japanese/hot pot: i recommend MOMO PARADISE

MOMO PARADISE
at Neo 19, 2nd FL
No. 22 Song Ren Road
(02) 8786-1128

website: humaxasia.com.tw/momo Chinese only

hours: 11:30 AM - 12midnight; weekends and holidays 11:30 AM - 1 AM

$-$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs or boosters- booth seating

Visit reviewed: 11/3/2007



A good option for affordable all you can eat shabu shabu or sukiyaki (depending on what you choose) in a modern, if not popular setting. You might have to wait during peak hours and weekends since people can take their time at an all you can eat place, though I think Momo Paradise sets a cap at 90 minutes. Shabu shabu is basically you cooking meats and vegetables in your own pot of boiling water.

Sukiyaki is more of a grill where you can cook the vegetables and meats in a sweet soy sauce. To complete the experience, Momo Paradise gives you a raw egg that you can beat and use to dip the cooked marinated meats which gives it a slippery coating that might make some queasy, but completes the sukiyaki flavor for others.



What I liked is the variety of options and that they bring everything to you. There is a vegetable cart that they will plate up for you, but you can also add a mushroom plate or other things such as tempura or bowls of rice for no additional charge.



You can also pick from beef or pork or seafood (though I liked the pork better than the beef on this occasion). Though their meat is sliced paper thin, it's quite filling if you get enough trays. Plus it cooks faster that way.



Their charges vary per person if you want one or two pots at your table (say if you guys want both shabu shabu and sukiyaki for a bigger party) or the third option of a miso soup hot pot. From NT$299 lunch to $399 dinner up to NT$499 if you want all three pots at dinner. They also have slightly discounted prices after 10pm at their Neo 19 and Chung Hsiao locations. US$12 for all you can eat shabu shabu for dinner sounds like a pretty good deal to me!


forgot to take a picture while it was full of stuff! sorry, next time. this is basically the hot pot after you've eaten everything

Also, as you can see from the 'after' picture, the soup is not really for drinking, since they start off with plain water and not a broth. The Chinese hot pot places that start with the broth (like Hundred Mushroom Garden) has soup that you DO want to drink.

For an extra charge of NT$130, you can add udon, drink and dessert to your meal, although you already get a complimentary coffee jelly dessert with the regular meal. There are also limited sides available. I liked the udon, though I wished there was a tad more and that it wasn't an extra charge for it- though I think there is vermicelli and regular noodles or rice offered with the regular price.





Everyone probably has their own favorite local shabu shabu or hot pot joint, but for a chain I feel like this is a good choice too for couples, families or even business lunches, or even as a way of introduction shabu shabu to newcomers. The only downside is that their menu is only in Chinese and Japanese, but since all the offerings are mostly available on sight, you can pick and choose. I actually first had MoMo Paradise in Japan a few years back and was so stuffed by the time we left, trying both the shabu shabu and sukiyaki pots. Having had great memories of that experience, I'd say that the service is a little different here (less cozy, more casual) at the Neo 19 location, but maybe the other locations are different.

Growing up Chinese American, I never really gave the concept of hot pot a second thought, but for those of you who watch SURVIVOR- the last season had them competing in China, where one of the rewards they had hot pot on the Great Wall. The three Americans were confused (and later complained) about what to do with the hot pot, plates of meats and vegetables that was on the table. It was actually pretty annoying how much they complained about it (if you're starving, then then hot pot is a pretty good reward and they had a LOT of stuff available!), but it definitely reminded me that not everyone knows about what it is or how it works (though hot water + raw meat = food).

OTHER LOCATIONS:

2F, 293, ZhongXiao E. Rd., Sec. 4
(02) 2772-1577
Hours: 11:30 am-2 am (3-5pm closed)

Bistro 98, 5th FL
No. 9, Zhong Xiao East Road, Sec. 4
(02) 2752-6609
11:30AM-12midnight

KMall, 5th FL
No. 50, Zhong Xiao West Road, Sec. 1
Zhong Zheng District
(02) 2382-2668
11:30AM - 11 PM

No. 6, NanJing East Road, 2FL (near Chung Shan MTR, exit 3)
(02) 2562-2328
hours: 11:30 AM -12 midnight

No. 29, Ching Chen Street
(02) 2546-2838
lunch 11:30~ 3PM; dinner 5PM - 11PM

Taida
No. 68, Roosevelt Road, Sec 4, 3FL
(02) 2363-8998
hours: 11：30 AM - 11 PM

american: SUBWAY

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!! Just doing some quick catchups on old visits.. but hey, it's new to you! :) Be sure to scroll down and make sure you haven't missed anything because I've been making up for lost time. Best of everything in 2008 and hopefully you're having a good few days off with friends and loved ones and getting some extra ZZZs in this gray and rainy weather.



SUBWAY SANDWICHES
No. 28, SongDe Rd, Taipei
(02) 8780-8380

and various locations listed below

website: new.fresh-fit.com

$

Kid friendliness: sandwiches, chips and even cookies on the menu. don't recall seeing high chairs at locations.

Visit reviewed: 12/3/2007

Ahh.. good old Subway. It's quick. It's easy. It's familiar.

Sometimes you feel like a sandwich and a bag of chips, then you'd head here. Most sandwiches are the same as you'd find in the states, though I find that the Meatball sandwich's (NT$85/6 inch or NT$145/12 inch) meatballs here seem smaller and taste a bit more artificial or "meat-like" rather than ground beef than I'd prefer. So if I don't get the meatball, I usually get the Tuna.

If you've never eaten at a Subway, you basically choose the sandwich (various coldcuts to steak), the bread, the vegetable toppings (lettuce, tomato, olives, bell pepper, onions, jalepeno peppers, pickles, cucumbers), cheese and dressing (olive oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, mayo, mustard), and watch as they assemble your sandwich. In the states, I usually pick Quizno's over Subway for their hot sandwiches, but for American style cold cut or tuna sandwiches here in Taipei, you have Subway or Au Bon Pain to choose from.

I think some of the Subways deliver too. With menus in English and Chinese and lots of pictures, it's pretty easy to navigate.


