middle eastern: i strongly recommend SABABA PITA BAR

SABABA PITA BAR
8, Alley 54, Ln 118, Heping E Rd, Sec 2
(02) 2738-7769

website: sababapita.com

hours: 11 AM to 9 PM
closed Sundays

$

CASH ONLY

Kid friendliness: no high chairs and small seating area - so tough for strollers, though finger foods quite kid friendly. Recommend calling ahead and getting food-to-go if you have lots of kids or baby.

Visit reviewed: 6/6/2007

The hummus here will make you hum about Sababa to all your friends afterwards. And if you've never had hummus before, you should give it try and have one of their sandwiches as well. After having it a few weeks ago, I had been thinking about the food ever since. It's simple and light and easy on the wallet- yet there are complex and hearty flavors in the food. They have pita sandwiches (NT$98) and plates (NT$158) with combo option of adding fries and a drink (add NT$50).

So last night, I got some more Sababa food to go and I have to say it traveled better than I thought it would back to my dining table.

The first time, I made the mistake of just ordering a hummus combo plate, the plata sababa (NT$158), as my lunch. Hummus is a creamy blend of chickpeas and sesame tahini with lemon and garlicky flavors to keep everything interesting, and plated with the roasted eggplant gives it a slightly sweet partner to dip your pita bread in.



While it was sizeable- it was more like an appetizer with a plate full of hummus, roasted eggplant and sliced pita to dip it in. I had to ask my friends to try it out so that I didn't feel forced to finish it- all hummus and pita and no meat was starting to feel a bit heavy and I was eyeing my friend's combo pita sandwich.



my friend's combo sandwich, not my chicken pita!


This time, I was smart, I ordered a Chicken Soulvaki Pita (NT$98) as my protein and the plata sababa to share, as well as some Moroccan cigars (NT$88 for 2) on the side. Everything came in paper bag (smartly imprinted with Sababa's info and a map) so the cigars stayed crispy and didn't get soggy like some fried foods to-go do. My chicken pita was stuffed full of large diced chicken breast pieces with some tomato slices and filled with green homemade yogurt sauce which made the sandwich moist without being too greasy (like mayo). The pita was soft and fresh- and they even stuff the part they cut off into your sandwich- which I promptly used to dip into the hummus.

The Moroccan Cigars were like I remembered the first time- a bit spicy with ground beef and pine nuts, wrapped in long cigar-like egg roll skin, deep fried and crispy.



It's usually made with phyllo dough, but the egg roll skin gives it a unique fusion twist which is perfect to cater to the Taiwanese tastes without taking away from its original flavor. My vegetarian friend had the Egyptian Cigars (NT$88 for 2), which were made from spinach and herbed cheddar- but must warn you, it's quite spicy! Much spicier than the beef and without warning on the menu. I also didn't spot any spinach in my bite, but he liked it. I think I also like it because it reminds me of taquitos and while it's quite different, it's similar enough to make me happy.

It's not easy to find since it's located off in the alley off a lane off a street, but check out their map on the website and look for the red sign hanging outside their little shop. They also don't have any sweets/desserts, so if you are still hungry afterwards, you can get a smoothie or drink next door, especially on a hot day. (I got the guava/grapefruit juice and it was very refreshing and surprisingly good combo).



The English menu is written on the chalkboard behind the counter, as well as menus with both English and Chinese floating around the front. You order at the bar as well as pick up your own food when your number is called and I recommend getting there a little before noon to beat the lunch college crowd to get a seat.



We lucked out by doing just that and getting a table in the back before it quickly filled up. There's probably no more than 18 seats or so as well as seating at the pita bar, and it feels sort of like fast food joint with all the tiled tables, but a wee bit nicer. They also make everything to order, so if you get there before the rush, you don't have to wait extra long to eat! If you are getting food to go, I recommend calling ahead so you don't have to wait. Also, to-go orders are buy 5 get 1 free, so try something different next time for your office lunch or order food to go and let the kids try something different.

There's also quite a few options for vegetarians that are filling and satisfying for even non-vegetarians. Besides the plata sababa and Egyptian cigars, there's also an Eggplant or Falafel pita sandwiches as options, or the Labneh Eggplant Salat, which had a lot of homemade yogurt cheese - which is more an appetizer plate rather than a lunch or dinner plate as we discovered.



Opened by the same people who brought Citizen Cain to Taipei, Sababa has quickly gained many loyal customers. I heard a lot about it on the various Taiwan forums before getting a chance to visit and now they have opened another location, as well as offer franchising opportunities- so you might see more and more Sababa's around town.

Our dinner to go was NT$530 (US$16) for 2 sandwiches, 4 cigars and 1 plata sababa and very satisfying- can't beat that price at most of the western/foreign eateries in town! Even in LA, 2 pita sandwiches, hummus and sides would be about the same, maybe even more.

