Tasting Journey #103 - G'Day Cafe 晴西餐廳

G'Day Cafe 晴西餐廳
台北市興安街180號
02.2717.5927
http://ezwin.com.tw/gday/


G'Day Café is located in a fairly quiet district (or so it seems), and serves authentic home-style brunch.  It is authentic because, first of all, it serves American style brewed coffee with free refills.  The burger is simple, yet tasty.  The buns has the texture of what you could probably get at Safeway, and the patty is hand-made, none of those fancy chain burger joints where you know that the patty probably comes out of a factory.  Each patty is unique and flavourful.  I like it.  The fries is also very well deep fried.  No full-on service, but friendly waitress - again, very family-style.

 

The walls are full of cartoonic drawings ranging from the Tiny Toons to Asian manga characters, which to me clashed with the whole American themed cuisine.

 

Tasting Journey #102 - 我 ! 就厲害

我 ! 就厲害
台北市市民大道四段147號
02.2578.6578
http://www.wow-jolihi.com.tw/

 

 

This place is a BBQ & hotpot all-you-can-eat that is strongly recommended by Mandy.  She says she must dine here at least once every time she comes on a development trip.  Is it really that good?

 

First of all, the price ranges from $439, $499, and $639.  At $439, you have all-you-can-eat BBQ;  At $499, you have BBQ plus hot pot, and at $639, you get pricier ingredients.  What's worth mentioning is that this place all serves kirin bottomless beer.  So if you are a beer lover and a meat lover, this is definitely a place worth considering. 

 

 
 We decided to go for the $499 option.  Frankly speaking, I think $439 is sufficient, especially when the meat are quite decent quality, and that the selection is quite abundant.  They have all the typical pork, beef, chicken etc. as well as grilled mushrooms and vegetables, but what is worth mentioning is their grilled ice-cream, marshmallow, and their selection of sweet desserts.

 

The only thing that I would say needs improvement is the seating. The tables are so close, and the leg room is barely there.  Even I find it crammed. 

Tasting Journey #101 - 蘇阿姨比薩屋

蘇阿姨比薩屋
台北市光復南路300號
02.2740.2328

 Aunt Su's Pizza house serves not only pizza, but also fried chicken.  We came here on a Sunday evening around 6:30pm.  Walking towards the restaurant, we saw from afar, a huge group of people packed outside the restaurant all waiting for a seat in.  First thing I noticed is it's all YOUNG people.  People in the age of later teens to maybe mid 20's.  I feel old, although I probably blend in.

 This is a fast food joint that serves thick crust pizza that is topped with ooooozles of cheese that strings with every bite.  The fried chicken is also very well prepared. It has a thin crispy crust, and the meat is juicy and flavourful.  We ordered a six slice pizza, and 5 pieces of friend chicken. This cost approximately NTD$600.  Not exactly cheap for pizza and friend chicken if I were to get this in Vancouver, but I don't really know what the typical price would be in Taipei given that this is considered "foreign" cuisine.

We decided not to dine-in, as it will take forever to get a table.  A very good option, assuming it is not mid summer nor rainy, is to get take-out, walk over to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, sit on one of the ledges and dine over the food while watching the night lights of Taipei 101.  How romantic. haha....well, that is if you don't end up making a big mess of your pizza...:)