Tasting Journey #151 - 築地野台壽司

築地野台壽司
台北市萬華區桂林路106號   
02.2302.6775

Came here for dinner with a colleague of mine.  I've heard of this place before, or must have googled it sometime, somewhere. The name sounds familiar, so it must be popular (weird logic, hehee, but it's true).

Located in an old district of Taipei, this place is small yet packed.  Although the owners are all Taiwanese, the dishes are quite authentic. 

Wooden interior deco, red paper laterns, sake bottles, and wooden table tops... all definitions of an izakaya.

 

Portions are not big, but the price is reasonable, and considered average for Japanese cuisine.  According to my colleague, the tactic for eating at places like this is to order a rice dish, complimented with side dishes.  Reason being that rice dishes are typically not expensive, yet filling.  The side dishes are tiny, and considered the pricey dishes.  Interesting analogy, and I guess it's true.  We ended up spending a bit over NTD$1,000 for the two of us.

Tasting Journey #150 - 阜杭豆漿店

阜杭豆漿店
台北市中正區忠孝東路一段108號2樓   
02.2392.2175

An infamous breakfast place that serves traditional Taiwanese breakfast (soy milk, chinese donuts, pancakes...etc) and requires over one hour of line up each time.

This place is located around the corner from Taipei Sheraton Grand Hotel.  For the past few years, I've always stayed at Sheraton everytime I stop by Taipei for business trips. I've heard of recommendations for this place, but the thought of having to wake up at 5am and line up for 1+ hours just doesn't make me want to even bother.

My friend and I arrived around 9:20am on a Sunday morning, and the end of the line is already way around the corner.  Thanks to a friend's friend whom is a food addict, and whom is willing to line up for us, we only had to wait another 30min before placing our orders.

The restaurant or more like a booth takes up the entire 2nd floor of the building.  Imagine a food court with only 1 booth, and with the rest of the space being tables and chairs, all self-served.

We ordered lots of food, just to ensure we have all what we want so we don't have any regrets.  I do have to say that they need improvements on their ordering SOP.  First of all, it's mostly tourists that go there. The only menu is what's written on the wall, in Chinese.  I guess you can finger point the food in front of you, but that makes the process/wait longer.  We had a list of what we wanted to order, and the servers were super quick with tallying up the cost.  I thought they would have the whole ordering process down packed and error-free, but I guess it wasn't the case.  After we had paid, taken our food, and sat down at a table, we realized that we were missing food.  It would've been OK if they missed a few items, but it's definitely not OK to have paid for the food and not receive them.  Luckily, they were friendly enough to give us our outstanding order without making us line up again.

 

 

Overall, I have to say that the food isn't bad, but it definitely isn't worth the lineup, the crowdedness nor the hassle.  I would have been happy just going to any other 永和豆漿, another popular franchise that serves traditional Taiwanses breakfast.

Tasting Journey #149 - PURR's Living 悅好

PURR's Living 悅好
台北市大安區敦化南路一段161巷29號1樓   
02.2775.5436

A very cozy cafe hidden away in the busy shopping area of the East District.
This cafe doesn't serve single bean coffee, but is more like an afternoon tea place with friends.

First thing I noticed when I walked into the cafe is the scent.  The soothing feel that it brings makes you want to just sit and chill.  Lots of wooden cabinetes, book shelves and antique decoration pieces, a lot of the guests uses these as photo spots.

Food is great. I ordered the rose & sea salt flavoured latte.  I really like the combination of saltiness and bitterness.  The rose tasted a bit strong to my liking (well, I don't really like the taste of rose as a food), and is also a bit stronger compared to other cafe's that offered similar selection.  However, overall, I was still quite pleased with the quality of food.  The salad is fresh, and the panini is loaded with cheese.

This is the perfect spot to relax after a long day of shopping in this area.

 

 

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Tasting Journey #148 - Diary Bistro

Diary Bistro
台北市大安區東豐街53號
02.2706.3553

Great lounge bar/bistro, perfect for hanging out with your girl friends on a weekend.
My friend and I came here for some drinks after dinner. This place is actually owned by my friend's friend. 

 

The ambience is super loungy, dimly lit atmosphere, aromatic food, and friendly service.  According to my friend, the owner is an interior decoration designer.  Large wooden tables for the guests, and sheets of stainless steel for the kitchen.  Super clean, contemporary vibe with touches of personality everywhere.  All menus are hand written (yes, every single book is)...and in addition, with every drinks ordered, there is also a hand written card that details what was added to the drink.

What really appealed to me was their open kitchen.  All food preparation can be seen if sat by the bar.  The food is delicately prepared, but of course you pay for what you get.  Drinks are well made, with shot glasses that are 1.5x the standard N. American size. 

 

It was a pity that we ate prior to visiting, so I didn't get a chance to try their dinner dishes, but from what I heard, all dishes are amazing.  I'm definitely going back for more food.

 

 

Tasting Journey #147 - 洛神賦麻辣極品鴛鴦

洛神賦麻辣極品鴛鴦
台北市大安區仁愛路四段27巷16號   
02.2731.3779

This place is recommended by a high school friend of mine whom I haven't seen for over 15 years.
This is the place where we meet up for dinner.

Like all spicy hot pots, you have the choice of 鴛鴦pot, where half is spicy, and the other half is your choice of a different broth.

The ambience is quite comfortable, with friendly service and tables that are spaced just far apart to prevent claustrophobia. 

It is an all-you-can-eat buffet that offered excellent quality beef, pork, and supposedly super fresh shrimp (I didn't get the chance to try the shrimp because I was so full. I was about to explode).  Of course, this came with a price, as it costed around just under $700/person.  Oh, did I mention the haggen dazs ice-cream?

Overall, the experience was quite pleasant.  Compared to many of the popular all-you-can-eat spicy hot pot places such as 馬辣, I would definitely opt for this place no doubt.

Tasting Journey #146 - 慶城海南雞飯

慶城海南雞飯
台北市慶城街16巷8號
02.8712.1200

This place is located a block away from Pure Yoga, the yoga studio where we oftentimes host our team exercise.  This place is recommended by one of our foodie colleague who brightens up every time there is food.  So far, his recommendations have all been quite well received.  The funny thing is, I issue a KPI (key performance index - inside joke) to all of my colleagues who try to recommend restaurants and eateries.  Some has a very high KPI, meaning that their recommendations have not failed, and some have negative KPIs, where for example the restaurant they recommended is no longer in business.

We decided to come here for dinner after our yoga class Thursday evening.  Apparently, this place is only open on weekdays.  Given this, you can imagine how well the business is...to not even have to open up on weekends - days where I would consider as peak season for restaurants.

The restaurant serves one type of dish: hainanese chicken rice.
The menu has two options: chicken+rice, or chicken+rice+3side dishes
Again, I have to comment that for a business to survive with just one type of dish, it had to be good right?

The restaurant is well lit, and is in a self-serve style.  You order at the front desk, they give you a ticket, then you find your own table to sit in the restaurant.  When they call your name, you walk up to their serving window to pick up your food.  At the end of the meal, you pick up your left over, bring it to a recycle station, and dispose.  Very similar to food courts in malls...not to mention the price is food court priced too!!

The chicken is tendor and juicy.  The sauce is excellent. What tops it off is that it's boneless!
It's such a hassle to enjoy a meal and have to spit out bones at the same time. All not very proper and definitely a reduction in the enjoyment level.  I'm all about efficiency, and being able to shuffle food in heapings, hehehe...

Overall,  I would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys Haninese chicken.  I would even say that it is the perfect place for take-outs as well.  If you're in the vicinity, and are looking for a tasty treat, definitely stop by!