CLOSED! japanese/sushi: i recommend I-SUSHI

CLOSED a/o March 2012

I-SUSHI
No. 173, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec. 5
(02) 2749-5951

MRT: Taipei City Hall

hours: 11AM - 10PM

website: i-sushi.com.tw and I-Sushi's Facebook page

$-$$

kid friendliness: high chairs available. first floor mainly sushi bar with 2nd floor additional seating.

visit reviewed: 4/28/2011

Walking around the 101 area, I was looking for somewhere new to try. Located on the busy ZhongXiao E. Road near Crown Bakery, I-Sushi is a solid choice for affordable, decent Japanese food in a family and group friendly environment. I was hesitant to go in at first because from the entrance it looks like there is only sushi bar seating and a few tables for couples on the side, but actually they have a second floor that has a ton of seating available for large groups.

One of the main negatives about I-Sushi is that the menu is only in Chinese with not a lot of pictures, so you have to bring someone who can read the menu, or quiz the fairly friendly waiters about what's available. The Chinese only menu is quite extensive beyond sashimi and only with advance reservations they have some sort of all-you-can-eat sashimi deal (NT$500 for 90 minutes?!) that I didn't quite understand. If anyone has tried it, explain to me how it works! Since we walked in without advance booking, we weren't allowed to try it. 

So instead, I got the I-Sushi chirashi bowl set (NT$380), loaded with raw goodies including uni, sweet shrimp, ikura, tobiko and slices of sashimi. Many of the sashimi bowls here come with a raw egg which I'm not crazy about, but I kind of went with it and put in a lot of wasabi. Everything tasted fresh, so I breathed a sigh of relief. The set also came with soup, salad, steamed egg and small appetizers.

My friend ordered the unagi over rice (NT$250).

I wasn't crazy about the soy sauce broth for the tempura udon (NT$160), but the udon itself and the tempura was good and came with big prawns. I also saw another large group and most of them ordered some sort of sukiyaki that came on a large ceramic mini hotpot.

I wasn't crazy about the soft shell crab roll (NT$200) as the rice was quite mushy and the soft shell crab was not crispy.

One of the best deals was the bowl of steamed rice with salmon and ikura (NT$50).

And a complimentary panna cotta for dessert. 

Opened over a year ago, I had never even noticed I-Sushi until I walked around this area (though after eating here I think there used to be a branch near Burger Stop?). It's always great to find another Japanese place, even better that it's not crazy expensive and a great option for a casual night out. 

my kitchen: baby shower cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

When I made cinnamon rolls for the first time a few months ago, I made cream cheese frosting for the first time and fell in love. Cream cheese frosting from scratch definitely tastes so much better than the canned variety, as it's not as artificially sweet and you can adjust the cream cheese amount to taste. 

So when we were having a baby shower for my friend, I wanted to make some carrot cake cupcakes and of course with that flavor, you gotta have cream cheese frosting.

I kept it simple, frosting half of them in white and using a blue Wilton gel to write on top, and the other half I dipped in blue sanding sugar and piped more white frosting on top from a ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut out. I've seen a few recipes using less butter and adding honey, so I'm going to have to give that a try next time! Congrats again to my friends J and M!

EASY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature     (I used 1/3 cup)
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package)
2-3 cups of powdered sugar                               (I used 2 cups)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

METHOD
1. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing. (I actually forgot to do this first and just dumped everything together. It was still ok. I also mashed/chopped up the cream cheese a bit to make it easier to stir and warmed up the butter in the microwave. I also eyeballed the butter since I didn't have it by the "stick" in Taipei, and I think I had less than 1 stick, so I'm guessing 1/3 cup. Many recipes call for the whole stick, but I like the cream cheese flavor over the butter flavor.)

