italian: PASTA WEST EAST

PASTA WEST EAST
No. 7, An He Rd., Sec. 1
(02) 2721-0029

hours: 12 noon-2:30 pm lunch; 6-10:30 pm dinner

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: upscale, business setting not entirely suitable for kids/toddlers; no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 10/15/2009



When I first started spending more time in Taipei in 2005, I remember one of the first Italian restaurants I was taken to was Pasta West East. It was classically classy, the kind of place where we saw couples out on fancy dates, where we took important clients for meetings, where you worry if you're dressed nicely enough and you're charged for your Evian water. I have memories of quite a few nice dinners there, but for whatever reason, over the years, I found myself going there less and less.

But when I was in the area and we needed a place for lunch, I was happy to revisit and finally get a chance to write it up for the blog.

You can order from the menu or order from the business set lunch menu which had three choices (NT$520-820) for the main course, and included soup or salad, dessert and tea/coffee.



Once seated, we got our warm starter bread, which is a round thick bread sliced into pie-like pieces and comes with butter or a mini-jar of orange marmalade to accent the slightly sweet flavor of the bread.



My soup of the day mushroom soup came fairly quickly and when I responded yes to freshly ground pepper, the waiter went a little overboard. I ended up having to scoop most of the black pepper out and put it on the plate. But I liked the soup, which wasn't too heavy or watery with plenty of slices of fresh white mushrooms.



Two of my lunch companions chose to split a Caesar salad(NT$280) and clam linguine. Pasta West East pre-split the dishes for them and it still ended up being fairly healthy sized portions. I like the flavor of the dressing, though the few olives and hardboiled egg slices don't really add much to the salad. It was too bad because the menu said the eggs were poached, but I think it was just a typo.



My fettucine pasta served with chicken breast and pesto cream sauce was quite a disappointment. The pesto cream sauce less creamy than a thick watery sauce and lacked the aromatic pesto flavor that I love. The thinly sliced pieces of chicken were interspersed in the pasta and also lacked any individual flavor. My friend looked at me in slight horror as I grabbed the salt and pepper (I almost never do this) and used them for my dish, but it didn't help very much.



When I lamented about my disappointment of the dish to my friends who ordered the clam linguine, they told me that their dish was too salty and some of the clams were sandy. She agreed with me that the restaurant was not as good as it was in its prime a few years ago. I was definitely surprised- it was really too bad that the restaurant didn't put out consistently good meals to keep up with the competition.

The homemade dessert was more of the same- a banana cake that looked pretty, but was dry and crumbly- lacking the moistness or richness that would make it worth the calories.



Eating here was like trying on an old expensive sweater and seeing that it wasn't as good looking on as it was before. Maybe the moths got to it, or the trends changed. For whatever reason, maybe the sweater would look better on someone else, I probably won't wear it anymore.


View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map

vietnamese/pho: i recommend THANH KY

THANH KY
No. 1 and 6, Lane 6, Yongkang St, Taipei
(02) 2321 1579 and (02) 2322 2765

hours: 11:30am to 11:30pm

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted, but roomy in newer location

Visit reviewed: 9/30/2009



I never noticed Thanh Ky until about six months ago when I discovered Yong Kang Kou next door. I guess before I was always "business" about this area- going straight to Ice Monster (which is directly across from it) after a meal and then back on our way. But after realizing that there was Vietnamese pho to be eaten here, it was just a matter of time before I tried it.

On this day, my friend wanted to take me to lunch at La Cocotte, but when we tried to "walk in," they wouldn't seat us without reservations at 1pm on a weekday. So we racked our brain on where to go and we were close enough to Yong Kang Street to give it a try. I guess you can get your food to go from the outside street vendor portion, adjacent to a small sitting space or you could go right across the alley, to the newer, bigger dining area and kitchen, which is comfortably air conditioned.



The restaurant is clean and the service is efficient and fills up quickly after we sit down with larger groups of young people in the back of the restaurant, even though it's a bit after lunchtime.



The good sized menu is easy to browse, in English and Chinese and lots of pictures.



In addition to the beef broth pho, they also have pho with sate, curry or even Tom Yum Seafood soup. Individual hot pots are also available with vegetables, seafood and meat options.



Pho #1 is their Hanoi Beef Pho (NT$165), which is their "no. 1 selling pho on the menu. Awarded 2008 Taipei International New Row Main Festival contest runner-up." (Totally not my spelling by the way). Appetizers on the menu include fried Vietnamese spring rolls, Thai-style shrimp cakes, Pig's Ear salad, Sugar Cane prawns, stewed pork liver and Vietnamese steamed chicken thigh.