OTHER LOCATIONS:

漢口店 HanKou Branch
02-2314-5725 02-2314-5798
台北市漢口街1段57號
57, HanKou St. Sec 1, Taipei

新光三越 Shinkong Mitsukoshi Branch
02-8780-1661
信義新天地A8館 台北市松高路12號B2美食街
12, SongGao Rd, Taipei (B2 Food Court)

光復店 GuangFu Branch
02-2723-7781 02-2723-7703
台北市光復南路435號1F
435, FuXing S Rd, Taipei

南京店 NanJing Branch
02-2545-7721 02-2545-7591
台北市南京東路4段99號1樓
99, NanJing E Rd, Sec 4, Taipei

內湖大潤發店 NeiHu RT Mart Branch
02-2792-2856 02-2792-8870
台北市舊宗路1段188號1樓
188, JiuZhong Rd, Sec 1, Taipei

陽明山店 YangMingShan Branch
02-2861-7999 02-2861-9154
台北市陽明山格致路14號1F

南京建國店 NanJing/JianGuo Branch
02-2517-0439 02-2506-7029
台北市南京東路二段216號
216, NanJing E Rd, Sec 2, Taipei

師大店 ShiDa Branch
02-2322-1767 02-2322-1768
台北市金山南路2段230號
230, JinShan Rd, Sec 2, Taipei

新生店 XinSheng Branch
02-2395-5686 02-2396-8477
台北市新生南路一段106-1號
106-1, XinSheng S Rd, Sec 1, Taipei

中和建一店 ZhongHe/JianYi Branch
02-8226-5819 02-8226-5813
台北縣中和市建一路168號F棟
168, JianYi Rd, Floor F, ZhongHe City

木柵店 MuZha
02-2234-6802 02-2234-6823
台北市文山區萬壽路27號
27, WanShou Rd, Taipei

101 MALL
02-8101-8195
台北市市府路45號B1-10
45, ShiFu Rd, B1-10, Taipei

復興店 FuXing Branch
02-2518-3062 02-2518-3215
台北市復興北路270號
270, FuXing N Rd, Taipei

環亞店 Asia World Branch
02-8101-8195
台北市南京東路3段337號地下2樓
337, NanJing E Rd, Sec 3, B2, Taipei

台大店 NTU Branch
02-3365-2629 02-3365-2630
台北市羅斯福路4段85號1樓
85, Roosevelt Rd, Sec 4, Taipei

中山店 ZhongShan Branch
02-25375276 02-2568-3613
台北市中山北路2段101號
101, ZhongShan N Rd, Sec 2, Taipei

龍安店 LongAn Branch
02-2368-0007 02-2368-2006
台北市新生南路3段8號1F
8, XinSheng S Rd, Sec 3, Taipei

文大店 PCCU Branch
02-2862-2161 02-2862-2161
台北市華岡路55號
55, HuaGang Rd, Taipei

大直店 DaZhi Branch
02-2533-5255 02-2533-5277
台北市大直街61號
61, DaZhi St, Taipei

京華城店 Living Mall Branch
02-8761-6630 02-8761-6823
台北市八德路4段138號B1
138, BaDe Rd, Sec 4, B1, Taipei

世貿店 World Trade Center Branch
02-2345-3009 02-2345-3169
台北市信義路5段2號B1
2, XinYi Rd, Sec 5, B1, Taipei

敦南店 DunHua South Branch
02-2709-2008 02-2709-2009
台北市敦化南路2段150號
150, DunHua S Rd, Sec 2, Taipei

士林店 ShiLin Branch
02-2834-0028 02-2838-4139
台北市士林區中正路120-2號
120-2, ZhongZheng Rd, Taipei

台電店 Taipower Branch
02-3365-3359 02-3365-1751
台北市羅斯福路3段241號1F
241, Roosevelt Rd, Sec 3, Taipei

中崙大潤發店 Zhong Lun RT Mart
02-8772-6072 02-8772-6072
台北市八德路2段306號B1美食街
306, BaDe Rd, Sec 2, Taipei (B1 Food Court)

東門店 DongMen Branch
02-2327-8688 02-2394-7909
台北市大安區金山南路二段11號
11, JinShan Rd, Sec 2, Taipei

瑞光店 RuiGuang Branch
02-2657-9298 02-2657-9923
台北市內湖區瑞光路277號1F
227, RuiGuang Rd, NeiHu, Taipei

敦化市民店 DunHua/ShiMing Branch
02-2578-7813 02-2578-8173
台北市敦化南路一段63號1F
63, DunHua S Rd, Sec 1, Taipei

三民店 SanMin Branch
02-2769-5839 02-2764-6622
台北市三民路152號
152, SanMin Rd, Taipei

慶城店 QingCheng Branch
02-2546-4467 02-2546-4821
台北市慶城街12樓1樓(台北商旅)
12, QingCheng St (Les Suites), Taipei

coffee/tea: i strongly recommend 50 LAN

50 LAN
various locations citywide

website: 50lan.com.tw Chinese only

kid friendliness: kids will love slurping boba from the oversized colorful straws, but parents should decide if the sugar and tea is okay for their kids.

$

Visit reviewed: 12/8/2007

Boba Milk Tea was a crazy phenomenon in LA about five years ago, not too unlike the Pinkberry craze that is going on now. Different chains or mom and pop shops across the street from each other. Going to get a boba every other day. At least fruit topped fro yo is a lot better for your waistline than a cup of creamer or condensed milk with a splash of tea and half cup of starchy balls.

But it's totally died down in the states. And there's no way I could repeat drinking it every other day like when I had 5 (count them! but there are now only 2 standing) milk tea shops in a two block radius on Sawtelle to choose from.

Milk tea in Taipei is still alive and kicking. And a lot cheaper. At NT$30+ a cup, it's a lot more affordable than the US$2-3 prices- though you can still find those prices (supposedly for higher quality tea and boba) at places like the fancier Chun Tsui Tang (aka Spring Water House).

My favorite milk tea place of the moment is 50 Lan or 50嵐. It's a chain, so you can spot the bright yellow and blue signs on many busy streets.

