afternoon tea/fusion: MIA CAFE

MIA CAFE 米兒咖啡洋食館

No. 235-2, Dunhua S. Rd, Sec. 1 

台北市敦化南路一段235之2號1~2樓 

(02) 2741-8080

MRT: ZhongXiao Dunhua

website: Mia Cafe's FB page

hours: 11:30 AM - 10 PM 

$$ 

Kid friendliness: lots of space, seating area on second floor with stairs only.

Visit reviewed: 9/25/2012

Mia Cafe sits across from the Dunhua Eslite bookstore, a gleaming storefront at the base of one of those new high rise office/apartment buildings. The first floor holds only the dessert shop area, for people who might want to browse and takeaway. Diners head up to the cafe on the second floor, where the hostess asks if you have a reservation or not. We didn't have reservations, but luckily there were still some tables in the quite full space.

Small yellow chandeliers adorn the large open room seating area, while a large bar is the face of the kitchen where the drinks and food come out. 

I had heard nothing about Mia Cafe, only spotted it in passing, so the fusion menu was a surprise to me.

On the first few pages were sushi rolls, chirashi bowls and Japanese food which was unexpected for a ladies who lunch cafe. Then after some rice/pasta/noodles there were pages and pages of desserts - photos of fat hotcakes, fruit tarts, macarons, macaron cakes, ice cream, cakes, and coffee and tea.

If I wasn't so full, I might have ordered a roll or two. They were doing a photo shoot in the corner and we could see styled plates being shuttled over to the photographer.

Sweet or "sabory" hotcakes which looked like overfed pancakes masquerading as desserts. There were of course, also waffles.

The fresh fig and peach tarts looked interesting and something I might try if I came again.

Cold or hot coffees, lattes, cocoas and teas are available as well as smoothies, yogurt drinks and fresh juices.

I had just finished lunch with my cousin at a Sanuki udon shop behind Dunhua Sogo and was quite full, otherwise we were both saying how the rolls looked good.  My cousin ended up ordering an iced coffee and I got the fresh fruit tea (cold) (NT$210).

Presentation wise, the drinks reminded me a bit of Coffee Alley, with a frozen coffee ice cube and serving the drink, milk and sugar syrup on a tray.

The iced fresh fruit tea had the usual super sweet passionfruit and citrus flavor and came in a large carafe with a spoon and straw. I asked for a separate cup to pour my tea into, but I ended up drinking almost the whole thing anyway.

We were both amazed at how crowded it was in the late afternoon, even though the dining room was quite large. It was definitely mostly tables of women, with 1-2 men spotted. Was it the location? The food? The atmosphere?  Maybe it was the fusion and mega dessert menu, offering something for everyone.

taiwanese/hotpot: i recommend 89 SEAFOOD

89 SEAFOOD  89海鮮 

No. 89 HeJiang Rd., 

臺北市合江街89號 

(02) 2501-6167

MRT: Xing Tian Temple

website: none. it's old school!

$$ (NT$1000+ per person)

Kid friendliness: crowded and tight space. no high chairs spotted.

Visit reviewed: 9/14/2012 (iphone 4S only)

The first thing you should know about 89 Seafood is that there is free all you can eat lu rou fan, or braised pork rice. So while you're stuffing your face with roasted king crab legs and fried oysters, you can self serve yourself some fatty, tasty rice to go with it.

The second thing you should know is that 89 Seafood is old school. The alley is full of stir fry and seafood shops, slightly grimy and Chinese only signs and menus. 89 Seafood has large fish tanks filled with would be dinner king crabs, at the plastic covered entrance and a separate dining room across from its main shop. But the prices are good especially for the portions and freshness. I should have taken more pictures at the front, but to tell the truth, large fish tanks gross me out and scare me, so I had to run inside as fast as possible.

And the food is worth wading past the tanks for. Diners can choose their seafood and approve it (and take photos with it, as I spotted diners posing with large, live king crabs on a few Chinese language food blogs) before it is prepped or cooked. My friends T and V treated me to one of their favorite local restaurant for plucked-from-the-water-fresh seafood so he did the ordering, including possibly the biggest hotpot I've ever seen. Look at the bowl of rice for scale. 

Quite a few stir fry dishes are available, like clams with basil and kong ching tsai...

Old school and homestyle. The jacuzzi is waiting for the king crab.

My favorite part of the meal and the main event of dinner was the huge king crab, cooked two ways. One for hotpot...