I get the Tiger shrimp salad roll (NT$90) to start and comes out fairly quickly. It's a decent size, served with two dipping sauces. Classic taste and gone quickly.



I don't realize until after I get my Stir fried Beef with Rice Noodle (NT$95) that it's slices of beef, not ground beef, which makes it a little messy to eat. The beef is a little dry/tough, especially in contrast to the fork tender beef of my friend's Hanoi Beef Pho. In terms of dry rice noodles, you can't beat the pork noodle dish from Pho Hoa.



The Hanoi Beef Pho is perfect for anyone who is a fan of the clear broth beef noodle soup and I can see why it was a contender in the annual beef noodle soup competition. The tendons and beef are cooked perfectly and the soup is a pleasure to drink, even on a warm afternoon. It has a slightly sweet quality, aromatic with the basil, onions and lime juice.



If it's not spicy enough, there's chili sauce on the side to adjust it to your liking.



So the next time a craving for pho hits you, you can give Thanh Ky a try. The family run business has been around for almost 30 years and is a great option for a quick meal in the area.


View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map

street eat/taiwanese: i strongly recommend STINKY TOFU VENDOR

Stinky Tofu and Squid Potage Street Vendor
Lane 181, Zhong Xiao E Road, Sec 4

(north of the alley next to Ding Kua Kua, two blocks east of Dun Hua N Road/Zhong Xiao intersection)

MRT stop: Zhong Xiao/Dun Hua

$

Kid friendliness: outdoor table and stools to sit at, but in busy lane with cars

Visit reviewed: 10/14/2009



One of the best things about Taipei is that if you're hungry, you can find almost anything, even on the street. In fact, some of the stuff is found along a busy alley, with no address, no phone number. Of course, that makes it telling a friend where to find it even harder. While some people don't want to risk their stomachs for unknown factors, I think it's not any more scary than the hole-in-the-wall.

During a recent lunch with the girlfriends, my friend V and I left a little hungry. When we passed by the sign, we decided to split a bowl of squid vermicelli potage and a small plate of stinky tofu, each for NT$55 (about US$2). Forget eating here for US$40 a day, if you love street eats, you could do it for US$10.



They fried the chou dofu tofu to order and put some pickled cabbage and sauce atop, and topped the you yu geng squid potage with a generous bunch of cilantro.

For some people, the smell of stinky tofu is so strong that they can't even brave a bite. For others, it's a nostalgic memory of Taiwan. For me, I enjoy the crunchy crispiness of the skin when fried just right married with the sourness of the pickled cabbage and spiciness of the chili sauce so much that I don't even mind the distinctive smell.



It was heavenly.

A lot more satisfying than our expensive lunch- it was crispy, soupy and perfect mix of contrasting textures and pungent flavors for a rainy afternoon. It didn't matter that we were sitting on plastic stools with scooters zooming dangerously by. It was the kind of meal that would be tough to replicate in any other city in the world. You'd have to drive an hour away to eat in LA and it probably wouldn't even be half as good and three times as expensive.



It's one meal that makes you happy that you're hungry in Taipei.


View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map

dessert: i strongly recommend CREPERIE LA BRETAGNE

CREPERIE LA BRETAGNE
No. 7, Lane 38, Zhong Shan N. Road, Sec 7
Shihlin District
(02) 2874-9922

website: creperielabretagne.com

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. more room in back than front. lots of desserts that kids will adore

Visit reviewed: 10/22/2009




Mmm, who can say no to crepes? After a filling lunch at Saffron and some shopping in Tianmu with some friends, one of them mentioned that we had to go to have crepes at a shop they had been to before. I thought I was full, but my dessert stomach opened up and said, yes please!



When we ended up at the cute shop, I realized I had read about Creperie La Bretagne and had it on my mental to-eat list (since it was mentioned by reader Josh on my Crepes Suzette post)! The shop was narrow, but cozy with a second floor that I didn't explore. My friends said that it was bigger than the previous location that they had been to, or maybe they had expanded?



It was hard to pick just one from all the pages of dessert crepes to choose from, and I couldn't decide! They had the basics- honey, lemon, cinnamon sugar to the more unique- handmade caramel, black cherry and condensed milk, or banana contreau and ice cream. I ended up settling on Banana Nutella. Luckily, my friends picked my second choice, Cinnamon Apples. You can also make your crepe into a set with drink for NT$180.



