dim sum/chinese: CITYSTAR 24HR HK STYLE RESTAURANT

CITYSTAR 24HR HK STYLE RESTAURANT
No. 216, Dun Hua S Road, Sec 1, 2nd FL
(02) 2741-2625

website: citystar.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 24 hours

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 3/25/2008

I guess you could call Citystar the Denny's of dim sum restaurants, it's open 24 hours, it serves food that's not awesome and not awful, and you even might have to wait for a table in its diner like atmosphere where families and students and friends gather.



I totally didn't expect to have to wait for a table around 2pm, but I guess its location and window facing the busy street makes it visible wanting some fast afternoon snacks. We waited about 15 minutes for a table to free up and get seated.



The plasticky menu pictures everything they have, so there's no carts to wave down. They also have a non-dim sum menu featuring family style Cantonese dishes, but we were here for dim sum (NT$55-160). After the servers take your order, they punch it in a computer station that's kind of fascinating to watch.



One of my favorites- "xian shui jiao"- is a deep fried puff of salty contents of shrimp, ground meat and vegetables and a sweet glutinous rice skin. It's not always available at every restaurant, but this was one of the better dishes. I would actually go back and just eat this and almond tofu.



Everything else was, ehhh, ok. I was with my dad who was visiting from LA and grandma who lives in Taipei-- my grandma and I agreed that the dim sum at Brother Hotel was better. Couldn't pinpoint why to my dad who hadn't been, but funnily enough my friend invited me to join them at dinner at Citystar that same night with a big group of his co-workers (I didn't go, but he said that he felt the dim sum was okay as well).



So it's a good choice if you have a lot of people to order a lot since they do have some bigger family style tables and share or if you're by yourself and just want a few dishes- fast and easy, even in the wee hours of the morning. You can even people watch by a window seat on the busy street below.




I did enjoy the almond tofu, but then again it's hard to go wrong with almond tofu!



OTHER LOCATION

No. 166, Zhong Xiao E Road, Sec 4, 2nd FL
(02) 2777-1717

vietnamese: i strongly recommend PHO HOA

PHO HOA
No. 43, Lane 190, Tunhua S. Road, Sec. 1
(02) 2751-5578

website: noodle.zeelive.com.tw Chinese, but menu has English

hours: 11 AM - 9:30 PM

$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs, smallish space, but lots of kids and families and fairly friendly service.

Visit reviewed: 4/5/2008 & 4/6/2008

Thank you, thank you to readers Virginia and Joshua for telling me about Pho Hoa. It is by far the best pho I've had in Taipei and quite comparable to the pho joints that I frequent in LA. I owe you guys, seriously.



Why is it so good? I don't know. Supposedly, they used to be a part of the chain Pho Hoa according to a November 2000 Taipei Times article (but no longer? They are not mentioned on Pho Hoa's official website). But maybe they retained the secret recipes and standardization that makes it so different from adjusted-for-Taiwanese-customers eateries.

And apparently the Taiwanese customers don't mind. We walked in around 2:30pm and it was packed full. We ordered while we waited and were shortly seated among the 30 or seats in the clean, modern and air conditioned space with a semi-open kitchen in the back.



The menu is in English and Chinese at the front counter and you pay before you sit down. I think I saw some hidden plastic menus with pictures too, in case you don't know what the different kinds of pho available are. Basically you can get it with hot soup with various meat toppings or dry with chicken, shrimp or pork chop, in small or large sizes (NT$120-$180). It's more expensive than the mom and pop places, but here, you know what you are getting and I think you get your money's worth. They also have Vietnamese coffee or milk tea (NT$50) and soft drinks.

They offer fried spring rolls (no summer rolls) which are served hot and crispy with ground meat, glass noodles and chopped veggies. It's not a steal at 2 for NT$80, but good if you are craving it. They also have sliced papaya salad (NT$35) and limited starters.



Most importantly, Pho Hoa uses the skinny rice pho noodles, rather than the wide noodles I've been seeing everywhere. Their broth in the soup pho is a right combination of salty sweetness flavors and depth- not too oily or murky.

And they give you the side plate of fresh lime, basil and chili slices, sometimes upon request, sometimes upon sitting down.



