Monday, May 23, 2011

desserts/delivery: i recommend LA CUISINE DE MAMAN



La Cuisine de Maman
0980-392-160 Miss Peng
0988-513-551 Judy

website: La Cuisine de Maman's Facebook page

$-$$

Kid friendliness: large enough to share, if you want to.

Visit reviewed: 3/29/2011


Nothing like surprises for your birthday, wrapped in pretty pink packages and a satin bow. 


The surprise is made even sweeter when it has desserts inside! Thanks to my friend and fellow food lover, I got to enjoy homemade desserts without doing any baking. La Cuisine de Maman doesn't have a storefront, but a gander at their Facebook page shows that they sell homemade 6 or 8 inch apple or strawberry pies (NT$220-380) with various shipping costs. When my friend told me I was getting an apple pie, the words conjured up American style pie topped with pie crust- but instead it was an intricately made, open faced apple tart.


I admired the methodical cutting of the apple slices and placement to make a beautiful flower-like pie. I found the apples crisper rather than soft, and less sweet than I'd usually like, but probably perfectly suited for lighter Taiwanese tastebuds.



The strawberry tart was also emphasizing the fruit's natural sweetness rather than overloading it with sugary syrup. 

Pull it out with the waxy tissue paper. 


This would be awesome with a scoop of ice cream. 


I could see this as an "ooh and aah" alternative for cake for birthdays, Mother's Day, anniversaries, or baby showers.

A slice of each is the perfect accompaniment to catching up on the Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy or Gossip Girl. What a perfect way to welcome summer.




Friday, May 20, 2011

CLOSED! american/burgers: i recommend CHEESE DAVID



CHEESE DAVID
or CHI SU DA WEI
No. 102, Kun Ming St.
(02)2311-1800

Closed around 2013

MRT: Ximen

website: ximen.com.tw mostly Chinese

hours: 11:30AM-10PM; closes 10:30PM on Friday/Sat

$-$$

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted. fast casual seating on 2nd and 3rd floors, stairs only

Visit reviewed: 4/14/2011


After moving back to Taipei, I found myself craving all sorts of things that I never gave a second thought to in the states. Fajitas. Subway cookies. Meatballs. And philly cheesesteaks.

So when I heard about a philly cheesesteak place opened in Taipei, I knew I had to give it shot, especially after hearing that it was opened by a Taiwanese American who lived in Philly and had moved back to Taiwan.

There's probably a good portion of Taiwanese people who have never been to Philadelphia, so this would be their first exposure to a philly cheesesteak. I've never had a cheesesteak in Philly either, so I can only imagine how awesome they might be. My memories of the smell and sizzle of philly cheesesteaks are from Steak Escape at the Galleria Mall in LA (but I think I usually ended up with Chick-A-Fil or the orange chicken from Panda Express).

Cheese David is located in Ximending, closer to the theaters than to the MRT stop. Once you get onto E Mei St., it's easy to spot with its red and white three stories.




The plastic menus have English and Chinese as well as pictures. Besides cheesesteaks, there are burgers, chicken sub sandwiches and tuna salad sandwiches. I was also surprised to see waffles and desserts on the menu, though the desserts looked slightly Costco-ish.


Once we placed our order at the counter, we had to wait for the food to take it upstairs where the seating is. So I wandered over to the window where they were grilling up the beef and spotted the tub of cheese sauce. Scoops of cheese sauce going on fries, going on cheesesteaks.


It looks pretty promising...



I have to admit that the packaging and concept is pretty well thought out. The bright orange logo is on all the wrappers and cups and the cheesesteak even has a sticker with the cartoon image of Cheese David.


Upstairs, we can't wait to dig in. I asked them to cut the cheesesteak (NT$185 set meal) and burger in half so my friend and I can each try half. 


I wished there was more steak after my first few bites. At least twice as much, if not more. Is it too American of me to want a huge pile of meat overflowing out of the bun, or is that a reasonable expectation for a philly cheesesteak? Just google "philly cheesesteak" if you want to see what I mean. 
So I can't help but to be a little disappointed, even though the flavors are good, especially if you enjoy gooey cheese whiz-like cheese sauce.


The burger (NT$175 set meal) is decent too, with a better meat to bun ratio, though the bread on the cheesesteak is better than the bun on the burger. It's a good size and I can't really think of other burger places in the Ximending area besides McD's. And I devoured my cup of cheese fries and probably some of my friend's. 


I can imagine how this place is popular with people looking for something different and there seem to be a lot of students hanging out and studying in the seating area. Hard core cheesesteak lovers might want something more, but for some looking for a taste of "home," this might do the trick.


