american/bakery: i strongly recommend HERITAGE BAKERY AND CAFE

HERITAGE BAKERY AND CAFE
台北市中正區漢口街一段73號之2
(02) 2311-1079

MRT: Taipei Main Station (about 10 minute walk) or Ximen Station (about 8 minute walk) or NTU Hospital (about 10 minute walk)

website: Heritage Bakery's Facebook page

hours: 11AM - 7PM (closed Mondays)

$$ 

Kid friendliness: seating on second floor, elevator available. kids will love the cinnamon buns and desserts

Visit reviewed: 3/16/2017

Must orders: cinnamon roll, salted caramel cheesecake, carrot cake

[TAIPEI]  Anyone who has been craving warm, sticky cinnamon buns in Taipei must get themselves to Heritage Bakery now. Opened in September 2016, Heritage Bakery is the result of owner Sally Song transforming an old family building into a gorgeous bakery/cafe serving a counter full of American style cakes and desserts, including a plate of cinnamon buns beckoning at the entrance's window. The cafe's classic and clean decor, peppered with refurbished vintage fans and speakers as decoration, and bookended by the original building's brick and concrete walls, looks like it could be out of the pages of Pottery Barn or Williams Sonoma catalog, both companies that Song previously worked for.  

There's currently only one savory item on the menu, a bacon mushroom potato tart, creamy and crisp, topped with a thin layer of cheese with a subtle layer of local pepper (NT$180). I wished there were more mushrooms and less potatoes since it's quite filling, but I polished off the entire thing anyways anyways.

But we are here for the desserts and there's so many to choose from! I settled on trying the most popular items- the cinnamon roll and the salted caramel cheesecake. Song said that there was definitely a learning curve in working with her pastry chef, who is Taiwanese and has never traveled to the US, to create authentic flavors and textures with rounds of recipe testing without having tasted the real thing. Considering the differences the palate between Asian desserts and American desserts, the results are pretty amazing, as all the desserts I tried were on point. 

Cutting open the salted caramel cheesecake, I could already tell I would like it. Not as dense and firm as NY cheesecake (and less cakey than the Japanese style cheesecake that is popular in Taipei), Heritage Bakery's cheesecake is more melt-in-your-mouth creamy and smooth, as a result of being made from cream cheese, marscapone and sour cream. Perfection with the sweet caramel swirls and touch of salt to balance the sweetness. 

And the cinnamon bun tasted as good as it looks. My fork easily cut apart each layer, which was moist, fluffy and pleasurable with a sticky finish from the caramelized sugars and cinnamon coating. I've tried my share of cinnamon rolls in Taipei (Fly's Kitchen, Mia Cucina, IKEA, Original Bakery, Bonjour Bakery, La Petite Pearl to name a few) and this one is the closest I've had yet to my Cinnabon cravings.  My only regret is that I didn't pick up a few extra to share and eat in the morning for breakfast. Don't make my same mistake.

Balsamic strawberry chocolate tart 

Guava Delight (NT$150)

Passionfruit meringue (NT$180)

Good Ol' Carrot Cake (NT$150)

Even though Heritage has been open for only a few months, Song has ideas about the bakery's space for the future- hoping to bring other bakeries or chefs for pop-ups in Taipei, since the bakery is only open during the day time and she has a full kitchen on the third floor. Until then, I will be happy to come back to try out the other delicious desserts one by one, or maybe one of their beer and dessert pairings. Heritage Bakery is worth the trek to Hankou Street, near Taipei Main Station and Ximen areas.

CLOSED/mexican: JUANITA BURRITOS AND BAR

JUANITA BURRITOS AND BAR

No. 307 XinYi Road, Sec. 4

信義路四段307號

(02) 2703-5775

this was shortlived. now closed

MRT: XinYi/AnHe

website: Juanita's Facebook page

hours: 11:30AM - 6PM

$$ cash only

kid friendliness: leather seats and barstools in a bar, don't know there are rules against kids being in bars in Taipei?

visit reviewed: 2/23/2017

previous review: 9/2012

[TAIPEI] So quite a few of you were very excited when I posted on Instagram about Juanita's being "back," when I first spotted it on Ubereats a few months ago. It IS back, but as a pop-up of sorts, taking over the menu and space at Digout Bar on Xinyi Road only during the daytime hours. The strategy to save costs on both businesses bringing an unexpected ambiance to your tacos and burritos. So when you are walking around looking for Juanita, you actually need to look for these Digout signs instead (a couple doors down from Tai Ho Dien). Be sure to go before 6PM, since it turns into a pumpkin, I mean back into a bar then. I wonder if they still offer nachos or finger foods at night. 