I like getting a big bowl of rare steak pho (NT$160) and watching the thin slices cook in the broth before I eat it, squeezing a bit of lime, tearing up some basil and adding some of the sweet hoisin sauce into the broth.



The dry phos (NT$120-150) are not served cold, but with warm, slightly wet noodles, with a side bowl of hot soup. There are crushed peanuts, pickled cucumbers, cilantro and sprouts side by side with the sliced pork chops (which have been marinated in basil?) and all the flavors again mesh well together and you just want to inhale the whole bowl.



I was kind of weirded out by the green appearance of the pork, but it quickly faded as I took my first bite. It was SO good.

How good?

I took some friends back to Pho Hoa the next day so I could order that dish again. With more people, I got to check out the dry shrimp pho and dry shredded chicken pho dishes. While it was pretty full when we got there, it emptied up and then filled up again with customers, though it was into 2-3pm in the afternoon.

Maybe I was just too pho-deprived, but it was still really good, two days in a row. My friends agreed it was one of the better bowls of pho they've had in Taipei, too.

It can be a bit tricky to find- closer to the Zhong Xiao/Dun Hua corner/MRT rather than Sogo- though it's kind of in between. If you are coming from Zhong Xiao/Dun Hua, you have to head towards Haagen Daaz and cross Dun Hua into the lane 190, parallel to Zhong Xiao. If you are coming from Sogo- look for the Bossini.

Also, interestingly enough, they have a Mr. Roll area in the front where they sell mixed rolls "from California." Didn't get to try that, but in case you are craving California rolls you could check it out.

CLOSED! japanese: i recommend KITARO

KITARO (EDIT closed a/o 6/2012)
(Japanese Meal sets Monopolized Shop)
No. 14, Lane 83, Da An Road, Sec 1
(02) 2740-9088

website: kitaro.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 11 AM - 9:30 PM

$

Kid friendliness: booths and tables. no high chairs. kids menu available- though only chicken nuggets and fries set with pudding/drink.

Visit reviewed: 2/11/2008 & 3/25/2006

When I looked at the menu on my first visit, I wanted to order the ramen. But on that day, they were "out." So I ended up getting the Deep Fried Pork Curry Rice set (NT$178) which comes with a choice of drink and dessert. Served hot, perfectly crispy and not greasy or dry- the tonkatsu looked and tasted good, served on a bed of shredded cabbage and bowl of rice.



When I ended up going back another day jonesing for ramen, I was quite disappointed. While the tonkatsu was a great bargain and taste for the price, the Shinso Miso Broth ramen (NT$188) was ordinary, even disappointing. The miso broth didn't have the slurp me down flavor and the chashu (slices of pork) was forgettable. I don't know if the Hakata Porkbone broth or the Wakayama Soysauce Porkbone broth would be any better.



The menu is in English and Chinese with plenty of pictures and nothing is over NT$228- and that price includes a choice of drink (Tang-like OJ, tea or coffee), and dessert (chocolate chip ice cream or japanese mochi). This is probably why on my second visit the restaurant quickly filled up during lunch, with groups of students dressed in uniforms, sitting alongside with the business crowd.



The ice cream tastes similar to Movenpick's slivers of chocolate chips rather than chunky, which is a good thing.

They also offer a kid's set menu (NT$148) which includes a drink and pudding dessert, though it's disappointing that it's frozen chicken nuggets alongside fries and a onigiri (or rice triangle) without an option for kid's size tonkatsu like my favorite Taipei tonkatsu place, Saboten. Although for the difference of NT$20, you could just order the adult set of the Japanese Deep-Fried Pork (NT$168).



I think the tonkatsu may be their specialty, but they offer a wide array of choies including ramen, sukiyaki, roast eel unagi bowls and roast mackarel, teriyaki chicken bowl, deep fried chicken leg and rice bowls (oyako-don and katsu-don).

There's a lot of tonkatsu/Japanese places around Taipei, even in the food courts, but I've tried many that were just so-so... too dry, not hot enough, not crispy enough, not flavorful enough... so this was a good find in a modern, clean, bright setting. It can be a bit hard to find, tucked in a small alley. The address states an alley off of Da An Road, but if you are taking the MRT/taxi/walking, it's in the alley adjacent/behind Dun Nan Sogo (right past Lao Yo Ji if you know where that is).