2 Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness. (I added 1 cup and it definitely wasn't sweet enough. I thought with 2 cups it was good. Some might add another 1/2-1 cup of powdered sugar if you prefer it sweeter)

3 Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cake or cupcake. (And enjoy!)

western/event: i still strongly recommend CHILI's

CHILI's
Neo 19 Building (near Xinyi Vieshow/101)
No. 22, Song Shou Rd, 2 FL
(02) 2345-8838

MRT: Taipei City Hall

Hours: Sun- Thurs: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri/Sat 11 AM - 11 PM

website: chilis.com.tw English and Chinese versions

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kids menu & crayons available, sometimes balloons. room for strollers and large groups.

Visit reviewed: 5/9/2011

Previous visit reviewed: 7/2005

Happy July 4th! I've been to Chili's more times than I probably should admit since I first reviewed it almost six (!) years ago- (back when I was committing food blogging taboos such as using flash for pictures). Chili's has a familiar menu, lots of room for large groups (make advance reservations if possible!) and a Southwestern Tex Mex menu that has guacamole and all the fixings for the fajitas I often order (my usual is steak fajitas and quesadilla explosion salad, sometimes triple dipper appetizers or molten chocolate cake dessert).

But in all my visits there I've never tried their popular signature honey chipotle crispers, so I was pretty excited to be invited to see their cooking demo and try it out (for free!) along with a margarita.

I rarely get invited to media/press events so I was quite antsy when it started over an hour after the invitation time, but soon Chef Mike Winkelmann, Chili's culinary consultant, got cooking. He showed how the honey chipotle sauce was made from scratch, as well as how he prepared the chicken crispers for frying.

The chicken crispers undressed...

The chipotle peppers are smoke dried peppers and have a distinctive flavor that is complemented by the honey in the sauce.

Then the secret to coating the chicken crispers with the honey chipotle sauce? Putting it in a sealed container and shaking it! 

The result is a sweet, tangy, spicy and sticky coating to the crispy texture on the outside and tender meat inside. With corn on the cob and fries, one portion is enough to share. 

It was cool to take a peek at what goes on in the kitchen at Chili's as part of their culinary roadshow in Asia, where Chef Mike also prepared demos in Guam, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia. Thanks to Chili's for the take home goodies and I look forward to checking out the new Chili's location that opened recently on Minsheng East Road in the Song Shan District.

OTHER LOCATIONS

Minsheng
Building A 1st Floor
No.134, Minsheng E. Rd., Sec. 3
Songshan District
(02)2545-8838

Tian Mu
No. 200, Zhong Cheng Rd, Sec. 2
(02)2875-4838

Taichung
No. 120, He S. Rd, Sec. 3
(04)3602-8838

CLOSED/desserts/western: i recommend HELLO KITTY SWEETS

HELLO KITTY SWEETS
No. 90, Da An Road, Sec. 1
(02) 2711-1132

MRT: Zhong Xiao/FuXing

website: hellokittysweets.com.tw Chinese only

hours: Sun- Thurs 11:30 AM - 10 PM; Fri- Sat 11:30 AM - 11 PM

$-$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available, lots of booth seats

Visit reviewed: 4/7/2011

What would you expect from a restaurant called Hello Kitty Sweets? 

Two stories of ceiling to floor pink and pillowy pink walls and Hello Kitty lounge chairs? Check, check, check...

The outline and image of the mouthless cat everywhere you turn in the restaurant? No detail is too small to escape for Hello Kitty lovers to see and want (a Hello Kitty tissue box cover? where can I get one?! starts googling on iPhone) Check, check, check...

Rows of pink and chocolate Hello Kitty cakes, desserts and chocolates?  Check, check...

Check, check, check...

And there's more...

And all that eye candy is at the front of the store before we sit down and order. Besides the desserts that you can order from the counter, there is also a full menu of pastas, gratin rice, grilled meats, pizza and even a Hello Kitty hamburger and Hello Kitty bread bowls, as well as afternoon tea sets.

mmm or hmm?

