western/chinese: SUGAR CAFE

SUGAR CAFE
No. 4, Alley 27, Lane 216, Zhong Xiao E. Road, Sec. 4  (moved a/o 10/2011)
No. 406-1, Ren Ai Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 8771-4210

hours:11:30 am - 9:30

$-$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 5/4/2010



When my friend picked Sugar Cafe as the lunch spot for our girls' lunch, I thought she chose it because she had been before and wanted us to try it- after all that was the regular M.O. for our lunch dates. But when we got there at 11:15AM to a closed location, we questioned her choice- 'Is this place open? Haven't you been before?' We then found out not only that it doesn't open until 11:30AM (as many places in Taipei can't seem to open before noon), but that she chose the place because she thought the pictures of the food looked good from its Facebook page. Good one, VC.



Once the door lifted, I had a slight sense of dejavu and it wasn't until I got inside and checked out the menu that I realized that this was formerly the location of Yogurt Me. It turns out the owners totally revamped from the inside out- basically reinventing and reutilizing the space and using the Yogurt Me yogurt as a dessert or side for afternoon tea. I think it was a smart move- no one wants to go to a froyo place for sandwiches and breakfast, but people will go to a cafe for froyo. Plus it was just a better designed space, post revamp, moving around the previous "kitchen/yogurt counter" to the back and making way for more seats.



Anyways, if you had never been to the previous incarnation, you'd just see it as a cozy space with warm colored walls and seating areas.

But unfortunately, Sugar Cafe didn't serve any of the desserts or waffles my friend had spotted- instead during lunch hours (before 1:30PM), only the lunch menu is served. Back in May, it was only in Chinese, but it looks like a new English/Chinese menu was introduced over the summer as well as a menu change. The old menu had pastas and rice dishes, but the new menu includes burgers, sandwiches and fried rice.

So I left it up to my friends to order- the menu has both Western and Chinese offerings- so we got a sampling of both.



Complimentary shredded cabbage while we wait for our mains.



When Spaghetti with tomato meat sauce (NT$160) arrived to the table, a few of my friends complained about the pungent smell that accompanied it. When we inquired, they said it was the cheese, but I must admit, it was quite strong smelling for parmesan. I tried a few bites and there was nothing wrong with it- it had the familiar slightly sweet tomato sauce, but one of my friends was so turned off by the smell, she didn't dare take one bite.



The other dishes we ordered were the fried pork chop with rice and the fried chicken with rice which looked the same, with the crispy slices of meat, neat side of rice and trio of vegetables, egg and sprouts. While I enjoyed the bites of pork chop, it was weird for me to eat this along with the spaghetti and it felt sort of like bian dang food served up on a nice plate.



Some fresh oranges to complete the meal- but just makes me wish I had some frozen yogurt!



I would have liked to try the dessert/afternoon tea menu, as the lunch menu wasn't unique enough to call me back, but it could probably be a decent place to eat for people who work or live nearby and want a quick bite to eat. It's too bad that Sugar Cafe doesn't serve breakfast and desserts all day long (that are featured on the sign outside)- it might bring it a wider audience if it did.


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snapshot/not taipei: HSINCHU SHAVED ICE

Sometimes I get emails asking where to eat in cities other than Taipei, and I'm sad to say that I'm pretty unhelpful in those areas. I don't often venture outside the city and when I do, it's with relatives that know where they are going and I don't get a chance to look at street signs or understand where we are going. I'm sure that experience is familiar to many of you- when you travel with relatives, sometimes you don't even get to see the menu (or if you do, I'm not understanding it because it's all in Chinese) or pay the bill.



Anyways- I didn't want to let that stop me from sharing some of the places I've eaten at outside of Taipei and also use it as a chance to ask those of you reading who live in these cities/areas to share some of your favorite places (and addresses/phone numbers) for people who might be looking for information online in English for those cities!

So in this case- Hsinchu!

Didn't have much time to explore since we were coming after a meal, but of course if I see shaved ice, we're going to eat shaved ice! This place had a huge sign near a busy area of food stalls and on a hot day, a lot of customers. Mango shaved ice (NT$120) is always one of the more expensive things on the menu, but the serving was big. The ice melted quickly in the early summer heat and it tasted a bit like the mango was soaked in a syrup which made it overly sweet.