Surprisingly, there is usually a line, maybe because each drink is made to order and sometimes people are ordering bagfulls for their office.



What I like is that you can adjust the temperature (hot or cold), sweetness (90 percent, 75 percent, 50 percent sugar), and even the amount of boba. I like that the bobas are slightly smaller and always the right chewiness. Personally, I like my milk tea cold and 75 percent sweet. Fifty percent tastes too watered down for me.

The cup is complete with a slogan that almost makes sense, especially if you've been living with Taiwan English long enough: "The Tea of Cool. Craving. Content."

Their extensive menu is completely in Chinese, so stick to "boba nai tsa" or boba milk tea, or point to something that looks good that someone before you has ordered. I have to work on figuring out their other drinks since I do like the passionfruit tea or lemon jelly variety too.

indian/food court: i recommend INDIAN PALACE

INDIAN PALACE

(this location is now closed and a Cafe India has opened in the same spot a/o 8/2012)
at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi
A4: 19 Sung Kao Rd, B2

Miramar Mall, B1
22 Jing Ye 3rd Road
DaZhi, Taipei

Taipei 101 Mall food court
MRT: Taipei City Hall
website: indianpalacetaipei.googlepages.com

$

Kid friendliness: actually at Mitsukoshi they will deliver your food to your seat, rare for a food court eatery. Miramar has enclosed eating space.

Visit reviewed: 2/3/2008 and 12/7/2007

It's hard to find good Indian mall food in the states, let alone Taipei. For awhile, I was in love with this tiny corner of the old Century City Mall food court, near Ben and Jerry's and La Salsa that had combination plates for about $7 or so. Everything was just right and you could a meat and vegetable curry and naan. But one day I went to fulfill my craving and it was gone. I was pretty sad. But I guess it doesn't matter since that whole food court ended up getting torn up and there's a new fancy food court with Lawry's Carvery now. hahahah

Anyways- with Indian mall food in Taipei, I've had some terrible experiences at Curry and Tea House at 101 and some okay experiences at Tandoor at Far Eastern Mall AGES ago, but Indian Palace is the first time I've had a good experience where I would totally go back. It was actually recommended by a friend the first time and a relative the second time.



If the curry and naan are good then you can forgive everything else- the strange bland rice despite its cute heart shaped presentation, or the vague milky dessert and tea in the set menu.



I was reminded of how pleasant the whole experience was when my aunt asked me if I wanted to get some food to go from there from the Miramar Mall Food Court the other day.



Though they don't list it on their menu, they can make Chicken Tikka Masala for you. There might be other things as well if you ask. The server was as friendly at the Miramar location as they were at the Xin Yi Mitsukoshi location. The Miramar mall has their own private seating area as the host beckons the crowd to "try something different."

The glass window into the kitchen displays three Indian chefs, one of who is making naan to order in the hot tandoori oven. It's promising when you see Indian chefs right? Like when you see Mexican cooks at that hole in the wall taco place or the Chinese restaurant filled with Chinese people and the menu has Chinese and Chinese servers (nothing against ones that don't... but generally the food seems more authentic that way). At the Mitsukoshi location, you only see their picture on them menu since their kitchen is enclosed...



On both occassions, I tried to order samosas (NT$100 for 3) and they were "out." I wonder when they are offered as I went on different times of day, weekend and weekday at the different places. But no worries, their set menus (NT$180 - NT$250) with meat (Butter Chicken or and vegetarian options like Aloo Gohbi (potato and cauliflower) or lentils, include a small salad, soup and naan or rice. The size is pretty decent and probably about the size that the sit down restaurants offer for a higher price.

The curries seem quite similar to what you'd get, not too watery, not too thick. The aloo gohbi was interesting in that they cut the potatoes in slices instead of dices and there was a lot of curry rather than the drier variety I'm used to in the states. But tastewise it was fine.

My aunt also said that the tandoori chicken was too spicy the first time they ordered it, which I found strange, but not THAT strange after my visit to sit down Tandoor where EVERYTHING including the tandoori chicken was crazy spicy. So wander down to Indian Palace next time you feel like something other than Chinese mall food, be clear about how spicy you want stuff, feel free to ask if there is stuff off the menu, and let me know if you actually get some samosas!

indian/buffet: i recommend ALIBABA

ALIBABA
56-58 Nanking E., Rd., Sec. 2, 2nd Floor
(02) 2567-7163

Hours: 12pm to 2:30pm; 6pm to 11pm

website: ali88.com.tw


$$

Kid friendliness: 2 high chairs available. Service semi-kid friendly when they are busy.

Visit reviewed: 11/25/2007

(Blogger seems to not let me upload multiple pictures.. I've been trying to post this for a month.. finally, I did them one at a time and it slowly worked! argh!)

After my terrible experience with the empty trays at Aaleja's weekend buffet, I was a bit hesitant to try another one. But you can't blame a restaurant for an entirely different place right? In the end, it was a lot better than the empty trays at Aaleja's weekend brunch although they were s-l-o-w on refilling the tandoori chicken.

Ali Baba's buffet (NT$399) offers up an array of curries, appetizers, seafood and vegetarian options and even self serve ice cream. They were crowded during the lunch hour, so much so that they tried to squeeze us in this tiny table by the door. A few minutes later we were able to request a different table on the other side with some persistence.



I thought the flavors of the various curries I tried were good- not too spicy to accommodate a wider crowd- and I liked that they had the option of different naans (ie garlic instead of plain) and drinks as part of your lunch buffet, as well as samosas if you could get to it in time. The naan is fluffy and crispy, not like the dense flatbread at Aaleja.



Personally, I'm not a big fan of seafood curries or seafood in Indian food, so I didn't sample that, though they offered up some fried fish and seafood curry, as well as quite a few vegetarian options. The good thing with a buffet is that everyone can pick and choose what they want and it's a good way to sample more than one dish for the price of one dish.

You might not know that Alibaba Indian restaurant is there when walking by on the crowded street... it's on the second floor and this sign hangs in the stairway entrance.

not Taipei part ONE: BIG TOMY's, SOUPLANTATION, RED ROCK CASINO and SIN BALA

hi everyone!

