Tasting Journey #176 - 勺勺客陝西料理

勺勺客陝西料理
台北市中正區仁愛路二段41巷15號
02.2351.7148
http://www.shaoshaoke.com/

 

We were just randomnly scootering around late at night, looking for a place to eat when out of the corner of our eyes, we saw, in a faint distance, a restaurant filled with people.  How could a place in the middle of nowhere attract such great attention?  What first caught my eyes, aside from the crowd, were the scribble-filled worn walls. That's where we will have dinner tonight.



We walked in.  The restaurant is old, and worn - probably also the retro ambience it is trying to create. We were sat in the corner, next to sealed door, of what probably used to be the old entrance to the building.  The tables aren't clean, the walls aren't clean, but ain't no matter as long as the food is tasty.

ShanXi - a province located in northern china.
I'm not too familiar with the delicacies there, so I let Mark do all the ordering while I googled on some reviews of this place.  I guess because of its location, many of the dishes were either pickled, spiced or flour-based noodles/dumplings.  



 

One interesting dish worth mentioning is the 泡饃, a semi-cooked dough based pancake where you need to also do some work to eat this dish. They first serve it to you in a dough form.  You are then to tear it into little pieces like 貓耳朵, where, upon size approval, they would then pour a bowl of hot broth over it to fully cook it (they'll review the sizes, and if too big, they'll ask you to tear it into smaller chunks).  Interesting concept, but the taste was plain.

Dumplings were flavourful, and all the pickled dishes were mouth watering tasty.
I thought we had accidentally came across a hidden gem.  To my surprise, I sent the photo to 2 of my coworkers and they rightaway responded with the name of the restaurant.  Guess it's not as of a secretive find as I thought. :)

 

 

 

Tasting Journey #175 - Yellow Lemon

Yellow Lemon
台北市中山區明水路561號1樓
02.2533.3567

 

I came across this restaurant in an article that was recommending dessert places.  It supposedly, is known for its 分子 (atomic) style dishes.  Frankly speaking, I don't quite understand what that really means, but either way, if it tastes good, then I'm all up for it.

The restaurant, like its name, uses mostly yellow as the base colour, and open-kitchen style. As soon as you walk in, you are hit with sunshine and sunniness.  The glass displays are filled with desserts that are made into shapes of all kinds of fruits.  My guess is that they're made of fondant, but they look so real.

 

Sitting down, we looked at the menu. To my surprise, this place not only serves dessert, but has quite a selection for proper meals.  From weekend brunch sandwiches, to veal dishes.  Because we were there for Sunday brunch, we didn't try the desserts.  However, I did end up getting one cake to go.

 

I ordered a sandwich and a coffee.  Presentation was lovely, and I can smell that it is made with fine ingredients (well, plus the cost reflects it too, lol).  However, the sandwich did taste a bit greasier than my liking.

The dessert was by far, mind blowing - Pineapple mimosa.  Rich in pineapple flavour, every bite filled your mouth full of citrous.  The fibrous pineapple also added rich texture to the cake.  I must say that it was the highlight of this restaurant, though technically I wasn't served the dessert there.  The whole cake was $780, and I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't on sale for 50% off.  Definitely made the right decision there.

 

 

 

Tasting Journey #174 - 古月炎串燒居酒屋

古月炎串燒居酒屋
台北市遼寧街-246號
02.2515.5225

Recommended izakaya place by my colleague.  She said it's owned by her friends, and that it's her favourite grill spot.

The restaurant is small, and "Japanese", like all izakaya places.  Not too many seats, and it seems that reservations are constantly full.  We happened to be there just a bit earlier than dinner time, so we were lucky to be given a spot.

Menu has quite a few selections, all very standard, and nothing too extraordinary.  Having tried quite of a few items, I would say that the noteworthy dishes is the boneless chicken wing stuffed with chili pepper.  This is unique as most other places would stuff kimchi or mentaiko instead.  Despite the menu selection, I was disappointed to see that they didn't offer 山藥 (mountain taro) slices with 明太子. They only had potato slices instead. 

 

My colleague recommended their chili sauce as it is their "special ingredient".  It tasted good, but nothing too special that would serve a lasting taste in my memory.  All other grill items were also average.

In summary, this is a mediocre izakaya at a typical price range.  I must say that my favourite is still 作田 by far, both for ambience and for quality.

 



Tasting Journey #173 - Butter Cafe

Butter Cafe

台北市大安區忠孝東路四段122-1號2樓

(愛群大廈C棟入口)

02.8772.3832

 

Came here for Sunday brunch with my girl friends.  We met up at 11am and the restaurant was empty.
Maybe because it is located on 2nd floor or maybe the food just wasn't attractive enough for the crowd.

Frankly speaking, I am only logging this journal three weeks since my visit and I don't remember what was attractive about the dish.
The restaurant is spacious, so serves as a great place for girl's chit chat tea time.  However, if you are looking for a tasting journey, maybe 十里安 next door is a better choice.
Price-wise is average for its location in the East district.