So any readers from Hsinchu or visited there before- where should I go the next time I'm hungry in Hsinchu?

news: CLOSED restaurant updates & A8 Shin Kong Mituskoshi revamp

Walked around the A8 Xinyi Shin Kong Mitsukoshi food court today for the first time since its revamp in July. It's a bit fancier now, with a glossier look and some new additions- Subway, Hielo frozen yogurt, Richard Blanc bakery, Coldstone ice cream and what seems to be new sushi and teppanyaki places. Also an interesting addition- a pizza place called Skinny Taj Pizza with some traditional pizzas as well as some fusion. Noticeably gone is Good Day, which seemed a little lost previously on the opposite side of the food court near all the Japanese snacks. But now the food court extends and circles around the whole B2 floor. When I get back from LA, I'll explore it some more and do a full post.

After catching GOING THE DISTANCE last night, I thought I'd wander over for crepes at Suzette forgetting that NYNY is pretty much emptied out and being redone (rumor has it- for a new H&M in Taipei?!?). So the whole row of Starbucks, Mister Donut, McDonalds and around the corner, Suzette, are all gone (not to mention the NYNY food court). The website hasn't been updated, so don't know if it's moved elsewhere or if it's gone for good. Does anyone know?

What else has closed this year?
-Citizen Cain which is now a place called Cubano, which I heard has quite good Cuban sandwiches!
-La Casita
-California Grill at the Dun Hua location
-Famous Larry's NY Pizza
-Blue Spice Thai (we barely knew you!)

Any other updates that I should add to this list?

There's quite a bit of change in the 101/Taipei City Hall MRT area- the addition of the Taipei City Hall bus station center and addition/extension of the MRT station there has another food court-looking space to explore. Later this year (or next?) will also add the Le Meridien and W Hotel to this busy Taipei area. Looking forward to seeing what restaurants open up in those hotels.

hotpot/taiwanese: BINGE HOTPOT

BINGE HOTPOT
No. 98, GuangFu N. Road, 2Fl
(02) 2578-9696

website: bingepot.com

hours: M-Sat 11AM- 3AM; Sunday 11AM-12midnight

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: one non-spicy broth offered; no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 5/12/2010



Binge Hotpot isn't a get down and dirty all-you-can-eat hotpot place like the name suggests. Instead it's a dressed up version of mala spicy hotpot- with an art gallery-like space and stark white ceramic place settings.





There are a few other things that set Binge apart from other mala hotpot places I've been to- besides the spicy mala broth with duck's blood and tofu, they also have a Thai curry broth or a plain broth. You can adjust the spiciness of the broths to your preference.




The reason why my friend chose Binge was because she saw an assortment of yummy appetizers featured when she saw the news clip. But when we looked over the menu and asked the waitress, she replied that the hot, crispy fried things she saw featured like radish cakes, were actually not appetizers, but for cooking in the hotpot.



Despite our pleading, the waitress insisted that they couldn't prepare them as appetizers and we couldn't eat them as such since they weren't fully cooked. There were even handmade balls with shrimp and cheese inside (NT$240)... unusual and a strange combination with the mala and curry flavoring from being cooked in the broth.



As someone who likes the crispy and the soup separate- for example, I always request my shrimp tempura on the side of the my udon- who likes soggy shrimp tempura? This had sort of the same effect. Since it was our first time, we asked the waitress to order an assortment of stuff for us from the overwhelming menu, but mostly what came out was fried goodies that we couldn't eat until they were soggy.



So if I returned to Binge again, I'd stick to the basics- vegetable combo (NT$160), meat (NT$280-680) and you tiao or fried bread sticks (NT$60) which do stay crispy after being dipped in the hotpot if you don't bathe it too long. Or some of their other homemade dumplings or meatballs that aren't fried. There's also a large selection of seafood which might go better with the thai curry broth rather than the mala broth.




There's also also cantonese noodles or rice noodles if you need some starch. No packages of instant ramen here.



A complimentary sweet, Chinese soup dessert comes to the table, but I only have a few bites. The clear, crunchy jelly-like parts are called snow fungus and is supposed to be good for you.



One of the good things about Binge is it wasn't as crowded on a weekday lunch as the more well known Ding Wang Tripod King across the street, that we can spot outside our window seats. Binge is open late at night too, so you could come by for a late dinner and it's suitable for groups and a bit more spacious than other hotpot places I've been to.


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not taipei/LA: GLORIA's CAFE, LUDOBITES 5.0, UMAMI BURGER & CALIFORNIA CHICKEN CAFE

I've been a bad blogger. Instead of writing about food, I've just been daydreaming about it. In attempt to kick my semi-writer's block created by my return to the Taipei heat and humidity, I'm going to torture you with what we can't have (unless you're lucky enough to be in LA, of course). I have lots and lots to catch up on about my previous Taipei eats, but until then we will drool together.