Sorry for the long blogging vacation. Actually my three plus year old Powerbook G4 decided to crash over the holidays.

Luckily, it was before the Applecare insurance expires mid January.

Unluckily, Apple Stores/Genius Bars don't do data recovery.

So luckily, the nice people at Computech SOS were able to recover pretty much all my data from my failing hard drive, replace it and move all the old stuff to the new drive. There are still some kinks I'm working out (they didn't restore my address book, so I have to do an "add email" to all my emails) and I had to do a software update to fix the iTunes and Quicktime before I could open it.

But I was definitely very SAD for a few weeks before I knew for sure whether or not they could recover all my photos and videos (apparently 35 gigs worth!)- so this is my warning to you- back up your data!!! Whether it's to an external hard drive or to CD/DVD or somewhere else online, it's totally better than the last resort of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars of having an expert do it for you!

Anyways, as always, I have been eating lots of great food over here. Some highlights:

Gyros and chili cheese fries from BIG TOMY's- YUM! Although I like the gyros from The Great Greek better (on Olympic and Bundy), you can't beat the chili cheese fries here. It's open 24 hours and there is Orange Bang to wash it down with. Three things that pretty much don't exist in Taipei.



SOUPLANTATION offers an all you can eat variety of soups, salads, pasta and breads/muffins, as well as a frozen yogurt machine and fruit. It's not the most gourmet thing in the world, but it's comfort food and the price is right, seeing that most salads these days are $6-$15 and soups are at least $3-6 a bowl. Personally, my favorites are the chinese chicken salad, the chili, the clam chowder and the chicken noodle soup. Plus gotta get the blueberry muffins, cornbread and a bit of froyo, but avoid the pastas- always seem very bland.



After overloading on food in Vegas, we had a simple brunch before we headed back to LA. An off the strip hotel, the cafe at RED ROCK CASINO offered a variety of breakfast and lunch options. My strawberry waffle didn't disappoint (at about $8) with a light crispy texture, lots of sliced strawberries, and sauce or maple syrup to drizzle on it. I also thought their Griddle breakfast (at about $10) was a great deal with 3 eggs, hashbrowns, sausages and ham steak. BTW- pretty packed for an off the strip casino (about a 20-30 minute wait for Sunday brunch) and looks like a glitzy strip hotel, but off on its own with an in-house bowling alley and movie theater.



Lastly, haven't had Chinese food in awhile and ended up at SIN BALA, a shaved ice/Taiwanese food cafe in Arcadia. Their specialty seems to be chinese sausages, but I ended up getting a Squid Potage vermicelli soup and sharing a shaved ice with my family. Personally, I don't love the black sugar syrup on the shaved ice (about $4) (it's got a strong flavor, almost gingery to me) (just pour on the condensed milk please!) but you can request it without it the next time. Five toppings are included and piled underneath the shaved ice- this time we got red bean, rice mochi balls, ai-yu and boba along with the condensed milk. It was not the best shaved ice I've ever had, but passable. They also have other small eats like oyster omelet (also vegetarian style with mushroom), wonton noodle soup, and scallion pancake. I also thought the service was pretty nice and friendly.




BIG TOMY's
11289 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 479-0601

SOUPLANTATION
21309 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 540-4998
and other locations

Grand Cafe at
RED ROCK CASINO
11011 W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89135
(702) 797.7777

SIN BALA
651 W Duarte Rd. Ste F
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-0886

happy holidays y'all

hey everyone.. I'm back in LA trying to get over my jetlag in less than a week... I thought I had it beat, but it's 1235pm on the 4th day back and I can barely keep my eyes open. I will try to update a few more backlogged entries before I head back at the end of January, but wishing everyone a happy holiday and happy new year!

Aren't the cookies above super cute? I found it from pinkcakebox.com. If you feel like holiday stuff, I spotted holiday cupcakes and frosted cookies at Ginjer Cakes.. But it's always more fun to make them yourself so you can eat them hot out of the oven... if you are lucky enough to have an oven in Taipei, that is.

CLOSED american: SWENSEN's

SWENSEN's
No. 109, Jen Ai Rd, Sec 4
(02) 2772-3696
This location closed this year 2016. It is now a Mighty Quinn's. But it moved to Minsheng E. Road

website: swensens.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 24 hours at this location

$-$$

Kid friendliness: high chairs, crayons spotted

Visit reviewed: 10/26/2007

I think that I visited Swensen's in Taipei when I was a kid, but I can't be sure. Before all you had so many selections for American food, Swensen's was the place to go (next to Sizzler.. remember when Sizzler was THE American place to go in Taipei? hahah). Now it's sort of the Denny's of Taipei with its late night hours, generic American menu and breakfasts- not to mention its decor, service, prices and food.



When you walk in, you see the ice cream right away and they have pints of ice cream for you to take away, as well as milkshakes and sundaes if you sit down. The English and Chinese menu has many pictures and offers a few things each of a wide range of appetizers, salads, soups, steak(NT$530-620), ribs, chicken, seafood, pastas, fish n chips, sandwiches and burgers- as well as scoops of your favorite ice cream and drinks- and breakfasts like omelettes, french toast, pancakes and eggs (NT$130-225). They also have some unique offerings like german pig knuckle (NT$499), mexican chicken burger (NT$260), and european, indian or thai curry (NT$260-299)

For NT$180 for a milkshake, I expected it to be diner-sized, meaning in a full glass with a silver shaker of more milky ice cream goodness to refill yourself. Instead we got a slim tall glass. It is actually plenty for lunch, with the richness and flavors, but still expensive for the amount that you are getting.



On this day, we got a set menu special because it was Mon - Fri between 11am- 5pm of adding NT$10 to any entree and getting a set meal (meaning w/ a soup or salad and beverage or dessert. Extra for milkshake. The French Onion soup was decent, though there was no melted cheese anywhere.



The mushroom hamburger my friend got (NT$260) was sizeable, though I thought they were skimpy on the fries. However, I had a sort of weird experience with my club sandwich. When you order, you have the option of ham or grilled chicken. When I ordered, I said "ji" or chicken in Chinese when the waiter asked me which I wanted. When the sandwich came, it had ham, which looked decent, but we pointed it out still and the waiter (different from the one that took the order) just took it back to the kitchen.