The door is here- you have to slide it open. At first, I wasn't sure, so I thought I would point that out. 

Juanita first opened in 2012 and was closely modeled after Chipotle which made a lot of people happy until they closed in 2015. The sign from their original store made it to the new location, explaining the basics to the Taiwanese would-be customers who don't know a burrito from a taco. Haha!

The menu offers up burritos, burrito bowl, tacos, chili cheese fries, quesadillas or nachos, as well as sangria and cocktails, since it is in a bar. Vegetarian options are available as well. I was a bit disappointed to see that there was no barbacoa option since that was my favorite thing from Juanita and something that would be more difficult to make at home.

We ended up getting a burrito bowl, chicken quesadilla and a couple tacos. 

The chicken quesadilla (NT$230) was good, plenty of cheese and side of guac. But something one could easily do at home or find at other restaurants. 

My friend was happy with her steak burrito bowl (NT$190)

Note that the rice is "cilantro lime" rice instead of Mexican rice, same as their old location, but looks kind of like white rice to me. Now that the chicken chipotle bowl from Sugar Pea is available in Taipei, this can't compare.

And the tacos (NT$70-75). The tacos are probably the only thing I wouldn't order again. They weren't very hot and the flour tortillas were a bit thick and the toppings skimpy and bland. In retrospect, maybe I should have tried the burrito instead of the tacos, but when I asked the server if the taco tortillas were corn, she said yes. I think she misunderstood me and thought I was asking for corn salsa in the tacos? In the end, I would have rather spent my money and calories on fish tacos from Macho Tacos instead or stuck to making my own.

So those of you who were fans of Juanita while it was around can give it a try. But those looking for LA style dollar tacos will still have to keep looking. If you find it, please let me know!

snapshot/revisited: i still strongly recommend THE DINER

THE DINER

(XinYi 信義) at ATT4Fun
No. 12, Songshou Rd
台北市信義區松壽路12號
(02)7737-5055

website: http://www.thediner.com.tw

MRT: Taipei 101

Previous review: 11/2011 and 12/2006

My must orders: pancakes and omelettes, fried mushrooms, chicken wings, quesadilla, burger

[TAIPEI- XINYI] New brunch spots may come and go in Taipei, but the Diner is the granddaddy of them all. Plus it's open before 10AM and sometimes you need to squeeze in some banana pancakes and be done by the time the cafes are even open. Portions and tastes are American style and delicious, consistently so even after all these years, (unlike some spots that reach peak success and then lose customers when the food quality starts to slide, or the portions start to shrink (i.e. Bakery 49, 1Bite2Go, California Pizza Kitchen). And even though I hadn't been to The Diner in awhile, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they keep adding to their menu to compete with the newer trends and places while keeping their signature favorites. 

The latest menu for The Diner - they even have a page for their healthy options and acai bowl (though it wasn't available when we went).

Vegetarian options at the Diner-- wow, they upped their game and even have zucchini spaghetti and sweet potato quinoa salad. 

Greek omelette with potatoes o'brien. Subbed avocados for the feta, and had the feta on the side (for my friend with the dairy allergy) (NT$280). So good, I think I inhaled my half.

Banana chocolate pancakes- dessert for breakfast, American style (NT$180 a la carte). A short stack and covered in banana slices. Perfect for sharing along with an egg dish.