The crepes are made fresh to order, and by the front window, so passerbys can watch and be tempted to come inside and order their own. Creperie La Bretagne also offers main dish crepes, such as mushrooms with traditional french sauce, german sausage and cheese, french country style with ham and eggs or smoked salmon (NT$210); as well as a coffees, lattes, teas and bretagne apple cider.



A few minutes later, our crepes arrived. I was slightly surprised to see they were square rather than folded over like a triangle. But who cares if it tastes good right?



Mmm, mmm, mmm... the banana nutella crepe (NT$110) had plenty of sliced bananas and hazelnut chocolate sauce spread inside. I only wished the crepe was a tiny bit bigger. If you cut it into bite sized pieces, it would be about 12 bites.



I traded a few bites of my crepe for a taste of my friend's cinnamon apple crepe (NT$120) and it was also mmm, mmm, mmm. The soft apples were sweet, but also coated with a thick layer of cinnamon. He also ordered it with a small scoop of ice cream that I didn't try.




I could see how Creperie La Bretagne could be a popular hangout on the weekends for the Tianmu neighborhood. Thanks to my friends J and A for having a craving for crepes (and Indian food) that day so we could check it out.

If you are now craving crepes and don't live near Tianmu, don't worry- there's actually a good crepe place called Crepes Suzette tucked around the corner from McDonalds in the NYNY mall that I have yet to write up.


View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map

italian: CHIANTI RISTORANTE

CHIANTI RISTORANTE
(YANG TI)
No. 91, Da An Road, Sec 1
(02) 2721-3182 ‎

MRT: Zhong Xiao/FuXing

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 9/25/2009



You might have spotted Chianti while driving in the alleys near Sogo. Or maybe more noticeably, its can't-miss-the-giant-signage next door neighbor, Hello Kitty Sweets.



There is some nice sofa seating in the front, for waiting or afternoon tea, as well as a freezer of house-made gelatos and cakes to admire by the front counter. I arrived for lunch with a few friends before they officially opened, but they were nice enough to let us wait inside on the sofas rather than outside while they got ready. Upstairs there is also a room for private dining, or my friend said that you could reserve the second floor for a private party.




The menu is in English and Chinese, with lots of pictures of appetizers, salads, pastas, pizzas and grilled meats/seafood. There is also a set menu lunch for NT$500-$680 from which you can choose various pastas and risotto dishes, or osso bucco and grilled garoupa. I think I ended up being the only one to order from the set menu- one of my friends ordered a crab salad and crab risotto and the other ordered a pizza instead.



For me, I wanted to try the paella. It was calling my name.



The set's caesar salad and vegetable soup were good- nothing to complain about. You can also choose green salad or pumpkin soup with the set lunch.




And then the paella with chicken, sausage and seafood (NTS580 set lunch)... I don't know why I half expected a mini-cast iron pan of oven baked paella, but instead my dish resembled more of a seafood risotto in looks, texture and taste. It was creamy and soft, with nice touches of saffron. While I'm not a paella expert, I could have swore the last time I had it, it didn't taste like this- maybe it's my own bad for ordering a Spanish dish at an Italian restaurant? I still ate it all, but I just was expecting something different.



While my friend enjoyed her crab salad and creamy crab risotto, I didn't think it was completely worth the splurge. The crab meat tasted as if it was frozen and then not defrosted completely, with an icy texture and not sweet like I've had in fresh crab salads in the past. The risotto also had a lot of crab meat mixed inside the risotto, but again it didn't draw out the sweetness of the crab, but rather got a bit lost in the creaminess.




Then came the set menu's dessert- which came with a slice of cake and mini scoop of sorbet. There isn't a choice offered on the menu, but if you ask nicely, they'll let you swap out the regular chocolate cake for banana chocolate cake as well as the sorbet flavor.



The lemon sorbet was a bit more sour than sweet, but I liked the milk sorbet. The chocolate cakes did not have enough richness for me, but my friends liked the chocolate banana cake.



All in all, a decent place for leisurely lunch or maybe afternoon tea, but on the pricey side for lunch at an Italian restaurant. I'd probably end up at Primo Trattoria or even Bellini's (I've fallen in love with their thin crust pizzas lately and staring at the chef making them in the window at the Vieshow location) instead before coming back here again. Or maybe even finally check out Hello Kitty Sweets.

Anyone been before? Is there something else on the menu that I missed or should have ordered instead?