And the second way was grilled crab legs. Grilling crab legs brought out the sweetness and intensity of the flavor, as well as created a juicy firmness to the flesh that was lost when boiled. They expertly cut the shell for you, so all you had to do was peel off the shell, dig out the meat and eat away. The shell bends almost like plastic so you can usually pull out the meat in one piece. So much better than the cold, king crab legs from a buffet. So amazing.

Stir fried shan su veggies, which are crunchy and leafy.

Loved the fried oysters, crispy and sweet.

Chewy Roasted squid

The hotpot beef slices were also delicious. The fatty swirls of fat transformed into juicy slices when boiled for a few seconds in the hotpot.

Advance reservations are a must at 89 Seafood as it only has about 5 tables and a few extra at the second dining room across the way. It's so popular with the locals that you might have to book a week or so in advance, especially for a larger group like we had. If you're looking for fresh seafood or to "eat what the locals eat" you could give 89 Seafood a try. But if you're afraid of wet markets or dining with crustaceans looking at you from the tanks, then you might have to stick to the night markets!

burgers/brunch: i strongly recommend M ONE CAFE

M ONE CAFE 

No. 6-1 Lane 6, RenAir Rd, Sec. 4
台北市仁愛路四段27巷6號之1
(02)-8773-2136

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua or ZhongXiao/FuXing

hours: 7AM - 12AM midnight

$$ (about NT$300/person)

kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. booths available.

visits reviewed: 5/4/2011,  6/21/2011 and 8/28/2012

Not too far from the RenAi circle, M One Cafe is a modern cafe that serves solid breakfasts and burgers in an intimate space with about 20 or so seats. Decor feels more upscale than a typical burger brunch place with warm wood paneling and glass tables paired with lots of black. Passerbys might not even know that a restaurant was inside, as it's right next to the M One Spa, which shares the same owner.

Two of the best things about M One is that it's open early (you'd be surprised at the number of Taipei Western breakfast spots that are not open at 8AM) and the other is that the omelets can come with a small side of French toast or pancakes as your "bread" as part of the price (or bagel, toast or croissant if you prefer).

A funny thing is that the first time I went the TV played a rotation of popular US music videos as a soundtrack, and I saw Ke$ha, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and more hypnotizing music videos that I had seen in a really long time. But the TV wasn't on during following visits.

When uploading photos, I noticed that prices went up a couple dollars since last year- most of breakfast items are NT$30-60 more than last year's menu. So not as much a steal as before, but still not a bad price for the set. Egg brunch items come with a small juice, coffee or tea and "bread" although not with the eggs benedict regrettably since they already have bread (the english muffins). 

But the Eggs Benedicts with Spinach (NT$280) are worth getting, as they are probably one of the best in Taipei with a toasty muffin and hollandaise sauce that's the right creamy consistency and generous amount. The last time I got Eggs Benedict at a different popular brunch spot, the sauce was so watery, it pooled onto the plate and I had to send it back to be redone.

Generous amounts of spinach underneath to start the day with some greens.

The Turkey mushroom omelette (NT$220 then, NT$280 now) is light and fluffy, with thin layers rolled into a long rectangle and topped with cheese. The hash browns are perfectly crispy. The first time I ate at M One, I loved their potato salad, but sadly they replaced it fruit on my visits afterwards. Maybe it was too much potato on one plate for some, but it was so good since it reminded me of the way my mom made potato salad when I was a kid.

Not too thick, not too thin, the side of French toast is just right with the meal. I love it since I usually can't decide between eggs or french toast or pancakes, and this way you get the best of both worlds. 

At lunch, be sure to order the burger as it was a surprisingly good burger. Cut in half to reveal the medium rare pinkness, the mushroom cheese burger (NT$260) had a good layer of toppings and great texture to the meat and wheaty bun.

There's also toppings like blue cheese (for those craving Father's Office?), avocado bacon, and I spotted kimchi as a new topping on my most recent visit.

Wouldn't order the cheesy wedge fries again that my friend got, too heavy.

Revisited M One Cafe after a long absence, but thankfully it was still good. Thanks to @thethousandthgirl for joining me for breakfast. The sets start off with a mini orange juice and coffee or tea. 

This time I opted for a side of pancakes, which were cute and mini and came with syrup.

The turkey mushroom omelette (NT$280)  still had enough bite sized toppings inside though it was a bit bland this time, but the hash browns were still perfectly crispy. It's funny to see that I ordered the same thing as my past visit without even realizing it! LOL.

