chinese: i strongly recommend 1010 HUNAN POP CUISINE

1010 HUNAN POP CUISINE
No. 301 Fuxing N. Rd
(02) 2713-6345

MRT: Nanjing E. Rd or SongShan Airport

website: 1010restaurant.com (Mostly Chinese with some English) and FB page

hours: 11:30AM - 2:30PM/ 5:30PM - 10PM
Sat/Sun: 11:30AM - 3PM/ 5:30PM - 10:30PM

$$

Kid friendliness: many non-spicy items available

Visit reviewed: 2/21/2011 & 4/24/2010


Oftentimes Chinese food isn't seen as luxurious as other cuisines and maybe in some parts we have ourselves to blame. We revel in that we can eat a huge bowl of oyster vermicelli for only NT$45 and we'll do it standing up with no tables or chairs, slurping down a hot bowl without vanity. We'll eat whatever-on-a-stick and stinky tofu and wander the alleys of the night market in hunt for late night cheap eats with swarms of other sweaty people in the middle of a humid Taipei summer (because a huge tsui jian bao is only NT$10!) But this all because it all tastes SO good, who needs all the frou frou?


But maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Chinese food was fancy. A place nice enough to take your parents that won't have them complaining how overpriced the food is for such small portions (like my one time attempt at taking my parents to PF Changs for "nice" Chinese food in LA). A nice place that isn't Japanese or Italian or a steakhouse, so for the grandmas and extended Chinese relatives that only eat things that go with white rice.

1010 Hunan Pop Cuisine blends modern style, taste and family dining into an upscale setting that is relaxed enough for you to get your hands dirty. It's also brings Chinese food to the table for those that like it hot and spicy with family style sized portions.


The English and Chinese menu has a pictures for most items as well as pre-set menus with drinks and dessert for a slightly better value. Look for the level of spiciness of each dish noted by the number of chili peppers next to it.

This post will include dishes from two different meals (and two different locations), as the first time I went with a group of girlfriends we got to try more things to share. The more recent lunch at the Eslite location was to jog my memory and double check that it was as good as I remembered. And it definitely was.

A couple tips- splurge on a drink and rice. Many of the dishes are gonna be putting mini-fires in your mouth and the lychee drink and steamed rice definitely helped soften it.




Order one or two fried pork ribs with chili and fennel spices per person. This is their signature dish and not cheap at NT$150 a rib, but it's worth it. Tender meat packed with flavor, the fennel seeds give it an unique aromatic crunch that's not overpowering.



This is the dish that will have you coming back, or at least thinking about going back for a few days. And the good thing is that you can order this dish no matter if you are dining alone or with a lot of people, since they just charge per rib.


Other favorite dishes I recommend ordering- the sauteed smoked pork with preserved bean, which is sour, smoky and crunchy.



The fried shrimp skewers which have a kick to them and can be eaten whole with the crispy skin on. I peeled the head and legs off of mine. There are a lot of skewers in one order and so even more reason to bring a lot of people so you can order more things!



I didn't dare drink the soup for the Hot Pot Preserved Tofu & Pork Intestine, but I kept scooping out the chewy intestines, blood cubes and stinky tofu to go with my bowl of rice. This dish has the maximum three chilis next to it on the menu and you can see all the chili peppers, sporting varying shades of red.

The Beef and vermicelli with pickled cabbage (NT$300) reminds me a little of the Korean glass noodle dish japchae.

If you have room or a larger group, you can consider ordering these dishes too- the steamed egg with clam (NT$240),



Steamed Fish Head with Green and Red Chili (NT$520),

Red chili and preserved egg (NT$150),

or Fried squid Hunan style.

In the spiciness department, I admit that I can only handle so much, but I enjoy the dishes at 1010 Hunan because it's layered and has depth instead of just of being knock you over the head spiciness. But for those looking for some serious heat can sure to be satisfied here.

And for the non-spicy eating diners, don't worry, there's a lot of hearty options available too.

I was addicted to the bitesize, chewy steak cube with rice cake and pine nuts (NT$320) to counter the spiciness of the other dishes.

Can't go wrong with kon ching tsai or sauteed water spinach with garlic.

The Steamed buns with condensed milk (NT$120 for 6) disappeared quickly,

as did the Pork belly in brown sauce with preserved vegetables (NT$330).

Save room for dessert. I love the black sesame milk with tapioca & ice (NT$99) which is sweet and soothing way to end the meal, with finely shaved ice, bubbly tapioca and nutty sesame flavor. 

I love that living in Taipei allows me to explore all different kinds of Chinese food- from Sichuan to Hunan to Sanxi to Canton to Yilan to Taiwan- as well as in every form, from street eats to sit down restaurants- 1010 Hunan Cuisine is definitely worth the splurge.

