Tasting Journey #54 - 東門餃子館

東門餃子館
金山南路2段31巷27號
02.2341-1685
02.2393.9978
http://www.dongmen.com.tw/


Recommended by a foodie co-worker, this place serves 酸菜白肉鍋 and real tasty pot stickers.
This place is extremely busy, so reservation strongly recommended even on a week night.

I must say that their 酸菜白肉鍋 is served the northern chinese way - in a metal pot with a central tall cylinder where burning charcoal is used to boil the broth. Broth is excellent.
The pot stickers are always quite unique.  Unlike most fillings where it is a combination of meat & cabbage, this pot sticker is mostly meat - soft & juicy. In addition, I learned that the real northern chinese way of eating dumplings is with fresh whole garlic.  I've never been to a restaurant that offered bowls of complimentary full garlic. Quite an interesting combination, but I probably wouldn't want to talk to people after this meal, haha.

The stir-fry cabbage that we ordered was a "special-made" dish.  We asked them to stir-fry it with the Kung Pao chicken sauce. Tasty as well.

Overall, it is not a pricey meal compared to "restaurant-style" places. However, it does fall within a slightly higher end of the dumpling range (typically dumplings are at NTD$10/pc. This place is NTD$11/pc), but I would still say that just the hot pot is worth the visit.

Tasting Journey #53 - Belgian Beer Cafe

Belgian Beer Cafe
ATT 4 Fun
02.7737.8388
http://www.belgianbeercafe.com/doorpage?destination=news/belgian-beer-cafe-liege-opens-taiwan

Located on the 6th floor of ATT 4 Fun in XinYi District, Taipei, this place serves Belgian breakfast all day.
Price seems reasonable until the dishes were served.  Given that it's Belgian, I was expecting the portion to be quite large, like a true European. No, this restaurant has been "asianized".  (We ate at 1pm... but I had to eat dinner at 5:30pm coz I was hungry already)

Maybe because non-asian (japanese, korean, vietnamese, thai....etc) cuisine is not as widely accepted as asian food, if you are looking for a place for a bite to eat in the hustling bustling downtown Taipei during meal hours, this is the place for you. No line-up necessary despite hour long waits in all the other asian restaurants in all the malls in this area.

Tasting Journey #52 - Miso東京風日本料理

Miso東京風日本料理
4樓, No. 1承德路一段 Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
02.2558.3056

Located on the 4th floor of 京站廣, right next to the main taipei 轉運站(terminal station) is this bustling Japanese bistro. There is a 1.5hr time restriction, but they will not force you away if there are no one waiting. Food is very nicely displayed. Service is busy so I would recommend making a reservation especially on a weekend.
Decent priced. Definitely will go back again.

We had a 2-people special menu that included 6 courses where each course had 3 options to choose from.  This menu also included drinks.

 

Tasting Journey #51 - 鍋爸刷刷鍋

鍋爸刷刷鍋
台北市長春路382號
02.2545.2588 
http://www.gobar.com.tw/branch_2.html

Great all-you-can-eat buffet.
Unlike most other hotpots where the emphasis is on meat, meat, meat, it offers many selections of fresh vegetables. This place also serves quite a variety of desserts.
A must-visit for shabu shabu lovers.

Tasting Journey #50 - B-One, Sherwood Hotel

B-One, Sherwood Hotel
台北西華飯店

No.111, Sec.3,Min Sheng East Road

Taipei, Taiwan

02.2718.1188

http://www.sherwood.com.tw/dining/b-one.htm

Hotel buffet that offers a great selection of food, including bottomless red wine/white wine/beer.
Food selection includes sashimi, stir-fries, and grills. On the table are wooden clips where you can drop off the clips at stations and they will cook and serve it to your table.

I totally forgot to take photos of the savoury food, but off my memory, they have really good chirashii-don.
Their creme brulee is heaven.

Tasting Journey #49 - 大倉久和 歐風館自助餐廳

大倉久和  歐風館自助餐廳
台北市南京東路一段 9 號
02.2523.1111
http://www.okurataipei.com.tw/?Nsn

$1,500 + 10%

This buffet is well known for its buffet, but it is honestly very disappointing given the poor quality and the selection.  Regardless the high price, I wasn't expecting a buffet as extensive as this to not even find enough satisfactory food to fill my empty stomach.   Not to mention that the ambiance and the interior deco looked more like a burger joint. 

Of all the savoury dishes I had tried, the only note worthy mention is the amaebi sashimi, and sadly, beef sukyaki. Dessert-wise, the only dish that was satisfactory to my taste bud was the panna cota.

  

Tasting Journey #48 - 平田壽司

平田壽司
http://www.hiratasushi.com.tw/

This is a chain sushi store, with one located in the Eslite Book Store in the Taipei Main Train Station.
It is a kaiten sushi that offers a selection that is very similar to 爭鮮壽司. Quality-wise, I do not see it any better, and the price is higher as well.

I wouldn't recommend it unless you are starving and needed to eat something before getting to your next stop (which is why I had stopped by).

The mackerel sushi (both grilled & nigiri) were great. Salmon wasn't.