At the end of the meal, most of my friends agreed that we might not come out of our way for a second visit, (especially since I had started experimenting with making my own cheesesteaks at home!) but it is worth trying once to see if you like it or not. I could totally see how if you're really jonesing for cheese fries, and in the area, Cheese David wouldn't be a bad place to hang out for an hour or two.

Monday, May 16, 2011

thai/revisited: i still strongly recommend PATIO THAI




ED NOTE: This location closed a/o 5/2011, but should reopen in 6/2011 as a different Thai restaurant. maybe under different management or owners?

PATIO THAI
No. 12, Alley 247, Dun Hua S. Rd., Sec.1
(02) 2731-5288

website: patiogroup.com (in English, but incomplete menu online)

lunch: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
dinner: 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

$$

Visit reviewed: 2/17/2011
previously reviewed: 11/24/2008 & 3/9/2007





Pleasantly surprised once again by the food at Patio Thai, though I liked the appetizers and thai style fried rice noodles with prawns (NT$300) more than the curry. Having had some bad pad thai recently, Patio Thai's pad thai is clearly on the sweet side which is the way I like it. I know that's not how everyone likes it, but I'd go back for this dish alone. The chewiness of the rice noodles are enhanced by the tofu puffs and crunchy peanuts and we had to order another dish when this one was quickly finished. I might say this is my favorite pad thai in Taipei.



The sizeable menu is easy to browse, in English and Chinese.



Go with a lot of people so you can order a bunch of appetizers to share. The trio of golden fried chicken spring rolls, prawns pouch and vegetable cigar appetizer platter (NT$280) with fried tidbits reminded me of the combo platters we'd get in Chinese restaurants back home...


the duo of chicken, beef and prawns satay (NT$300) with all the peanut sauce poured on already...



the crispy soft shell crab...



prawn cakes (NT$290) with another sweet dipping sauce....



crispy golden fried chicken with chili, garlic and pepper (NT$320)...


Man, I just noticed most of our appetizers were fried. Okay, order some veggies to balance it out... morning glory with shrimp paste.




I end up ordering this grilled beef fillet in green curry with bamboo shoots, aubergines and sweet basil almost every time and not loving it every time. Oh well. It's quite spicy for those of you looking for some fire. Next time I'll have to remember to look for those little chili peppers marking the spicy items on the menu.



I enjoyed our Tom Kha seafood in coconut galangal soup even though it came towards the end of our meal (instead of the beginning). It's sour like Tom Yum soup, but also sweet because it has coconut milk in it. One of my friends was confused by the flavors and said it tasted like slightly sour milk to her. I don't think it tastes like that because I like it, but some may be put off by the combination of the milky, sour and sweet.



The best thing about Patio Thai is it's usually not crowded so I enjoy the tranquil and lovely setting and friendly service.

OTHER LOCATIONS

No.28 Ren-Ai Rd.,Sec 3, 7-3F,
(02) 2700-8618

at Sogo
No. 45, Chung-Hsiao East Rd., Sec. 4, 11F,
(02) 2721-5998

Friday, May 13, 2011

revisited/dessert: i still strongly recommend macarons at PATISSERIE LA DOCEUR

Balsamic vinegar, salted chocolate, wasabi & vanilla macarons

PATISSERIE LA DOUCEUR
No. 223 JinHua St.
(02) 3322-2833

website: ladouceur.com.tw Chinese only

hours: 1PM - 9PM; fri/sat until 10PM

$

Kid friendliness: small space, but a few couch areas in the back

visit reviewed: 2/24/2011 & 5/7/2011

last visit reviewed: 5/2009


Balsamic vinegar, wasabi, olive oil, truffles- these might sound more like seasonings to a meal rather than macaron flavors, but Patisserie La Douceur offers some of the most unique and tasty flavors I've yet to try. (The last time I had macarons from Paul and Sadaharu Aoki, I found them to be too sweet. Gasp! #livinginTaipeitoolong?) The colorful confections can also be gifted in some of their adorable packaging.


Each morsel is not cheap though as this plate of four was almost NT$300. That's one way to make you savor each bite. The wasabi is not as spicy as I expected it might be and the balsamic & salted chocolate ended up being my favorites of the day.


The store is adorable inside and out and can fill up quite quickly during afternoon tea time.





