Showing posts with label new american. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new american. Show all posts

Sunday, April 25, 2021

american/brunch: I strongly recommend BOTTLESS brunch



BOTTLESS 非瓶

No. 26-1, Qingcheng Street, Songshan District, Taipei 
(02) 2514-0089

MRT: Nanjing/Fuxing (Brown line) (3 minute walk)
website:  drinkbottless.com

hours: 11AM- 3PM; 5:30PM- 11PM

$$ 

Kid friendliness: many kid friendly dishes on the menu

Visit reviewed: April 2021/ December 2020


iceberg wedge salad 

Pork belly chilaquiles, iceberg wedge salads and giant cinnamon rolls- these are some of my must orders on the brunch menu at Bottless, the sister restaurant of Gen Creative. 



Opened over a year ago by the chefs at Gen Creative, Bottless offers two completely different menus for brunch or dinner, and most importantly to diners today, at sizable American portions at affordable prices. You won't find avocado toast or omelettes here- instead it's Korean American Chef Han Cho's heartier versions of American classics. 


Dinner is a completely different menu with appetizers, mains and desserts to share. I've only been to dinner here once when they first opened, I need to go back for dinner again! The name Bottless comes from their wine on tap concept and wanting customers to enjoy a glass of wine with their meal without the fuss. 




Broccoli and iceberg wedge salad

There are few salad options on the brunch menu. I'm a fan of their broccoli salad (NT$320) and like to get the tart dressing on the side. I love the toasted quinoa and pickled onions for the added crunch. The new iceberg wedge salad (NT$300) is a new favorite. I love how the dressing wasn't too heavy despite being creamy and I just just found myself going back for more. 



Pork belly chilaquiles 

The pork belly chilaquiles(NT$390) are My MUST ORDER dish here! it's like having nachos for brunch but fancier. the dragon corn is SUPER sweet and all the flavors just go together for the perfect bite. This was everyone's favorite at my recent visit which was everyone else's first visit. 





Grilled cheese and tomato soup

The grilled cheese and tomato soup (NT$350) was hard to share so not sure I got an accurate taste of this dish. I had 1/8 of the grilled cheese and dipped it in the tomato soup. But I LOVE tomato soup. I miss the version at Woollomoolooo, they stopped making it a few years ago. Sad face. 




Coconut curry chicken

And I was too full to enjoy this Coconut curry dish. (NT$420) With chicken, rice and slaw, this is a very complete dish for one person. 


Fried chicken and biscuits

Can't go wrong with fried chicken and biscuits (NT$380). The biscuits here are bit more dense and less fluffy and they are slightly sweet. 



Kaya French toast

Kaya French toast (NT$340)! The server gave us a heads up that we probably didn't need the additional syrup and he was right. The spongy French toast is new to the Bottless menu.


Other things to order- giant cinnamon roll, ice cream sandwiches 

I would also recommend ordering/saving room for their giant cinnamon roll (NT$260), but we didn't have room for it on this visit because it was my friend's birthday and there were a few birthday cakes already. But the cinnamon roll IS worth the calories. Other things I recommend trying from the brunch menu at Bottless are the ice cream sandwiches, the burger and the breakfast sandwich if it ever returns to the menu!

Advanced reservations recommended. 



 

BOTTLESS SPRING 2021 MENU


Monday, October 10, 2016

american: I recommend SPROUT



SPROUT 初芽
No. 33, Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 7, Tianmu
台北市士林區中山北路七段31號
(02) 2876-6080

MRT: Shipai

hours: 8:30-21:30

website: Sprout's Facebook page

price: $$-$$$ (NT$300-500/person)

kid friendliness: kid's menu and dishware available 

visit reviewed: 9/30/2016


Avocado and spinach grilled cheese sandwich. Roasted vegetable quinoa salad. Lemon ricotta pancakes. Feta spinach turkey burger. Spinach and turkey lasagna. The menu from Sprouts, a casual and busy cafe in Tianmu, reads like a menu from a restaurant in LA and one of the hardest things to do at Sprout is to decide which dish to try first. 

Serving up brunch, salads, sandwiches, pastas, smoothies and desserts, Sprout joins the latest wave of Taipei restaurants offering up American menus that were nearly nonexistent here just a few years ago. Pricing is on the higher side, but reasonable considering the portions, especially for the salads. Quite a few vegetarian friendly dishes as well as some unusual hot plates like jambalaya or Hungarian chicken.  Reservations recommended, especially for weekends. Customers are expected to place orders and pay first at the register, get a number and grab utensils, plates, cups, water, condiments at the self serve station in the center of the room. 
















Self serving station



I was torn between a lot of things on the menu, but I decided to try the prime rib roast with caramelized onions sandwich (NT$400) and add the tomato soup and iced green tea for an extra (NT$120). The sandwich came with a choice of a side dish, which you can see at the counter, and I was happy with the roasted vegetables, though I wished the portion was slightly bigger.


Loved the tomato soup as it had the right amount of creaminess, sweetness and tomato sourness and it was a satisfying portion to lead into the meal. Hard to find a good tomato soup in Taipei, and I would definitely order this again (maybe along with the green monster grilled cheese sandwich).


I used to always order the french dip at 1Bite2go, but they've recently taken it off the menu. The prime rib sandwich version at Sprout might be even better than 1Bite2Go's,  as it came with a fat tomato slice and pickled onions on the side, along with the caramelized onions that were already with the beef. The provolone and horseradish also add some depth to the flavors, so you almost don't need the au jus, though I still found myself dipping pieces of the fluffy ciabatta into the sauce.



I enviously eyed the heaping bowls of salads my lunch meeting friends ordered- the mexican chicken and avocado salad (NT$360) came with chicken, corn, baby tomatoes and avocado on a pile of lettuce  and the roasted vegetable quinoa salad (NT$340) had a touch of crumbled feta cheese atop the roasted bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes. Some of the restaurants in town have salads on their menus, but when it comes, there's no lettuce in sight, so it's great to see these American sized portions so you could potentially share dishes or pack half the salad to go for later. 




Scallops and salmon pasta in pesto sauce (NT$530) 


I wished I had saved room to try some of their desserts on the menu, like the caramel banana cream pie or the apple and maple cake, but I will have to make a return visit to try them then. I also wanted to try the breakfast smoothie bowl, which you can choose any smoothie and make it into a bowl topped with bananas, berries, chia seeds, coconut and granola. (NT$150 + price of smoothie) Otherwise, you could always swing by Dairy Queen which is right next door for a blizzard or ice cream sandwich. 

:)