Then a few minutes later, the waiter that took the order came back with a look on his face- don't know if he was angry or annoyed, but definitely not happy. He said we ordered "ham and cheese" and I said, "no, I ordered chicken." I guess he misheard my "ji" for "cheese," but he also didn't repeat my order for what I said for confirmation. Either way, I figured they would just redo it with no problem, but it was sort of strange the attitude he was giving us.

When the grilled club finally did come about 10 minutes later, it was more less plump and juicy than I had imagined and I should have just taken the ham and not said anything.



I don't know. Do you guys send stuff back if it's not what you ordered, or what point do you just keep it? Personally, I think the attitude does make all the difference. We were even nervous that they might have done something to our sandwich (which I know is rare these days, right?) and they probably didn't, but it just made the sandwich all the less appetizing.


OTHER SWENSEN's LOCATIONS (free delivery within 2 km radius with minimum NT500 order)

Tien Mu
2, Lane 14 Chung Shan N. Road, Sec 7
(02) 2875-3361
hours: 730am - 3 am

Trade Center
81 Keelung Road, Sec 2
(02) 2735-3696
Hours: 730am - 2 am

Tun Hwa
218 Tun Hwa N. Road
(02) 2715-2754
hours: 730am - 2 am

Nei Hu
306 Ming Chuan E Road, Sec 6
(02) 2632-1983
hours: 730am - 2 am

organic/western: i recommend NONZERO

NONZERO
N0.5, Alley 4, Lane27, Ren-Ai Road, Sec. 4
(02) 2772-1630

hours: 11:30AM - 2:30 PM，6:00PM - 10:00 PM

$$

Kid friendliness: one large table with bench style seating with smaller table/seating around. no high chairs but room for strollers.

Visit reviewed: 11/16/2007

Argh! I hate rewriting something that I've already written, trying to make it the same which is impossible. My computer froze and the alledged blogger autodraft failed me. Miserably. So here goes my attempt #2 at Nonzero.

Organic foods and restaurants are part of the latest trend in being healthy and treating our bodies right, and Taipei is no exception. I've heard about a few other organic restaurants and even home delivery services, but the first time I heard of Nonzero was when we went. Nonzero's menu is not huge, but offers a few options for salads, appetizers, pastas and grilled meats in English and Chinese. I imagine it's quite seasonal like most organic based restaurants. We got the set menu which included soup, daily special and dessert for about NT$550.

It's also a bright cool space with a huge rectangular wooden table with family style seating with a few typical tables on teh side. There is also a small take-home shopping area in the back of fresh vegetables and such. Our friends who introduced us to Nonzero said their brunch is also quite good. They also had fresh bread (with raisins. ick) and olive oil before the food came as well as some homegrown raisins on the stem (double ick. Can you tell I don't like raisins).

I loved the hearty vegetable soup which was light and flavorful, as well as the ala carte sweet roasted peppers salad (NT$180).



I also thought my friend's seafood creme linguine (changed to vegetarian) was creamy but not heavy and my own roasted chicken was too dry with slightly underseasoned sauteed mushrooms.




The set menu also came with a grilled pear which was not too sweet.



Maybe I did feel a little bit healthier after lunch. Don't know how the other grilled meats turn out based on my disappointing chicken. I could definitely go again for soup and salad since great fresh salads seem to be hard to find in Taipei, and maybe check out brunch. Sometimes you can only take enough of the watered down cream soups that seem to be so popular as part of set menus in Taipei (you know what I'm talking about?)

coffee/tea: BARISTA COFFEE

BARISTA COFFEE
lots of locations
look for the red and black circular logo

website: barista.com.tw English and Chinese

hours: 7am- 12midnight, most locations

$

Kid friendliness: cafe like environment like Starbucks

Visit reviewed: 11/18/2007

Felt like a bagel that day to go with a vanilla latte and a place to sit down. Barista had bagel sandwiches. They let me order a bagel ala carte, but they didn't have any cream cheese. They offered strawberry jam or butter. The bagel was served warm, but not toasted.. it was a more bread-like bagel than chewy bagel like those offered at NY Bagel.

You've probably spotted these around town- the website says they've been around since 1997. Their coffees/teas range from NT$100-150. I'm not a huge coffee drinker and I like it on the sweet side, so I tend to favor Starbucks and Coffee Bean for their vanilla lattes. The latte here was not bad and not bitter (which I can't do).

The servers probably understand less English than you would get at Starbucks... but pointing helps too.

american: i strongly recommend LAWRY's

LAWRY's
in Living Core Mall
No. 138, Pateh Road, Section 4
(02) 3762-1312

Edit 2021: They've moved TWICE. Check out their new address and photos here in the updated post! 

website: lawrys.com.tw

hours: Lunch M-F 11:30 AM -2:30 PM / Sat, Sun and Holidays 11:30 AM -3PM
Dinner Sun-Thurs 5:30 PM - 10 PM / Fri, Sat, and Holiday eve 5:30--11PM

$$$

Kid friendliness: didn't see any kids that night but I'm sure they are accomodating. they have a kid's club on their website.

Visit reviewed: 11/14/2007

Surprisingly, this was my first visit to Lawry's in Taipei. But definitely not my last. For anyone who's been to Lawry's in the states, it's pretty much the same from the decor to the English maid outfits the waitresses wear to the spinning salad presentation to the silver rollcart Prime Rib. For me, it's good that there are no weird tweaks for the local palate- you get Lawry's the way that you've grown to love it. The prices are also about the same as the states, no crazy mark-up like the reliable Mac Grill and Chili's, with the menu in English and Chinese that has various size cuts for various size appetites.

I didn't realize until I took my cousin from NY that Lawry's actually has such few locations for a "chain" restaurant- Los Angeles and Las Vegas are the ones that I've eaten at... there's also ones in Chicago, Dallas, Singapore and Tokyo. I've also really enjoyed the Lawry's Carvery at South Coast Plaza in Orange County which is like an express version- prime rib for $15? Yes please!

