chinese: i recommend JENDOW VEGETARIAN BUFFET

JEN DOW VEGETARIAN BUFFET
(Lien Shiang Zhai)
No. 353, Chang Chiung Rd
(02) 2547-4788

lunch:11:15 AM - 1:45 PM (NT$600)
afternoon tea weekdays: 2:15PM-4:30PM (NT$560)
dinner: 5:30PM - 9:00 PM (NT$660)

$$

website: jendow.com.tw Chinese only

kid friendliness: high chairs and lots of finger foods and desserts

visit reviewed: 11/19/2006



Who knew there were so MANY options for vegetarians? Well, apprarently, the owners of this vegetarian buffet did. Featuring many, MANY different stations of vegetables, tofu, dim sum, sushi, soups, fried options, fresh baked puff pastry soup, noodles cooked to order, desserts, fruits, salads, ice cream, and not one, but two chocolate fountains, there's much to eat even if you aren't a vegetarian.



And knowing quite a few vegetarians, I've been to quite a few vegetarian places, even buffets, and I've never seen a place that was a large or diverse, with a lot of little touches that both non-vegetarians and vegetarians can enjoy. They even had a fridge with complimentary Coca-cola in glass coke bottles!



I know a lot of people who make fun of faux meat- "why style and make your food taste like meat if you are a vegetarian"- but it's quite amazing what is available now... even fake sashimi, chicken nuggets and bbq pork buns!








There are plenty of signs in both English and Chinese to help you identify everything, including some of the more mysterious broths and offerings, as well as to point out what desserts include and exclude egg (in case you don't eat any animal products). Unintentionally, some of the wordings are quite funny and native English speakers will probably get a kick out of them. Honestly, I do laugh when I see them, and occasionally, when I even mention the mistake or correction to the servers (not here, but at other places) sometimes I don't think they even know what to do with it.


does this make any sense to anyone?

This in particular cracked me up- instead of calling it "stinky tofu" - they politely called it "beancurd of strong odor."


can you smell it from the picture?




There is so much food to try that you probably could not taste everything if you wanted, so I will just let you see for yourself some of the types of things that they had.











For a buffet, they have a lot of fresh/made to order type options that make it stand out from other buffets. Also, they have a cool system I haven't seen yet at other places. Each table has mini clips that are clipped onto a plastic stand at your table.. if you take them with you when you browse/order your noodles or veggies, they will clip it to your dish and know where to deliver it to you when it's done.



Although they don't do this for everything- you have to wait for your puff pastry soup (in line!) and for your handrolls- it's pretty cool that you're not glued to the veggie station while they steam it up for you.




One thing to keep in mind is that you should totally stock up on any desserts you have your eye on right away, especially if you are hitting the end of the meal time since they seemed to disappear fast as everyone was finishing their meals. And it seemed like once the buffet was out, they were out, and they didn't restock.

Although the chocolate fountains were quite impressive to look at, unfortunately, the white chocolate fountain was too oily.. it slid off the banana and other things I dipped into it and it was pretty nasty. Maybe it was just that day though. Also, they had things like grape tomatoes, melons and bananas that may have been previously frozen then defrosted (slightly brown) so it wasn't as appealing as I've seen chocolate fountains in the states with marshmallows and crackers and berries. I also noticed (probably a bit too late) a crepe machine in the same section, but a lot of the nutella was hardened and I was unsure if you were supposed to do it yourself or not.



I ended up getting some Movenpick ice cream and some creme brulee/panna cotta desserts. They offer the standard little cakes, creme brulee and fruit (with or without egg) as well as some almond soup, red bean and other Chinese type desserty soups.




I wasn't sure what this was, but someone at our table was eating it.. it seemed like aloe or the grapefruit jelly like stuff they put in the drinks, and he dipped it into a sweet syrupy type of mixture.



I was quite overwhelemed by trying to write about this place- there were too many pictures, too many things to talk about! But just like eating at this buffet, I just had to dive in, pace myself and not worry to much about it. I don't know if you can tell from this how large the buffet was, but hopefully you'll get a chance to discover it for yourself. If you do, reservations strongly recommended- the place was packed especially on weekends and I heard sometimes you have to find out when they have availability.