OTHER LOCATIONS

Xinyi Eslite branch
No. 11, Song Gao Rd, 6FL
(02) 2722-0583
MRT: Taipei City Hall

Tianmu Branch
at Tianmu Shinkong Mitsukoshi, Bldg A
No. 68, Tianmu E. Rd, 7FL
(02) 2875-2955

snapshot/dessert: pearl milk tea popsicles at 7-11

The crazy things you spot in Taipei! I was tempted to try the pearl milk tea popsicle by I-Mei, but I resisted since the picture of the "pearls" looked more like cubes rather than boba. Frozen boba would taste pretty hard, right? Maybe I'll have to try it next time for "research." LOL.

italian/event: i strongly recommend CHEF BATAVIA at TOSCANA at SHERWOOD HOTEL

TOSCANA
at Sherwood Hotel
111, Min Sheng E. Road, Sec. 3,
02-2718-1188

MRT: Zhong Shan Jr. High School

website:

$$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available. fine hotel dining atmosphere.

Visit reviewed: 6/11/2011

When I first started this blog almost six (!) years ago, I had never heard of or knew about Michelin stars, palate cleansers or foie gras, much less experienced that kind of fine "wining and dining." Even Top Chef wasn't on the air back then to teach us about amuse-bouches and sous vide!

But after many seasons of Top Chef and the Food Network and blogging, I've picked up enough to not feel out of place at those fancy restaurants. And after eating my way around Taipei (and a few other countries here and there), I still believe that a meal that costs $1 can taste as good as something that costs $100. Good food is good food, no matter what. (After all, a high price tag doesn't guarantee good food!)

If you can afford to splurge, then you should make your reservations at Toscana while Chef Nicola Batavia is a guest chef there, from June 8- June 24th. I was lucky enough to be invited to the Taipei Sherwood Hotel where I enjoyed an amazing meal and got to peek in the busy kitchen. His dishes are available as sets or ala carte, for lunch or dinner.

I didn't know until after the meal that Chef Batavia has two restaurants in Italy, Ristorante Birichin, which was awarded a Michelin star, and La Kava, and recently opened a third in London, Casa Batavia. I've never been to Italy, but after this meal, I know I have to make the trip one day! 

The first amuse bouche was a cold tomato and vegetable soup. The second amuse bouche was sweet shrimp presented four ways, including with frozen fresh mint on top. Two were kind of citrusy, but only the one with the mint was cold- all were super fresh and had that melt in your mouth sea bite that I love about sweet shrimp.

So many parts of the meal were so memorable, but hands down, this was my favorite dish of the night- split pea soup with brown sugar flavored foie gras.

The startling bright green soup had a sweetness and almost milky texture, not grainy at all from my previous experiences with split pea soups. The sweetness was accented by the carmelized brown sugar on top of the creamy foie gras which was cut into a super thin layer that might be mistaken for a crouton. It was the perfect amount, which means I savored each bite and after I was finished I was left wanting more.

I loved the taste of the freshly made pasta in the Paccheri filled with prawns and pecorino cheese sauce dish. It was cooked perfectly and the sweetness of the prawns here echoed the earlier sweet shrimp. It wasn't drowned in sauce or cheese, rather they were accents to highlight the flavors of the pasta. 

Everyone oohed when the monkfish, parma ham and potatoes served with red piedmont sauce and pistachio and crispy onions with the vertical plating. I thought the onion rings were a little out of place tasteon the dish, but I ate them on the side. It was also my first time having monkfish, which surprisingly had a shellfish springiness and taste to it. It didn't flake like fish, rather it was firm and sweet like lobster.

One diner at our table asked why we were getting dessert in the middle of our meal when the tomato strawberry sorbets arrived, and our friend explained about the palate cleanser, which is supposed to refresh and stimulate your tastebuds for the next dish. The tomato flavor was stronger than the strawberry, so the ice was almost savory.

I would have never expected for tuna to be used in a sauce for veal, but in the veal with tonnato is a variation of one of Chef Batavia's signature dishes, vitello tonnato. The tuna flavor was very subtle and I almost thought the sauce was a bland mustard, until I tasted the tonnato by itself. The veal was very tender, but being used to heavier seasonings, my only complaint about the entire meal was that the meat could have used a touch of salt.

One of my friends that night had a vegetarian set so it was cool to see how his dishes contrasted to mine. He had an asparagus, poached egg appetizer I had my eye on, and the plating of his "pasta" dish was gorgeous, with super thin slices of eggplant and sweet potato. 

He said that these deep fried flowers tasted like crab, as they were stuffed with some sort of creamy cheese and the long petals almost like the legs of a deep fried soft shell crab. Haha!