OTHER LOCATIONS

Gong Guan branch
17, Lane 283, LuoSiFu (Roosevelt) Rd, Sec 3, 1F
(02) 2363-8009
Hours: 11:30 am-9:30 pm

Yong Kang branch
No. 3, Lane 12, Yong Kang St
Phone: (02) 2327 9159
Fax: (02) 2327 9159
Sunday~Thursday 11am~10pm
Friday&Saturday 11am~10:30pm

Breeze Center at
Taipei Main Station
(02)6632-8999 # 2557
Fax: 02-2389-5720
Monday - Friday 11am ~ 9:30pm
Saturday - Sunday 11am ~ 10pm

Who else recommends it?
Taipei Times

foodcourt: VIE SHOW CINEMAS FOODCOURT

VIE SHOW CINEMAS FOODCOURT
No. 16, Sung Shou Road, 2F

$

kid friendliness: no high chairs, but room to put your strollers. Play area and arcade in the back, as well as downstairs, though the downstairs arcade is quite loud and noisy

website: vscinemas.com.tw

last visited: 6/ 8/2007

I have to say I'm pretty fascinated with the food courts in Taipei. They are mostly the same in the different malls with different variations, but sometimes you might find some unique offerings. If you need a quick bite to eat before you watch a movie at Warner Vie Show Cinemas near 101 or you're in town for a trade show (like Computex), what do you eat?

Since I've seen quite a few movies, I've circled around this food court many a times. There's Burger King, Haagen Daaz, Doner Kebab, Teppanyaki, crepes, Korean bimbimbap, Vietnamese pho, Indian curry, Chinese wonton noodles, Japanese omelette and curry, Taiwanese snacks, shaved ice, Buffalo Steak, Dennis Deli, even a Froot juice bar and Bellini Italian cafe to the outside of it and LA Cafe downstairs.

There used to even be a Mexican shop-Taco Taco, but it's now extra seating area. (And yes, I tried it and yes, there's a reason why it's out of business).



Well, here's my shortlist of hits and misses-

HITS

• BURGER KING- because you can't go wrong with a whopper. Quick and same as you'd expect at any other BK
  
• DONER KEBAB- This place is growing on me. You can get the chicken or beef or both in a wrap or bun, and with the lettuce, tomato, olives, onions and sauces customized to your preference- it's like Subway, but better. With fries and a drink (NT$150).
  
  
  
  
• CHINESE NOODLE SHOP- the wontons and noodles are cheap and food court-level tasty
  
  
  
  
• HAAGEN DAAZ- although their service is terribly s-l-o-w sometimes. If so, just go downstairs and around the corner to the much faster and friendlier new kid on the block, Coldstones.
  
• FROOT- It's not Jamba Juice, but it's close. They have a few tasty drinks (NT$80+) especially on a hot summer day.
  
• BELLINI PASTA PASTA- usually tasty Japanese style Italian pasta, but bit longer wait than food court food. Just come a little earlier than your movie time.
  
  
• TAIWANESE SNACKS- just a few bags to sneak into the theater, and they supply the long toothpicks for your green beans, tofu, tempura or other traditional Taiwanese snacks. Good flavor and slightly healthier than Burger King.
  

MISSES

• PHO- haven't had the pho here yet, but it's the same chain as the one in Eslite and I never see anyone ordering from there. Ever.
  
• KOREAN SPECIALISP- (their typo, not mine) WIthout asking, they drench the bimbimbap with hot sauce, so that it's unbearably hot (spice wise and temperature wise) without much flavor to the beef or pickled vegetables. The rice gets burned on the bottom without getting crispy and what's up with the lettuce? I do like the side of thousand year old egg and tofu with the set lunch (NT$150). If you're craving bimbimbap, go to the foodcourt at 101 instead. They also have many side order options where this place doesn't.
  
  
  
  
• CREPE PLACE- Maybe it's better now that it's moved where the tako-yaki place used to be. But when I last got a crepe a few years ago, it was stiff and tasted like cardboard.
  
  
  
  
• BUFFALO STEAK- It's not buffalo, but I'm not sure it's beef either. Tough yet mushy and bland- though you can't tell by looking at it.

Of course, you could always stick to popcorn (I like to get mine mostly sweet and some salty- personally, I'm addicted to the kettle corn option here) and a slurpie from 7-11 in the Neo 19 building.

BTW, looking for movie times or buying tickets online in English? Try vscinemas.com.tw

I'm hoping to cover more foodcourts and mall restaurants the same way, with all the info in one post. The businesses in Taipei don't make it easy for you though, with all the websites in Chinese and on several occasions, I've even asked their information desks and they always seem to have "run out" of their English brochures.