The menu is only in Chinese and can be a bit confusing, but there is a picture for each dish and the waitress was helpful in explaining what is in each dish when we asked.  The price for each dish is for a set meal, which includes a drink, salad, soup, bread roll, choice of small appetizer along with your main dish.

I had put off checking out Hello Kitty Sweets because I heard that there were long waits and the food was not worth the prices, but on a weekday, I had no problem getting a reservation for a large table (made a few days in advance) and my low expectations for the food probably helped me keep a reality check. I definitely wouldn't come just for the food, it's more for the whole experience and I had a bunch of Hello Kitty fans in my group as I was hosting my cousin and her daughters. I was definitely surprised to see almost all the other tables were adults, some cameras in hand, and quite a few men too (perhaps dragged or bribed there?).

The starters in the set are forgettable- a small salad, a mysterious creamy soup- but the bread roll is the first Hello Kitty photo op.

The choice of appetizers included escargot and smoked salmon, but I opted for this liver pate.

The food came at a relatively steady pace and the main dishes were a good size. I snuck some of the fried appetizer plate (NT$380 ala carte) that my cousin's kids ordered which included onion rings, fried chicken, croquette and fries. Tasty.

I don't know why, but I asked for the egg on the meat sauce spaghetti (NT$400/set) to not be raw. It came out more fried than soft boiled like I've enjoyed at Bellini Pasta Pasta. If there's a next time, I'll have to try it as is so that I can stir it all together. The spaghetti had typical sweet, tomato flavor. But where's the Hello Kitty meatball or Hello Kitty cheese cutout? Lol.

Lots of pesto and shrimp (NT$400/set) in my cousin's dish. The kids loved it and finished it.

The Hello Kitty burger (NT$450/set)! I didn't try this, but I thought about ordering it. Would it be one of the more manly things on the menu? LOL.

Set drink (very sweet ice tea) and set dessert- a creme brulee Hello Kitty pudding. 

We didn't have to room to sample any of the cute cakes that I saw, but perhaps on another occasion. There's a NT$300 minimum per person fee to dine in, but if you just want to get some cakes to go, there's also a mini Hello Kitty Sweets at the nearby Fuxing Sogo selling cakes and desserts. But then you don't get to breathe the Hello Kitty Sweets atmosphere and cuteness. There's even some souvenir goodies available to purchase behind the counter, but I didn't realize it until I was browsing other blogs.

Did I mention even the bathroom is Kitty-fied? Is this too much, or the complete experience?

   

 

Hello Kitty lovers- how far would you/did you fly from to eat at Hello Kitty Sweets? I know for some of you this might be a "must" destination for your Taipei trip. For those of us lucky enough to have it in Taipei, it's worth a visit if you are a Hello Kitty lover (like me), or want to treat one to a meal.

happy blogiversary to me! six years and counting..

Happy 6 year blogiversary to me!! It's been six years since I first started a hungry girl's guide to Taipei and had no idea where to go or what to eat. Now I'm happy to have a mental map in my head, have my favorites on speed dial and still be discovering, eating and enjoying the awesome food in Taipei. I hope you are still enjoying reading, whether you live in Taipei or are just drooling over the food from afar, whether you've been lurking for years or just found it today! 

A lot has changed in the Taipei restaurant scene, the blog and my own life since I've started HungryInTaipei, and I look back fondly on the archives with no regrets.

I'm headed to LA in a few days, bur don't worry, I've been writing up a storm so that when I'm away, trying to get Ludobites 007 reservations, waiting in food truck lines, running around the OC County Fair, and eating red velvet cupcakes, there will still be new posts to look forward to every week. Plus, I probably won't be able to resist mobile blogging some of my LA (And OC/NY/Hawaii) eats here and on my Facebook and twitter.

Don't forget to leave comments on restaurant posts that you've found useful and share your experiences and favorite dishes, and especially if you a suggestion for a place I should try!!