Other location:

No. 54, Lane 346, Kuangfu South Road
(171 Yanji Street, adjacent rear lane)
(02) 2740-6288

various locations in Taichung

revisited/breakfast/brunch: i do not recommend BRASSERIE (ala carte menu)

BRASSERIE
Grand Formosa Regent Hotel
41 Chung Shan N. Road, Sec 2
(02) 2523-8000 x3870

website: grandformosa.com.tw/english Chinese, English and Japanese

hours: breakfast until 10:30 AM

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 2/10/2008
Original review here : sometime in 2003/2004

Trying to reconfirm the search and recapture the magic of my memories of a decent waffle in Taipei, I headed over to Grand Regent Formosa one morning. I don't know if my fuzzy memory served me incorrectly or that the hotel has just changed, but I can no longer vouch for the waffles there, much less their breakfast.

Okay.. a few years ago, when I went on the hunt for an American style breakfast, my cousin and I taxi'ed all over town to finally land at a hotel that would serve us breakfast past 10am. I remember driving up the steep hill and sitting in an open space which is why I thought it was for sure the Grand Regent Formosa.

But present day, Azie (their lounge-y restaurant) is not open for breakfast so we're directed towards their buffet, Brasserie, which already feels not right.

But we still forge ahead, we're here, we're hungry and we'll check it out. We don't have the appetite for the full buffet breakfast, and they do have an ala carte breakfast menu. It's not a bad price for a hotel eatery, but later on after we get our food, I suspect it's because they just plate stuff that is being served from the buffet!



The waffles were cakey and dense, far from the crispy lightness I remember from so long ago. I think I saw the waitress bring it from the buffet waffle chef. It's made to order, but the batter is just too thick for the waffle to be fluffy. I barely finish one quarter of the waffle and leave the rest on the plate.

The eggs (pictured first) are overdone and inedibly dry, and served with a side of broccoli (for breakfast?), reheated triangle hash browns and dry slices of ham.

The omelette was a tad better- a lot of ketchup helps too.



In the end, the hash browns (though probably frozen and reheated (not even refried)) are the best thing even though even they aren't good.

I can't say if the food we ordered reflects on the food at the buffet, but it has to a little bit if it's coming from the same kitchen, right?

Because it's a buffet setting, there's not really any service even though we ordered from the ala carte menu. I almost hope that since it's a fancy hotel that they would ask if there was anything wrong with our food when most of it is left on the plate, but they do not. I even dare ask the waitress if there is a different waffle available, to which she gives me a very confused look.

I guess it's back to making my own breakfasts.

chinese: SHANGHAI TEA BISTRO

SHANGHAI TEA BISTRO
17, Lane 233, Dun Hua S Rd, Sec 1
(02) 2773-3183

hours: 11 am - 10 pm

$ (cash only)

Kid friendliness: high chairs available.

Visit reviewed: 3/28/2008

Shanghai Tea Bistro is a relatively new addition to the growing Lane 233 (one alley away from Dun Hua Eslite) of eateries that include Ginjer Bakery, Rose House, Casa Della Pasta and the also new-ish Dubu House.

There are various menus (but all in Chinese) offering traditional and low priced Shanghainese eats and drinks-from rice and noodle dishes to sandwiches to



After sampling three different things, the Sorrowful Rice (NT$100) with slices of char siu bbq pork, an over easy egg and a few bites of bok choy over a heaping bowl of rice was the easy favorite. From the looks of it, a popular order for a lot of the other tables nearby as well. The pork is slightly sweet and very tender and you wish there was more of it. It's even better than the char siu from Lao Yo Ji.

If you want to order it, order #1 from the pink House Specialties menu. It comes with a soup of the day- today it was a scary looking herbal lotus soup, but actually tasted quite pleasant and like a vegetable broth.

The pan fried noodles were decent, though it came with too much sauce and mystery meats on top. After a few bites of the meats which were brown, chewy, and okay, nasty- who knew what the heck they were, I just stuck to the crispy noodles and greens.



