CLOSED! indian/food court: i strongly recommend CAFE INDIA

Closed! summer 2015

CAFE INDIA 歡迎寶來屋印度風味餐廳
at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4 food court
台北信義新天地A4館
No.19, Song Gao Road, B2
台北市松高路19號B2

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: cafeindia.com.tw English, Chinese and Japanese

hours: $-$$

Kid friendliness: food court seating and limited bar seating

Visit reviewed: 2/6/2013 and 2/27/2013

I know that you guys are looking for great places to eat Indian food in Taipei too... my slightly outdated shortlist page is one of the top most visited pages for hungryintaipei.com so lots of you are googling for "Indian food in Taipei."

The first time I tried Cafe India was last month when I was looking for a quick bite in the area and I wasn't feeling like the usual food court suspects. I was a little hesitant to try Cafe India since my last experience with the food at that location, previously housing Indian Palace, was less than ok.

But a new name should mean a new owner and new chefs right? So I quizzed the Indian cashier and chef in English and settled on the butter chicken set menu, which comes with a similar looking mini salad and watery cream corn soup. The English and Chinese menu has about 15 different types of curry, including vegetarian options, fried rice, tandoori sets and lamb and fish curry options.

At first glance, the curry was already a lot better last my last time- the butter chicken (NT$250) looked creamy and ready to be sopped up the naan and was the right vivid color. The taste was perfect too- sweet and spicy with sizeable chunks of boneless chicken and the huge naan was fluffy and airy, the way I love it. 

Following the tradition of other Indian food court trays, the curry comes with a choice of naan or yellow rice, a soup and small salad. The creamy corn soup is bit too sweet and syrupy for my tastes and the salad falls into the "pleasing the Taiwanese customer" flavor.

I had been thinking about Cafe India so much that I ended up choosing it as a dinner spot for some friends before watching SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. I kept getting texts from them confirming "Where? In the food court?" and responding "Yes! The food court! B2!"

I think the best way to eat Indian food is to have an assortment and share family style, so I was excited to be able to try more. I reordered the butter chicken (NT$250), then also got the palak paneer spinach, chicken lababdar, aloo gobi and tandoori chicken. I also upgraded one of our naans into a buttery garlic naan. I definitely recommend the naan over the yellow rice which was too mushy for me. 

I was happy the food was consistent with the first visit and still excellent so that my friends didn't think I was crazy. It was my first time having chicken lababdar (NT$250) and I really loved it. It had a strong creamy tomato flavor and notes of cumin. 

The aloo gobi (NT$220) wasn't too heavy and had a good mix of fork tender potato and cauliflower. I also really liked the Indian cottage cheese in the spinach palak paneer.

The tandoori chicken was a good size- 6 tender, meaty pieces for NT$298. Super tender and perfect for sharing family style (or hoarding to yourself). Came steaming hot to the table.

I didn't know until I asked the second visit that Cafe India has actually been around a long time. The A4 food court location is a branch of the original Tianmu restaurant, which also has buffets . Lucky for me, this location is much closer for me (as well as all those visiting the conventions in the TWTC Halls).

We ended up sharing four curries and one plate of tandoori chicken between 5 people, basically one set per person. I loved everything and we devoured everything. What I ordered was only mildly spicy, but if you like it extra spicy, be sure to tell them and I'm sure they can add the heat. The prices are good compared to what you'd get at a sit down Indian restaurant in Taipei (especially somewhere like Saffron in Tianmu which I also love, but also so far away for me), so as long as your friends don't mind congregating in a food court and have everyone stare while you take over a table and fill it with completely with Indian food, then get a group together ASAP.

