CLOSED/korean: I recommend MOM's CHICKEN AND KIMBAP

This location closed when I went 8/2016. I think they may have moved to Ximen

MOM's CHICKEN AND KIMBAP 

馬咪炸雞塊&馬咪捲

No. 6, Lane 5, Tianmu W. Road

台北市士林區天母西路5巷4弄6號

(02) 2877-1223

MRT: Zhishan (but looks like 30 min walk from there)

Website: http://momscnk.com/store

Kid friendliness: kids can eat the non-saucy fried chicken or popcorn chicken. The kimbap is a good way to them to eat veggies 

Visit reviewed: 10/31/2015 and 10/26/2015

Opened a few weeks ago in Tianmu, Mom's Chicken and Kimbap focuses on  Korean fried chicken and kimbap aka Korean sushi, made by a few Korean moms using their moms' recipes, or so I heard from my friend who told me her friend opened it. 

Go for the addictive, saucy Korean fried popcorn chicken, Mom's Chicken Pop (NT$109) which comes in a convenient cup and lid to eat on the go. The owners say the sticky sweet sauce isn't spicy, and though it's more sweet than spicy, I think it does still have a kick to it. Korean fried chicken reminds me of orange chicken, but a fired up version. For those who are more sensitive, you can try the non-saucy version. Either way, the fried batter, the crunch, the juicy morsel of meat inside, it all works. If you've never had Korean fried chicken, it's fried twice so that it is irresistibly crispy and the batter doesn't fall apart from the meat and isn't too bready. 

Mom's Korean Chicken regular packages are family packs of wings and legs for NT$599-639 with fries and onion rings, or NT$399-439 for just the Korean fried chicken. I like the boneless popcorn chicken since I can eat it right away on the go, and don't have to get my hands dirty. The two bites of rice cake are also just enough to satisfy, but not feel overly heavy. 

Mom's BBQ kimbap (NT$118) wasn't what I thought it would be and the pork inside was dry. I wish they offered bulgogi kimbap, which I first tried at my friend's house. My friend's homemade kimbap is tastier. Otherwise, kimbap is not a bad way to get your veggies on the go, with carrots, cucumbers, pickled radish, egg inside. 

Mom's Chicken and Kimbap is in the alley right in front of McDonald's near the Tianmu circle for those of you in the neighborhood. Once you're in front of that alley, you will spot the bright orange sign. I love the name and the eye catching sign- it's quite clear what they are selling. Tiny space inside, only few spots for eating inside. Mostly for to-go orders. Owners spoke Chinese, Korean and English. Everything is made to order, and expect to wait at least 10 minutes or more for your order. They also have a stamp card, so make sure you get that.  I've been twice in one week which doesn't happen often, so I strongly recommend their #4 Mom's Chicken Pop, will have to try their Mom's Korean Chicken soon. I would give the whole shop a strongly recommend, but wavered because of the kimbap. I know there quite a few Korean fried chicken places in Taipei, especially after the popularity of You Who Came From the Stars, but most of them are sit down chicken and beer spots (Oppa, Chimac, Chicken in Bok and Beer, Ovenmaru, Palgoo Beer Chicken) and sometimes hard to get a table. This is easier to order and go, and now I'm addicted.

New in town/drinks: JAMBA JUICE

JAMBA JUICE TAIPEI

at Xinyi Vieshow 

Jamba Juice has finally arrived to Taipei! They are going to try to make some noise by creating a line a la Krispy Kreme-  first 200 people in line will get free Jamba for 1 month (though number 1 will get it for 1 year, someone was already waiting for that). If you have time to wait in line this Friday morning at Xinyi Vieshow, it's gonna happen in an hour or two. lol! I'll definitely be giving it a try, but I'm curious to see if Taiwanese girls will drink cold smoothies through the winter when often times they drink warm water and won't touch ice water. Who else has been craving Jamba?

After my screening of THE WALK last night, I spotted them setting up the event and numbered line up. 

Do you think they would notice if I moved this? Haha! 

drinks/snapshot: HELLO KITTY BUBBLE

HELLO KITTY BUBBLE 

NO. 172 DaAn Road, Sec. 1

大安路一段172號

(02) 2325-5155

MRT: ZhongXiao FuXing or DaAn

Kid friendliness: Oreo, banana and banana chocolate smoothies available for non-caffeinated drinks as well as winter melon lemonade 

Visit reviewed: 10/29/2015

Just a peek inside Hello Kitty Bubble, a small tea shop decked out in Hello Kitty and friend that's been open since last year. The red bowed storefront is a magnet for a Hello Kitty lover like me so I had to get a few pictures to post and share. (Although I remember passing it a number of times before when the storefront just had some decals outside and not such an elaborate entrance). Along with Hello Kitty, the Little Twin Stars, My Melody and Badtz Maru are all getting their fat straw drink on. Maybe a place to check out if you've already gotten your photo ops at Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining (formerly Hello Kitty Sweets) and the Hello Kitty snacks souvenir shop. 

Menu includes hot or cold teas, milk teas, sodas, smoothies and lattes, with drinks ranging from NT$30-60. 

And if you don't want to be seen carrying around a Sanrio cup but need some coffee since your girlfriend dragged you out to take pictures here, there's a Cama coffee right next door. 

japanese/italian: NAGOMI PASTA

NAGOMI PASTA

No. 20, Lane 50, YiXian Road

台北市信義區逸仙路50巷20號

MRT: Taipei City Hall

hours: 1130AM-9PM:

Price: $$ (cash only)

website: Nagomi's FB page 

kid friendliness: lots of pasta dishes and some fried calamari/chicken appetizers. 