Other locations in
Kaohsiung
(03) 317-8000
Taoyuan
(07)386-1234
Shanghai
(21) 6457-2299

CLOSED! american: i recommend DEAN AND DELUCA

CLOSED! A/o 2011

DEAN AND DELUCA
at Breeze Center, B2F
N0.39, Fuxing S Road. Sec 1
Taipei 105
(02) 6600-8888 ext 7301

$-$$$

Sun - Wed 9 AM - 9 PM
Thur-Sat: 9 AM - 10 PM

website: deandeluca.com

visit reviewed: 3/12/2007



As "mall" food goes, Dean and Deluca can get pricey. But hey- it's Dean and Deluca- in Taiwan! So for a set lunch, NT$250 for fresh deli salads or hot American style food is quite a bargain. The NT$600 jar of jam- well, that's if you REALLY love spreadable fruit on your bread, right?

The clean classic layout makes it fun to browse the aisles for ultra-gourmet pastas, chocolates, cheese and other random gourmet foodie selections from NY and around the world. And maybe a great place to find a gift for your boss or that special someone.. but definitely the prices are more affordable to those that shop Tiffany's rather than the night market since it's more expensive than the already pricey JASONs or City Super. But don't let that deter you from checking out their deli selections.




You can choose already packed sandwiches or set lunches (NT$250), or you can choose your own selections from the daily specials. Today, I ended up selecting couscous, mushrooms, roasted veggies and noodles. It came w/ bread and soup- and today was corn soup or pumpkin soup. The corn soup was more watery than creamy and the pumpkin soup had a slightly sweet flavor to it. The couscous was flavorful and fluffy, the mushrooms were not grilled and flavorful as the roasted veggies which I really enjoyed, and the noodles were a bit sweet and tangy w/ tiny scallops mixed in and surprisingly tasty.



You can also choose from the hot food selections such as meat, pastas, lasagnas and veggies for a little extra. I really loved the selection and freshness of all the foods, especially since it will be difficult to find things like couscous anywhere else in Taipei. And it's not a bad price for the portion/choices in contrast to a lunch at Macaroni Grill or something equally Western.

There are also gourmet sandwiches such as Eggplant and Brie which come on fresh bread and are in the deli section. Although I didn't have any of this, my friend was very happy with it and finished it all. She even recommended the Brie which unfortunately they ran out of in the cheese section.



All in all, it's a quick pleasant place for lunch, especially if you have been searching for deli style types of foods. You can also get it ala carte by weight, but the lunchtime set menu is a good bargain- you could even take it home to reheat it for later. I think I'll definitely find myself there again, and maybe even splurging on something gourmet from the racks.

CLOSED! indian/food court: i don't recommend CURRY AND TEA HOUSE

CURRY AND TEA HOUSE
at 101 Mall foodcourt
(near JASONs Supermarket)
45 ShihFu Rd., B1

$$

Visit reviewed: 12/26/2006




After passing by this mall court spot a number of times, I finally got the chance to try it out. It looks appealing with good portions, but too bad the taste of the meal didn't live up to its promising appearance. You can choose a curry set menu with chicken (NT$120), beef (NT$160), mutton (NT$150), and your set menu comes with rice and a small salad. I added a naan (NT$35) to try it out.




The chicken curry (NT$120) was extremely watered down yet oily- I didn't even want to dip the naan into the curry. The rice had no flavor and naan was more a tortilla than naan. I didn't bother finishing the meal or packing it to go. I kind of picked out the chicken to eat with a few bites of rice. For Indian mall food, you're better off trying Tandoor at the Far Eastern Mall since they offer you two different curries in their set menu (which is still a bit watery but at least it has good flavors) and their naan is actually naan, or just going to a sit down restaurant.

But now everytime I pass by Curry and Tea House, I don't have to be tempted anymore.

chinese: random "ren bing" street vendor

random street vendor
$

Visited reviewed: 3/11/2007





One of the best things about Taipei is that there are almost always street vendors on street side corners or little alleyways. For someone who loves to snack like me, it means that I can fulfill my cravings without a dent in my coin purse since things usually aren't more than NT$10-$100 (30cents US - US$3), but the temptations can have the opposite effect on your waistline!

