CLOSED! western/brunch: i recommend ELEPHANT CAFE

CLOSED! a/o 2012

ELEPHANT CAFE
No. 1, Lane 238, Dun Hua S. Road, Sec. 1
(02)8771-8370

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua

website: Elephant Cafe's Facebook page

hours: M-F 11AM - 11PM / Sat-Sun 9 AM- 11PM

$$

Kid friendliness: great setting for large groups, spotted kids/babies every time. highchairs and kid dinnerware available.

Visit reviewed: 11/22/09 & 11/27/09



Elephant is a cozy cafe behind Dun Nan Sogo that you might never spot, next door to the now closed California Grill. But it's worth visiting especially for its weekend brunch or grabbing one of their patio seats for afternoon tea.





The weekend only brunch includes a hearty, homestyle breakfast plate that you can customize to include the amount of meat, the style of egg and the kind of potato (hash brown or home fries (NT$220-320)). Although it was a little strange to have small sides of potato salad and salad on the plate, it was not a bad thing.




A small side of fresh fruit comes on the side as well.



I had to try the cheesecake as well- which was milky and creamy. Not too sweet, with a strong cream cheese flavor.



Lunch options include sandwiches, pasta, rice dishes and daily specials. I enjoyed the sandwiches with the crispy french fries, especially the egg salad sandwich (NT$!50). The egg salad sandwich doesn't have a lot of mayo mixed in like you would expect, which works for me because I'm not crazy about mayonnaise.




I also was surprised by their lasagna which was not heavy at all. Loaded with vegetables, along with layers of pasta and cheese, this was one of the most memorable tasty lasagnas I'd had in awhile.



But I visited again recently, and now instead of offering one type of lasagna, they offer several. I ordered the vegetable lasagne hoping to get the same thing, but now it came with a creamy white sauce and green pasta layers. It was different than what I expected, but worked. So if you are set on tomato sauce, check with the server.

I didn't like their daily special curry with rice which was way too spicy for me and more soupy than a thicker curry I was used to. This is no longer on the menu as well, I believe.



Other things to try at Elephant Cafe are their waffles and their chocolate peanut butter dessert.




Elephant gets busy during the weekends, so call ahead for reservations, especially if you have a larger group.


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not taipei: TORONTO - downtown, part i

The last time I went to Toronto was a few years ago in 2007 and I can barely remember what I ate- bar food, hotel food and some expensive dim sum. Oh, I did make it to Mother's Dumplings in Chinatown, but everything else is mostly a blur.

So this time when I went last month, I was determined to eat up a storm in Toronto. Thanks to Yelp, awesome readers from my Facebook page (thanks guys!!) and more food blogs than ever to research from, I had lots of new flavors and a shortlist of places to eat at if I ever go back to Toronto again!

MESSINI AUTHENTIC GYROS - strongly recommend



Of all the spots in Greektown on Danforth to choose from, we headed straight to Messini, which was the only one that still packed a crowd at 4pm in the afternoon. The above picture should say it all- a huge pita stuffed with lamb, tomatoes, tzatziki and then french fries!!! I've never seen that before elsewhere, but man was it genius. When I ordered the gyro sandwich, the waitress asked if I wanted pork, chicken or lamb. When I ordered the lamb gyros pita (C$5), she warned me it would be more fatty than the other meats. I was a bit confused, but I understood why after eating it. Unlike many gyro places where the meat is ground up and processed into a slab and then sliced into strips from the spit, the lamb here was real chunks of roasted lamb, stringy and browned, reminding me of carnitas. If you don't like lamb, then order chicken or pork because the lamb here is quite strong in its smell and taste.

The other thing I couldn't resist was the greek fries(C$3.95) which were fried rounds of potatoes topped with feta cheese.



The servers are quite busy running around, so you will have to work to wave them down. But once your food comes, you should definitely leave full.

ACCENTS RESTAURANT at SUTTON PLACE- recommend



I probably wouldn't have eaten here if I didn't have food and beverage credit from staying here, but their food is solid. The creamy Sweet pea risotto with scallops (C$17) had huge, perfectly seared scallops and the great flavors. Their eggs benedict were quite nice too. The feel of the hotel and restaurant are a bit old school, but it's amusing to admire their walls of headshots of celebrities who have stayed there.

WRAP and GRAB- strongly recommend



The chicken shawarma from Wrap and Grab was hands down one of my favorite meals on this trip. It was strongly recommended to me by reader Vicky, so I knew I had to give it a try. It was my first time trying shawarma, though it reminded me a lot of Doner Kebab in Taipei, this was so much more. Along with the meat and lettuce, you can also add garlic sauce and hummus which gives it a creamy, zesty flavor. The flavors seemed to have melded together when they heat it up, and the effect was like a super long wrap in a pressed panini. Wrap and Grab has two locations and there are a ton of shawarma places on every other block, all over downtown, but I'll never forget my first time. Just don't get tempted by the samosa- even after toasting, it wasn't crispy or good.

