modern/french: i still recommend RAW (WINTER 2016)

RAW

No. 301, Lequn 3rd Road, Zhongshan District
台北市中山區樂群三路301號
(02) 8501-5800

MRT: Jianan Road

website: www.raw.com.tw

hours: Lunch: Wed- Sun / 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Dinner: Tues - Sat  / 6 PM - 10 PM
Closed Mondays

$$$$ (NT$1850/per person plus 10% service)

Kid friendliness: only set menus available so only probably only foodie kids will appreciate

Visit reviewed: 1/21/2016
Previous visit reviewed: spring 2015

RAW is still one of the hottest tickets in Taipei, and will be even harder to book since it's been named as one of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. RAW squeezed in at #47, and Chef Andre Chiang's other restaurant,  Restaurant Andre in Singapore, bookends the top of the list at #3.

Thanks to my friend who managed to get a reservation in January, I was giddy with excitement to be able to try the latest menu, not too long after they had made the switch from their one year anniversary "Best of the Year" menu. The new menu seemed to have more seafood on it than previous seasons, and felt more Taiwanese as well, with the bamboo, "bottarga" sweet potato and braised pork rice dishes.

The menu ingredients are read across- there are 8 courses and they list the three main ingredients per course.

OYSTER / SAGO /RED KOMBU 

This was one of my favorite dishes, with the oyster hidden under a bed of savory miniature sago pearls. Every oyster has a pearl? Well, this one has a whole mouthful of them.

Bread and buckwheat whipped butter (NT$150)
This is a must order for us, even though it costs a little extra than the set menu price of NT$1850 per person.

BURI / CUCUMBER / WATER BAMBOO

You can't help but to admire the curves and delicacy of the Frank Gehry-esque design of the thin bamboo slices, which hid small cubes of buri sashimi and cucumber gelatin underneath. Crunchy, chewy, acidic, sweet, this dish was layered textures and flavors together into one bite like many of RAW's dishes. Love seeing this dish from all the angles, though wish there was more buri.

PRAWN / CAPELLINI / MUSSEL

I always love hearing the stories behind the dishes, if there is one. Luckily, we got a waiter that told us (after some inquisitions) that Chef Andre Chiang liked eating Prince Instant noodles, or 王子麵, as a kid so that was the inspiration for the crispy fried capellini and the prawn with seven spice, evoking that memory and taste in this dish. Some of the dishes I don't know if I would order again if a la carte, but as an experience and tasting the layers of textures and flavors in new menu for the first time, I enjoyed it. The capellini were tough to pick up with a fork, you'd be faster using your fingers, perhaps the same way kids eat those instant noodle snacks? 

SWEET POTATO / "BOTTARGA" /  BUCKWHEAT
The bottarga, or mullet roe, in this dish is actually made of salty egg yolk. It was extremely creative, it was very Taiwanese, but again, not a dish I would necessarily order again if given the choice. Taiwan loves the sweet potato so much that some say that the shape of the island resembles a sweet potato. This dish was an interesting, but odd combination with the mushy texture of the sweet potato and the crunchy  toasted buckwheat and oozing egg center.

the "bottarga"

SQUID / KOMBU / LOVAGE
At first glance, the dish appears to be a sheet of sliced, translucent rice paper (like the kind that's used to wrap Vietnamese spring rolls), but then the waiter starts to pour hot broth onto the dish and the squid "noodles" come alive. The strips curl and start to move, which is mesmerizing and a bit unnerving at the same time, if you think too much about it. I liked the chewy texture, but couldn't help but be reminded of the squid noodles from Mume (which isn't on their menu currently). RAW's version is more subtle in flavor and the squid is sliced more thinly, placed as one sheet until woken up by the broth. The addition of the fried kombu which gets hydrated by the soup is a nice touch too. 

Looks like a regular noodle soup, but the "noodles" are long strips of squid. Chewy but not overly so,  this was a favorite dish for me and very memorable, even more so after I discovered that my instagram posts of it were plagiarized when I spotted my words on a post about RAW belonging to a food blogger from Sydney. (the post has since been deleted by Nessyeater)

"TAIWAN" RICE / PORK / MUSHROOM
Loved the presentation of this dish... "We shall enjoy rice as long as the moon shines the night" was imprinted on the lid of the bowl. I want to have a set of bowls with my own quote too... as well as a table with a hidden drawer for utensils (and the napkin, tucked all the way in the back of the drawer). #diningroomgoals.