My friend also ordered a pork sandwich. After my bite, I still wanted to eat more char siu and rice.



The drinks were also just okay. A lemon and honey drink was too sweet while the lemon ice tea tasted just like the tea they served for free. If you want to lounge over tea and snacks, then you're better off with the teas and milk teas at Chun Shui Tang which has quite a few locations now.



While I strongly recommend the Sorrowful Rice (AKA the char siu egg rice bowl), everything else that day seemed to be a miss. While eating, my friend told me that the inspiration for this dish is actually from the the Stephen Chow film GOD OF COOKERY, which I haven't seen yet, but after hearing his story and trying the dish, I want to check it out.

CLOSED/japanese: i strongly recommend TENPURA SANUKI UDON

TENPURA SANUKI UDON

CLOSED!
16, Song Shou Rd, B1
(02) 8788-3099

website: aubergine.com.tw/tenpura

hours:11:30 am- 9:30 pm

$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs, only booths/tables.

Visit reviewed: 2/29/2008 and 3/16/2008

In a city full of noodles everywhere, why would you choose to eat a bowl of udon? One of my favorite things to eat is a pile of cold udon noodles alongside hot crispy tempura shrimp and vegetables (or on a cold day, a bowl of udon with tempura) - sounds basic, but it can be made extremely well or disappointingly average- sort of like the barometer of the dishes overall at a Japanese restaurant.



I had seen signs for Tenpura Sanuki Udon at the Vieshow (aka formerly Warner Village) for awhile, but didn't make the effort to try it out until recently. Luckily, I did because it offers freshly made udon, served in an array of ways, that is wayyyy better than the average bowl you'd find in most food courts or even Japanese restaurants. It's on the side of the Vieshow Village building, in the alley between Neo 19 and Vieshow.



The menu is only in Chinese and Japanese, but there are plenty of pictures. They have cold and hot udons (NT$220-290) with various broths and options. If you can't make up your mind, you can try a sampler set with three small bowls of udon (NT$330) that features a cold noodle w/ egg, a udon soup with tempura shrimp and another udon soup with different broth. There's also various rice bowls and appetizers, salads and hot pot available.



The result of the freshly made udon is that the noodle is chewier or more QQ than your average noodle. I think there is even a viewing window upstairs (though I haven't seen them make it.) I personally like QQ, but the cold udon in the tenzaru could be too chewy for some.

The setting is stark and modern with lots of booths and tables in the basement floor. It's moderately busy during lunch and dinner and empties out during non-rush hours.



They serve a cold winter melon cube as a starter while your udon is "made to order" as the server explains.



The crab salad (NT$140) is quite refreshing too, with lots of corn, tomatoes and a japanese dressing.



The agedashi fried tofu (NT$100) is another option as a starter.



You can choose to order the tempura with a side of udon or get the udon pot. I personally like my tempura crispy and not soggy, like the tempura shrimp that comes in the soup in the pot. You also get fried vegetables like pumpkin, eggplant and shiitake mushroom with the non-pot option. The broth is also really flavorful yet light.




The meal ends with a small bowl of hot red bean soup- it's very sweet, so I can only have a few bites.

Tenpura Sanuki Udon is a great spot when you feel like a bowl of hot (or cold) noodles, or an alternative to the Western eateries in the Vieshow/Neo 19 area or foodcourt before you catch a movie. Before trying out this place, I actually trekked across town to find a good bowl of udon (based off a review my friend read) to be sorely disappointed by a soggy and sad bowl of udon that I couldn't even finish (to be reviewed).

BTW- if you ever want to learn more about udon making or see an amusing movie, you can look for a Japanese movie called UDON which I saw on a plane last year. It made me appreciate a good bowl of udon that much more and learn a little bit about Sanuki udon craze.

british/dessert: POT PIE CAFE

POT PIE CAFE
No. 325, Fuxing S Rd, Sec 2
(02) 2736-0905

website: potpie.com.tw

hours: 8am to 8pm

$ - $$ (Cash only)

Kid friendliness: tiny space. Reservations necessary. Not a lot of room for strollers.