What? Wow! On their website they said that there's one open at Century City Mall now!!! Totally eating there when I'm back in LA.

Okay, okay, back to Taipei. First of all, they are doing some remodeling at the Living Mall (which is the one that looks like a giant ball from the outside).. so you have to do some looking to get yourself to the 11th or 12th floor. We took the elevator to the 11th floor and found the entrance to which we had to climb stairs to the 12th. There was no "host/hostess" at the stairway entrance, but we made our way around to the bar/main entry and was seated. We did have some trouble when we left though- we tried to leave the way we came in, though the stairway was pitch black and then we discovered the door was locked at the bottom. So go through the entrance/exit near the bar if you come in through the stairway.

When ordering, they will ask you how rare you want your prime rib. In Taiwan, they do it by numbers. 10 is well done, 7 is medium, 5 is medium rare.

After ordering, they bring out the bread. It was served room temperature and soft- not too appetizing- I like my bread toasty.



I wanted to take a picture of the waitress spinning the salad, but I didn't want to seem like a TOTAL tourist. It's fun to watch for the first time, but what I got a kick out of this time was the super cold fork and plate they serve the salad with. Their Vintage Dressing is slightly sweet and tangy, and I really like the buttery croutons.



All their prime rib sets (NT$1400- $2250) come with a salad, mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding (kind of like a soft bread) and horseradish (either creamy or grated). I suggest you also get the creamed corn side(NT$180)- it's probably all heavy cream and butter, but it's sweet and makes me want to eat the whole thing. I sometimes feel like the creamed spinach(NT$180), but it can be a bit heavy. They also have steamed asapargus and mushrooms. The sides aren't huge for the price, but shareable. For seafood lovers, they also have lobster tail and shrimp cocktail, though I find at most steak places that you should stick to the meat!



This is the Lawry's cut (NT$1590) which is their traditional cut. I didn't finish it (the leftovers were good the next day too!) since the California cut is probably just the right size, and they do a English thin sliced cut as well, which I think defeats the point of prime rib. he he.



I noticed a lot of people celebrating birthdays and English speakers as well that night. It's a nice place to celebrate a special occasion or take a date, or just go for some delicious prime rib when the craving hits you.

Man, I'm excited thinking about Lawry's Carvery at Century City Mall. hahahah.

revisited/pizza/italian: i recommend COSI O COSI

COSI O COSI
No. 155, DunHua S. Rd., Sec 1
(02) 2771-5883

Lunch 12 pm-2:30 pm,
Dinner/ 6:30-11 pm ( last orders 10:30 pm)

kid friendliness: high chairs available, pretty friendly service

$$

Visit reviewed: 11/21/2007
Original review: 5/18/2006 and 3/27/2005 here

Deciding to eat at Cosi O Cosi on a weeknight, I was honestly surprised to find it so packed. We ended up on the 2nd floor for the first time, which was at first HOT near the ovens and kitchen, but much cooler once they opened the windows to the patio. It also felt a bit more romantic at night on the 2nd floor with the dimmer lighting somehow.

I still love the crostinis which include 2 slices each of olive tapenade and bruschetta on thick slices of toast, and the clam linguini which I said in my original review is "simple, but flavorful." I still think the best way to go is to do family style with a group of friends so you can sample everything.

The pizza hit the spot. Thin crust with a variety of topping selections- we went for the artichoke, mushroom, ham and mozzarella. I liked the tangy-ness of the artichoke to cut the grease of everything else. We also tried the calzone which was a puffed up huge balloon that quickly deflated when you cut it. Something about it - maybe in comparison to the pizza, or in comparison to the yummy calzone from Bellini Bellini, we were a bit underwhelmed. So stick to the pizzas here.



There's also daily specials and a short menu of tapas. The menu is in English and Chinese with mostly pizzas and pastas at $260-$420 NT, with a few salads, appetizers and desserts available.

where to find...thanksgiving 2007 research wrap up

Where to find... Thanksgiving 2007 research results! It might be a little late to order take out for tomorrow, but try calling to make a reservation if you want to try and have turkey tomorrow somewhere. I'm saving the information for next year, hopefully it will be more or less the same. If you try any of them, please let us know what you liked and didn't like!!

TAKE OUT

CHECKER's at CAESAR PARK TAIPEI(thanks Lili!)
across from Taipei Train Station on Chung Hsiao West Road
(02) 2311-5151, extension 2237 / 2238
from 11/15-12/31 (48 hours notice)

Choose from
Whole Thanksgiving Turkey (5~7 kg) NT $2800 or
Whole Thanksgiving large Turkey (7~9 kg) NT$3,800
Includes Red Raspberry sauce, homemade meat sauce, Honey Sweet potatoes, marinated cabbage, and Turkey stuffing
option to include 9" pumpkin pie and gift basket add NT$200

Baked ham with honey (approx 3 kg) —NT$1,100
Includes Pineapple sauce (Add NT$999 for gift basket)

Homemade Pumpkin Pie (approx 9 inches)(Add NT$399 for gift basket)
NT$480

azie at GRAND FORMOSA REGENT HOTEL (LAI LAI)
41 Chung Shan N. Road, Sec 2
(02)2523-8000 ext 3157
from 11/18 - 12/24 (at least 3 days notice)

Turkey Basket for Takeout (NT$2,750)
6kg turkey with stuffing, traditional cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, various steamed vegetables, mashed potato, and a special Turkey Leftover Cookbook for guests to transform leftovers.
7-inch Pumpkin Pie is also available for NT$500.

LANDIS TAIPEI HOTEL
41 Min Chuan East Road, Section 2
(02)2598-5558
3 days notice

Roast cranberry turkey (6 to 6.5 kg) for six or eight persons. (NT$3,200)
with 6-inch pumpkin pie.