VIsit reviewed: 10/21/2015

Couldn't get seats at the pasta place I wanted to go to, so we ended up trying Nagomi Pasta, a Japanese Italian restaurant with lots of fusion dishes like duck with yuzu pepper pasta, mentaiko seaweed pasta or fried chicken soy sauce spaghetti. Turns out the owners are the same as Primo Trattoria, which serves more traditional style Italian pastas and pizzas. There are quite a few Japanese Italian pasta places in Taipei, one of the most popular being Bellini Pasta, but Nagomi has a larger variety of pastas with over 20 pastas on its menu, but doesn't offer up any pizza. 

The menu is in Chinese, Japanese and English (thankfully) sprinkled with a few photos. There are daily specials in Chinese on the board and you can make your lunch a set with a small salad and dessert by adding a small fee. Besides pastas, there are also baked pastas with cheese, Japanese hamburger, steak with teriyaki sauce-- all the sort of things that would fit in at a restuarant on Sawtelle. The menu reminds me a little of the now shuttered West LA Little Osaka restaurant Blue Marlin, except that there's no uni pasta at Nagomi.

Nagomi sits about 20 people in the front of the restaurant and there's additional section of seating in the back. 

Caesar Salad NT$160

Fresh and crisp, but nothing you couldn't put together yourself at home. Dressing was also lighter and not as creamy as the American style Caesar dressing.

Salmon Ikura pasta with butter, onions and mizuna NT$360

First reaction was that the pasta was quite buttery, the second was that some of the pasta was torched since they seemed to have seared the salmon atop the pasta. This would be nice with udon instead of spaghetti, but it's mostly pasta here, imported from Italy. 

Chicken, deep fried gobo, chili, sesame, soy sauce spaghetti NT$260

This had a kick to it, though my friend didn't seem to notice. 

Mixed mushrooms, egg, homemade meat sauce, grana padano NT$280

I saw the soft boiled egg on the menu, and I had to order this dish. This is probably the least fusion-y of the 20 or so pasta dishes on Nagomi's menu with a bolognese meat sauce and freshly grated grana padano cheese. The sauce here does taste like Bellini's version, as it is on the sweeter side. 

While I enjoyed this dish, I didn't like that the soft boiled egg was cold, especially with a hot dish. I've had bad experiences in the past with cold soft boiled eggs and since that means it was premade, you don't know how long the egg has been sitting around. From my recollection, the egg at Bellini (the first place I've ever had the soft boiled egg on bolognese pasta) is served hot.

The first time I spied Nagomi Pasta was when I went to Solo Trattoria (opened by Solo Pasta) around the corner. The next time, I think I would still prefer to go to Solo Trattoria. They have a stewed beef cheek zitoni pasta that is divine. Or come back with more people to order more dishes to try. Had a little bit carb overload with three pasta dishes and not as much protein.

taiwanese/dessert: i strongly recommend SAN HE MIFUN TANG & TAI DA PANG NIU SHAVED ICE

SAN HE MIFUN TANG 三禾米粉湯
No. 3, Lane 61, Linsen S. Rd, Zhongzheng District
台北市中正區林森南路61巷3號
(02) 2392-5489

TAI DA PANG NIU BING 胖妞冰店

Lane 18, XuZhou Rd

台北市徐州路18巷口

MRT: Shandao Temple or NTU Hospital

hours: closed Mondays 6:30AM - 3PM 


visit reviewed: 

If you want to eat like a local in Taipei, a bowl of mifun tang 米粉湯 (rice noodle soup) isn't a bad place to start.  A sign that a place serves mifun tang (besides the characters in Chinese) is the huge vat of boiling tofu and noodles at the front like the one at San He Mifun Tang. Pair it with a plate of mushrooms, tofu, pork belly, seaweed, offal and bamboo, you are good to go for less than NT$200. Even though I've lived here for so long, I usually don't go to local shops like this because I don't know what to order. Luckily, I tagged along with some friends on this day and they did all the ordering and it was one of the better bowls of rice noodle soups that I've had in awhile (better than the bowl at Keelung night market and just as good as the one at Tonghua Night market.) Because the broth is clear, it doesn't look as flavorful as the more well known beef noodle soup or the popular Ah Chung flour rice noodles in Ximending, but don't be deceived. A hot bowl of fat, slippery rice noodles has a broth that rivals any ramen broth you'd slurp in its umami for only NT$25.

A photo menu is always a helpful reference.

I shared a bowl with a friend, and the restaurant kindly gave us a bowl filled with extra broth rather than an empty bowl. Sometimes some places overcook their rice noodles, but I found the texture here just right. 

Mushrooms and "oil" tofu 油豆腐 (NT$20)

Pork belly (NT$40), chicken heart (NT$50) and seaweed. I liked all the side dishes we ordered and would order them all again. These three plates were shared between 6 people.

Fresh Bamboo (NT$30) is always a favorite side dish.

On our way back to my friend's hotel, we came across a corner shaved ice stand- Tai Da Pang Niu Shaved Ice. It looked too good to pass up on a hot day, so we decided to get a bowl. You can pick as many toppings as you'd like and I got it with condensed milk of course (NT$50)- tapioca, green mung beans, grass jelly, peanut...

Generous with the condensed milk and we polished off the shaved ice before it melted. If you're staying at/near the Sheraton Hotel or near NTU, you can come look for this corner at XuZhou Road. So good. Can't beat it. For this price, you could have two bowls.