FRESH- recommend



Reader Olivia strongly told me to try out Fresh so that I could understand what she was looking for in Taipei- sorry Olivia, I'm not sure there's anything like it here! Fresh offers a completely vegetarian/vegan menu with salads, appetizers, wraps, burgers and fresh bowls. Fresh was completely packed when I stopped by for dinner, but it was about a 10-15 minute wait for four people.

My favorites included the cornbread and hummus (C$2.50) and gluten free cashew cookie. Appetizers included quinoa coated onion rings, (C$5) veggie egg rolls (C$8) and sweet potato fries (C$6).



I'd choose the salads over the soba, which varied depending on what sauces and toppings you mixed in. The Fresh bowls are quite expensive, at about C$9-13 for brown rice and C$14-15 for soba noodles. We tried the chopped caesar (C$8) which had crunchy tempeh, edamame, sun dried tomato, jicama, red pepper, napa cabbage, pine nuts and salad greens. If you're hungry, go for the dinner set at C$21, which includes a small appetizer, smoothie, fresh bowl and cookie.



If you're going to go for dessert, definitely pick the cashew cookie over the chocolate chunk, which was a bit dry in comparison. The cashew cookie was surprisingly moist, and reminded us of the texture of the chinese almond cookie.



breakfast buffet from COURTYARD MARRIOTT, DOWNTOWN TORONTO



My favorite thing about the breakfast buffet at the Marriott Courtyard was the make your own waffles set up. The batter came out of a spout and you poured it in to the mini-waffle iron, flipped and waited. I cooked mine a little longer, hoping to have some crispy edges and they didn't turn out half bad.

I have more eats coming soon!! Crepes, waffles and more...

MESSINI AUTHENTIC GYROS
445 Danforth Ave
Toronto, ON, Canada
(416) 778-4861

ACCENTS RESTAURANT at SUTTON PLACE
955 Bay Street
Toronto, Canada
(416) 324-5633

WRAP AND GRAB
170 Dundas St W
Toronto, Canada
(416) 595-9727

FRESH
326 Bloor St W
Toronto, Canada
(416) 531-2635
www.juiceforlife.com

YONGE STREET GRILL
at COURTYARD MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN TORONTO
475 Yonge Street, Toronto
(416) 924-0611

taiwanese/street eats: i strongly recommend XING LONG HANDMADE COLD NOODLES

XING LONG HANDMADE COLD NOODLES
or XING LONG SHOU GONG LIANG MIAN
No. 2-1, Lane 333, Roosevelt Rd. (Or LuoSiFu Rd)
(02) 2363-0429

hours: 11AM- 11 PM

$

Kid friendliness: limited tight seating; can get stuff to go

Visit reviewed: 10/6/2010



Down any random alley in Taipei, you'll inevitably find something delicious to eat. Down this random alley in Shida, I followed my gut and followed my nose. I smelled the sweet distinctive smell of stinky tofu. Sweet to some, unbearable to others. This alley, like a lot of others, was like uncovering a treasure map of eats- a run bing vendor, a pepper bun stand, a soy tofu vendor, and a row of xiao chi or small eats.

But one stood out from the others- it was bustling, there were people waiting in line and it was the source of the stinkiness! If I didn't have a lunch date right around the corner, I would have did a tasting course with a sample from each different place.



Besides stinky tofu, this place is also known for their cold sesame noodles and hot noodle soups, based on the orders and wall of fame. There's not a lot of room to sit- some right in front of the food, and about 10 seats in the back.Everything is under NT$50 or US$2.



I grabbed a plastic stool near the front, next to the wall of magazine and newspaper reviews blown up for show. While I was waiting for my stinky tofu to be freshly fried, I watched the lao ban scoop up dry noodles from a huge silver bowl and spoon an assortment of sauces atop to complete a plate of cold sesame noodles and a short line form for to-go orders.



The wait was worth it. The crispy skin of the each piece of stinky tofu was broken in the center, and stuffed with finely diced garlic and garlic juice. It was like the pungency of the garlic cancelled out the pungency of the stinky tofu and made one harmonious bite. (Ha ha! Okay, I can't imagine what stinky tofu garlic breath smells like to the non initiated, but just bring some mints for afterwards.) Topped with sliced cucumber and a side of pickled cabbage for more crunch, I added some of the chili sauce that was available on the table.



So now I have new daytime spot to go to for stinky tofu lovers while mourning the my recent discovery of the disappearance/closure of Yong Kang Kou on Yong Kang Street. I'm definitely coming back to this alley for more.


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chinese/breakfast: i recommend FU HANG DOU JIANG

FU HANG DOU JIANG 阜杭豆漿
at Hua Shan Market, 2F
No. 108, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 1
(02) 2392-2175

MRT: Shandao station

hours: 5:30AM- 10:30AM

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. room for strollers and family seating

Visit reviewed: 9/22/2010



I've never seen so many people in line for Chinese breakfast before checking out Fu Hang Dou Jiang, so of course, while waiting in line, my expectations grew. From where the picture above is taken, I'm near the end of the line looking at the front of the line, and you can't see the people in between us, snaking between the stairwell and open kitchen.

