Pot Pie Cafe

Pot Pie Cafe has become our backup when we're not in the mood for hotpot, but still want some "soul warming food," as Luke likes to say. This homey little restaurant on Fuxing is indeed a great place to go when you're in the need for some comfort food, especially of the fresh from the oven, piping hot variety.

As evidenced by its name, Pot Pie Cafe dishes up a selection of pot pies, including favorites such as shepherd's pie and chicken with mushroom. For 280NT, these pot pies come with a bowl of clam chowder, a side salad, and coffee or tea. Or you can opt to skip the clam chowder and coffee/tea and just order the pot pie itself, with pies ranging from 150-180NT. Once you get your pie, dig into the fluffy mashed potato topping and meat filling. It's great.

(shephard's pie)

The menu also has other British fare like Fish and Chips (good, but too much for me to finish, as the portions are pretty hearty). They also serve breakfast all day, including the Full English Breakfast which comes with two eggs sunny side up, grilled sausages, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, toast and a grilled tomato (for 380NT). While satisfying if one is dying of hunger, as far as breakfasts go, I'd say there are better deals elsewhere. Stick with the pot pies.

(full English breakfast)

Oh, and make sure you treat yourself to dessert. Here's the apple and walnut crumble (150NT) we ordered:


The only minor quibble I have the place is that the only CD Pot Pie Cafe seems to own is Dido. Don't get me wrong, I like Dido for those moments where I just want to stare out the window at the falling rain and think anguished thoughts about unrequited love, but perhaps not so much on an endless loop throughout my dining experience. But other than that, Pot Pie Cafe is two thumbs up.

Pot Pie Cafe
www.potpie.com.tw
Fuxing South Road, Section 2, No. 325
(02) 2736-0905

Alleycat's Pizza

This weather just makes me sluggish. All I want to do is lay on my couch (huddled under several thick blankets - it's cold!), drink hot tea and watch crappy TV. I also want to tell you about the pizza at Alleycats, but my brain can't form very long sentences right now. Blah.

Anyway, Alleycats. It's pizza, it's good, it's pretty cheap (a basic Margherita pizza is 80NT, and then it's 15 or 25NT depending on the topping you get; there are also several pre-set pizzas for 150NT), it's piping hot out of the oven, what more do I have to say?


Oh, and if you really can't get off your couch, they even deliver - well, at least the the Zhongxiao branch does (not sure about the other branches). Unfortunately, though, their radius seems to be fairly small, as we live pretty close to the Zhongxiao branch, but we're still outside their delivery zone.

Alleycats
www.alleycatspizza.com
various locations at:

Nei Hu
Cheng Gong Road, Section 5, No. 67-1
(02) 2630 - 6278

Tien Mu
Chung Shan North Road, Section 6, Lane 35, No. 31
(02) 2835 - 6491

Li Shui Street, No. 6 B1
(02) 2321 - 8949

Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, Lane 248, No. 2
(02) 2731 - 5225

Song Ren Road, No. 285
(02) 8780 - 5421

Forkers

I know that in my last post it made it seem like I'm miserable here, but the truth of the matter is that I'm not. Sometimes I just get grouchy, I guess. In fact, there are a lot of things I appreciate about Taiwan, such as how easy and convenient it is here. Like, let's say I get a craving for a good hamburger. Then I can just hop onto the MRT, take it to Zhongxiao Dunhua on the blue line, and right around the corner is a fantastic new hamburger joint named Forkers where I can stuff my face to my heart's delight. It's ironic because back in the States, if I were to get this same craving, the only choices I'd have would be between McDonald's, Burger King, or TGIFridays. Funny how I had to move all the way across the world to get a good burger.

Forkers has been open for about a couple months now, though by the way their business is doing you'd think they've been around for longer. But it's not surprising that they're doing well. Just take a look at this hamburger here:


That's the Australian burger (260NT), which comes topped with bacon, cheese, a fried egg, beets, grilled onions, and a special barbecue sauce, as well as the usual lettuce and tomato. Yeah, it's a lot, but as Luke says, "Delicious!" I've also had their mushroom cheeseburger (good) and their fajita burger (good, but spicy). All their burgers come with fries (which if you add an extra 40NT or 50NT depending on what you order, you can get poutine, tex-mex or chili cheese fries). You also get a choice of salad with your meal (I like the Hawaiian Pasta Salad) and a drink.

