american/burgers: FORKERS

FORKERS
No. 8, Alley 10, Lane 223, Zhong Xiao E Road, Sec 4
(02) 2771-9285

website: forkers.com.tw English only

hours: Sun- Thurs 12noon to 11pm; Fri- Sat 12noon- 12am


$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs or boosters, booth seating

Visit reviewed: 3/11/2008

You may or may not have heard of Forkers- the new burger place that opened up a few months ago that features over 40 (yup FORTY) kinds of burgers, along with fries, chicken wraps, spinach/artichoke dip and pie of the day, along with an assortment of other things. I was pretty excited to try it since I always like a good burger and fries and there is a lot to choose from.

The place is lots of wooden seating, some booths, a patio outside. The owner pops around the different tables- on this day, we didn't have to wait as there were about 4 other tables occupied when we were seated on a weekday lunch. I can't imagine if it was fully packed, it might be quite slow as the service was fairly casual. There are separate English and Chinese menus (with some pictures) that you can find on their website as well.

They have the classic burger variations, as well as regional-inspired burgers (Greek, French, Canadian, Mexican, Californian, Alpine, Italian, Australian), Asian burgers, and the "Forkers"- open faced burgers so huge or messy you have to eat them with a fork (all NT$190- NT$290) since they are topped with gravy, chili or spaghetti sauce.



With each burger, you get the choice of two sides such as salad, fries (cajun, curry, garlic, plain), hawaiian pasta or potato salad, or upgrade to chili cheese, tex mex or poutine fries for extra NT$40. You can choose the burger patty as beef, chicken, Kobe beef or vegetarian.

We chose the warm spinach artichoke dip (NT$140) over the hummus (NT$120)- and it was VERY cheesy with a sprinkle of fries, pita bread and celery/carrot sticks. I would have liked to have eaten some chunks of artichoke or spinach, but we didn't find any swimming in the cheese unless it was pureed in. It was still tasty, but we could have used a few more chips to dip.



I was torn between a lot of the different burgers (Mexican, Greek, Californian) and ended up choosing the Alpine Burger, which comes with mushrooms, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing.


the Alpine Burger with garlic fries. are there shiitake mushrooms in Switzerland?

My friends got the Hack Burger (topped with chicken fingers(!), cheese, bacon, honey mustard) and the Mushroom Cheese burger (which comes with cheddar instead of swiss).

the Hack Burger with Hawaiian Pasta Salad

I don't know if I ate too many chips, but the burger was just okay. There were certain things that I personally didn't like- the bun was slightly sweet (and not toasted) which did not mesh with the flavors of the Alpine. I didn't expect shiitake mushrooms which tasted a little weird with the swiss cheese- I would have preferred regular white mushrooms especially since the menu doesn't say "shiitake," it says "sauteed mushrooms". The burger's texture was a bit soft- I don't know how to describe it other than its was more like a meatloaf burger than a grilled burger. My tomato was tiny since I like tomatoes on my burgers. Were my tastebuds being nitpicky that day? I ate about two thirds of the burger.

Both my friends finished their burgers and said their burgers were fine, and I had a bite of the chicken finger which was quite good.

I guess I wanted to be blown away and I should have ordered one of their more unique burgers?

As for the sides, the garlic fries were soft rather than crispy and seemed to be a lot of short ends. The salad was basic. The Hawaiian Pasta has a kick to it, but we weren't crazy about it.

I wanted to try the peach almond pie, but again, it just wasn't to my liking. There is a layer of peaches on top and then some weird paste in the center. I thought it would be more like a peach pie with almond flavor or slivers, but I didn't get what was going on with the pie. The owner says that he usually eats it ala mode and warmed up and we opted it without ice cream- don't know if that makes a difference. Maybe their upside down apple tart would have been more up my alley.



I really wanted to love Forkers and I will probably give it another try, especially to try the chili cheese fries/poutine and other things on the menu. It's in the lane behind California Fitness on Zhong Xiao (near Yan Ji Jie) and there was a popular Chinese dessert place on the corner I want to check out. How would those of you that have eaten at Forkers compare it to other burger places like California Grill, Mary's Hamburgers (which I haven't been) or the Diner, Bongos or even Chili's/TGIF?

new in town/desserts: HELLO KITTY SWEETS

updated 3/2011

Hello Kitty Sweets
No. 90, Da An Road, Sec. 1
(near intersection of Da An Road and Zhong Xiao E Road, Sec 4)

MRT: Zhong Xiao/FuXing

(02) 2711-1132

website: sanrio.com.tw Chinese only

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

$-$$

I forgot how I first stumbled upon hellokittyhell.com ages ago, but its writer constantly makes me laugh with the hatred/overload/humor of Hello Kitty related products that his wife (and most of his site's fans), but he cannot stand. From the crazy Hello Kitty shaped gold fillings or shaped hard boiled eggs, to weird Hello Kitty masked clad lingerie women and tattoos, he shares things that he finds out about (though not from where with great determination) that scare him or more usually that his wife MUST HAVE that makes his life a Hello Kitty Hell.