1- GLORIA's CAFE

Heaping plates of El Salvadorian and Mexican food, complete with pools of beans and rice, and service with a smile makes Gloria's Cafe one of my favorite spots to hit up in LA. Ever since ordering the carne adobada on my first visit there over a year ago, I can't seem to want to order anything else.

My sister said she doesn't even like plantains and she thought that these were good.



We also went a little crazy ordering both the Mexican and El Salvadorian tamales with two different sauces to try- the El Salvadorian tamales tasted a bit smoother and creamy, while the Mexican tamales had the familiar courser, yellow corn masa texture. Both were the best tamales I've had in awhile.



2- LUDOBITES 5.0



Before I left for Taipei, I got the Golden Ticket of the foodbloggers' world- which was a coveted reservation to Ludobites 5.0. The reason why reservations were so hard to get? Chef Ludo and his team don't have a permanent restaurant- instead he rents out different locations and reinvents a menu to kick off that chapter. So everyone in LA has a limited window (usually a few months) to try out the food which has had food bloggers buzzing and me drooling on many occasions (who wouldn't over foie gras croque monsieur?!)



Ludobites 5.0's menu included dishes like goat cheese soup with bacon, lardo, tofu, green apple and frisee salad; foie gras with chinese bbq sauce with miso eggplant; steamed duck with crispy skin puree and white peach with balsamic (my 2nd favorite dish of the night); raw waygu beef over somen noodle; and campfire smores with a side of guacamole ice cream, but my favorite of the night was the Poached egg, Potato Mousseline, Santa Barbara Prawns and Chorizo Condiment.



The dish sounds and looks deceptively simple, but it was actually perfectly thought out and executed. To have a complete dreamy bite, it was like hunting for treasure. You needed to scoop up the creaminess of the potato, the soft egg, the bite of prawn and saltiness of the chorizo. I could eat this for breakfast and lick the bowl clean.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of Chef Ludo's imaginative creations while spying on him in person at work, as well as just having a nice dinner out with friendly service led by Ludo's wife, Krissy. It was my first time and hopefully not my last.

3- UMAMI BURGER



I'd been wanting to try Umami for awhile, but never managed to make the drive out to Hollywood. But luckily for me, they have a location in Santa Monica now (in Fred Segal) which wasn't too crowded when we chose it for a lunch meeting on a weekday. The menu has about 8-9 burgers on it, but I recommend getting the signature Umami burger, best suited for those who like a bit of sweet with their savory. Don't forget to rock the sweet potato fries and cheesy tater tots too.



4- CALIFORNIA CHICKEN CAFE



If I could find a Chinese chicken salad in Taipei that matched the one from CCC, I'd be a happy camper. But it's hard to find a good salad here, much less a Chinese chicken salad.

5- MARIE CALLENDER's



And last, but not least... the strawberry pie from Marie Callender's. Big, juicy strawberries bathed in sticky sweetness countered by a bite of the flaky crust. Hopefully this will still be in stores at the end of summer when I go back to LA in a few weeks. And speaking of seasons, does anyone know why strawberries are in season in the winter in Taipei, but during the summer in the states? It always confused me!

So there you have it... some of my LA meals from my most recent visit- some old favorites, some new.

not taipei/hong kong: egg tarts from WING FAT BAKERY/RESTAURANT

The next time I go to Hong Kong, I'll definitely make a point to swing by Wing Fat Bakery for their egg tarts. Best eaten warm so that the jelly-like custard and buttery, flaky crust make melty magic in your mouth, I bought a box to share and even devoured one for breakfast the next morning.



Thankfully I found a egg tart place that satisfied on my trip a few weeks ago- on my trip to Hong Kong last year, I found a random bakery when I got lost walking from my hotel to my lunch meeting, but was not able to find it again since.

If you're craving hot egg tarts in Taipei? I'd recommend going to Parents Restaurant and ordering it about 20 minutes before you want to devour them. Anyone else have any leads for delicious egg tarts in Taipei or Hong Kong?

WING FAT BAKERY/RESTAURANT
117 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
2865 5987

not taipei/california: OC County Fair 2010

For me, summertime in Southern California means time to go to the OC Fair for Mexican funnel cake! Ever since I tried the sugary, crispy confection last year, I had been counting down the days until I returned this summer and could get my hands on it.



It's always fun to see the dizzying array of food stands available- from the standard corn dogs to chicken and waffles to grilled corn.




It's amusing to see the cupcake trend has even made its way here.



I didn't have the urge to try all the deep fried craziness like the zucchini weenie or the deep fried smores, since I had sampled it last year. So instead I settled on some taquitos from Noel's since I spotted an open table nearby.



I was happy to see it slathered in guacamole.