View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map

hungry in taipei's eating tour of XIMENDING

I often get emails asking me, "I only have 12/24/48 hours to spend in Taipei, where MUST I eat? what are your top 5 places in Taipei?" etc etc. Or I have visiting friends who I want to show around town but they are totally open to want to eat where ever I want to go. It's a lot of pressure to pick the right places! Haha. So I'll try to do certain areas that can be used as a guide for an afternoon or meal if you want to know where I'd take you if we were hanging out in person.

One place I end up gravitating towards when friends are visiting is Ximending. It's cheap, it's fast, there's lots to shop and see. It's often compared to Shibuya/Harajuku in Tokyo or Times Square in New York.



There's a certain energy from all the people walking around, the gigantic neon billboards spanning across the buildings and movie theater sized screens playing trailers or music videos, gaggles of trendily dressed teenagers, tourists or students in their school uniforms, and rows and rows of shops and shops and food. It's a great way to spend an afternoon or evening in Taipei that feels unique to the city.

My suggestions for Ximending is to eat a little at each place and then you can try as much as possible. Another option is to eat at a sit down place, depending on what you like. Ximending is also home to the Modern Toliet restaurant which I have yet to go or recommend, but I know it's very popular those looking for a really different eating experience.

So a few weeks ago, this is what I took my new friend Roger to eat when he was visiting Taipei. I won't talk too much about stuff I've reviewed before- you can click on it for old pics/reviews.

A five course eating tour for under NT$300 or $10 bucks!

First Course: Ah Chung Noodles



You still gotta eat Ah Chung Noodles standing up after you get your piping hot bowl of noodles and pork intestines. I recommend getting a small bowl so you can eat dumplings at the second destination. Don't forget to add a bit of chili sauce, garlic paste and vinegar to spice it up.

Second course: Portuguese Egg tarts from KFC



Only because we spotted KFC on the way to the other side of the street and the Mochi on stick guy was not open that day and my friend didn't mind mixing salty and sweet and back to salty. Like me, he was not a believer that this was a must-try, but after eating it, he understood. Hot, custardy, flaky, good. Of course, this doesn't have to be eaten in Ximending- just give it chance if you spot a KFC.

Third course: Almond milk shaved ice and almond tofu pudding at Yu's Almond Tofu



I'd had the silky and sweet almond tofu before, with their trademark almond milk in a silver bag to be opened and poured on top, but when I spotted the almond milk snowflake ice, I had to have some. More fine and sweet than regular shaved ice, this also had some almond tofu on the bottom! Score. You can also add your own toppings.

yustofu.com.tw

Fourth course: Fried and boiled dumplings from Zhang Ji Fried Dumplings



This is one of those places I'd never would have found if it weren't for my friend Justin- entire menu of eat is on the wall and under NT$100.



We made it there around 2pm and it was still fairly crowded inside. We ordered a set of guo tie or pan fried dumplings and tsui jiao boiled dumplings, since they wouldn't less us order less than 10 each.



The guo tie were perfectly fried, with a thin crisped up layer on the bottom, but I tried their house-made chili sauce for the first time today and I couldn't stop dipping my dumplings in it. I asked the lao ban if I could buy some to take home and he said no, but told us how he stir fried the chili peppers in peanut oil. No wonder it had a fragrant, nutty depth since I'm usually not that crazy about chili sauces.



Fifth course: Snow King Ice Cream



Just a block away, we made it to our last stop. Though we were tempted to try out some of the unusual flavors that they are known for, we ended up sticking to the sweet- red bean and lychee. The lychee wasn't as sweet and fruity and too creamy rather than like a sorbet as my previous orders- so I'd stick to guava or peach next time.

If you don't want to run around to different places, you can also check out sit down places like Mala Yuanyang Hotpot or Alleycats, or get a bowl of beef noodle soup along with the dumplings at Zhang Ji. Of course there are a TON of places to eat in Ximending, much less in Taipei, but this is what I've discovered so far.


View HungryinTaipei eating tour- Ximending in a larger map

1- Ah Chung Noodles- from the MRT Station exit, look for the McDonalds. It's one alley away from it.
2- KFC- also in main Ximending area, can't miss it- it's three stories high
3- Yu's Almond Tofu- go back towards MRT exit, cross the street towards Partyworld, past the shoe store on Chengdu Road.
4- Zhang Ji Fried Dumplngs- refer to previous post for signs to the little alley it's located in
5- Snow King Ice Cream- towards the police station/ Wuchang St

Any other must eats in Ximending? Please share!