I was also impressed with the creativity of the pearl barley dish. Most of the time, vegetarian options are  a creamy pasta tossed up with mushrooms or sliced bell peppers, or veggie pizza, but all the elaborate dishes in the set course were unlike any other vegetarian dishes I'd seen before. It's too bad my mom wasn't in Taipei, as I would have treated her to it to see what she thought, as she's been vegetarian for over 20 years.

Lots of wine on the table, as Gianni Gagliardo red and white wines were paired with the various dishes.

I loved the delicate pistachio and white chocolate ladyfingers that came with the Italian Sabayon, as well as the chocolate dipping sauce. While the sabayon had too much alcohol for me to have more than a few tastes, I secretly spooned all the chocolate into my mouth when no one was looking.

The meal was a taste of Italy transported to Taipei and Chef Batavia's light touch on all the dishes showcased the quality ingredients and made for a memorable meal. I don't always get to hear about these special events, but I'm glad I caught this one. Toscana also offers a luxe weekend brunch and a big salad/antipasti/dessert spread for lunch, dinner and afternoon tea. Maybe I'll have to return before it's over for a bowl of soup.

snapshot/Chinese: ZONG ZI

Last week during Duan Wu Jie was time for these pockets of sticky rice filled with savory or sweet. My friend spent hours making these to share with us- stuffing the sticky rice with abalone, egg, fatty pork, mushrooms and chestnuts and then wrapping them in bamboo leaves.

Do you have a favorite place to buy zong zi from, or do you make them at home with your family? I had a chance to make them a few years ago, but when the craving hits I usually go to Jiu Ru or Little Shanghai, though I'm sure everyone likes their mom/grandma/family's version the best. When my mom used to make them when we were little, she would put in extra mushrooms for me since she knew I liked that part the best.

my kitchen: banana nutella cornbread waffles

I've been addicted to making my waffles with Trader Joe's Cornbread mix lately after discovering it makes the perfect crispy waffle. So today I decided to warm up some nutella in the microwave to drizzle on top with sliced bananas and it was decadent. It's surprising what you can put in the waffle maker- blueberry muffin mix, chocolate chip cookie mix- it makes all the sides nice and crispy for those of us who like eating the muffin tops- and cooks up a lot faster too!

And after making a few waffles, there's enough batter to put in the oven for cornbread.

Or add in some regular waffle batter to extend the cornmeal and put in the fridge for another morning.

I'm sure any cornbread mix would work, but I love the sweetness and texture of Trader Joes enough to bring boxes back. Haven't spotted cornbread mix of any brand in Taipei- has anyone found it in Taipei?

CLOSED/dessert/japanese: DAZZLING CAFE-SUNSHINE

DAZZLING CAFE (SUNSHINE)
at A11, Xinyi Mitsukoshi, 2FL
(02) 2723-0767
(updating in 2019. closed many years ago. now a MIA CUCINA)

MRT: Taipei City Hall

hours: 11AM- 11PM (last order 10PM); Fri/Sat 11AM-12AM (last order 11PM)

$$

kid friendliness: high chair available

visit reviewed: 5/3/2011 (all pics from iphone 4)

It's a pretty brillant move of Dazzling Cafe to open their newest location in the middle of a shopping mall. Its glossy white, glittering decor and honey toast reputation would be sure to draw in any casual shoppers passing by, like it did for my friend and I, who were wondering why Paul (across the walkway) was so unusually empty during afternoon tea hours.

In the middle of the afternoon, Dazzling was packed with diners.

The founder of Dazzling Cafe actually had Dazzling stores first, selling jewelry and accessories. This location combines both, with a small shop adjacent to the dining space, which is between Club Monaco and Pandora Jewelry. The decor of the shops stand out, with the sunny yellow accents on the stark black and white. (I hear their other stores have similar color accents and are named accordingly)

But let's say you're not buying any bling today... you're just here for your sweet tooth. There is a lunch/dinner menu that includes seven or so different spaghetti dishes, or an all day menu for honey toast, tea and coffee.

We were lucky enough to get a seat right away at 4PM on a weekday the week after Dazzling Sunshine opened- I think it would be a different story on the weekend and once news about the new location spreads. Upon seating, the waiter lets us know that there is a 90 minute limit at our table and a one drink minimum per person. The drink menu includes hot and iced teas, lattes, juices, slushies (NT$90-160).

There's about ten varieties of honey toast, including toppings like classic honey, chocolate banana, strawberry, caramel, blueberry or tropical fruit, ranging from NT$200-250, . You can also opt for a fondue style, or you could go all out and get a "Party in Your Mouth." Tempting... but we ended up deciding on chocolate banana.

