japanese/fusion: i recommend DONMONO

DONMONO 鮮五丼
No. 115, Nanjing E. Rd, Sec. 3 台北市南京東路三段115號（南京龍江路口）
(02) 2508-0461

MRT: Nanjing East Road Station or Songjian/Nanjing Station

Hours: 11AM - 9PM

website: Don Mono's FB page

$

Kid friendliness: fast casual seating, no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 12/7/2011

Yoshinoya is one of my dad's favorite cheap eats- a big bowl of rice topped with teriyaki beef, relatively quick and made to order. While I've also spotted Yoshinoya in Taipei, I've been too busy eating other things to try it. So when my friend invited me to try DonMono, I didn't expect too much, but I was surprised by the modern fast casual atmosphere and hearty portions.

A fast, casual restaurant offering lunch for NT$99 with options like beef bowl, mapo tofu, fried pork tonkatsu or teriyaki chicken. Order and pay at the front and find a seat upstairs.

Chopsticks and spoons are tucked into black utensil holders on each table, as well as chili oil, pickled ginger and soy sauce.

I liked the squishy tofu (NT$20) and sweet seaweed that are side orders.

I ordered the kimchi beef bowl and while the bowl is quite sizeable, it's mostly a thin layer of meat atop a huge bowl of rice. The flavor of the sliced beef is good, but too much rice for me to finish. Thankfully there isn't that goopy layer of teriyaki sauce all over the meats here.

I finished most of the meat and kimchi and I was eyeing my friends' orders. Next time I'd get the chicken bowl, with plenty of chopped chicken thigh dotted with sesame seeds...

or the spicy mapo tofu with pork cutlet instead, both which looked quite filling and hearty.

OTHER LOCATION

No. 18, Lane 137, Yanji St.
(02) 2711-2142

food court: i strongly recommend Q SQUARE

QSQUARE 京站時尚廣場
1 Chengde Road, Section 1, B3 中正區承德路一段1號

MRT: Taipei Main Station

website: qsquare.com.tw

hours:

$-$$

Kid friendliness: mall food court with lots of options

Visit reviewed: 11/13/2010

There's no shortage of malls in Taipei to window shop in and same goes for the food courts, since most malls have a food court somewhere in their basement. Q Square is a newer mall that some might not have discovered yet, but definitely worth checking out. Easily accessible by MRT, it is even connected underground through the walkways at the Taipei Main Station stop.

The snapshots of the QSqaure food court are from a few years ago and I know since I've been there recently that it's gone through some changes since then. There's two sides to the basement floor- one side with the traditional square of food court fast food eats, plastic bento displays and plenty of seating and then the other side with mini stations of bakeries and cafes like Richard Blanc, Cloudy Cupcakes, Ariel Le Cafe and Movenpick.




There's also plenty of sit down restaurants if you don't want to bother with the food court, but during peak dining hours there's often a wait- ramen, curry, tempura udon sets.



Japanese bakeries like Yamazaki to stock up on some freshly baked sweet bread.


Jasons Supermarket if you need to pick up some fresh fruit or gourmet items as a local or tourist.

Food courts in Taipei are actually an affordable and tasty way to spend a meal. I enjoyed my bimbimbap (NT$160) with crispy rice from the stone pot....

Perfectly crispy underneath!

My friend didn't have as good luck with the Hainan Chicken rice which was lacking in chicken, instead fluffed up with shredded cabbage.

This cold soba/udon tempura combo was also a surprise in value and size, but sadly I think the Japanese shop was changed into a different store and menu on my most recent visit.


Or stick to Taiwanese eats with sticky rice ba zhang and wonton soup.



One souvenir that I've turned friends onto is the kimchi flavored popcorn from Planet Popcorn. Ask for samples if you spot this stand- it's kind of addictive with a spicy, sweet and slightly sour kick. My friends usually take home a bucket or two. There are plenty of other flavors- classic kettle corn, chocolate, cheese, caramel or wasabi.


Skip these cream puffs- I bought a box as a gift and disliked their frosting like filling and soft puff.

Lots to explore at Q Square- there's also restaurants like NY Bagel and Alleycats on the 1st floor; Ariel Le Cafe on the 2nd floor, and a whole floor of restaurants on the 4th floor including Crystal Spoon, Momo Paradise, Eat Together buffet and Vieshow theaters for movie watchers.

Oh yeah, there's shopping too!

CLOSED! dessert/crepes: JOY'S CREPERIE

JOY'S CREPERIE 法式甜心薄餅專賣店
No. 157 Keelung Rd, Sec 1, 台北市基隆路一段157號
(02)3765-3866

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website:Joy's Creperie's FB page

hours:11:30 AM- 9:30PM

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted; one drink minimum

Visit reviewed: 4/13/2012

Decked out in chandeliers, pink and even a carousel horse at the entrance, it would be hard not to notice Joy's Creperie passing by. 

The decor uses the Dazzling Cafe template- a sort of modern romantic living room for all your besties, for the young afternoon tea crowd armed with camera phones to capture every detail and miniature eiffel towers to pose with.

Because of the awkward location of Joy's Creperie, along Keelung Road, near the freeway entrance, some might miss it even though it's quite close to the Taipei City Hall MRT exit. On the day I was there, I was surprised a the number of office workers and guys that were there.

 

The English and Chinese menu offers about six savory galettes and a dozen dessert crepes, with pictures for most items. The teas, juices, coffees and drinks are around NT$130-160, which is a bit of blackmail since they are mandatory, and not more than a glass.

The french cheese, egg and ham galette (NT$240) was decent and a good size, though the ham tasted like Futong slices from Costco.

My fruit tea was a bit of a disappointment compared to the fresh fruit teas I've had at other places filled with chunks of fruit and flavor.

The ratatouille with smoked sausage (NT$260) had a sweet tomato sauce, but the sausages tasted more Taiwanese than French. It looked more bountiful piled atop the center of the galette, but made it harder to split- we had to scoop the sauce and sausages to each side to eat it.

Classic salad galette (NT$180) came with a honey mustard type dressing. 

The dessert crepes were also not what I was used to what I've eaten in the US and Toronto. The randomly named Merry Go Round Strawberry Lover crepe (NT$240) comes with fat strawberries top the crepe, lots of syrup and a scoop of ice cream. It seemed a bit disjointed and while it was pretty, I would have preferred the strawberries with nutella or caramel instead of strawberry syrup (which they said wasn't a choice).

The almond with salty caramel crepe (NT$180) didn't have strong accents of salt to play off the caramel- it tasted like it looks caramel sauce with crunchy bits. Having eaten at Creperie La Bretagne not too long before Joy's Creperie, I'd have to say Creperie La Bretagne's dessert crepes are more special and caramelized.

Joy's Creperie is very charming space and those who don't have other crepe experiences to compare it to might be satisfied with the experience, but the minimum drink charge might keep some from going again.