japanese/hotpot: i strongly recommend KANPAI KUROGEYA

 

KANPAI KUROGEYA 乾杯 黒毛屋
(HEI MAO WU or BLACK HAIR HOUSE)
at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4
No. 19 Song Gao Rd, 6F
台北市信義區松高路19號6F (新光三越A4)
(02) 2723-7722

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: kurogeya.com.tw

hours: 11:30AM - 2:30PM; 5PM - 12AM

$$$ (about NT$800-1000/person)

Kid friendliness: plenty of options for shabu loving kids; no high chairs spotted; table positions fixed so can't move tables together for larger groups (or odd numbered groups)

Visit reviewed: 4/30/2014, 4/4/2014 & 1/3/2014

Last fall, Xinyi Mitsukoshi's A4 revamped their sixth floor into a row of enticing restaurants- Sukhothai, Kanpai Kuroegeya, Hachi Bei and a teppanyaki restaurant. I had been hearing my friend raving about this place, calling it Black Haired Pig, for the longest time as she was in a shabu phase. But finally when I did the write up, I realized it's Black Hair House (Wu) not Pig (Zhu). Lol. 

Anyways, Kanpai Kurogeya (which is its official Japanese/English name) is an upscale, modern shabu shabu place offering unique options such as soymilk broth hotpot and adding touches like freshly grated radish, melted mozzarella cheese and at the end of the meal, an option of having parmesan cheese risotto. 

First time having hotpot with boiled cheese!

The first time I tried it, I thought it was good, but not particularly special. But after trying the soy milk broth hotpot, I'm a fan. Instead of using water, or in this case water with kombu kelp, you can opt to have a soy milk broth made from soy milk, dashi and white miso, which lends a richer flavor to everything you cook in it. I ended up even drinking a bit of the broth and not needing to dip much of my veggies or meat in soy sauce.

The menu is in Chinese only, but basically most of the choices are sets with the choice of meat (beef, pork) and hotpot broth, prices for sets run about NT$700 and up. Options for broth are either a clear kombu broth, a soy milk broth or a sukiyaki style hotpot.

Sets come with vegetables, assorted fishcake, and one plate of meat to cook in your hotpot as well as a choice of rice, noodles or xi fan which is made with the broth of your hotpot at the end of the meal. The servers does some of the cooking for you to start off the meal, but if you are impatient, you can start shabu-ing away.

Assorted mushrooms and fishcake - the first time I came, they set out a little glass timer and told us that when the timer was done, the fishcake would be ready. My server didn't give me a timer on my second visit, as well as forgot to give me freshly grated radish. Boo. So if you don't get it on your first visit, be sure to ask for it.

The soymilk broth looks like it will bubble over, but the server checks the temperature and lets us know when it's ready.

It's ready! 

This is a yuzu pepper condiment I've seen seeing all over town. It's very potent so use sparingly.

One of the first things the server will cook and plate up for you is the tofu. 

Two styles of pork come with the soy milk broth hotpot and pork is the only option. If you want beef, then opt for the kombu broth or the sukiyaki. Each person gets their own pot and own plate of meat, which is pretty satisfying and filling.

Extra plates can be ordered ala carte. 

The servers will start off some of the cooking for you and depending on how many other people they have, you can toss the rest of the stuff in there at your own pace. 

Just start throwing everything in there to cook...

Before and after of the fatty pork belly slices...

After you are done eating your meat and veggies, the servers will come and give you your starch- for kombu you can opt for a bowl of rice or noodles, for the sukiyaki they cook udon in the soy sauce and for the soy milk broth, they make a cheese risotto, which I loved. The empty out the pot by spooning the broth into another container then putting back a little broth for the rice to soak up. The cheese risotto only comes with the soy milk hotpot- the other hotpots come with regular porridge or noodles. 

And the dessert is quite yummy too- a few bites of brown sugar mochi, fresh fruit and a scoop of sesame ice cream.