COSMOPOLITAN GRILL (thanks Raven!)
218 Changchun Road, Taipei
2508- 0304
limited availability

Whole Turkey (16 lbs) with Gravy $2800
Whole Turkey (16 lbs) with Stuffing & Gravy $3300
Whole Pumpkin Pie (9”) $650

EAT IN

LAWRY's
Core Living Mall, 12 FL
NO. 138 Pateh Road, Sec 4
(02) 3762-1312
11/22 only

NT$2299 + 10%/per person
Roast Turkey or Prime Rib
Salad and bread
Asparagus with bacon
Pumpkin pie
Glass of wine

DAN RYAN's
8 Dun Hua North Road
Tel: (02) 2778-8800
11/22 only $980/person

Seafood Pumpkin Soup
House Garden Salad
Roasted Turkey with mashed Potatoes (spuds !!!)
Turkey Stuffing & Homemade Gravy
Candied Yams, Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie

CAPONE's
No. 312 Chung Hsiao E Road, Sec 4
(02) 2773-3782
11/22 ONLY
$790+10%/Person

Cranberry Salad With Gorgonzola , Chicken ,Walnuts
Bread Basket
Pumpkin Cream Soup
Roast Turkey With Cranberry sauce ,Honey Ham ,Candied Yam and Corn
Pumpkin Pie with Ice Cream Covered and Cranberry Sauce

After calling, the information on the web seems to contradict what the hotel is saying. There is only Take out from Azie, no eat in. The dining in at Robin's DOES include turkey though the website says it does not.

Robin's Grill and Teppan at GRAND FORMOSA REGENT HOTEL (LAI LAI)
41 Chung Shan N. Road, Sec 2
(02)2523-8000 ext 3157
on 11/22 ONLY
NT$1,350 per person for Lunch and NT$1,550 per person for Dinner. 12pm - 2pm
6pm - 10pm

Choose soup: Butternut pumpkin soup with crab and lemongrass flavor or Chestnut cream soup with morel and black truffle
Appetizer and salad bar: Pumpkin lune with scallop and rosemary butter
Choose main course: Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey with giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, glazed sweet potato, brussel sprout with bacon and truffle mashed potato
or
Roasted US prime rib of beef with bordelaise sauce,
or
Surf n’ Turf with 3oz fillet stea, half rock lobster thermidor and grilled halibut
Choose dessert: Pumpkin and blueberry cheesecake or Pecan pie with pumpkin sorbet accompanied by Coffee or tea.

COSMOPOLITAN GRILL (thanks Raven!)
218 Changchun Road, Taipei
2508- 0304
NT$800 + 10% for Person

Relish Tray
Pumpkin Soup
Roast Turkey with Mashed Potatoes, Brown Gravy and Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Pumpkin Pie

LAWRY's
Core Living Mall, 12 FL
NO. 138 Pateh Road, Sec 4
(02) 3762-1312

Take out NT$2500
Roast turkey 6.5 for 8
a bottle of Red Wine
Pumpkin Pie
order by 11/21 3pm

RUMORED TO HAVE:

EAT IN

CAFE at GRAND HYATT TAIPEI
No.2, Sung Shou Road, 1FL
Taipei, Taiwan
(02) 2720-1234
on 11/22 only
Roasted turkey part of the regular buffet

Grandma Nitti's
8, Lane 93, Shi Da Road
Taipei 106 Taiwan
(02) 2369 9751
Eat in and take out

JAKE's COUNTRY CAFE
705 Zhongshan N Rd, Sec 6, Taipei
(02) 2871 5289
turkey for 6-8 people with stuffing and gravy NT$2300
Eat in and take out

TAKE OUT

JASON's SUPERMARKET at 101
5 days advance notice
Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and tea

COSTCO
frozen turkeys 6kg for NT$750-1000

DEAN AND DELUCA(at Breeze)
Breeze Center, B2F
N0.39, Fu-Hsin S Road. Sec 1
Taipei 105
(02) 6600-8888 ext 7301
$2800

SHERATON TAIPEI HOTEL
12, Chung Hsiao E Road, Sec 1
(02) 2321-5511

Basket with turkey and trimmings -stuffing, 3 different sauces, veggies, etc.- for 3000. Order 3 days ahead at least.

AGORA GARDENS HOTEL
No. 68, Sung-Kao, Rd.
02-8780-5168
Package for 2500NT

WELLCOME SUPERMARKETS

dessert: I recommend DOUBLE RAINBOW

DOUBLE RAINBOW ICE CREAM
at new green Sogo, B2
No. 300, Chung Hsiao East Road, Sec 3 (at FuXing)
(02)

website: sogo.com.tw Chinese only
doublerainbow.com English only

$

Kid friendliness: what kid doesn't love ice cream?

Visit reviewed: 10/29/2007

I was pretty greedy to think that I could eat two scoops of ice cream. But I have to admit the scoops from Double Rainbow near the food court at the green Sogo were larger than I thought they would be!

After sampling various flavors, I picked mint chocolate chip and coffee almond fudge. Afterwards, I regretted getting the mint chocolate chip (bit too sweet, not minty enough.. I actually really like Movenpick's mint chocolate chips w/ the chocolate chunks) and wanted more coffee almond fudge (it's the closest thing to 31 Baskin Robbins' Jamoca Almond Fudge here... mmmm).

Double Rainbow might bring some nostalgia for those from the Bay Area since it's an import from San Francisco. It's not as glitzy as Coldstone's or well known as Haagen Daaz, but it's definitely worth a try! They also offer sundaes, waffle cones and about 12 flavors.

chinese: i recommend green onion pancake from RANDOM STREET VENDOR

RANDOM STREET VENDOR
near Dun Hua Eslite
Dun Hua S Road/ Ren Ai Road

hours: spotted in late afternoon/evening

$

Visit reviewed: 10/26/2007

Mmmm. Scallion pancake or tsong yo bing . A perfect snack to go. This particular vendor's green onion pancake was flat and crispy and hot! I don't like it too doughy so this was perfect. It was so hot that you had to play hot potato with it before taking a bite. For NT$30, I got a half order which was 5-6 pieces and actually enough to share as a snack because the pieces were huge.

There is sauce on the cart that you can add, but he suggested eating the original flavor. You can also add egg for more NT, but I like it without egg.


you gotta love Taiwan English

I think I also spotted a dumpling vendor across from him, but the smell of freshly fried pancake totally got me. Located near the alley of the office building to the right of the 24 hour Dun Hua S Road Eslite.