If you're not in the mood for a burger, Forkers also offers other non-burger fare, like the grilled chicken quesadillas (260NT) that I ordered last time we went. It wasn't bad, but I do think that their burgers are definitely their strong point.


So if you're ever craving a hamburger with all the works, head on over to Forkers!

Forkers
www.forkers.tw
Zhongxiao East Road, Section 4, Lane 223, Alley 10, No. 8
(02) 2771-9285

Restaurant Rundown

I have this backlog of restaurants that I keep meaning to review, but then stuff like life and work and checking my Facebook every five seconds keep getting in the way. Damn you, Facebook, you're so addicting!

So here's a bunch of restaurants that I've been to in the past couple of months or so, but am too lazy to write an in-depth review for. So I'm just going to write a short review with a star rating, with the following criteria:

* = do not want, would rather eat my own vomit
** = pretty good
*** = delicious

Without further ado:

Mr. Paco's (Italian) **
Ren Ai Road, Section 4, Lane 345, Alley 4, No. 23
(02) 8771-3102

We ordered the pizza with anchovies, capers and olives. It was a tad on the salty side, because of the anchovies, but not too much so that it ruined it. It was also really cheesy. We also ordered the risotto with prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes, which was pretty good. Maybe not as oozing and creamy as I'd like, but I've also learned to lower my standards for Taiwanese Italian.

Anzo (Japanese Tonkatsu) **
Fuxing North Road, Section 2, Lane 271, No. 2 (right by the Technology Building stop on the Muzha line)
(02) 2701-0298


You can order regular tonkatsu here, or get it fancied up in some way. Luke got his the traditional way, and mine was in a mushroom broth, which was light, yet still flavorful. It was a cold day (and for some reason the AC was on in the restaurant), so when my tonkatsu arrived in the bubbling broth, it really hit the spot.

Patio (Thai) ***
Dunhua Road, Section 1, Alley 247, No, 12
(02) 2731-5288


This restaurant used to be called Patara but for some inexplicable reason they changed their name to Patio, making it sound like an Italian restaurant instead. Order the pad thai (best I've ever had) and the lamb chops. They also have a unique pumpkin pudding dessert, with real pumpkin, not the kind you get from a can. Prices are a little more on the expensive side.

Makatoya (Ramen noodles) **
Civic Blvd., Section 4, No. 17 (right before the Breeze, if you're coming from the MRT)
(02) 2752-9393


What sets this place apart is that instead of making their broth from pork bones, which is what most other ramen places use, they make it from beef bones. I've only been here once, and I just ordered their original flavor at the suggestion of a friend, who said that it's the best. The side dishes - like kimchi or fried dumplings - were just eh.

Hmm, I didn't give anything one star. How lucky for me that I didn't have to eat my own vomit instead.

Gusto

To be honest, no me gusto Gusto (sorry, that was just too hard to resist). It wasn't bad, but my reaction to most of what we ordered there was, Eh.

A look at what we ordered:





The paella (about NT260, prices vary on which type you order) was decent, and came with a good amount for two people, so I guess I can't really complain. Fine, I have one complaint, which was that I wasn't a fan of the huge chunks of broccoli randomly thrown in. Our sampler salad of tomato, mushroom, grilled chicken and seafood salads (NT240) also wasn't bad, but really just ok. The mackerels were disappointingly tasteless, but the spicy meatballs were not. They were tender and flavorful, and the one tapa I would recommend.


Dessert was interesting - we ordered the baked apple - and surprisingly, the drinks were my favorite part of the meal. I ordered the Madrid hot chocolate, which wasn't too sweet, but plenty chocolate-y. Luke had the Spanish coffee, which he also seemed to enjoy, especially the pieces of lime zest they shaved over the whipped cream on top.