Visit reviewed: 3/31/2008

I was super excited to try out this place after reading about it at haochr. After all, who the heck sells pot pies in Taipei? Well, Costco did for awhile, but they were not very good- the crust of the chicken pot pies was not bad, but there was not enough sauce/gravy inside with all the chicken and vegetables.

So I swung by one rainy afternoon around 2pm and was very surprised to find it PACKED. I figured it was after lunch hour, but apparently they are also very popular for afternoon tea (with their hot apple walnut crumble or brownie) in their cozy space with about 8 tables. There was one open table, but it had already been reserved. The manager said that it's best to call and make a reservation/check.

No worries... I ordered some to go. A shepherd's pie (NT$180), a chicken pot pie (NT$150) and a apple walnut crumble (NT$150). Their English Chinese menu also offers fish and chips, English breakfasts (with eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, bread and coffee or tea). A 10-15 minute wait later, I got two brown paper bags to take home. After paying I realized too late, that I wanted to get the ala carte chicken pot pie for NT$100, but they had given and charged me for the regular set (with side salad & garlic bread). You could also opt for the full set with soup, salad and coffee/tea for NT$280.



Getting home, my first impressions were that the pot pies were tiny. Smaller than I expected. Maybe because they packed it with the garlic bread, but it was barely larger in width than the slice of bread. My second thoughts were that I was disappointed that the chicken pot pie did not have a flaky crust- instead it was also covered with mashed potatoes (like shepherd's pie traditionally is).



The salad greens had a light vinaigrette that was a good balance to the heaviness of the pot pie. If I had to order again, I would order the chicken and mushroom pot pie over the shepherd's pie (which has lamb), but overall, there was too much mashed potato and not enough meat and veggies for my personal taste. Don't know if this is different from the pot pies they make for the in-restaurant servings or if the portions are bigger. It would be good if I was craving mashed potatoes, but not quite the picture of a chicken pot pie I had in my mind.

On the other hand, the apple and walnut crumble was delicious. I know it would have tasted awesome out of the oven at the cafe, but it was still warm and sweet with chunky diced apples and a sprinkling of walnuts. I would strongly recommend this for anyone who loves apple pie or wants a warm healthy-ish dessert.

I've heard of other pot pie places around Taipei- Pie Boy and Frankie's? It's interesting that they are all sprouting up around town. Anyone been to the other ones and can say which is their favorite between the three?

chinese/dim sum: i strongly recommend CANTONESE at BROTHER HOTEL

CANTONESE RESTAURANT at
BROTHER HOTEL, 2-3 FL
255 Nanjing East Road, Sec. 3

(02)2712-3456

website: brotherhotel.com.tw/eDining.htm English, Chinese and Japanese available

hours: 9 AM - 9:30 PM

$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs and toddler plates/utensils avail. lots of finger foods!

Visit reviewed: 2/18/2008



Yum, yum dim sum!! Finally, some awesome and tasty dim sum in Taipei. I've had many disappointing and expensive experiences. Brother Hotel's Cantonese restaurant just makes it look easy by doing the basics (har gow, siu mai, cha sau bao, shrimp chang fun) well and presenting a large variety of other choices. They also offer non-dim sum Cantonese dishes if you are looking for other vegetables or dishes to round out your meal.



For those of you not familiar with dim sum, it's basically lots of small dishes of bite sized eats to share- in all sorts of ways- wrapped, steamed, fried with little sauces to dip in at your choice. Consider it as tapas done Hong Kong style or the perfect snack foods any time of day. It's popular to go weekends brunch in LA with your family, where you'll wait in endless lines at the more popular spots- but Brother Hotel offers dim sum all day through the night (NT$80 - $180) and makes it easy with menus with pictures in English, Chinese and Japanese as well as the carts rolling by the tables (which quite a few of the dim sum places don't even have anymore).



Everything tasted fresh, crispy, meaty, shrimpy, tasty and just right- a place that I would take my relatives, friends, business meetings or even a date- especially in contrast to eating at another popular dim sum place just yesterday (which was packed but had very AVERAGE dim sum). The flavors and textures were just spot on to what each thing was supposed to taste like.






I like to try the almond tofu/jello where ever I see it on the menu, and this place served it nice and cold and firm with a bit of canned fruit. It was a sweet and refreshing end to the meal.