I don't often spot or get to eat this Taiwanese treat- but it was not bad. They had most of the elements at room temperature in a mini plastic shelves organizer that you would find on someone's desk, but after adding the hot cabbage that they reheated in boiling water, it warmed up everything else. It's much much lighter than a fried spring roll- I guess more like a Vietnamese spring roll since it can be served at room temperature (though it has totally different elements and not made with rice paper) or a Taiwanese burrito/wrap.

new in town: LONG JOHN SILVER's and DUNKIN DONUTS

I haven't had a chance to visit either yet, but there are two new American franchises in town. The question is-- can they bring the "standard" flavors of what we grew up with, or do they tweak and change it too much to accomodate local tastes?

I remember going to eat the crispy battered fish and hush puppies and coleslaw at the pirate themed Long John's Silver as a kid (which is almost extinct since it's not even that popular in the states anymore) and getting a dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts for the office on Fridays and some donut hole Munchkins for myself.

Of course, I'm hoping that they can retain what we like, but I've heard rumblings that the opposite is true. I've seen Dunkin Donuts (and 31 Baskin Robbins) all over Korea- and their donuts taste pretty decent. KFC and McDonalds have had successfully transferred as well as added to their menus (although I wish they'd bring over the mashed potato and coleslaw for KFC).

Have you been? What did you think?

LONG JOHN SILVERS
No. 218, NanJing E Rd, Sec 3
080-903-6688
longjohnsilvers.com.tw (Chinese only)

DUNKIN' DONUTS
No. 208, NanJing E Rd, Sec 2
(02)2503-7377
Hours: 7 am - 10 pm

happy chinese new year

I've been traveling the past few weeks, so sorry about lack of posts- I'm still catching up on work and life off-line in Taipei, but don't worry, I've still been eating good food to blog about. Like many other families, we ended up going away for the Chinese New Year- so here's a preview of the culinary delights that I will blogging about very soon that I got to enjoy from Korea and Beijing.


the spread- i love the side dishes in Korea!


mmm.. cold glass noodles- does anyone know where we can eat this in Taipei?


mmm. can you smell the kalbi?


gotta have beijing duck in beijing and i was glad i ate here!

Happy year of the Golden Pig!

italian: i don't recommend VINO VINO CAFE

VINO VINO CAFE
2, Lane 80, ShiDa Rd.
(02) 2362-1167

$$

Visit reviewed: 12-12-2006

I had been hearing so much about Bongos... but after a winding taxi ride around the lanes and alleys near Shi Da, we simply could not find it. The telephone number we had was not being answered. The address we had seemed to lead to a dead end. So hungry and lost, we directed the taxi to take us out to the nearest main street and spotted a charming looking Spanish looking cafe with people lingering on the patio with a little park in front of it, and that is how we ended up at Vino Vino Cafe.



However, maybe we should have tried harder to find Bongos? Despite the appetizing sounding choices of pasta and main dishes on their English and Chinese menu, we ended up with some not so savory plates (NT$960 for 3 set menu lunches). Well, at least my friend did- her penne pasta was so salty it was inedible.



My risotto was not bad with bits of mushroom and chicken mixed into the creamy, soft rice, but the other parts of my set menu were nothing to brag about and I felt bad that my friend didn't enjoy her food.



A very plain lettuce salad and a watery soup under a not flaky puff pastry. I think the most places I have seen so many puff pastry soups is only in Taipei- it's not a phenomenon that I've seen as much elsewhere. But it doesn't mean that it tastes as good as it looks.



And then a sad watered down gelatin dessert- the pale lemon yellow looked slightly like "ai-yu" or yellow jello, but tasted like someone had forgotten to add the flavor packet.



Watered down seemed to be the theme- the watered down soup, the watered down dessert, the watered down ice tea, the watered down service.

