAKINIKU 牧島燒肉

02-2722-6982

Japanese fusion barbecue

MAPO KING KOREAN BBQ  韓斤麻浦

02-2723-6066

GRILL DOMI KOSUGI 
02-2723-6498

Originating in Roppongi Hills, Grill Domi Kosugi has western dishes like hamburger and steak served Japanese style. There's also omurice, omelette rice, curry and combinations in a casual setting. This is their first branch outside of Japan. 

PARADISE DYNASTY 樂天皇朝
(02)2772-6545

Move over Din Tai Fung... there's another more photogenic xiao long bao in town. Paradise Dynasty's rainbow colored dumplings have been flooding my instagram feed for the last week and it was one of the restaurants that was busy even on a weekday afternoon.

BEN TEPPANYAKI 犇鐵板燒
02-8786-0203 

Ben Teppanyaki has two private rooms that seat 8 that can be combined into one room, as well as a main open teppanyaki area. For those craving luxe waygu, top cap steak, lamb chops or lobster, served in set menu form.

I thought it was cute how their bathrooms had little signs sticking out to signal that they were bathrooms. Also they are easy to spot and not hidden in a back hallway.

QUAN ALLEY 寬巷子
02-8780-6617

Quan's elaborate entrance is very eye catching and its creative menu displayed a lot of equally elaborately presented dishes, but on instagram it seemed the main draw for Quan was its dual hotpot with slices of blush pink pork origami'ed like roses and vegetables presented as miniature gardens. When the door opened, I got a peek of the inside which looked very moody and private.

THAI BAZAAR  泰集創意料理

02-2722-8618 

ICHIZEN 一膳食堂

02-2722-0657 Unagi bowls and Japanese food

RAMEN HERO 
02-2723-7085

TSUJIRI

WAN SUSHI 丸壽司

This sushi conveyor belt shop has outlets at Breeze Center and Taipei Main Station as well.

ANZU TONKATSU 

02-2725-3339

TSUKUMI 

02-2720-3296

CHAMPION BEEF NOODLES 晶華冠軍牛肉麵坊

02-8786-8799

OSTERIA BY ANGIE 
02-2722-3618

Third location of this popular Italian fine dining eatery. My review for them is long overdue 😁

CRATE AND BARREL

I have been waiting for Crate and Barrel for months ever since I heard they would open at Breeze Xinyi. Located on B1, it's slightly smaller than I expected, but there are still a lot of drool worthy things to imagine in your house. 

MOKUOLA DEXEE DINER

(02)2723-7837

This is one of the few restaurants not on the 4th floor, instead it is on B1. In Taipei, people don't seem to eat waffles and pancakes for breakfast- instead they tend to have them for dessert or afternoon tea. So Mokuola was busy in the afternoon, with a display of whip cream and fruit covered topped pancakes for diners to choose from, coming out of the pink neon lit pancake bar. Originated in Tokyo, the Japanese Hawaiian inspired menu also offers curries, loco moco, yakisoba and colourful cocktails. Named after Coconut Island in Hawaii, this is the first branch in Taiwan, they have other branches in Tokyo and Bangkok.