To be fair, we did go there later in the evening - about 8:00 or so - and they had run out of many of the other tapas. The restaurant only orders enough ingredients for one day at a time, so that everything is fresh. So perhaps those dishes that we missed out on were better. But then again, we randomly ran into my cousin here, and she said the dishes she ordered weren't much better.

If you decide to try this place out and have a better experience than I did, do let me know. I like tapas, and I was saddened that this place wasn't what I wanted it to be.

Gusto
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/gusto-tapa
Fuxing South Road, Section 1, Lane 107, Alley 5, No. 23
(02) 2731-3267

Omelet to Go

We discovered this little gem of a restaurant a little while back, and it's rapidly become one of our new favorite Western breakfast places. It's hidden away in a small alley off of Renai, and I almost don't want to tell all of you out there in Internetland about it, since I don't want all of you (ok, like one or two of you) to rush over and take all the available seating. Yes, it's small, and probably seats about 10 people comfortably, 14 if you count the outdoor seating.

But that's what I like about it. It's homey. It's cozy. The chef is right out in the open, cooking on a traditional four burner gas stove. The waitresses/prep chefs are friendly and chatty (and also speak fluent English), and the overall effect is that you're in someone's kitchen, watching them prepare a fine meal for you as you chat with friends.

Besides an assortment of omelets (all 90NT each, but no sides), Omelet to Go also offers Mexican dishes (all around 150NT or so), which is awesome for me because I love Mexican food and have been hard pressed to find decent places. Luckily, I need to search no more. I was quite happy with my burrito that I ordered, and thinking about it now is making my mouth water.

Our waitress told us that David, the chef, likes to experiment a lot, and every Tuesday they offer a new creation of his on the menu. One of his experiments that has now become a staple, is the pesto fried rice. I definitely recommend it. It's different, and it works.


Last weekend we headed over to find a brunch special for 200NT. It came with two pancakes, cheesy scrambled eggs, hash browns (these were really good), and sausage. I'm not sure if this was a one time special or if they're going to start having this all the time, but even if they don't, the omelets are always a good choice. Actually, everything is a good choice, so definitely try Omelet to Go!

Omelet to Go
Keelung Road, Section 1, No. 350-69*
(02) 2720-8782

*The address to this place is very misleading, because it's not anywhere near Keelung at all. It's in a small alley off of Renai, close to where Renai ends at Taipei City Hall. If you need more specific directions, drop me a line. Otherwise, I recommend calling for directions, because it's near impossible to find it based on the address itself.

Goethe

Guten Tag. We've been frequenting this one lane by National Taiwan University pretty often lately, because we like to eat at Sababa and Bongos, and every time we go we've noticed Goethe advertising their German cuisine. I guess I was always sort of hesitant about eating here, because when I went to Germany several years ago, I remember eating sausages, with sausages, and a side of sausages. It was just this never ending parade of sausages. I have good memories about every thing else concerning Germany, but god, the food sucked.

But I was curious as to see what this restaurant would be like, especially since we've been on a roll with the non-Chinese food here lately. And you know what? Goethe far exceeded my memories of those awful sausage meals I had in Germany. Who would have thought I would experience better German food in Taiwan, of all places?

Our timing was really good too, because we were there as they were running a promotion for Oktoberfest, so they were offering a set meal for 700NT which let you sample some of Germany's finest fare, such as: pig's knuckles, bratwurst, roast beef, and pickled herring.


I also ordered a sampler type meal, which included fried meatloaf with cheese, a curry sausage, fried ham, smoked cheese, and spaetzle, which are German egg noodles. They were actually my favorite part of the meal, and they made me long for a bigger and better kitchen here, because they seem to the sort of comfort food that you could just whip up on a chilly day.


Our meals came with soup and salad, which were mediocre at best. The soup was actually quite watery and seemed as if perhaps it was just made from some sort of packet.


But, we were also served bread and a variety of dipping sauces that made up for the poor quality of the other starters. The bread was warm and crusty, and came with free refills. The only complaint I had about it was that they spread garlic butter on it for you, which was fine if there weren't any dipping sauces to go with it, but I didn't really enjoy my strawberry cream cheese and garlic flavored bread all that much.


So while Goethe probably isn't going to become one of my favorite restaurants here, I'd say it's good once in a while when you want to mix things up a bit.