Anyways, I remembered reading about this Hello Kitty Sweets shop opening a few months ago and have recently been getting a lot of hits from people looking for it.

So I decided to do some research and do a little news post. Though I haven't had the chance to go there yet, I've passed by it (it's near the Zhong Xiao/Da An Road intersection) in the alley around the corner from Bistro 98 and not too far from Sogo. It is seriously hardcore from the decor to the jewel encrusted napkin holders to the desserts and table settings. Don't know if it even tastes good, but I suppose it's a must-see for Hello Kitty fans who are in Taipei. The last time I had Hello Kitty desserts was at (and now closed) Hello Kitty dessert place in the Xinyi Eslite building.

So if you've been looking for it, here is the address and phone number! Let me know if you've gone or how it was and if you have to wait to eat there! I'll try to make my way there eventually.

pics from hellokittysweets.com.tw website

chinese: TSUI JIAN BAO

TSUI JIAN BAO
at corner of Xin Yi Road and GuangFu S. Road  Yen Ji Jie 
(02) 2704-8142

$

Kid friendliness: take away only. kids may like to eat, but very hot at first.

Visit reviewed: 3/12/2008

Tsui Jian Bao or Sheng Jian Bao or pan fried dumplings were my favorite thing to eat when I first came back to Taipei for a visit in 1997 after not having been here for over 13 years. After all, NT$10 for 1 seemed like such a bargain for a fresh steaming hot filling bun that was definitely a rarity in the states, much less LA.

The best tsui jian bao place that I've eaten at is probably still at Shih Lin Night market , but I don't go to the night market as much these days (getting old. ha ha), so I had to give it a try when I saw the crowded stand on the busy corner of Xin Yi and Yen Ji Jie. (The little cart near Dun Hua Eslite is not bad either).

There were three separate stands (Heard afterwards from some people that only 1 is good). Have any of you eaten at all three and know which one is the best?



This particular one (the one on the farthest left, red sign) offers 6 different fillings for the bao (NT$12) and spring onion cake (NT$35 for 1/2). They also have a squash variety (which wasn't available that day).





I got three different kinds- one with cabbage, one with pork and one with jiou tsai or chives. My favorite was the pork, then chives- I didn't really like the cabbage one.



Overall, the buns were okay. Don't know if they sat too long in the plastic bag, but the the bottoms were not as crispy as I'd like and the dough overall was too thick, especially at the top.



The spring onion pancake, on the other hand, was really good. Thin, crispy and flaky, and not greasy at all.



This day was SO HOT- a rarity in the week of grayness- and I bought a drink from 7-11 which I thought was lemonade-ish, but turned out to be ai-yu is, which is more like a jelly consistency. My friend later told me that the bottle says that it's "filling like a meal" or something like that.



It was lemon-limey, but would have been better if it had some juice in it too. Ah well.



One day I'll have to do a review on 7-11 and all the random things you can eat there. hahaha. Happy St. Patty's day.

dessert/bakery: i strongly recommend cake donuts at COSTCO

COSTCO
No. 268 Jiu Zong, Sec 1
Nei-Hu, Taipei
(02) 8791-0110

website: costco.com

hours: 10:00 am - 9:30 pm

$

Visit reviewed: 3/13/2008

Who would have thought the perfect American style cake donut would be at Costco? I spotted it on my trip today and couldn't resist- after all- you get 8 for NT$119 which is basically the price of 4 Mr. Donut donuts.

The tray comes with half chocolate donuts and half plain (4 each)- they are a good size with vanilla frosting.

I practically inhaled mine- it was moist, sweet and dangerous! It's so simple, yet so satisfying especially in contrast to the dry bricks of cake-style donuts that I've had at Mr. Donut or Dunkin Donuts. It was dense, but not heavy.



I don't know if it's a staple like their muffins, croissants, cheesecakes, or seasonal like their pumpkin pies, but I was happy to find it! I totally love their cheesecake and birthday cakes too. They also have freshly made cream puffs and cookies, which I haven't tried here, not to mention their churros and frozen yogurt in the food court.

Oh, and good beef hotdogs (not like the nasty hot dogs at Ikea).

