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.

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

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

website: Toasteria's facebook page

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

Snapshot/dessert: i strongly recommend ice cream & saltines sandwich from TAIDA CAMPUS

I've seen ice cream sandwiches made from all sorts of cookies, but this is first time I've seen it with giant saltines!




It kind of works, especially for those who like the sweet and salty combo that's popular these days, for only NT$15. I love that the saltine is crispy, not soft and the ice cream is milky, not artificial tasting. My aunt brought some to us from the Taida campus store, where there are also frozen treats like red bean and peanut popsicles or bing bang. I'll have to try it next time I have some saltines and ice cream at home.

desserts/events: 2011 TAIPEI INTERNATIONAL BAKING SHOW

I had my eye on the 2011 Taipei International Bakery Show ever since I saw the write up by Yi on My Several Worlds last year and I had to wait a whole year for it to come back around! So when I spotted the coupon/flyer at a neighborhood bakery, I snatched it up and luckily caught it on the last afternoon of a four day run.

It's definitely worth checking out if you are looking for baking supplies or just want to browse the eating side! They had tons of stuff for the hard core and bakery owners- industrial mixers and ovens, as well as for the home baker- sprinkles, cookie cutters, candy molds and mega packs of cupcake liners.

The Wilton area had a lot of great supplies, cake toppers and cutters. I even picked up a cupcake carrier there for a 15% discount since it was the last day.

One day, you will be mine...

There was no shortage of too-cute-to-eat confections to gawk at and take pictures of.



One of my favorite eats was the gelatos- there were quite a few vendors on the "professional side."

How do they get the colors on these cakes to look so smooth? Spray on 'frosting' in spray paint bottles.

Where else would you see shoes made out of chocolates?

It was kind of cool to peek inside the world of industrial baking. The sizes of these mixers and baking molds was kind of awesome. I can't even imagine the price tags. It's hard to tell, but the last mixer in the picture below was probably almost as tall as I was.

Huge silicone rubber baking molds that were the size of the rubber mats that would go on the floor of your car.

It was cool to see non-bakery things like cheeses and flour too. I was surprised to see Din Tai Fung even having a mini display, that of course had a line going for it.

Would you buy Chiahe flour because Din Tai Fung uses it?

I got suckered into buying a few packs of this wheat noodle and the sesame/chili sauces, but it was actually a good purchase. The packs were huge and separated into individual portions and cook quickly. The sauces, I'm kind of addicted to now. I'll have to do a separate post on these and find the ordering/purchasing information.

There was a sugar molding competition where the chefs created amazing delicate and huge displays that you could get up close to see (behind the glass, of course!)

The one sample area that I found was not worth getting mobbed for. Everyone elbowing and gunning for a small sample, many people grabbing 3 or 4 at a time. This small toasted slice was brushed with sugar so it was crispy and sweet.

I thought I'd be swimming in samples and food, but I realized that the showroom is split in two sides- the industrial side and the bakery side. Turns out, I ended up wandering around the supplies and vendor side first after spotting a shop full of cupcake liners. By the time I made it to the "bakery" side, they were packing up and getting ready to clear their stalls... like this guy:

But popular bakeries like How Sweet, Florida Bakery and others were selling their popular items like egg puddings and cheesecakes.

I'll definitely be back next year and be a little bit more organized about walking around and getting better photos instead of doing it last minute for a few hours like I did this year (thus all the iPhone pictures). Mark your calendars- March 2012!

CLOSED!/mexican: i recommend TACO2GO

TACO2GO
No. 10, Lane 76, XinSheng S. Rd, Sec. 3
(02) 2368-3209

MRT: Gongguan

website: Taco2GoTWfacebook page

hours: 11AM - 3PM; 5PM - 9PM

$

Kid friendliness: only 4 outdoor stool seats; can take food 2go

Visit reviewed: 4/3/2011

Let's not forget what city we're in, but somehow Taipei has seen the opening of three new Mexican joints the past six months (Taco2Go, Macho Tacos, Mayan Grill), revamping of one opened last year (Oola), but the closing of four others (El Gallo, La Casita, Yuma Southwestern Grill, Taco Bar). The math is complicated, but the taste test is easy.

Hot, cheesy and cheap- that's a good start for my bite of burrito right?

In a blink and you'd miss it location tucked along the alleys near Tai Yi Milk King, Taco2Go is the perfect name for this colorful, five month old hole in the wall. If you thought Macho Tacos was small, you haven't seen Taco2Go yet. There's only four barstool seats so if it's crowded or raining, you should get your food to go. Thanks to readers Ginny and Mei for the heads up that I should give it try.

The tacos, burritos and quesadillas (with ground beef or chicken) are impressively under NT$100, while the nachos are NT$129. The quesadilla is NT$50- seriously, how can you beat that? The couple that runs this tiny kitchen moved back from the states and the spirit of Taco2Go seems very friendly and wanting to please. After a drought of good Mexican food in Taipei, I find it amusing that there's suddenly a new wave of entrepreneurs want to take that on, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Keep it coming!

I watched as my burrito was quickly made with spoonfuls of pre-made rice and refried beans. Setting it on the panini grill made it nice and hot, and melted the cheese which glued everything together. The ground beef seems spiced with taco seasoning and tasted like something I might have made at home- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not going to the most authentic thing I've ever eaten, but it's probably just as good as what I could quickly make for myself (unless I was craving enchiladas and guacamole- for that, I'd have to get in the kitchen).

The more I ate it, the more I liked it and it reminded me of when I ate my panini-grilled shawarma in Toronto, walking and devouring. The size was good for the price and taste was good enough to make me curious about the nachos. I'll have to go back again. A bonus is that I'll save room for a big bowl of shaved ice afterwards, with Tai Yi just a few lanes over.

Are you just as surprised as I am by the new Mexican food wave? Don't forget to tell them where you heard about Taco2Go if you go check it out and write back and tell me how you liked it.