I also tried corn dogs from a couple of stands and if I came back next year, I'd pick Hot Dog on a Stick over the others.

I was waiting for some friends to come to share the Mexican funnel cake with them, but they bailed last minute. It comes in a jumbo size only, so I wasn't able to finish it and it became a sugar overload by the fifth bite or so.



But if you're craving some deep fried butter (SHUDDER!) or chocolate covered bacon, this is your one stop shop to make sure to hit up- but only until August 15th!



OC COUNTY FAIR 2010
at the OC Fair & Event Center
88 Fair Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

ocfair.com

chinese/taiwanese: i recommend MIAO BANG CALLA LILY GARDEN

MIAO BANG CALLA LILY GARDEN
No.56-7, Zhuzihu Rd,
Yangmingshan, Beitou District, Taipei
(02) 2861-5419

website: chccd.com

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 4/17/2010



I'm always a little bit wary of restaurants once we wander too far out of Taipei. For some, it's an adventure to discover local tastes and dishes, but for me, I usually think of menus only in Chinese, winding roads of unfamiliar restaurants and squat toilets. I don't like squat toilets.

But at least I'm with relatives who also love food and have picked some good places in the past. On this occasion, they want to take me to Yangmingshan where you can walk the field of cally lilies next to the restaurant, take photos and even pick some to take home. It's kind of a nice retreat from the city and not as far as some of the other places we've gone, like the sheep farm or aboriginal village.



The relatives order a dizzying array of food and before we know it, the red plastic covered table is covered with dishes. While we wait, there is a sweet potato soup (NT$30/bowl) that comes first with huge chunks of sweet potato infused with a sweet ginger flavor from the soup it was boiled in.



Some of my favorite dishes from the night- a mushroom stir fry which has a generous bites of tender mushrooms, aromatic from the heavy accent of basil...



the steamed mantou (NT$100) which can be dipped in condensed milk. The pillowy, soft buns have different flavors- brown has a touch of brown sugar, purple for taro- but I'm unsure what the other ones are;



and the heaping plate of mian xian which are thin, wheat flour noodles that are surprisingly addicting, slippery with the rich sesame oil flavor and boiled to a soft, but not mushy bite.



So if you're looking for something different, you can find your way to Yang Ming Shan, enjoy the views and fresh air, and order away at this restaurant tucked in the mountainside.


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CLOSED thai/foodcourt: i recommend BLUE SPICE at BREEZE CENTER

CLOSED!

BLUE SPICE
at Breeze Center, B2
No.39, FuXing S. Road, Sec 1

MRT: ZhongXiao/FuXing

hours: 11 AM - 9:30 PM / THURS-SAT 10PM

$

Kid friendliness: seating is in food court; some items might be too spicy/sour for kids

Visit reviewed: 5/31/2010



One of the things I miss in Taipei is Thai food delivery. In LA, if I feel like some pad thai, tom kha gai soup or green curry, I just make a quick phone call and half an hour later, I'm eating my steaming hot food and I didn't have to fight traffic, find parking, or find other people to eat with. In Taipei, if I want Thai food, I usually end up at Thai Town or Mei Kung, both great, but more sit down and suitable for a meal for a larger group so you could have more variety. In Taipei, I have yet to find a Thai restaurant that delivers, or maybe I'm just missing some special code or place that you guys need to clue me into.

So the next best thing to delivery is to-go. So I decided on pad thai(NT$150) to-go after musing over Blue Spice's English and Chinese menu of curries, noodles, fried chicken and appetizers after catching a movie at Breeze.



The prices range from NT$55-$180 and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that with my to-go order I could choose either soup or thai ice tea. I chose thai ice tea and it was sweet and not watered down.

Another thing that surprised me was the complimentary mini appetizers on the side that were included- glass noodle salad, pork and egg which had strong sour and spicy flavors that complimented the pad thai. The portion was filling, but not quite enough to share.

I look forward to going back and trying some of the other things on their menu- the green or red curry with chicken or the fried chicken with chili sauce, which the friendly cashier said was a best seller.

I've had some pretty bad experiences with Southeast Asian food in Taipei food courts for some reason- the Singaporean/Malay stall near Jasons in 101 or Pho in Eslite and Breeze Main Station- but Blue Spice is definitely worth a try for Thai food lovers.

OTHER LOCATIONS

CLOSED
QSquare
B2 Food court
No. 209, Civic Blvd, Sec. 1
MRT: Taipei Main Station

Tienmu Mitsukoshi
3rd floor food court
No. 68 TienMu East Rd
MRT: Zhishan

Mitsukoshi Nanjing West Rd
B1
No. 12, Nanjing W. Road
MRT: Zhongshan station