I also spotted some ice cream sandwiches today there, I guess, an organic brand called Julie's. I didn't feel like paying a premium NT$300 plus for 12 ice cream sandwiches so I bought the blackberry sorbet bars which I haven't tried yet.

If only they made lemon meringue pies, then Costco would be even more awesome.

What's your favorite thing from Costco or what do you wish Costco Taipei would import in?

korean: i strongly recommend DUBU HOUSE

DUBU HOUSE
No. 9, Lane 233, Dun Hua S. Road, Sec 1
(02) 2781-1119

website: dubuhouse.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 11:30AM - 11PM

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kid bowls/cutlery. can order tofu without spiciness to go with rice.

Visit reviewed: 3/4/2008 & 3/10/2008




What is "dubu"? It's Korean for tofu and something you might be hearing more and more about. Soondubu or korean tofu stew is already a popular staple in LA and I wouldn't be surprised if it gained a following in Taipei. A friend of mine mentioned that we should try it out (as well as being a big fan of soondubu in NY) and we went for lunch.



Dubu House is apparently a Korean chain that's opened last month on the lane near Dun Nan Eslite to packed lunchtime crowds. The menu is a paper menu with English and Chinese and a few pictures- with tofu stew available with beef, lamb, oyster, seafood or combo options (around NT$260-300), as well as kimchee variation. There's limited other things such as seafood pancakes (not available at lunch), bbq beef and eggrolls. They have table seating as well as tatami style seating where you sit on the floor with a lower table (which seems available to bigger groups).



What's good about it? Like any comfort food, it's just soothing to eat and hits the spot, warming you up, especially in the rainy and cold weather.

After you are seated (there might be a short wait), a few dishes or panchan and hot tea get delivered to you after you order. I wish they had more than the 4-5 small dishes they give you, but at least it's complimentary. It seems to vary each visit, which the staples of nori or seaweed and kimchee.



Next they'll bring out the tofu stew and purple rice, stacked on top of each other and uncover everything for you. BTW- the first time I had purple rice (in a tofu stew place in Gardena) I was a bit freaked out, but it doesn't taste that different and is supposed to be better for you.

Then they'll crack a raw egg into the super hot soup which you can stir up or let poach. Also, you can scoop up your rice into the bowl and eat the crispier parts closer to the stone bowl, or they may scoop it up for you and pour tea into the rest to make a congee.

Personally, I like the semi-burnt crackly rice and didn't like the tea flavor of the rice that we did try- I think it makes it easier for them to clean the bowl. haha. So don't let them do it if you don't want that option. Don't let the rice sit too long though, otherwise, it might burn.



We shared a beef soondubu (NT$260) and a kimchee beef soondubu (NT$280)- the beef one is not spicy, but still flavorful made with beef stock. The kimchee one was spicy and you can request it to be more or less spicy, depending on how much heat you like. If you want to try, you can order the non-kimchee version and put in some of the panchan kimchee into your stew yourself to adjust it to your own liking. Don't expect a lot of meat in the stew, the main feature is the tofu, but I wish there were some mushrooms or something in too. Also, the stew stock is beef meat-based, so there is no vegetarian options available here.



They seem to be slowly working out the kinks in their service when they are busy. On our first trip, we drooled at the sight of seafood pancakes coming out to other tables so we ordered one. The waitress replied it would take about 20-25 minutes to which we said ok. Then she came out and said that they 'ran out of ingredients' and weren't making any more, though we saw two more come out, presumably from previous orders. On my second trip, they just said, no seafood pancakes at lunch were available (which seems more fair- all or nothing), though we were again bummed not to be able to snack on any. They can also be slow to refill your panchan if you are eating a lot of it.

I also really recommend the kalbi or bbq beef (NT$220)- it's deboned making it less messy to eat, deliciously marinated and grilled to the right tenderness. It comes in small or large plate (NT$420) on a bed of raw sliced onions.



To finish off your 'tofu' experience, they bring out some complimentary do-hwa or dessert soy tofu. Lightly sweetened with what tastes like a brown sugar syrup and a bit of grapefruit peel, it's a refreshing end to the meal.