I split my plate with a friend and she gave me one of her spinach eggs benedict which tasted better than I remembered. It's all about the sauce and the runny poached egg once the fork cuts open the first bite.

Tastes like food from back home and that's a good thing. Reservations recommended as the space is pretty tiny.

CLOSED! new in town/mexican: i strongly recommend JUANITA BURRITO AND TACOS

CLOSED! a/o 2015

JUANITA BURRITOS AND TACOS

No. 51-1, Lane 160, Dunhua S. Rd, Sec. 1

大安區敦化南路一段160巷51之1號 

(02) 2752-7576

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua

website: Juanita's FB page

hours: 11AM - 10PM

$ (about NT$200/person)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted but some room for strollers. kid friendly options on menu like rice

Visit reviewed: 9/24/2012

This is what a typical Taipei alley looks like- long and narrow, lined with pedestrians and parked motorcycles, with an array of endless colorful storefront signs in Chinese characters for hotpot, noodles, tea shops or cafes.

This is NOT a typical sight in Taipei- an English only sign for Mexican food, the newly opened Juanita Burritos and Tacos, in an alley not too far behind old Sogo on Zhongxiao East Road. The name is an interesting choice as I can't even imagine how Taiwanese people will butcher the name, trying to pronounciate "Juanita," not to mention that the J sounds different in Spanish than it does in English, as do double LLs like in "tortilla."  (I had a co-worker tell me recently that the name Heather was too hard to say, but that's a story for another day). But the name is memorable and stands out.

The warm wood paneling storefront is an unusual, but welcome sight for me and for other burrito lovers in Taipei, as I am happy to see more and more entrepreneurs try to make finding good Mexican food in Taipei a reality after it being so many years an impossible dream. It's definitely interesting seeing more burrito places like Juanita open up this past year, as well as Barrito at ATT4Fun.

Juanita's kitchen and counter takes up most of the shop, with some seating in the front and back. It's a tad roomier than Macho Tacos, seating about 20 people or so.

I admit that I was quite surprised to see only English on all the red and white signs above the counter. Perhaps they expect customers who step foot inside to already be interested and kind of know what they are getting into. Anyone who has been to US fast casual chain Chipotle will definitely be drawing comparisons, since Juanita has pretty much ripped a page (or the whole book) from their menu. 

You start by ordering choosing a meat (or vegetarian), then what form you want it in (burrito, fajita burrito, burrito bowl, salad or tacos) and then your toppings/salsas which are all in view behind the glass counter. Prices are competitive, ranging from NT$150-170. There's no nachos or quesadillas (which are two of the most popular things my local friends usually order), but I'm curious about the fajita burrito.

There's a choice of pinto or black beans, only one choice of cilantro lime rice and a range of salsas including roasted chile corn as well as fresh Haas avocado guacamole. I also liked that the option to add in cheese was free. Horchata, frozen margaritas and beers are also available, along with soft drinks.

I ordered guacamole on the side (NT$30) for my barbacoa beef burrito, as well as the free side of chips we were given for the soft opening period. Without specifically asking for it on the side, I was also given some pico de gallo and tomatillo green chili salsa, both fresh and flavorful. Just the sight of the right colors and the right textures of the sauces was a great sign and integral part of the meal. Fresh green guacamole not made with Taiwan avocados!!

The burrito was a decent size, though some might might think too small or not enough meat if comparing to the heartier sizes in the states. I would have appreciated more meat though I was adequately full (and satisfied) afterwards and enjoying my chips with the guac and salsas. Juanita actually reminded me of when Taipei counter burrito pioneer Oola first opened, before the owners parted and it went downhill (and transformed from Taipei's first Chipotle clone into some weird nightclub/mexican + burgers/pizza place).

So hopefully Juanita can avoid their fate and keep the customers happy with good food and service. Keep things fresh, keep things consistent and keep portions sizeable. Opened over a month ago, they are still quite new, so we were even handed some customer satisfaction surveys (in English!) to fill out. One of my comments was to keep giving us free chips! (Haha, we'll see if they listen)

Reader Diane was the first to message me, saying Juanita did a good job being "Chipotle in Taipei." Most Taiwanese people (and some non-American expats) have probably have never heard of Chipotle, let alone eaten there. But I know a number of you have been craving it. Who's tried it and what do you think? Where is your favorite Mexican spot in Taipei, or are you still waiting?