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. 

dessert/snack : i recommend HARITTS COFFEE AND DONUTS

HARITTS COFFEE AND DONUTS

No. 33, Lane 81, FuXing N. Rd

松山區復興北路81巷33號

(02）8771-0645

website: Haritts Coffee and Donuts' Facebook page 

hours: 11AM - 7PM

MRT: Nanjing Fuxing

Price: $ 

Kid friendliness: kids will probably like the gooey chocolate or plain

Visit reviewed: 8/12/2016

I finally made it to Haritts Donuts which I had been seeing it on instagram for months. I just got back from LA where I had indulged in a a number of donut shops (Sidecar & DK in LA and Doughnut Plant & Dominique Ansel cronuts in NY) and craving donuts. 

Haritts is on a one way alley, a block away from Fuxing N. Road. The hand lettered signage on the entrance and on the menu inside gives it an artisanal charm. 

There are a few tables to sit inside to enjoy your coffee and donuts. 

Besides donuts, they sold packaged rusks and coffee and tea.

The donut menu is on the wall, with the same lettered signage in English and Chinese and drawings to show the dozen or so flavors. But not all the flavors were available that day even though we went around 11AM, quite close to opening, only whatever is on display in the glass counter.  They have a monthly schedule of donut flavors, available on their Facebook page (in Chinese only).

When you get them, they are wrapped in paper with cute stamps indicating the flavors on the outside folded flap.

I had to try one right away, so I tried matcha first. The donut was soft and pillowy, lightly dusted with green tea powdered sugar. But it tasted more like a bagel shaped bread dusted with powdered sugar  than the yeasted or cake donuts that we typically think of with we think donuts. Light and not greasy and comes in a dozen or so flavors, though only half were available when we went at 11AM opening yesterday. And you won't find any sprinkle or frosting covered donuts here. 

The cream cheese had a bit of flavored cream cheese inside. There was also a matcha red bean available with red bean inside and a caramel walnut with candied walnuts inside, instead of jelly and custard.

Last minute I decided to get chocolate and I'm glad I did. It had a bit of gooey chocolate in the middle, and was the most sweet of the four I tried. Of course, it's not going to be as sweet as the chocolate donuts from the states, but I guess that's why Haritts works for Taiwan (and Japan, where it's from). It's like a healthier version of a donut that doesn't taste greasy even though it was fried. Also, try to eat the donuts the same day. My best bite was right after buying it-- the donuts the next day were definitely staler and not as satisfying. 

Did I enjoy Haritts' donuts? Yes. Did it fulfill my donut craving? Sort of. Still might have to revisit Voodoo Doughnuts Taipei for a maple bacon bar. But it's not so bad to have an healthier option for donuts to go to. 

salad/desserts: i recommend SAVOUR CAFE

SAVOUR CAFE
No. 115 Xinyi Rd Sec. 4
台北市大安區信義路四段115號
(02) 2701-2498

MRT: Daan

hours: 11:30AM - 10PM

$$ (NT$400+ per person)

website: Savour Cafe's FB page

kid friendliness: quiet atmosphere, but kids may like sandwiches and desserts. i wonder if there is a drink minimum for kids.

visit reviewed: 4/12/2016

I've probably passed by Savour Cafe hundreds of times and never noticed it since (a) I'm usually on the other side of Xinyi so it's blocked by the bus stop stands in the middle and (b) the glaring MUCHO sign down the block and the red Eclat boutique hotel around the corner are more eye catching. But if you were walking down the street, you could definitely spot the cafe with the white and gold sign. 

Inside, they make the most out of their narrow space, with a few tables and throw pillow type seating and the "kitchen" and counter in the back. There are quite a few solo patrons working on their laptops and all of the customers are women (except my lunch date). Makes sense considering the light fare on the menu. By mid afternoon, all the of the tables were filled.

There are pretty much only four things on Savour Cafe's menu- a caesar salad, a baby spinach pumpkin salad, a basil chicken panini or a spicy duck breast panini (NT$180-200). The good- the salad that I had come for was delicious, especially since I had been needing a place to fill the void that the loss of Les Bebes' veggie salad left. The bad? They have a mandatory drink minimum and every drink price is jacked up to at least NT$140-180.

UGHHHHHH. I hate drink minimums. I would much prefer a restaurant have a minimum charge. I even asked the server, what if I ordered dessert? But the answer was still no. The drinks to choose from include coffee, tea, au lait, juice, soda, slush or milkshake. After reluctantly mulling over the menu for a few minutes, I tried to pick a drink with the least damage calorie wise- rose tea (NT$180).

Service was fairly quick- the paninis came out around the same time and before the salad that we were going to share. Each panini is cut into three slices and came with a few potato wedges and small salad. Both sandwiches tasted like something I could make at home, which was a good sign, meaning that I liked the flavors and the combination of elements in the sandwiches.

Spicy Duck Breast Panini (NT$180) with pan fried duck breast, jalapeño, tomato, cheddar cheese and mozzarella.

The spread with our mandatory drinks- rose tea on the left and mixed berry soda (NT$180) on the right. I probably wouldn't order the rose tea again- it was floral but not rose, and tasted like watered down tea. Luckily my friend treated me to lunch so I wouldn't lament the fact that I was forced to pay NT$180 for watered down tea. Sure makes for a pretty photo though! (lol, read with sarcasm)

Baby spinach pumpkin salad (NT$180) the salad was plentiful to share between two people (along with a sandwich each) and I liked how they added various almonds and nuts to give the salad a contrasting crunch. The dressing was a bit on the sweet side, but I thought it went well with the baby spinach. The grilled pumpkins were caramelized and tender. I wouldn't mind eating just the salad by myself, with dessert.

Toffee banana tart (NT$160) 

Whipped cream and toffee caramel sauce slathered atop frozen banana slices and cookie tart crust. Like if tiramisu and banana split had a baby. I wasn't going to order this, but I had to ask them about the red velvet cake, and then looking at instagram, it seemed quite a few people raved about the desserts. After finishing the whole thing myself, I could see why- the icy banana slices taste like ice cream and the thick toffee sauce gives it a sticky sweetness. So so good- I might have to try making it at home. They also had red velvet and cinnamon apple cake on the menu, but were out of red velvet. 

So would I come back to Savour Cafe and acquiesce to their drink minimum again? The toffee banana tart was so good that I'm thinking that the red velvet has a good chance of being good as well, so yes. Next time, I'll skip the teas and get coffee to go with my dessert instead.