Dubu House is a welcome addition to the Taipei food scene in my book and I'll probably go there a few times a month, especially when the weather is cold. I've mentioned it to a few of my friends who are from LA living here, and they are excited to try it out. The menu is not as extensive as Mindong, but their specialty is the tofu stew and Mindong isn't open for lunch. I guess I'll have to try and make it to dinner one time to see what the seafood pancake tastes like!

chinese: i strongly recommend LAO YO JI NOODLES AND CONGEE

LAO YO JI NOODLES AND CONGEE
or "Old Friends" Noodles and Congee
16, Ln 232, Dunhua S. Rd, Sec 1
(02) 2731-2269

kid friendliness: high chairs available; baby/kid friendly porridge and lots of rice/noodle dishes.

hours: 11:30am to 9:30pm

$

Visit reviewed: 6/5/2007



Place for a quick Cantonese lunch- very flavorful congee (NT$85), roast duck/chau sau (bbq pork), soupy won tons and egg noodles, fried lo mien, and shrimp rice noodles (NT$75). The menu is only available in Chinese with no pictures, but there are basically just variations of the traditional HK dishes at very affordable prices.



Lunch hour gets very crowded and fast paced with cantonese songs playing on overhead. You can wait to be seated, but it's usually not a long wait since many of the people in front are waiting to place or get their take out orders, or pay after they've finished eating. You can also see all the roasted duck and bbq ha sau pork being sliced up for the hungry patrons from the front counter and outside window.

Once you're seated, serve yourself with the menu and chopsticks already on the table. A bowl of hot broth gets served to the table rather quickly before your food comes.

If you can't decide what you want, you can go for the 3 meat combination plate over rice or noodles. While I wished there was a tad bit more duck, there's plenty of rice with soy sauce spooned on top.



The won ton egg noodles were a tad salty and in general I preferred the rice and congee over the noodles.



They also have steamed shrimp chang fen or rice noodle which comes in fat squishy rolls with a ladle of slightly sweet soy sauce.



I've eaten here a few times a month since I've discovered it because it's cheap, fast and tasty and on the way home from where I'm going. I usually end up getting the 3 meat combo. Sometimes some of the duck pieces are bony mixed with the meaty pieces and other times I have better luck. There's a lot of things on the menu that I can't read, so if you take someone who reads Chinese then you'll have more to choose from!

dessert/frozen yogurt: YOGURT ME

YOGURT ME
No. 4, Lane 216, Alley 27, Chung Hsiao E. Road, Sec 4
(02) 8771-4210

website: www.yogurtme.com.tw

hours:

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs or boosters, but lots of lounge areas. Yong Kang branch is to-go.

Visit reviewed: 10/29/2007 and 2/4/2008

If you've ever thought, hey, someone should bring Pinkberry (or list copycat franchise name here), Yogurt Me has beat you to it. Although it doesn't quite have the elements that I think make Pinkberry so successful, I think that with a few tweaks it could be the next trend in Taipei.

First (and most importantly), where are the BERRIES and MANGOS? When we visited, it was a stack of non-cut fresh fruit behind a glass- a pineapple, grapes, oranges, kiwis, passionfruit, bananas- not exactly toppings I pictured on top of my tangy yogurt. Yes, it was October when we first went, but I think part of what makes Pinkberry so successful is the array of fresh cut fruits available year round- not frozen, but still sweet. My staple yogurt toppings are strawberries, white yogurt chips and either raspberries or blueberries, so I was out of luck- I chose banana and kiwi. Their "classic" set (NT$135) is a yogurt with three fruit toppings, and it's quite sizeable to share.



Second, it is too slow when you have to wait for them to chop up the fruit. I understand their volume/turnover is not as high for them to have fruit sitting around and then waste it if they don't do good business, but if you have a group in your party, you have to wait for them to bring out each yogurt one by one which is kind of a drag. They need pre-cut fresh fruit and they need strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and mango (though I think their Yong Kang location does have pre-cut fruit).



Third, they should show off their non-fruit, untraditional toppings, like cereal, cookies or chocolate chips in a candy-store style display near the fruit, so people know that they can choose it. We got some in a side dish and I wasn't sure if it was because it was a slo-o-o-w night for them or if they usually did that for everyone. I also think that's one of the big draws for Coldstone's.



Since October, they've added waffles (NT$180) and other set menu items to their menu. The waffle set comes with a small yogurt, side of fruit and coffee/tea. The waffles were too doughy/cakey and a disappointment although they looked very nice. My friend finished it though, though he agreed it was a bit dense.



Kind of cute, but kind of funny, their menu is presented in a scrapbook like cover, but in Chinese only. You have to look at their to-go menu for English.

As for flavors, they have the original (tart), green tea as well as chocolate and strawberry. They misunderstood me the second time I went asking for a small with strawberries and oreos. Instead I got a small strawberry yogurt w/ oreo (NT$105).



It's kind of weird that you get 1 oreo, rather than oreo bits broken up already as a topping for your yogurt, but I guess you have to use some elbow grease.