I think this is a favorite dish of this menu for many people, though I spied the addition of truffle to the dish the month after we went!?  I really enjoyed RAW's gourmet version of lu rou fan, which is a braised fatty pork rice dish that everyone's mom (or dad) has a version of. Even though the pork was extremely fatty, I ate it all. And the rice was very fragrant and paired with the pork perfectly. My first impressions of the dish were the same after I was done eating it, I wanted more than a few bites. Even though it's a tasting menu and a dressed up version, a bowl of lu rou fan should be abundant and fill up more than half the bowl.

QUAIL / LEEK / BARLEY 

I don't enjoy quail, so RAW accommodated my request to have it switched out.. and it was switched to chicken breast. But I included a photo of my friend's quail dish, so you get an idea. I really liked the barley and the chicken was perfectly cooked, but this would be the dish you would have trouble remembering when asked to list your favorites from the meal. This is also the dish that they split the items into two separate rows when it's actually one dish. They've done this on previous menus as well, so for first time visitors, it could be misleading when you think you have more courses than there are. 

WHITE FUNGUS / SOURSOP / BERGAMOT
I've never been a huge fan of RAW's desserts and this was more of the same. Granita + sorbet + fruit, in this case, custard apple and starfruit along with white fungus.

I loved these smoked financiers. It was a good way to end the meal. So who has tried this new menu at RAW? Looking forward to the next round, if I can get seats!

indian/revisited: i still strongly recommend THE SPICE SHOP

THE SPICE SHOP INDIAN CUISINE 香料屋印度料理
No. 6 Alley 10, Lane 50, TianMu E. Road, Shilin District
天母東路50巷10弄6號
(02) 2873-7775

 MRT: Mingde (about 30 minute walk or 10 minute drive from station)

 website: Spice Shop's FB page

 hours: 11:30AM – 2PM, 5:30PM –9:30PM

 $$ - $$$ (about NT$400-600 per person)

 Kid friendliness: high chairs available, some non spicy menu items available.

Visit reviewed: 3/15/2016
Previous visit reviewed: 5/29/2013 (LOL!! I didn't even realize I reviewed it already. So I added this and changed the header.

Have you ever seen the movie THE HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY? Basically, it's a movie about a one Michelin starred French restaurant run by Helen Mirren's character that begins feuding with the owners of the newly opened Indian restaurant across the street, and of course, mutual love of good food brings them together in the end. Anyways, I think about this movie because Spice Shop is right next to another Indian restaurant, Saffron, less than a hundred feet away, and you have to wonder what the relationship between the two restaurants are. Are they owned by the same people? Are they enemies? Do they just ignore each other? Do they work together? I guess the easy thing to do would be to ask, but every time I'm too busy eating my food to remember.

For whatever reason, I tried Saffron first and ate only at Saffron for years before stepping foot into Spice Shop, because Saffron was so good, even though it seemed to be the more upscale, pricier restaurant . Why give up a sure thing when you don't know if the restaurant next door is going to be bad or good especially when I was trekking all the way to Tianmu. Then a few years ago, a friend wanted to eat at Spice Shop and so we went and it ended being equally tasty as Saffron. (Note the date in the Instagram photo below-- May 2013! That was my first time to Spice Shop. What a difference three years make, so much has changed in my life since then.)

I wish I had taken more photos of the menu, but the English Chinese menu has a collection of appetizers, salads, tandoor dishes, curries and vegetarian dishes.

And even though I don't have photographic proof, Spice Shop went through several renovations awhile back and now is equally fancy looking as Saffron, even though my fuzzy memory swears that Spice Shop used to look more colorful and casual than it does with its current muted purple hues and decor. (Googling some old blogs seem to vouch for that.) Spice Shop has been opened for over 10 years, a few years before Saffron opened.

So for a recent get together, my friends and I ended up at Spice Shop and they quite liked it as well. Butter chicken, tandoori chicken, fluffy naan, raita, spinach, eggplant.

Complimentary papadum, only 1 per person. We asked for more, but they said it would cost extra.