A nicer option for hotpot in town, suitable for date night or even dining alone with the individual hotspots and counter seating. 

OTHER LOCATION 

No. 165, Dunhua S. Rd, Sec. 1, 2F 

台北市大安區敦化南路一段165號2樓 

(02)2751-5577

japanese/sashimi: i recommend CAFE DE RIZ

CAFE DE RIZ
No. 34 Lane 78, AnHe Road, Sec. 1
台北市大安區安和路一段78巷34號
(02) 2755-6587

MRT: Xinyi/Anhe

website: Cafe De Riz's FB

hours: 11:30AM- 10PM

$$$ (about NT$800-NT$1200/person)

Kid friendliness: mostly raw sashimi available, though spotted one grilled salmon consommé rice option. no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 3/5/2014

I never had a chance to try Nomura, a Taipei sushi bar that garnered fame while it was open. When it closed in March 2013 due to Chef Nomura leaving, the partners reinvented the space into Cafe de Riz. Instead of a typical sushi bar, the specialty was seafood donburis and consommés. Donburi is Japanese for rice bowl and Riz is French for rice, so Cafe de Riz is a restaurant for serious sashimi donburi lovers as the limited menu presents only a few options.

You can opt to sit at the counter for a prime spot to watch the sushi chefs, or if you have a bigger group at one of the tables. 

A glance at the menu shows three options for those wanting something hot and four for those wanting  sashimi donburis. Prices are on the higher side, especially for lunch, compared to other chirashi spots in Taipei, but then again you are getting whole pieces of nigiri sized sashimi rather than chopped up bits in a bowl. 

Cabbage served with a speck of yuzu pepper paste, to share with six people. It's pretty potent, but for six people, might need more than that.

We quizzed the waiter on the differences between the various menu options and had no idea about the sizes. I had previously spied uni on instagram at Cafe de Riz, so of course I asked which don would have it. The server said that the Fabulous Seafood Don would have uni while the Seafood Don did not. I thought if I was gonna splurge, I might as well go for it for an extra NT$300. 

At NT$1200, the Fabulous Seafood Don rivals the price of an omakase lunch at a number of sushi bars.  But instead of waiting for the chef to delicately present each piece of nigiri, you get to choose your own pace as you dig into the huge wooden bucket for sashimi treasures. 

I think those of us who ordered the Fabulous Seafood Don yelped in excitement when we saw the huge wooden bucket and how much stuff was inside.

It's a pretty massive bowl, and honestly, you could probably split this with another person. There's 2-3 pieces of most of the fish and a layer of rice underneath. 

I loved the delicate soy sauce "teapot" and the presentation of everything. 

Let's go fishing...

beautiful piece of tuna

salmon

ebi shrimp

Seafood Don (NT$900) - my friend who ordered this was happy with it. I should have taken a photo of the seafood don and fabulous seafood don side by side to show the size difference, but hers came a lot later and I already started mine.  

Salmon and Roe Don (NT$800)

Bubbles of salty fishy goodness

Salmon and Roe Consomme (NT$600) is interesting- you get a pot of hot broth to pour into your bowl to essentially make your own soupy rice. Even though the consommé sets got extra side dishes (one cold one and one hot), I didn't feel like it was as good a value as the sashimi dons. Especially if you compare the salmon ikura bowls.

Genmatcha tea comes with the set and at the end of the meal. If you want to upgrade to a different drink, then you can add the price difference.

Maru Waffle (NT$220) looked different than I expected (not waffle shaped at all), but was tasty with red bean mochi and banana flavors.

All in all, Cafe de Riz is a lovely addition to the amazing Japanese eats in Taipei. It brings fresh sashimi to a relaxed cafe environment, great for a family meal or business lunch. Second location just opened featuring more desserts.

where can you find cinco de mayo (aka mexican food) in taipei?

As I was munching on my carnitas nachos and fish tacos last night from Macho Tacos (Yay, Cinco de Mayo), I was thinking about how this meal would have not been possible ten years ago in Taipei.