With so many great little Italian spots in Taipei to discover and eat at, this was a big disappointment- so don't be lured in by the good looking facade unless you just want to hang out on the patio.

chinese/late night: i recommend NO NAME CONGEE & DELICATESSEN

NO NAME CONGEE and DELICATESSEN
No. 130, Fu-Hsia Fu Xing S. Road, Sec 2
(02) 2784-6735

$

no-name.com.tw (Chinese only)

date visited: 12/14/2006



This place is actually called NO NAME CONGEE-- it's such a weird name, it makes it stand out even more and easy to remember its name. And it's important to stand out since this place is one of many little shops on the same street that serve porridge and side dishes into the wee hours of the morning on Fu-Hsia S. Road open 24 hours a day. I was amazed to discover this "shi-fan" or congee street and that I had never heard of it before- turns out it is a popular local spot for people looking for affordable eats for large groups, before or after clubbing/Cashbox karaoke singing/late night movie/activities, somewhere to go after you land at 5 am into Taipei airport. We had about sixteen people at 11pm and most places that are open that late cannot accomodate so many people on a whim- but we found lots of room at No Name.

The way it works is that you basically pick out the side dishes you want and they supply the porridge/congee for free- if you are a party of one, you can just choose a few and get a free pot of porridge for however much your side dishes cost.



If you are a huge group like we were, then make sure you coordinate who gets what, so you don' t have a ton of overlap and leftover side dishes from too many hungry people grabbing dishes for each other.



The side dishes range from NT$50-$100, depending on the color of the plate/size of the plate and what it is. If in doubt, ask. There's no menu- instead at a buffet-style self serve area, you can just pick out what looks good since nothing is really labeled. You can either pick from the plates above the glass, or ask them to dish you up a fresh plate.



The sides were relatively fresh and there is a wide assortment including lots of traditional sides- including thousand year old egg, bamboo, mushrooms, various green veggies such as braised asparagus, egg omelette, cucumber, fried sweet gluten... The porridge is Taiwanese style, with large cubes of sweet potato mixed into the not too soupy, not too thick porridge.







It's a pretty spartan space, but clean and open seating with upstairs and downstairs areas. It's not too crowded that you can't find an area to sit, and you can linger in conversation over your food if you want. This is the only one I've tried-- I've heard they are all about the same-- but if anyone else recommends another one instead, I think I'll definitely be back eventually one late night (or early morning!) when everything else is closed.



all our empty dishes

not taipei/dessert: AUNTIE EM's KITCHEN

So I'm headed back to Taipei after lots of great food and travels in the states- so don't worry back to your regularly scheduled programming soon. But I had to share a picture of the adorable and delicious cupcakes I love from Auntie Em's Kitchen. I would much rather eat these than the overrated cupcakes from Sprinkles- even though I have to trek to Eagle Rock to get them.

The picture is of their mini cupcakes which go for $1+ - and their regular sized giant cupcakes ($3+) are almost as big as a pint of ice cream with a helmet of frosting and the dense yet moist cupcake underneath- definitely enough to share, but only if you felt like it. Personally, I love the red velvet and the coconut. These may be the best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had- and yes, better than the ones at Doughboys (a bit heavy) and Sprinkles (not as moist)! The cream cheese frosting of the red velvet is a bit more sugary than smooth cream cheese, but works with the less sweet taste of the moist red velvet. The coconut shavings mesh with the slightly lemony cake. There's also chocolate (which is on the dark chocolate side to me) and carrot.

There also a ton of other freshly baked pastries- and oh yeah, they serve food. Delicious homestyle food, sandwiches and salads and a mean strawberry lemonade. Eat it in their cozy cafe style restaurant after ordering at the counter, or get it to go.

Either way, I am going to be drooling and daydreaming about these cupcakes on the plane all the way to Taipei.

AUNTIE EM's KITCHEN
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 255-0800

website: http://www.auntieemskitchen.com

hours: mon-fri 8am to 7pm
sat-sun 8am to 4pm

$-$$

not taipei: SIMON/AUREOLE/DEE's/EL TARASCO

I had hoped to update the blog by being able to work on my backlog of posts and half written reviews, but my time is not my own when I'm not in Taipei.

So until I get the chance to carve out the time to do that, I will be posting a slice of the good stuff I have been eating the past month.

