CLOSED/western/italian: i recommend LONGTABLE

LONGTABLE

No. 91 SongRen Rd. 

台北市信義區松仁路91號

(02) 2345-3670

updating in 2019. CLOSED. It was then a Hooters (very shortlived) and now Buckskin Beerhouse. 

MRT: Taipei City Hall 

website: Longtable's FB page

hours: 11AM- 11:30PM

$$-$$$

Kid friendliness: lot of high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 9/16/2012 & 10/10/2012

Longtable is a little off the radar with its Xinyi location in an office building across the street from the Le Meridien Hotel, but is worth seeking out. The menu includes brunch, pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches and other western fare and the spacious dining space perfect for large groups.

The first few times I went in September, the restaurant was relatively quiet, maybe too much so for such a large space. But on my last visit on 10/10, word of mouth seemed to spread and lots of families were taking advantage of the roomy space and long tables.

Like most restaurants, there are some dishes that I liked more than others, so here's what I would order again:  

(1) The Fish and Chips (NT $440) - a monster huge piece and the batter was fried perfectly crispy with flaky white fish. Would totally order this again, as this is not always easy to find in Taipei. A splash of worcestershire or tartar sauce to dip in. My uncle, who passed away last year, used to always love eating at Long John Silver when he visited us in LA, but if he was still around, I would totally order him this.

(2) The grilled veggie sandwich (NT$380)- another thing that is hard to find in Taipei.. so I was quite happy with this on my first visit. Grilled red and green peppers, thin slices of eggplant and layers of creamy goat cheese to bring it all together, with a side of fries to munch on.

2) Both the Chicken Tagliatelle (NT$370) and Rigatoni Bolognese (NT$390) disappeared quickly from the table and had to be reordered (I think I never got a picture of the rigatoni- that's how fast it was gone). Rigatoni pasta is not found as often in Taipei and the fat tubes creates pockets for the sauce which makes it quite flavorful.

I'd pass on the Seafood Linguine ($440) - I think because it was soft opening, they subbed spaghetti for linguine pasta, but the seafood also was frozen, not fresh. After eating the fresh seafood at Thai Made before my first time at Longtable, the texture and flavors of the frozen seafood was noticeably less appealing.

The pepperoni pizza (NT$440) actually comes trimmed with a bit of arugula which makes it a little more worth the pricier cost. I liked the salami over the sausage that's offered in the Toscana pizza (NT$440) which resembles more a hot dog than the ground pork sausage that I like. The size is fairly large and the crust is thin, but pliable. 

There's about 8 salads available at Longtable, including grilled halloumi cheese salad or grilled beef salad. I've tried 3 so far, and each one seems to have hearty toppings and portions. My favorite is probably the Nicoise salad (NT$390) which had lots of hard boiled egg, tuna, potato chunks and green beans to go around.

Caesar salad (NT$360) had some grape tomatoes and fresh parmesan cheese.

The Greek salad (NT$380) had the standard feta cheese, diced tomatoes, cucumbers and black olives, dressed with herbed olive oil vinagrette. It was probably my least favorite that I tried and a bit pricey for  what is basically an appetizer since it was a small size. But those craving something different, you can give it a try.

I'd also pass on the steak sandwich (NT$490) which I felt was too expensive. I also had tried a bite of this sandwich around the time I fell in love with the sandwiches from Dressed, so I preferred the steak, arugula, goat cheese combo from there.

If you're looking to splurge, you could try the Cafe de Paris Tenderloin Steak (NT$890), as was recommended by the waitress to my friend.

Longtable's menu is quite varied, including breakfast/brunch options, but I felt like my favorites were the pastas and pizzas. 

And if you love chocolate, can never go wrong with a chocolate lava cake. 

So while the menu is hit or miss for me and you pay a premium for dining in the Xinyi district, the convenience of the large space makes it a prime option for large groups or gatherings with your friends and their families, especially when you know what to order and avoid.  Next time you're looking for a last minute spot for brunch for you and your big extended family, you might find yourself appreciating the long tables at Longtable.

japanese/hotpot: i still recommend BEN SHABU SHABU

BEN SHABU SHABU 犇極鍋物

No. 4, AnHe Rd, Sec. 1
安和路一段102巷4號
(02) 2784-8299

MRT:  DaAn 

website: Ben Shabu's FB page

hours: 11:30AM- 10PM

$$-$$$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted 

Visit reviewed: 12/30/2012

Previous visit reviewed : 11/2011

My favorite part about Ben Shabu Shabu that night was surprisingly the sushi- seared salmon, fatty tuna over crispy rice- I wanted to order more, but we already had a full pot of veggies and plates of swirled red meat.

Service was quite slow that night, especially since we were in a room downstairs, the waiter had to run trays up and down the stairs and we'd have to go upstairs to find someone if we needed them. So don't know if the appetizers, like this truffle steamed egg, was supposed to be hot or cold, but this would have tasted better hot.

Yum, I wonder if I could come back just for the nigiri sushis. SO GOOD.