They also have huge smoothies (NT$105) available in about nine various flavors. I didn't have any though it again, looked good... Maybe similar to Froot, which is the Jamba Juice-ish smoothie place around town.



Could be a fun place for afternoon tea with various coffee/tea options available, or to grab some yogurt after eating nearby. We walked over from Chili House with some visiting friends who were excited about the yogurt trend in Taipei as HUGE fans of Yogurtland (in Irvine, CA). Overall, it was a disappointment for them because of the lack of selection of toppings and flavors (though it really is hard to compete with Yogurtland which is self serve and has 10 flavors or so and TONS of toppings available to choose from).

Other locations:

Yong Kang branch
No. 2, Lane 14, Wing Hong Street
(02) 2396-0237
M-Th 11:30 AM - 10:30 PM
Fri, Sat 11:30 AM - 11 PM

No. 49, Nanjing W. Road
(02) 2550-7398

japanese: i don't recommend YABU SOBA

YABU SOBA
106 Nanjing E Rd, Sec 1
(02)2511-8017

hours: 11am to 2:30pm

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs. lots of booth seating.

Visit reviewed: 11/28/2007

After some bleary eyed typing, copying and pasting, I created an index page for all the restaurants reviews so you can look up a restaurant by name and I'll try my best to keep it updated as new reviews come along.

Very friendly service in a casual, old school Japanese restaurant, though the food was very disappointing. The soba was soggy instead of chewy, the tempura and agedashi tofu were not served crispy hot, and the oyakodon had strangely too much corn starch in it. It was one of those cases where we were hungry, wandered in, finished the food because we were hungry and got out of there. I guess you could forgive the kitchen if one thing is off, but if everything we were served was not good, then I have give it a "don't recommend." I've eaten better soba from boiling it from a package at home.

This Taipei Times article says that dinner seems to be the izakaya small dishes are the way to go. Maybe some of you who have happened to eat here can let me know if you agree or disagree. Menu was with pictures in Japanese and Chinese with some items written in Japanese on the walls.

italian/taiwanese: GERGE's/GIORGIO's

No. 8, Lane 640, Bei An Road
Dazhi, Taipei
(02) 2533-0698

$

Visit reviewed: 12/14/2007

See, I told you I was catching up on old posts... but three posts in a row with ZERO comments. I'm so sad. :(

If you want to try the epitome of localized "Italian" food for Taipei, this is it. We all know that many many, let me repeat, many restaurants here adjust their food to the Taiwanese tastes, but some places (many of them the local pasta places) were never meant to be for people other than the locals. From the typos to the flavors to the baked pastas/rice dishes, I had to just go with the flow that night. I have to say though that the service was very friendly and it was pretty full of Taiwanese families enjoying the night out.

First off, the name of the place is "Giorgio's." Or is it? On the sign outside, it is. But on the menus and business cards, it's "Gerge's."




What the heck? They can't even get the name of the place spelled right? Or maybe someone took over the store and renamed it, but was too cheap to redo the sign outside. Note the clues: on the outside sign, it's pasta and curry, on the business card, it says, pasta and gratins. Who knows, it makes me laugh out loud.

Second, who wants some "scurf and tart"? It can be yours for NT$400...



While I didn't get the fancier set menu, we got pasta/gratins to which you could turn into a set menu which included a small salad and the typical mystery slightly watery chowder and choice of tea/coffee for an additional charge. The rest of menu is in English and Chinese, filled with mostly pastas, a few gratins and soups/salads.



Third, my spaghetti with pork chop and tomato meat sauce (NT$120) was so strange tasting I couldn't get past a few bites. I watched everyone eat up their baked gratins and I was sad that I happened to feel like red sauce that day. I don't know what it was about it- it was a bit too acidic or had some weird spice in it? It wasn't sweet like bolognese and it wasn't salty like plain meat sauce. The pork was okay, but tasted like sweeter pork chop that you might find on rice, so the two flavors didn't really match at all. But after mentioning it to the servers, they quickly took it away and offered to replace it with something else of my choice, free of charge.



I got a baked gratin with penne, chicken and mushroom (first picture) and I liked it... it was cheesy and hot, the pasta with cream sauce was probably put in there just before they topped it with cheese and baked it, but it was better than a frozen dinner and it was a LOT better than the meat sauce. Overall, I wouldn't go there again on my own, but if my relatives said, hey, let's go back to that Italian place, I would know that I'm not really getting Italian food, but I'd go along for the ride and stick to the gratins.

Other location:
No. 6, Lane 93, Shi Da Road
(02) 2369-9136