LAS VEGAS

SIMON at the HARD ROCK HOTEL

Sort of a frou frou steakhouse in the back of the Hard Rock Hotel, SIMON served unusual and very tasty breads such as pretzel bread, zucchini bread and cinnamon muffin-like bread in their complimentary refillable bread basket.



The mediterrean appetizer plate's portions were quite sparse for the price, though the flavors were good for the sponge-like mini-pita breads.



I ordered the meatloaf, but should have stuck to the filet mignon- as the meatloaf was dense, bit too salty and not quite what I expected. It was like an overgrown cousin of a burger covered in sauce and cut in half. I suppose I expected a softer, melt-in-your mouth Japanese style meatloaf? I barely took three bites and didn't even care to finish the rest.



But everyone else mostly cleaned their plates and the calamari appetizer and the sauteed mushroom sides were a hit- as well as the HUGE ball of cotton candy (otherwise on the menu for ($8) the waiter brought us free of charge.


BUFFET at MANDALAY BAY

I liked the lunch buffet at Mandalay Bay- they offered a decent selection of fresh fruits as well as the standard rows and rows of heated foods. The cocktail shrimp were fresh and plentiful, and the lamb chops were actually tender and flavorful. They carved prime rib for you and had sections for meats, salads, Asian, Latin and seafood. It was the first time I had seen carnitas at a buffet, much less a Las Vegas buffet, but it was surprisingly good. I went back for seconds of the tender carnitas and Spanish rice while I didn't sample too much of the Asian food. The desserts were hidden away from the main part of the buffet, so you could have missed it if you didn't look for it. But with rows of mini lemon meringue tarts, tiramisu cakes and cheesecake, you should definitely save room.



AUREOLE

Intending to get a light dinner, we unknowingly walked into a set set-course menu at AUREOLE, which offered only set courses for their menus in their main dining room. Not until we read the fine print outside after the dinner did I realize we could have ordered ala carte upstairs (I think)... so we dove in and had a very elegant and fun dinner for a $$$ price.





I had a scallop trio appetizer, wild salmon main course and warm chocolate cake dessert. With the scallop trio, I preferred the center grilled scallop over the variations of it being fried or in the rice paper, but the salmon was grilled just right.



my friend's osso bucco

Though I thoroughly devoured my chocolate cake, I didn't care for the pistachio (?) ice cream on the side that just tasted like cream, as pretty as it was..




Instead, I would have liked to have some fruit flavored sorbet like my friend ordered, which came in a sampler tray almost like a pastel mini-rack of pool balls. We had fun guessing what each flavor was.



SALT LAKE CITY

DEE's had diner food at amazing prices- my breakfast all day French toast combo plate was under $6 with four huge slices of Texas French Toast and three huge hockey puck sausages and an over easy egg. Maybe it was late, maybe I was hungry, maybe I had been eating fake American breakfasts in Taiwan for too long - but it was the best breakfast I have had in a very long time.



LOS ANGELES

EL TARASCO (to-go)

Something about chicken enchiladas just gets to me... I love it when they are soaked in the red sauce and baked til the cheese is melted and gooey on top.. the bite of the corn tortilla and the shredded chicken is heaven. Plus you have to have carnitas taco with guacamole as well.

korean: 101 korean mall food

Korean Food at
101 mall food court
(near Watsons)

$

date visited: 11/8/2006

It's cheap, it's fast and it's easy- sure it's mall food- but for NT$150, you can get a pretty good bim bim bap. Plus the rice gets all crispy on the bottom and you can either stir it up yourself or eat it all separately like I do.



The sides are pretty tantalizing too- with a range of kimchees, potato salad, vegetables and tempura, you can get a choice of 3 for NT$80.




There are two Korean places in the basement food court at 101, so be sure you try out the one that looks like this. It's the one near Watsons. They also have hot pot selections you can eat at their bar-like seating. Sometimes during weekends and rush hour, it's hard to get a seat with their affordable prices. You get complimentary side dishes too when you get the hot pot selection. The other Korean shop has good sides, such as curried potato and cold jap chae, but the bim bim bap here is better.