Those of us who have been here long enough, know that we've had our ups and downs with Mexican food in Taipei, and can appreciate the options and type of stuff that's offered now compared to 5-10 years ago. Before, I would just shake my head and sigh at things like gross guacamole made with Taiwan avocados and count the days until a trip back to LA. Nowadays, I'm pretty happy with the carnitas and chimichanga options around town.  I can even find some supplies at the fancy supermarkets and corn tortillas (at Florida Bakery) to make enchiladas at home!

Just for fun, here's a rough list of the evolution of Mexican food and restaurants in Taipei (not a strict timeline but in the order that I discovered it). Not all of these are Mexican restaurants, but some are restaurants that featured dishes that I tried during the dearth of Mexican food in Taipei. There are a few more I have to try, like Libre and King Burrito, but I've linked to those that I've reviewed for info and addresses. As you can see from the number of places that opened and then closed, it's not easy to educate, market to and serve consistently good, affordable Mexican food to locals and picky expats in Asia.

• Amigos (Taiwanese Mex)
• Tequila Sunrise (Taiwanese Mex)
• Chili's (American chain Tex Mex dishes)
• TGIF (American chain Tex Mex dishes)
• La Casita (Closed! Had good enchiladas)
• Good Day
• Jake's Country Kitchen
• Bongos (Moved)
• Eddy's Cantina- Danshui (Closed! Moved to Tianmu)
• Mexico Sabroso (Is this place in Taoyuan still open?)
• Yuma Southwestern Grill (Tex Mex/ Closed!)
• El Gallo  (Closed!)
• Oola Mexican (Closed! First to introduce Chipotlesque fast casual burritos to Taipei)
• Macho Tacos - DaAn (Fresh mex. First to have baja style fish tacos, California fries and California burrito)
• Taco Bar - Shida (Closed!)
• Taco2Go
• Macho Tacos- Shida (Fresh mex) 
• Mayan Grill (Moved to Xinyi)
• Cactus Mexican Restaurant (Closed!)
• Eddy's Cantina Tianmu (possibly the only one to have Mexican owner/chef at helm)
• Juanita (Fresh mex. Most blatantly inspired by Chipotle)
• Barrito (Closed!)
• Dos Chinos (Closed! Ultra popular made to order tacos until it closed)
• Pig and Pepper (serves Cinco de Mayo specials annually in late April/early May)
• Libre Burrito (a branch of a Japanese chain of California Mexican?)
• King Burrito (Organic Mexican)
• Churro K (serving lots of, yup, you guessed it, churros)

Seriously, I would have never believed you if you had told me when I first started this blog there would be so many places to get burrito bowls, soft tacos and a whole restaurant serving churros! Lol.

snapshot/japanese: i still recommend COLD UDON at FU YU WU

FU WU YU SANUKI UDON

富玉屋 讚歧烏龍麵 

No. 14, Lane 83, DaAn Rd, Sec. 1 

大安區大安路一段83巷14號 

(02)2778-5255

MRT: ZhongXiao/DunHua

$$ Cash only  (about NT$300+ per person)

Snapshot review: 4/3/2014

Previous review: 10/2012

After my first few visits to Fu Wu Yu Sanuki Udon, I ended up falling in love with a cold tomato udon that was their specialty there. It was a unique and refreshing bowl. Unfortunately it's gone missing from their menu for the past year or so, on my past few visits (maybe the original chef is gone, or maybe it's only available during the summer?).

So instead I've ended up getting another cold udon on their menu, the Tempura cold udon (NT$340) which comes with julienned cucumber, seaweed, bonito flakes, a soft boiled egg, crunchy tempura bits, dashi broth and two tempura fried shrimp and fishcake. The hot shrimps and fishcake make it more filling than the usual salad cold noodles, 

And though this is no longer part of a set (no appetizer, no dessert), you can add refills of the QQ udon noodles for free!