The raita (NT$100) at Spice Shop has a lot of cucumber, onion, tomato mixed in (unlike the version at Balle Balle which has a little bit of diced cucumber but is basically a yogurt dressing, but more like the version I had at Joseph's Bistro). 

The tandoori chicken - a half order of four pieces was good enough for three of us to share. I personally thought the chicken had too much spice layered atop it, there was something that didn't agree with me, but I was the only one who thought so.

Butter Chicken (NT$380) This was a hit at the table as always.. It seemed to have more layered flavors than my current favorite spot, Balle Balle, and wasn't as sweet. 

Butter chicken with a pile of naan is a must. Plain for me, garlic for my friends! The naan at Spice Shop is fluffy and generously sized.

Spoon a little of each curry and some rice to your plate and dig in. The eggplant and spinach were really good too. It's definitely harder to have a variety if you are eating alone. That's why I always eat it with a few friends. If you can't eat spicy foods, then the waitress recommended Murgh Lababdar (NT$340) to us. The default spiciness level in Taipei is generally low spiciness, which is how I like it too, so I don't mind it. But I've heard rumbles online when people complain about Indian restaurants in Taipei not being spicy enough. So the general rule of thumb for Indian food in Taipei is that if you like it spicy, just ask. 

news/hello kitty: HELLO KITTY TAROKO EXPRESS TRAIN

Hello Kitty is slowly taking over the world, or at least as many Taiwan transportation modes as she can, one at a time. First were the Hello Kitty planes and airport check in stations for Eva Air. Now the Hello Kitty-fied Taroko Express will run several times a week between Taipei and Taitung, complete with cute Hello Kitty train conductor porkchop bentos for NT$120. 

As for the 328 missing Hello Kitty head covers on the first train ride a few days ago on March 21st? Maybe the TRA should consider just building in the cost of a disposable headrest cover into the cost of each ticket so people can just take them home.. Or sewing them permanently into the seats so they won't be stolen. China Post states they might make the same design into napkins, which could become a souvenir substitute. 

What's next? Hello Kitty taxis? 

For more photos, check out 

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/23/travel/taiwan-hello-kitty-train/index.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3505833/Feline-like-holiday-Hello-Kitty-train-unveiled-Taiwan-carriage-food-conductor-styled-cartoon-character.html http://m.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2016/03/23/461549/TRA-mulls.htm

breakfast/taiwanese: i recommend O BY LOCOFOOD

O BY LOCOFOOD 

No. 492 Fujin St

台北市富錦街492號

(02) 2762-0538

MRT: Nanjing Sanmin 南京三民站

website: O by Locofood's FB page

hours: 7AM - 4PM

$ (Cash only)

kid friendliness: stool seating only, but lots of kid friendly options on menu

visit reviewed: 1/14/2016

Welcomed myself back to Taipei back in January, with crispy dan bing (or dubbed "crispy omelette" here at O by Locofood), a thin crepe rolled and stuffed with egg, cabbage shreds, German sausage and cheese, pan fried until the outside layer is pliable yet delivers a satisfying crunch. (NT$75) I noticed this colorful shop before my short trip to the US when my parents insisted we visit the bakery next door.

The menu is in Chinese only (except for the daily specials on the wall which have English). Even in Chinese, the names like "Paul's favorite" or "Grandma's " aren't clear what's inside- so I had to ask repeatedly about "what's in this one? what's in this one?" Luckily the server was fairly patient in answering the questions, but I'd be frustrated if there was a line of people asking repeatedly about the menu while I was waiting. Luckily, there was no wait at all, though apparently this is a branch of Locofood, which reportedly has a 30-60 minute wait at its original location. So for the crispy omelette aka dan bing, the other fillings include tuna, bacon, ham, chicken nuggets and hash browns.

Almost like a Taiwanese breakfast burrito made this way, but eaten with a fork. This is a branch of the popular Locofood, but I hate to wait and this place has yet to be discovered by the masses, so it was a quiet place to grab breakfast. As someone commented on instagram, the colorful hanging skillets, decor and serving skillets given Taiwanese breakfast a "hipster" vibe. The dan bing here are slightly more expensive than you'd find at your local Taiwanese breakfast joint, but there is more variety of ingredients to stuff your crispy omelette and one dish is quite filling.

Crispy egg #danbing served in #locofood's signature mini cast iron pan. Great w a touch of ketchup.