PS.. still researching this Thanksgiving in Taipei thing and hopefully over a nasty cold.. not an easy task! Something LETHAL is going around town. But some interesting contenders that I'm researching... all seem to range in the NT$2000-$4000 range, and not having eaten at most of these places, don't know what their guidelines are for home cooking tastes!

Post Home
Jake's Country Cafe
Grandma Nitti's
Jimmy's
Grand Regent Hotel
Lawry's
Jason's at 101
Costco
Dan Ryan's
Dean and Deluca (at Breeze)

where can you find... thanksgiving dinner in Taipei?

A great question emailed to me by reader Joe W.- where to find a good thanksgiving dinner in Taipei? For many Americans, that's probably a top question on our minds since it's already November and it's not really a Taiwanese holiday!

If you are doing turkey day at home, you can do the slave over a hot stove all day thing or you could order a package from a restaurant. I spotted an ad last year from Post Home for a turkey with all the sides package that I was seriously considering for this year. I also spotted a pre-cooked turkey by a chef at the Grand Hyatt sold in limited editions at Costco in the previous years- don't know if that happens every year.

If you are looking for a sit-down turkey dinner, where to go? Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm sure MUST be some good places to go. Can you just drop in or do you have to make reservations? Will there be candied yams and stuffing (my personal favorites)?

Or do you just have Chinese food like any other day here?

Let us know!

afternoon tea/dessert/italian: SABATINI TAIPEI

Trattoria Pizzeria SABATINI TAIPEI
at new green Sogo, 11 FL
No. 300, Chung Hsiao East Road, Sec 3 (at FuXing)
(02) 8772-1237

website: sabatini.co.jp in Japanese only

hours: 11:30 AM - 11:30PM (last orders at 10:30PM)

$$

Visit reviewed: 5/4/2007



Don't confuse this Sabatini as a new branch for the locally owned Sabatini Cucina on Chang An like I did with their similarly elegant atmosphere and friendly service. Apparently, it's a Italian restaurant from Japan- but either way, it's a very nice place to sit down and chat have some afternoon tea after a morning of shopping or walking around with your relatives (which is what we did).



While most of us were too full to have the afternoon tea buffet (NT$299), it seemed like quite a good deal. All you could eat tiramisu, panna cotta, sorbet, pizza and coffee or tea for a set price that was about the same as one drink and dessert. A good option for business meeting, ladies who lunch or even an afternoon date.



It wasn't very crowded and we were allowed to linger and relax. Everything tasted pretty good and I was very curious about their pizzas which seemed made fresh by request, and definitely eyed my Uncle's glass of mini scoops of sorbet. I will have to come back and check out the lunch or dinner menu sometime again soon, although I'm not encouraged by lone locust's review of their pizzas.

Located on the 11th floor of the green Sogo, check out the Japanese gardens and the view of the busy street below if you get a chance.

where can you find... the best waffles in Taipei?

When I first moved back to Taipei, I always had a lot of questions about where to find this or that.. I want to try something new because I know there are a lot of people who visit the site who actually do live and eat in Taipei with some great knowledge (though some of you just come to look at pictures of xiao long bao or beef noodle soup. hahah), or are looking for something in particular.

So I want to try every week to post "where can you find..." something and PLEASE respond if you have an opinion.

Also- if you have been LOOKING for something, let me know, either in the comments section or email and I will post it up in a future "where can you find..." and hopefully our fellow readers (lurkers!) will help us out.

So this week- where can you find the best waffles in Taipei?

Some places I've spotted waffles- coffee shops, McCafe, Hyatt Cafe, Big Tom's, Joyce Cafe- where it's more for afternoon tea or dessert.

I think the best waffles I've had in Taipei were at the Formosa Regent Hotel. That was a few years ago so I should go back to refresh my memory and see if it's still the same. I like my waffles light, airy and crisp, not thick and cake-like which tend to be the case here.


not taipei: from the Campanile in LA


Also if you make your own waffles at home, what's your favorite recipe or where do you get the mix or waffle makers? I find it easier to use a mix as a base and add a few things. While they have Krusteaz at Costco and various Japanese brands at the supermarkets, I haven't been able to find Betty Crocker here so I actually brought a box back from the states... I think I will bring back a waffle maker too on my next trip around.


AZIE at Grand Formosa Regent Hotel
41 Chung Shan N. Road, Sec 2
(02) 2523-8000 ext 3157

CAFE at GRAND HYATT TAIPEI
No.2, Sung Shou Road, 1FL
Taipei, Taiwan
(02) 2720 1234

JOYCE CAFE
No. 22, Ching Cheng St
(02) 2713-8362

What have you been looking for?? :)

edited 4/2009

I think all this time I had the Grand Formosa hotel confused with the Far Eastern hotel.. and I think that the good waffles I had years ago was at the Far Eastern since the Grand Formosa revisited was NOT good. I will have to revisit the Far Eastern sometime and see, and it makes sense since it's a Shangri La hotel.

chinese: i strongly recommend KAO CHI

KAO CHI
5 Yongkang Street
(02) 2341-9984

website: kao-chi.com

11 AM- 10 PM, Mon- Fri
8:30AM- 10:30PM, Sat and Sun

$-$$

Kid friendliness: didn't spot high chairs, but can't imagine that this restaurant isn't bustling with families and kids during their weekends and nights.

Visit reviewed:10/18/2007



Take your out of town friends to Din Tai Fung. But impress your local friends or relatives by taking them to the nearby Kao Chi or when there's too much of a wait at DTF. With xiao long bao that's just as good (and cheaper!) and a much more extensive menu of Shanghai and Chinese deliciousness including shanghai fried stuffed buns, beef noodle soup, dim sum, stir fried rice cakes, veggies, seafood and desserts like cool almond tofu, I was surprised I hadn't heard of or been taken to this almost 60 year old establishment earlier.



Complete review and more pics to come...

Other location (new):

152, FuXing S Rd, Sec 1
(02) 2751-9393
Hours:8 am-11:30 pm