Can't go wrong with wagyu if you can splurge on it-

I also noticed that the pots in the downstairs room were not the copper pots upstairs because the table downstairs had the electric "fire" rather than the regular hotpot fire (if that sort of thing matters to you). Once we got the meats, we were happy to take our time to cook, until it was time for porridge. It was a fun gathering with friends to end last year before New Year's Eve.

CLOSED! japanese: TAI JUAN SUSHI

(Doh! Just got word from a friend that it really did close down, a year or two ago...CLOSED!)

TAI JUAN 太卷壽司簡食
No. 2-1, Lane 345, Alley 15, Ren Ai Rd, Sec. 4
台北市仁愛路四段345巷15弄2-1號
(02) 2775-1310

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall

$$$ (about NT$1200/person for lunch)

Kid friendliness: mostly sashimi, some grilled fish. some tables non-sushi bar seating

Visit reviewed: 11/3/2010




Catching up, catching up- story of my life. I have over 170 drafts in my backlog of posts, so some of these posts are going to be photo photo photo and just a little bit of my recollection, before some of these places close down before I have a chance to post about them (Ahem- Cubano).

I had high hopes at this omakase lunch, as my friend gathered a group of us and stated that this sushi bar was extremely popular on Japanese blogs. The slick red counter always stuck in my memory, but the rest of the meal unfortunately has faded. My favorite thing was probably the grilled fish (barracuda I believe) and the worst was the uni with a chemical taste. That ruined the whole lunch for me unfortunately, having the most sublime uni experiences in Taipei at other sushi bars. Apologies for the lack of detail for the sashimi- I think my notes are about 3 iphones ago and I was definitely more clueless about sashimi back then, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

scallop

ginger clam soup

corn

ebi

This was amazing, and grilled perfectly. Maybe my first time having barracuda!

oyster

tamago

the offending uni

dessert

If the pictures look good, you can give it a try, as omakases will change depending on the chef and what's fresh that day. But for the same price, NT$1200 circa 2010, there are a lot of better sushi bars I'd rather go back to.

snapshot/mexican: i recommend MACHO TACOS's California fries

Get your forks ready. California fries are a rare find in Taipei, maybe even for most of Asia. For those of you who don't know what Cali fries are, they are like nachos but with fries instead of chips. Carne asada (or in this case, carnitas), pico de gallo, cheese, and a dollop of fresh guacamole piled atop seasoned, crispy fries. Meat and potatoes!

It's one of the pricier things on Macho's menu, but it's a huge portion. It was too much for me as one person (shared with my friend) and definitely on the heavier side (or damn have I been living in Taiwan too long?). Some might nitpick and compare it to the version back home, wanting more meat, more guac or fresh cheese instead of the saucy kind, but it was enough for me, and people, this is going to be as close as you're going to get for awhile (unless Dos Chinos decides to try to get in on it)! California Burritos are available too (yup, burritos stuffed with fries), as well as chimichangas and mini churros since my last review.

chinese: i recommend DIN JEN FONG

DIN JEN FONG 鼎珍坊
No. 1, Alley 219, Fuxing South Rd, Sec. 1 台北市大安區復興南路一段219巷1號‎
(02) 2781-2518‎

MRT: ZhongXiao/Fuxing

website: d-jenfood.com Chinese only

$$ (about NT$600-900/person)

visit reviewed: 3/3/2011 & 9/2/2010

Din Jeng Fong features homestyle Cantonese dishes in a old school restaurant, perfect for large family meals. The first time I went, I was impressed with the variety and flavors of dishes that kept coming out for our large table of 20 people. So when we were deciding where to take some out of town friends from Manila (who had already to been to and loved Din Tai Fung and Shin Yeh 101), we decided to take them to Din Jen Fong.

The sizes of the dishes are quite huge, so I don't know how you would eat here solo or even as a couple. Some of the signature dishes also have to be reserved in advance. The menu is in Chinese only, but has photos for each item, with a lots of fried rice, noodles, seafood, braised meats and stews.

duck tongue

Some of my favorite dishes of the night and must orders were claypot tofu with seafood- the tofu was so silky and melt in your mouth. Perfect with rice.

The panfried dumplings that came with a paper thin crispy bottom and juicy meatfilled center. Everyone squealed when these came out the first time I ate at Din Jen Fong and we had to order a second plate. They weren't as crispy on my second visit, but you could request that they be made extra crispy.

When the Crispy chicken (NT$430/half) comes to the table, be sure to grab a piece with the delicious, crispy skin that crackles as you chew it.

The tender braised beef slices

Needing to be booked in advance, the Claypot sausage rice comes with three types of sausage and is massive. The rice is carmelized and slightly crispy from being cooked in the claypot with sesame oil/soy sauce and a savory accompaniment to the sweet sausage.

Ending the meal with a Chicken cabbage soup.

The prices at Din Jen Fong won't be as dirt cheap as some of other local Chinese restaurants offering up equally delicious food, but the huge family style portions and signature dishes place it on my list of places to consider while taking out family or out of town friends.