Auf wiederstein!

Goethe
goethe-gourmet.com
Roosevelt Road, Section 3, Lane 283, No. 11
(02) 2362-0060

Bongos

For those of you sick of the long wait at The Diner, check out Bongos. I'm not saying that The Diner isn't good, because it is, but sometimes that wait time is just brutal. Also, whenever we tried to call for reservations, they never had any available the day of. Thank goodness for Bongos, then. Even without reservations, the longest we've ever had to wait for a table was about 10 or 15 minutes. And, more importantly, the food is definitely on par with the quality at The Diner - actually, at this point I would say that only thing The Diner has over Bongos is that they serve milkshakes.

In fact, I think I actually like the hamburgers at Bongos better, if only because I feel healthier eating them. They serve all their hamburgers on wheat buns, and in addition to the tradition lettuce and tomatoes, my hamburger came with alfafa sprouts. Here's the Deluxe Bongos Burger I ordered last time - it comes with bacon, Gouda cheese, and what they said was a "special" sauce, but tasted like Thousand Island dressing to me. I don't know, maybe that dressing is special here in Taiwan.


Another thing that I was really excited about at Bongos is that they have Mexican food on their menu, and it's actually quite decent. The chicken enchiladas are a thumbs up, and the chili is also good.

So, next time you call up The Diner and find that they're booked solid, head on over to Bongos.

Bongos
Wenjou Street, Lane 74, Alley 5, No. 3*
(02) 2365-6059

*It might be a good idea to call for directions, since Bongos is tucked away in a small alley near National Taiwan University (Exit 2 from the MRT Taipower Station). In fact, their business card says, "If lost, call Debby 0952-821-930."

Olala

When my husband and I first moved to Taipei about a year ago, I would crave non-Asian food so much that I would force Luke to eat at all the American chain restaurants like TGIFridays, Chilis, and sometimes even – gasp! – McDonald’s, just to have a taste of home. It’s funny because these were the sorts of places that I looked down my foodie nose at back in the States – places that were too “mainstream,” not to mention unhealthy. But the first few weeks here, we didn’t know of any places besides the big chain restaurants, and sometimes I was really homesick and just wanted to be somewhere that reminded me of home, even if it meant that I had to eat hamburgers the size of my head.

Luckily for us and our waistlines, we discovered Olala not long after we came here, and were thrilled. The French cuisine at Olala is authentic and fantastic, with a cozy ambience and friendly staff.

For 1000NT, you can get a set meal that comes with a soup, salad, entrée, dessert and coffee/tea. I recommend going for this option, since unlike some other restaurants that have it so that you don’t have a choice of the entrée in a set meal, at Olala you can pick your entrée off the regular menu. You definitely get more bang for your buck this way.

Usually I’ll order the special set meal of the day, which doesn’t include soup but does include a pasta. My husband likes the duck confit, so he almost always orders that. The last time we went though, I ended up ordering the duck confit and he got the special set meal of the day.

Carrot soup with creme fraiche.


Romaine and frisee salad.


The skin on my duck confit was nice and crispy, and the meat was so tender that it just fell off the bone when you cut into it.


Here’s Luke’s steak and frites, cooked "si fen so" (medium rare). Last time he ordered his steak "wu fen so," (medium) and he said it's better "si fen so."


For dessert I had the crepe flambee with a scoop of strawberry ice-cream, and Luke had the crème brulee. As an added bonus, the ice-cream was from Movenpick, which happens to be my favorite brand of ice-cream here.




Oh, and they also have special nights that feature salsa and other kinds of dancing. I think they might have lessons on those nights as well. We’ve never been to any of those, but maybe we’ll check it out sometime.

Olala
Ren Ai Road, Section 4, No. 371*
(02) 2773 – 9577

*I would recommend calling for directions; it might be a little bit hard to find the first time you go, since it’s a little hard to spot it from Ren Ai.

VVG Bistro

Today we enjoyed a lovely brunch at the very very good VVG Bistro, sister restaurant to the VVG Table that I reviewed in a previous post. Since VVG Bistro also offers a set menu that's pretty similar to the one we had at VVG Table, I won't go into a full review. I'll just say that everything was delectable and post some pictures. For my friends in the States, these are to lure you here so you'll come and visit.