Fu Hang Dou Jiang is one of those places that you'd never find unless you knew someone that knew it was there. It's tucked on the 2nd floor of a local market and doesn't have an obvious storefront for passerbys. Once I made my way up the stairs, I was amazed at the long wait. It was a weekday morning around 10AM, and it was about a 20-30 minute wait. At least you can admire the process when you get closer to the front- the freshly made you tiao and sao bing get baked and fried and toasty.




The menu is mostly in Chinese, though up front there are some picture menus with English.



Most of the traditional Chinese breakfast menu items are available here including sweet soy milk (warm or cold) or dou jiang, salty soy milk (hot), fried doughnuts or you tiao, sao bing or sesame flatbread, rice balls or fan tuan.



One thing that is different here is that the sao bing is available in a thicker or thin variety. The hou bing or thicker flatbread is more chewy and doughy, but still has a crispy exterior.



The hou bing has a slightly sweeter and chewier taste than the thinner sao bing (NT$18). It had a distinctive taste and would make for a hearty breakfast. You can get it by itself (NT$25), with egg (NT$35) or with you tiao (NT$45). I had a bite of my friend's breakfast, but I got the regular sao bing you tiao (NT$38) which was crispy and flaky, but wished the you tiao was crispier.



The salty soy milk seemed to have a strong soy sauce flavor and was a tad salty for me. But I liked the cold soy milk (NT$22) which they will serve in a bowl with a spoon if you eat there instead of to-go unless you request a cup and straw.



The end verdict? A solid spot for Chinese breakfast, especially for those in the neighborhood, but be prepared for the lines. I can't imagine how crazy it could be on the weekends! The good thing about the lines is that you're likely getting a fresh out of the oven hou bing or sao bing because of the turnover and stuff isn't just sitting there like most places. I guess they remodeled in recent years though so that the space is more modern and nice with lots of room for families and larger groups. Give it a try if you want something different from your usual spot, are up early or out late, or want to show someone that you know where the locals eat!


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CLOSED! dessert: i strongly recommend SWEET TOOTH

a/o 5/2011 CLOSED- owner moved shop home, so check FB page for updates/catering info.

SWEET TOOTH
No. 9-2, Lane 13, Pucheng St.
(02) 2369-0689

MRT: Taipower Building or Guting

website: Sweet Tooth's FB page

hours: Tues-Sun 12PM- 10PM, Mondays 5PM-10PM

$

Kid friendliness: small space and no high chairs, but lots of kid friendly desserts available

Visit reviewed: 10/5/2010



It's true that when one door closes, another one opens.. But who would have thought that instead of tacos, I'd be getting brownies and honey ice cream? After a recommendation from reader Ginny to try out Taco Bar in Shida, I made a date with a few fellow Mexican loving friends to check it out. But apparently Taco Bar isn't open for lunch as some internet blogs reported... when we got there a little before noon, its main door was closed with a metal gate and the whole alley off of Pucheng St was quiet.



So after trying to figure out what to do, the small sign for "Belgian ligne waffles" and cute storefront caught our eye. We spotted the owner inside and asked about Taco Bar and she said that she thought it opened later, like in the afternoon. I think she saw our distress and invited us inside to check out her shop because we were curious about her waffles.



The cozy nook seats about ten people and has a cheerful decor, with colorful framed drawings of animals and handpainted walls. Open for about a year, Sweet Tooth is a good spot for afternoon tea snacks and offers a brunch menu on the weekends.




While the waffles wouldn't be ready until later (the dough, which included pearl sugar, was still rising), she offered us a taste of her banana cake with rose cream. All of the her menus are currently in Chinese only with no pictures, but Ariel, the owner, is happy to suggest and explain her treats.



It was moist and muffin-like, and not too sweet and the handmade rose whipped cream offered an interesting complement to the banana cake.



But for those with a serious sweet tooth, you have to check out her brownies (NT$60). They were gooey and thick just like the kind I like to bake at home... the texture was not too cakey and not fudgey.



You could make any of the desserts ala mode with the honey ice cream. One of the most popular waffle combos is a waffle with a scoop of honey ice cream.



There's also teas and coffee- the fruit tea was fragrant and a good balance to the sweetness of the brownie. She also sells larger loaves of the banana cake and brownies for NT$250 and gives discounts for larger orders.

I'll definitely be back to try out the Belgian waffles, and maybe the nutella banana toast, which she said she would be trying out- two pieces of toast with nutella and banana sandwiched in between, and grilled on the waffle iron. And maybe try out Taco Bar when it is actually open, or Exotic Masala House, a few doors down, or the Korean restaurant across the street. As always, there's too much to eat in Taipei.