Our drinks came fairly quickly and I was really happy with my fruity Iced Strawberry Tea with Cherry (NT$140), though the drink prices are kinda highway robbery and the fact that each diner MUST order one.

My friend's fancied up latte.

Our truffle french fries (NT$200) came first and they might have spoiled our appetite for the honey toast. Crispy, hot and adorned with truffles, my friend and I agreed we'd probably come back here for the truffle fries alone. Wait, and our two required drinks. Wonder if we could get the truffle fries to go?

Then the honey toast came. If you haven't seen honey toast in person, you might be surprised, like my friend, to see how huge it is in person. I think she might have gasped, seeing the mammoth dessert come towards our table. It's easily shared by four people, and between the two of us, we didn't make it through half of ours.

I had high expectations after hearing about the legendary lines and wait to get a seat, and because they won for Favorite Dessert on the 2010 Readers' Favorites poll and seeing all the drool worthy pictures of decadence.  I really wanted to like the honey toast, but I found Dazzling's version to be too dry. I know you're supposed to smother the ice cream and cream onto the cubes of toast, but the previous versions I've eaten (in both Taipei and the states), they've drizzled honey onto the bread before toasting to make a caramelized effect so that the honey toast itself is kind of a revelation without all the other stuff. While there was some dusting of sugar on the toast, we had to ask for more honey to get that flavor. I don't know if the classic honey toast flavor would have been prepared differently, or the other locations, but I was sadly disappointed because I was comparing them to my other experiences.

But I can see how the atmosphere and presentation could lure in curious diners as well as the ladies that lunch/afternoon tea crowd. Dazzling would be an appropriate place for a birthday celebration, or as a tourist stop while shopping in the area. If someone wanted me to go again and share honey toast with them, I'd give it another try. Maybe next time I'll have better luck with a Party in my Mouth.

OTHER LOCATIONS:

Reservation number: 02-8773-9229

PINK:
No. 11, Lane 205, Alley 7, ZhongXiao E Road, Sec 4,
(02)8773-9238

MINT:
No. 3, Lane 248, ZhongXiao E. Road, Sec 3,
(02) 2731-5199

japanese/snack: i strongly recommend JAPAN BOAT TAKOYAKI at GONGGUAN NIGHT MARKET

JAPAN BOAT TAKOYAKI
or ZI CHUAN
at Gongguan Night Market
at Luo Si Fu Lu or Roosevelt Rd, Sec. 4

MRT: Gongguan

website: japanboat.com.tw

kid friendliness: kids might like this, but be careful it's hot!

visit reviewed: 4/3/2011 (all pics from iphone 4)

If you've never tried takoyaki before, it might sound kind of strange. Little fried balls of batter with pieces of octopus, covered with drizzling of mayo and bonito? There's even a takoyaki pizza at Taipei's Pizza Hut that has the same effect, with bits of octopus, zigzags of the sweet japanese mayo that catch the bonito fish flakes from flying away.

There's something mesmerizing about watching takoyaki being made- the batter poured in long rows, quickly being cooked and masterfully flipped over to brown the both sides. Think of it as a grilled hush puppy or savory donut hole.

And to eat it hot off the griddle is a must- the takoyaki (NT$40) from this vendor at Gongguan night market is perfect. Crispy, hot, airy, starchy, chewy, with touches of sweetness from the mayo, spiciness from the wasabi (optional) and fishiness from the bonito flakes. The box design is kinda brilliant too- it's shaped like a boat, with crisscross ventilation on the cover so the morsels don't steam and get soggy when you're taking it to go.

There's lots to explore at the Gongguan night market too, which has two long rows of stalls of goodies- sticky rice and chinese sausages, spring onion cakes (which has a crazy long line), giant fried chicken... I even spotted some Vietnamese sandwiches banh mi. But the takoyaki is not to be missed- you're gonna want your own box!

Japan Boat is actually a franchise- so you might be able to spot it at other night markets, as well as other countries- including Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong- but this is the first time I've seen/had it.

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my kitchen/snapshot: almost cobb salad

I love cobb salad, but it's seems like a tough salad to find done right in Taipei. I had good luck at Gordon Biersch with their seafood version, but this week I had many of the ingredients on hand to make one at home- tomatoes, ham, cucumbers, avocado, hard boiled egg, cheese, romaine.

Almost all the ingredients- next time I need to buy and crumble up some bacon and blue cheese.

CLOSED snapshot/dessert: i still strongly recommend YOFROYO

One way to beat the heat is with some frozen yogurt. Yofroyo seems to still be going strong and added specialty flavors, acai berry and lychee tart to the line up.

Spotted some new locations, including at Q Square & Ximending, and heard the tiny one in Gongguan closed awhile back.

This is combo #1 with original tart, though I tend to favor the green tea/red bean combo too.