Monday, October 1, 2007

Smith & Hsu

Alas, my camera is still back in the US of A, but thankfully one of Luke's mom's friends is coming to Taiwan this week, and we should have our camera back soon! Hurray.

Anyway, I was going through some of my old pictures, and here's one from Smith & Hsu. Located very conveniently practically right next door to us, Smith & Hsu is a small cafe that serves tea, cakes and sandwiches. When it first opened, we were convinced that it'd be gone by the end of the month, since real estate prices are pretty expensive in the area and their business didn't seem to be that good. But nowadays, Smith & Hsu seems to be doing well, perhaps even prospering. It's not our favorite cafe, as their prices are a bit more expensive than average (think Starbucks, and Smith & Hsu is in about the same range), but we do like to pop in once in awhile when we're in the mood for some tea and scones with homemade jams.


If you're feeling particularly ambitious, or if you're with a few people, you can order a set meal that comes with a couple of sandwiches, your choice of three cakes, and four scones (two plain, two raisin) with your choice of jams. It also comes with two teas that you pick from the wide variety of choices - I prefer their fruitier teas, but there are also a lot of green, red, and milk teas as well. It comes to around 600NT, and it's definitely more than enough for two people - in fact, we could only eat one of the cakes and had to bring the rest home.

The cakes aren't anything great - you'll find better at 85° C Cafe - but I do like the scones a lot. And the sandwiches are pretty tasty, but the portions are pretty small. Nevertheless, it's still worth the trip, if just once in a while.

Smith & Hsu
www.smithandhsu.com/en/intro.php
Zhongxiao East Road, Section 5, No. 33
(02) 2459-5899

4 comments:

abstractpoet said...

Yeah, I think the sandwiches and cakes are no great shakes considering what you pay. The best deal is the NT$165 tea and scones set. The scones are delicious, especially with the English butter and jam of your choice. Pick a hot tea and it'll last you a pleasant afternoon with a good book or your trusty laptop (free wireless Internet, since it's right above the Taipei City Hall MRT station!).

joanh said...

looks kind of like joyce cafe/ joyce east afternoon tea. i find 85 degrees a much better deal too. hehe

joanh said...

i FINALLY made it to smith and hsu today (though my friend picked it, not me)... love their scones! the cheesecake is not bad too. pricier since 3 years ago!

Emily said...

Glad to hear you liked it! I'm impressed that they're still around - they didn't seem to have too much business back then. I guess they must be doing pretty well if they've raised their prices too!