japanese/tsukemen: MITA SEIMENJO

MITA SEIMENJO 三田つけ麺阪急台北店

at Hankyu Mall 

No. 8, Zhongxiao E. Rd, Sec. 5, B2

台北市信義區忠孝東路5段8號, B2

(02) 2729-9699

MRT: Taipei City Hall 

hours: 11AM -  9:30PM

$$ (NT$240-400/person) cash only

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available, no room for strollers, may be a long wait in line.

Visit reviewed: 10/22/2012

Taipei diners love to wait in line. Or maybe they love food so much that they are willing to wait in line for it, no matter how long. The first time I passed by Mita Seimenjo (aka the tsukemen place) was after lunch at Smith and Hsu upstairs and there wasn't really a line since it was already late afternoon. But I was curious since I had become addicted to tsukemen in LA at Tsujita and I made mental note to return. 

The first time I tried to eat at the Taipei  branch of the Japanese tsukemen chain, I made a last minute lunch date with a friend and started waiting in the line. She hadn't arrived by the time I got to the front of the line and I was promptly informed that I couldn't be seated until everyone in my party arrived. It was annoying seeing people pass me by, at least 4 groups or so, while I was waiting at the front. Once my friend arrived, they still didn't seat us at the open seats since the kitchen was so slammed. Since I was in a bit of a time crunch that day, we ended up eating next door at the roomier Azabu Sabo.

So the next week, of course, I had to return. I went with a different friend a little before noon and the line took about 10-15 minutes to get us inside. Mita Seimenjo's interior is a bit cramped, with small tables and booths surrounding a large table in the center that serves well for solo diners. Printed on the back of the shirts on the waitresses rushing around is "Tokyo Mita, Japanese soul food, serving tsukemen since 2008." 

While waiting in line, we discovered that the price was the same for a small, medium or large bowl of tsukemen (NT$230). Only the extra large bowl cost extra (NT$270). Or you could get a regular ramen if that's what you were craving.

And what the heck is tsukemen? Literally, it's dipping noodles.  A dish where you dip the noodle into the broth, instead of the noodle and broth being served together like ramen.

Tsukemen's broth is typically thicker and heavier from being boiled down longer, so that the sauce sticks to the noodles, and has both a fish and pork flavor. If you want to drink the broth, you can pour hot water into it to dilute it and drink it that way. At Mita Seimenjo you can order the noodles either hot or cold. We decided on cold since the waitress said that's how people typically order it in Japan.

The fried chicken (NT$120) arrives first and it ends up being my favorite dish of the day. Crispy, burning hot at first bite, juicy karaage.

The spicy tsukemen (NT$240) arrives not too long afterwards, and to my disappointment the pork and egg are also cold. The egg is also a regular hard boiled egg, not gooey like the soft boiled egg I've favored elsewhere.  

I guess you could warm it up in the broth, but the broth is hot, but not steaming hot. I also ended up ordering the spicy version which was a tad too spicy for me and overpowered the flavors of the rest of the bowl. 

The noodles are also thicker than regular ramen, like a fat spaghetti. It's very chewy, but the medium bowl was quite filling.

The gyoza (NT$70) were alright, stick to getting crispier guo tie elsewhere.

All in all, I was slightly disappointed. It definitely didn't live up to the flavors from Tsujita and it definitely wasn't worth waiting in a long line for (twice!). Maybe I would have been more dazzled by it if I hadn't tried Tsujita first?

If you still want to give it a try, I'd suggest avoiding peak times (go before 11:30AM or after 1:30PM, and don't go with too large of a group, and of course make sure everyone is there when you get to the front of the line). My noodle/broth/eggy egg craving was left so unfulfilled that I ended up trying Ippudo the day afterwards. Do you get the tsukemen craze or do you prefer the standard bowl of ramen?

western/drinks: i recommend LOVE LOVELY

LOVE LOVELY 美好生活古董行
No. 3, Lane 345, Alley 4, RenAi Rd., Sec. 4
台北市仁愛路4段345巷4弄3號
(02) 2771-3800

MRT: Zhongxiao/Dunhua

website: Love Lovely's FB page

hours: 12PM - 10PM

$$ (about NT$300-600/person)

Kid friendliness: high chairs and kids meals available

Visit reviewed: 6/19/2012 & 9/7/2012



Part Alice in Wonderland, part vintage shop, part cafe makes up the whole of Love Lovely, another new cafe making its mark in Taipei's East District.