OTHER LOCATIONS
No. 30, Koqiang Rd, Tianmu
台北市克強街30號
(02) 2837-7365

japanese/ramen: i strongly recommend IPPUDO

IPPUDO 一風堂

No. 85, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 1, Taipei City 

台北市中山北路1段85號

(02) 2562-9222

MRT: Taipei Main Station

website: www.ippudo.com.tw

hours: 11:30AM - 12midnight

$-$$ (cash only, about NT$250-400/person)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 10/23/2012

If you spot lines in front of Ippudo, don't be intimidated by them, nor by the way they organize the line, with a solitary machine offering numbers. Opened last spring, the Taipei branch of the popular Japanese ramen shop (also with a branch in NY) had up to 2 hour waits when it first opened. Yes, TWO HOURS! I didn't want to wait that long, so I waited until the crowds died down to go. Taipei is crazy about ramen, as we saw openings of both Ippudo and Santouka in Taipei last spring about the same time.

But when I went, months after the opening, there was still a bit of crowd. There was no formal line, so I wandered closer to the bright red machine to see what the deal was. Numbers differ for parties of 1, 2-3 or 4+ and after a bit of navigating, guessing what the mostly Chinese directions were and button pushing, I got a ticket with a number.

I punched the number "2" and then "ok" and there was another screen after this to push confirm.

Luckily that day, everyone got seated fairly quickly... I think we were seated in less than 5 minutes. They won't seat you until everyone in your party is there, so either have everyone be on time, or eat with only a few people.

Once inside, the ramen shop is visually stimulating, using red and white ramen bowls and spoons as pop art deco along the walls and above the bar seating. There's actually a lot of seats in the dining room, with different sections of booths, large tables and a long bar. If you're looking for more in the area, after your ramen, you can walk a few blocks to Taipei's MOCA, or Museum of Modern Art.

There's a handy basket underneath each stool/chair for storing your purse or manbag or umbrella.

The English/Chinese/Japanese menu has four main ramen choices- Shiomaru Classic, Akamaru Modern, Ippudo karaka and a brothless vegetarian. The Shiomaru focuses on the classic white pork broth, while Modern adds spicy miso, while Ippudo Karaka adds spicy meat sauce. Vegetarian should be self explanatory.

When I visited Ippudo Taipei for the first time last fall, they also offered a tsukemen for a limited time which I should have tried, but I wanted to try the classic first. 

There are small plates of cold dishes and hot appetizers to fill you up. My favorites out of the bunch were the Japanese fried chicken and the Ippudo Spicy Tofu in stone pot. 

Ippudo also offers up a fusion gua bao style bun, giving Taiwan credit for the fatty pork sandwich concept, but making their own twist on it, stating on the menu that the collection is "born in Taiwan, reborn in New York." Yup, you'd better recognize!

Check out the spices and garlic press while you wait for your food to see if you want to add some sesame seeds or crushed garlic to your ramen.

If you want to add some veggies to your meal, you can add a couple of small cold dish appetizers to your meal. I liked the chili bamboo with mentaiko (NT$55) over the chili oil sprouts (NT$55). During my second visit, I noticed they added some dishes to the menu.

Ippudo's bowl is just the right size, and if you add an egg (for NT$30), the soft boiled egg comes whole. The meat is sliced fairly thinly, but is melt in your mouth tender. Everything in the bowl is hot, so it doesn't taste like some ramen shops where they dump cold ingredients in and assume it will be warmed up by the broth.

The shiromaru classic (NT$200 + NT$30) is a milky white pork broth and pure deliciousness. The ramen is on the thinner side and is ordered either "regular" or "firmer," but I thought "regular" was just the right amount of al dente chewiness.

The red bowl is the Akamaru Modern (NT$230 + NT$30) and comes with some secret sauces (chili, sesame, miso) to mix into the pork broth to give a richer, layered spoonful.

Oh yeah.

Love how perfect the soft boiled egg is, gooey egg yolk, but not too runny. 

I had to try the buns and the roast beef with wasabi (NT$90) was more interesting than the pork belly.. it was good, but not amazing. Skip this and go to the night market and get the real thing for half the price.

I don't always drink all the broth, but when it's this good...

There's quite a list of ramen shops growing for Taipei eats, so I wouldn't wait an hour for it, but if you're looking for a good bowl of noodles, you can be sure Ippudo is on it. 