Actually, before I post the pictures, I would to say how much I like the idea of set menus here in Taiwan. In the States, set menus are pretty rare - unless you count tasting menus, and those are usually really expensive. The only place where you'll be sure to find a set menu is at McDonalds. But in Taiwan, set menus are much more commonplace and you definitely get more bang for your buck. And, it always includes the perfect amount of food, so you don't have to worry about ordering too much or too little, which sometimes happens when you order a la carte. The set menu at VVG Table is NT500, which is about $15 US, and probably a little bit on the steep side by Taiwanese standards, but in my opinion still a good deal nevertheless.

And now on to the pictures:

Here's a picture of the complimentary "ice lolly" that came before our meal:

For some reason, the coffee came in a giant bowl.

Here's a picture of my husband drinking from his bowl o' joe.

Our set meal. Clockwise from upper left hand corner: deep-fried fish with seaweed and rice; almond milk panna cotta with macerated blueberries; summer juice with honeydew, muskmelon, and watermelon; shrimp steamed egg and squid steamed egg, shrimp roulade with silver sprout, water chestnut and spinach; tomato, basil, and parmesan bread served with prosciutto, tomato, and cheese.


Some close-ups:


Also, check out the decor in this place. It's so quirky and eclectic. I love the pink refrigerator.

VVG Bistro
Zhongxiao East Road, Lane 180, Alley 40, No. 20
(02) 8773-3533

Flavor

For those of you who know me in real life and for a while, most of you are surprised by how far I’ve come in my eating habits. Just a few short years ago, I hated all sorts of foods – mushrooms, fish, cheese, tomatoes, anything with skin on it, anything that still had its head attached and seemed like it was looking at me…on and on. But then my husband eventually wore me down by cooking all sorts of fabulous meals using the very ingredients I hated, and now I love all sorts of food and am 15 pounds heavier.

Flavor is a testament to how differently I feel about food now. This is the sort of meal I would have hated a few years ago. Fish – yuck! Raw fish – double yuck! Mushrooms – grotesque beyond belief.

My meal tonight included all the foods that I previously disliked, but if only I had eaten meals this majestic growing up. Then I wouldn’t have been so picky. And I would be taller today. (Milk was also much hated.)

(By the way, before I go into the full review, I would like to apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. I don’t know, I’m not as bad as I used to be, when I would get up and go to the bathroom so as not to be associated with my husband if he so much as took out the camera, but I still feel sort of silly about it even now. It’s not so bad when you’re in a crowded, well-lit restaurant that doesn’t require the flash, but Flavor is a small, cozy and dark restaurant, and every time I took a picture the room would light up. So I took these pictures very hastily and as a result none of them really do the food justice. Alas, and apologies.)

The food at Flavor is authentic Swedish cuisine, as the owners – a husband and wife couple – both lived and studied cooking there. The husband, who happens to be the head chef, is an actual bona fide Swede.

When we went tonight they were offering a special set menu, since they had just come back from a vacation in Sweden and bought back all sorts of goodies with them. Our first course was a cream of potato soup with truffle oil. It came with homemade bread seasoned with cumin, and it was quite tasty. I asked my husband just now how he would describe the soup and the bread, and he replied, “Delicious.” Well, that’s a good a description as I could have come up with, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Our next course was an appetizer of smoked salmon and toast. The smoked salmon was prepared two different ways – on the left is the smoked salmon with a mustard sauce, and on the right the smoked salmon is with honey, sour cream and dill. Yum.


Afterwards came the four entrees: cod with horseradish, chicken seasoned with thyme and wrapped in bacon, pork with a game sauce and, of course, the house specialty: Swedish meatballs. The thing I like about Flavor is that each dish feels like it’s been prepared just for you. Maybe it’s because when we go we’re usually the only patrons – though this time we weren’t – but the way everything looks so nice and perfect makes me think that the chef made it that way just for me. I don’t know, maybe that’s my megalomania speaking. But everything was cooked to perfection – the meats were all the right tenderness, the sauces complemented everything just right, and with the chicken came a little whimsical potato box. The pictures below are of the chicken wrapped in bacon and the Swedish meatballs.