Opened earlier this summer, Love Lovely's lovely decor has already landed it on a new book about, what else, Taipei cafes. I was invited to check it out by my friend before they soft opened, but the menu has since been revamped, so I'll be writing about my most recent visit.

The store section of Love Lovely serves as a living room counterpart to the restaurant's roomy dining area, with a large white bookcase and long tables filled with treasures to Instagram about. All of the items are handpicked by the owner and brought over from Europe. There are no price tags or obvious way of knowing that things are for sale, so if something catches your eye, just ask (though some pieces are actually just for decor as part of the owner's collection and not for sale).

The vintage pieces feel quite classic and modern, or is it that what's old becomes new again? Love Lovely's vibe is more Anthropologie than Antique Roadshow. I haven't really seen the hybrid shop/cafe model in the states, but in Taipei, the eclectic VVG restaurants and Whiple House come to mind.

Lots of charm in the small detail in everything, from the menus covered with vintage newspaper articles to the napkins and letterpress paper coasters bearing the hand drawn illustrations that seemed to have escaped a tea party from Lewis Carroll.

The English and Chinese menu features mostly Western fare, with salads, pastas, chef specials and desserts. Lunch and dinner sets are available, that include choice of sparkling water, glass of red or white wine, coffee or tea with an additional NT$70.

There's also Little Princess Mermaid or Little Price Ranger meals for the kids (with the sets costing more than the adult fare. Haha!)

The Dutch baby definitely caught my eye and I made sure to order the oven pancake with carmelized apple before my meal was over.

I had to start off with the truffle fries (NT$180) which I devoured on my first visit.

I wanted to try the quiche, but it had unfortunately been reserved by another big group to serve the whole pie with a candle atop instead of birthday cake, so I had to pick something else. The Nicoise salad (NT$230) had big chunks of potato, hardboiled eggs, and sprinklings of tuna, olives and baby corn.

The set menus came with a cup of soup- it was a broth of something or another.

I really enjoyed the black and white fried calamari (NT$210), which had some pieces breaded in squid ink batter to give an eye catching appearance. The serving basket for this and the truffle fries are fun.

We all also talked ourselves into getting the Frozen coconut mojito, which was inspired by the signature drink from The Modern Honolulu hotel. I had no idea what it was until it arrived to the table, but food je t'aime was quite excited, having had the real thing before in Hawaii.

Coconut rum + lime juice + fresh mint + ice = mojito smoothie- Now this is definitely the way to have a lunch.

I wasn't as crazy about the sauteed mushrooms and shrimp (NT$150) as I was about the other appetizers.

Bolognese Tomato Meat Sauce Spaghetti (NT$280/set)

My cousin is a VIP customer at Love Lovely, so she was able to talk them into making her favorite dish from the dinner menu, the shortrib steak for us. I would definitely order this again, it was nicely grilled and tender with that shortrib chewiness.

Before we were done eating, I wanted to make sure to order the dessert so we weren't waiting too long while it was baking and made to order. The oven pancake with apples is definitely a must try and is quite large. It probably can be shared with at least 4-6 people- we had three and barely made a dent. The pancake was fluffy and slightly crispy on the edges and is basically a dessert yorkshire pudding (if you've had that at Lawry's). It's more eggy than sweet and tastes more like a fluffy cream puff shell than an American pancake, and serves as a crust to the carmelized apples. I'd definitely order this again, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream next time.

I think I'm going to have to try making this at home sometime.

So whether you're browsing for random pieces from Paris to put on your bookshelf or a place to linger for afternoon tea (for scones, cupcakes, whoopie pies or tea), wander over to the alley near Lane 216/Yanji St to find Love Lovely.

snapshot/bakery: FLORIDA BAKERY's Halloween cookies

Only one more week until Halloween! There might not be candied carmel apples or candy corn in Taipei, but you can get a little into the Halloween mood with some of these cute cookies spotted at Florida Bakery.
 

Also if you've ever wondered where to get Halloween costumes in Taipei, after eating at Ippudo, I stumbled upon a whole street of shops selling grown up and kids costumes and Halloween decorations, near Chengdu Road, on Changan Rd (長安路). There's also some rental shops in Ximending for more elaborate costumes, near the Police Station/Ximen MRT exit 6. I remember hearing in years past about Halloween parties at various restaurants, or special menus, like at DN Innovacion, but haven't heard much this year. Anything fun happening this weekend or next week?