OTHER LOCATIONS: (Just opened 2/4/2013)

No. 165, DunHua S. Rd, Sec. 1
台北市大安區敦化南路一段165號1樓
(02) 2772-9222
11:30 AM - 12AM (last order: 23:30)

CLOSED/korean: i recommend B/A/N/N/C/H/A/N

CLOSED a/o 2014

B/A/N/N/C/H/A/N 飯饌韓式料理餐廳

at ATT4Fun

No. 12 Song Shou Rd. 5F 

台北市信義區松壽路12號5樓  

(02) 2723-9490

MRT: Taipei City Hall 

hours: 10AM - 10PM

$$ (about NT$300-400/person)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available

Visit reviewed: 6/6/2012 & 8/14/2012 

BANNCHAN is one of the many restaurants in ATT4Fun, but is one of the few sit down Korean restaurants in the Xinyi area. So that's why I end up there from time to time since the food is good, but the service is often lacking where the servers clump together behind the counter and you find yourself waving them down. 

The table seating is grouped mostly for parties of 4 or less, with a few larger tables in the back suitable for 5-6 people, and along the right side. The tables are not moveable like most restaurants and they are quite rigid about not allowing you to add on a chair at the end of the table, so on a recent visit I had to wait longer since our group of five didn't want to be split into two parties. Kind of annoying when there are empty tables at a restaurant, so just something to note if you're dining with your family or a larger group.

Besides soondubu, BANCHANN's menu also includes fusion sushi rolls, korean fried chicken, seafood pancake, kimchi fried rice, kalbi and bulgogi, as well as a few combo sets.

For a restaurant named BANCHANN you'd hope there was an abundance of the small cold dishes the restaurant is named after, but the selection is slim and certain ones change daily. One time I came, there were potatoes and another time jap chae (korean glass noodles). It's too bad they don't offer all of them all the time. But they are generous with the refills and the refills are free. There's always kimchi, bean sprouts and spicy cucumbers with one or two of the daily offerings, and usually a small whole fish will be offered to the table (which I usually decline).

The tofu comes in varying levels of spiciness (from none to very spicy) with flavors like seafood, kimchi, clams, oyster, miso, combination, vegetarian, mushrooms or curry. Along with the tofu, there's also a choice of white rice or purple rice. I would stick to ordering the tofu and either bbq beef or the Korean fried chicken. The seafood pancake was surprisingly small, portioned for 1-2 people, but they'll cut it into smaller pieces for larger groups. But the soondubu is good and I often find it easier to walk in than some of the other more popular Korean tofu places in Taipei, even thought they don't take reservations.

The combination tofu (NT$260) comes with shrimp, clams and oysters with a choice of beef, lamb or pork. Mild spiciness for me. I like the pork which comes in small, tender pieces. They will crack the egg in for you which you can spoon the soup over or stir in.

The combos of tofu + small meat (NT$360-380) are good if dining alone, but if you want to share meat with a few people, definitely stick to ordering the regular or large sized kalbi (NT$300-360) or bulgogi (NT$260-320) because it's lot heartier than the combo portion. Two bites and it's gone. 

I wouldn't order the bimbimbap (NT$260) again because it doesn't come in a stone bowl and one of my favorite parts is the crispy burnt rice, and that's missing. It's pretty served on a flat platter to mix up, but doesn't feel the same. I'd get the cheaper and better tasting version at the food court instead.

BANNCHAN is the first place that I've had Korean Fried Chicken, and of course now I'm addicted. The skin on the fried chicken wing (NT$160) is crisp as cracklins and when dipped in the sweet sauce, it's the perfect appetizer with the complete opposite texture and flavor to the soupy and spicy tofu. This is a must order here and something that I haven't found at other places in Taipei.

Even though the photos are from last year, I went back recently last week for lunch over the weekend, which tends to be busier than the weekdays. The inefficient service still really frustrated me, but I kept my expectations low and just enjoyed the food. Just go prepared to serve yourself (got my own menus after waiting awhile for them) and wave down the waitstaff for everything.