I still love their made-to-order apples and caramel mousse mille-feuille and when it's strawberry season, they make an even larger one that is made of strawberries! These aren't on display, so be sure to ask about them unless one their cakes or gelato catches your eye.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

dessert/german: i recommend WENDEL'S GERMAN BAKERY AND BISTRO


WENDEL'S GERMAN BAKERY AND BISTRO
No. 28, Lane 260, GuangFu S. Rd.
(02) 2711-8919

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall

website: wendels-bakery.com English, Chinese and German

hours: 9AM - 10PM

$-$$

visits reviewed: 12/7/2010 and 5/5/2011


The first time I tried anything of Wendel's was at one of the TAS Food Fairs, where I devoured a small plate of sauteed mushrooms after waiting in a long line. So when I saw the familiar looking logo in the DaAn district, I was pleasantly surprised and excited to get to try out more from Taipei's famous German bakery.


I've never been to Wendel's bistro and bakery location in Tienmu, but Wendel's location in DaAn (newly opened last November) is a very enticing space with one side dedicated to freshly baked goods to eat there or take away and the other to seating which fills up very quickly these days. We were hoping to grab a table to sit on a weekday afternoon, but the place was packed.


So of course, I ended up browsing. A great place to browse for gifts or desserts to bring over to a friend or relatives house, including chocolates...


fruit tarts and cookies....


huge slices of Vienna apple cake, berry almond pudding, blueberry crumb cake or banana cake...


house specialty bretzels (aka pretzels)...


or an array of breads,  buns, danishes or almond kringles...



Even though I was full from lunch elsewhere, I still ended up with a bag full of goodies. Wendel's banana bread was marked a best seller and for good reason, the sweetness comes from mashed bananas and was moist and cake-like. I didn't like the olive focaccia, as much as the olive bread from Maison Keyser or Original Bakery, as I found it a tad dry, but I found myself addicted to the bretzel which was chewy and salty.


I definitely want to check out the dine in menu sometime, either for breakfast or lunch. Wendel's also offers seasonal specials, such as christmas cookies, turkey baskets and gingerbread house activities for Christmas, or special cakes for Mother's Day.


OTHER LOCATIONS:

No.5, Dexing West Rd.
Tienmu, Taipei
(02) 2831-4592 - deli
(02) 2831-4415 - bistro
MRT: Zhishan

Takashimaya branch, B1
No. 55, Sec. 2, Zhong Cheng Rd.,
Shilin
(02) 2834-5447

Lolli Gelato Q-square branch, B3
No. 1, Sec. 1, Cheng de Rd.,
(02) 2552-7926

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

western/revisited: i recommend Cubano sandwich at TOASTERIA


TOASTERIA
No. 2, Lane 248, Zhong Xiao E. Rd, Sec. 4
(02) 2731-8004

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall


hours: 11AM- 11PM; weekends until 12AM

$-$$

kid friendliness: the original location off of Zhongxiao has limited seating and is in a busy alley

visit reviewed: 4/26/2011
previous visit reviewed: 4/2008

Ever since I tried the cubano sandwich at Cubanos last December, I had been thinking about the sweet ham, the sour pickles, the juicy marinated pork and pillowy bread and how that combination made for a great sandwich, which was hard to find in Taipei. Unfortunately, shortly after I visited and before I had a chance to write it up, Cubanos was closed and being renovated, after being sold to a new owner, and the possibility of having that craving satisfied remained a doubtful reality.

That is until I heard about the cubano sandwich at Toasteria. I hadn't been back to Toasteria in years, probably after my initial few visits and review (I recommended it), since Toasteria had raised their prices, Costco started importing more sliced cheeses (pepper jack, colby jack, swiss, cheddar, havarti) and I got a Hello Kitty sandwich maker and started making my own grilled cheese at home.

But if you're craving a sandwich, Toasteria is worth revisiting, as it has over forty different sandwiches available on its menu.



Toasteria's Cubano is heavy on the mustard, which overpowers most of the other flavors in the sandwich. They use their regular sandwich bread (panini grilled crispy) and load it up with plenty of pickles, pork, onions and cheese. I got my sandwich to-go and they also included a small plastic bag of marinated olives and pickles, as well as a green dipping sauce (a pesto mayo?). If had to choose in a taste test, I'd prefer Cubano's version of the cubano which balanced the sweetness with the sour and mustard (and had better bread), but until the reopening, I'm happy to have this unusual sandwich available in Taipei.

Since my last review, Toasteria has opened a second, roomier location in the Shida area. Has anyone had sandwiches at their Shida cafe location? It looks like it comes with a ciabatta-type roll there which I think would definitely add to the cubano.



OTHER LOCATION:
Shida branch
No. 1, Lane 72, Yun He St.
02) 2365-3051

:)