DINER's other locations

(NanGang 南港)
No. 166A Jingmao 2nd Rd
台北市南港區經貿二路166號A棟2F(中國信託金融園區)
(02) 2788-3330

(DaAn 瑞安)
No. 145 RuiAn St.
台北市大安區瑞安街145號
(02) 2700-1680

(Hsinchu 新竹)
No. 73, GuanXin Road
新竹市東區關新路73號 
(03) 579-8188

instagram: FEBRUARY 2017 FAVE 5 DISHES IN TAIPEI

With good intentions, I posted my favorite five dishes of the week from Instagram. A MONTH AGO.  I took an instagram break, Chinese New Year happened and now it's March! So, let's give this another try, a short list until I post a full review. Why is it so hard for me to type out my thoughts in a full review these days? 

HUNGRYINTAIPEI'S WEEKLY FEBRUARY FAVE 5 IN TAIPEI

1. CHOU CHOU's DUCK CONFIT

I think I might have tried every dish on Chou Chou's lunch menu, and the dish I've ordered and loved all three times I've visited is the duck confit. Crispy skin from being pan fried in its own fat, tender juicy meat underneath on a bed of lentils.


Happily surprised by this newly opened French brasserie, which offers very reasonably priced and tasty set menus for lunch and dinner with a aesthetic and classic French menu unlike anything I've yet to have in Taipei. Opened by chef Kin Ming Lam from @achoi.taipei and Jean Georges Shanghai, where he spent over ten years working with Michelin starred chef Jean Georges Vongerichten.

2. ADACHI's SUSHI 

Those of us who were lucky enough to dine inside the unmarked doors at Senju have been eagerly anticipating Chef Adachi's return, opening his own sushi bar. Located on the edge of the Xinyi District, Adachi brings back all of my favorite bites- including the anago, the akami and chutoro sushi, uni and whatever else he decides to surprise us with in the omakase. Only open for dinner currently, sets are NT$5800, NT$6800 and up. The sushi bar only seats a dozen or so people, so good luck with reservations.
ADACHI, Only open for dinner, Closed Mondays

3. SU HANG's LUFFA SHRIMP XIAO LONG BAO

My first time at Su Hang, which has been open about a year and half on Minsheng. Their original shop in Gongguan area has been open since 1967. Besides the OG pork xlb, they also have shrimp and luffa squash (yum), crab roe and dessert xlb with taro, sesame or red bean, as well as noodle soups, rice dishes and buns. I really liked these, despite being half full since this was our second round of #xlb on our crawl. Skin on the dumplings thin but nice texture, and the luffa is juicy and sweet. (NT$220)

4. UN PETIT PAS' ROUGE SHRIMP PASTA

Un Petit Pas reminds me of C'est La Vie near Yong Kang Street, but in the Daan District. The decor, the lunch sets, the pastas. Every thing here is good value which is why it was packed, but the most memorable bite of the meal was the rouge shrimp pasta. And maybe the truffle fries.

5. COLD NOODLES at HANYEOYIGO

Hanyeoyigo (韓老二韓國烤肉) is a newish KBBQ place at Neo 19 and Daan District that boasts a pretty full menu including one of my favorites- soupy cold noodles. The server cut it up for us and also gave us a big bottle of vinegar and mustard to customize it. The noodles were chewy and not too soft, and they didn't skimp on the stuff inside, including korean pear, radish, cucumbers, beef and egg. The KBBQ here is mostly pork and beef and the BBQ grill includes steamed egg on the rims that cooks as the server grills your meat. Lettuces and sauces included, but not that much choice in banchan. This spot is only open at night but takes reservations.
HANYEOYIGO (韓老二韓國烤肉),No. 32, Lane 107, Section 1, FuXing S. Rd, Da’an District, (02) 2771-6474

Snapshot: TONGHUA

I quite like the emptiness of Tonghua on rainy Friday night. A bit bizarre, but a bit romantic.. the glow of the nights, the passing umbrellas, the aroma of stinky tofu. Haha! Ok that last part is debatable, I know.

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, so much to catch up on, I know. But my blogger app crashes every time I try to type more than two sentences so I have to load photos once and then type on my computer separately. 

And the Asia's Best 50 Awards! Taiwan now has three restaurants on the list, and I have to share RAW's newest menu, my last visits at Mume and my amazing experience a few weeks ago in Bangkok at Gaggan, just voted number ONE restaurant in Asia for the third year in a row. 

Until then, night market snapshots so February doesn't go completely unblogged!