Ok, now on to the best part of the meal: dessert. I wish I had the words to describe how much I love this dessert. This apple pie dessert is the best apple pie I have ever eaten in my whole entire life. Ever. It is the perfect apple pie. When I accidentally dropped a morsel off my fork, my husband and I both gasped in horror. Thankfully, it just fell onto the table, and yes, I still ate it. It’s so good I would have still eaten it if it fell onto the floor. The textures and tastes just work together so well. The crust is the exact right crispiness and the apples are soft, but not mushy, and everything is drenched in this delicious foamy cream. I know I keep saying this, but it is truly perfection. Sadly, this picture is a really horrible one and does it no justice whatsoever. Just go and try it yourself.


Flavor
http://www.flavors.com.tw/
SanMin Road, Lane 107, No. 8-3
(02) 2769-1971

Brunch at VVG Table

One of the things I miss the most about the States is brunch. Sure, I really like do jiang (that sweet soy drink), sao bing you tao (that fried cruller…thing inside that bread…thing) and dim sum, but sometimes I just want some eggs and iced coffee. And I don’t want to have to wait outdoors for 45 minutes while feeling I’m about to spontaneously combust at The Diner.

So then what a treat it was to discover VVG Table. If you didn’t know, VVG stands for “very, very good,” and yes, it is indeed very very good. Located in a small alley off of Dunhua Road, it is a bit hard to find, but once you do, it’s well worth it. Walking down a quiet residential street, you’ll see a shady porch filled with all manner of comfortable and quirky looking sofas and tables. I imagine it would be quite nice to sit out there on a spring day sipping an iced coffee, but this was July in Taipei, and it was a frillion degrees out, so we opted to sit inside.

I love the ambiance at both the VVG restaurants (there’s a sister restaurant, VVG Bistro, just down the street) – both have such specific personalities to them. At VVG Table, I felt like I’d just stumbled into a French farmhouse. The interior is small and cozy, with some small tables clustered in the middle of the room flanked by long, antique looking wooden tables on both sides. There’re all these details I love – here the bright red candelabras on the long tables, there the vintage suitcases on top on some shelves. I even loved the little containers the sugars are in. Seriously, I wanted to swipe one when no one was looking.


For brunch, the only option is the set meal at NT540. The meal comes with several dishes, but in teeny tiny portions. Being the fat and greedy Americans that we are, my husband and I were initially worried that it wouldn’t be enough food. But the portions ended up being perfect – the small sizes let you savor each bite, knowing that there isn’t that much of it. It also allowed you to sample a lot more without feeling too full. We were first served a tiny cup of passionfruit, pineapple and mint slush. Scooping the slush into our mouths, we were surprised to find that the pineapple, instead of being blended in along with the passionfruit and mint, were instead frozen into little cubes, adding an interesting texture. A refreshing treat on a hot day.


Our set brunch came with homemade raspberry lemonade (more like a slush, actually), scrambled eggs with caviar, a sausage, olive, chickpea and caper dish, squid salad, and a rice cake topped with roe. The eggs were light and fluffy, with the caviar adding just the right hint of saltiness. The sausage, olive, chickpea and caper dish was surprisingly spicy, but with the just right amount of kick to work with the sourness of the olives and capers. My husband liked the rice cake the best. It had some nuts mixed in, so there were lots of interesting textures going on, what with the slight bite of the rice, the crunchy nuts, the silky roe.


I forgot to mention that before our brunch came, we were treated to a plate of fresh bread accompanied by various jams, honey and nutella. The honey was especially good – it’s some kind of special German kind, and you can really tell the difference. It was especially tasty mixed with the nutella.


VVG Table might not be the sort of place you want to go every weekend – it is a bit pricier, but definitely worth it when you want something more than your usual sao bing you tao/do jiang breakfast. Heck, it’s better than your typical bacon and eggs breakfast. So check it out.

VVG Table
ZhongXiao East Road, Lane 40, Alley 181, No. 14
(02) 2775-5120