Ruth's Chris [茹絲葵] (Visit #2)

Visit: April 30, 2012
Address: 台北市松山區民生東路三段 135 號 2 F
Number: (02) 2545-8888
Website: http://www.ruthschris.com/Steak-House/10037/Taipei (Not Taiwan)

When people are asked what their comfort foods are, usually something like casseroles or some family style food is brought up. Mine though... is steak. I love steak, and so due to transitive property (yes I was concentrating in middle school math), I love Ruth's Chris.

Menu


Complimentary Bread

Complimentary Bread

 The bread at Ruth's Chris isn't very special, but the fact that they never fail to serve it warm just makes it so much better. I also love the butter they serve. It's so easy to spread, and so fluffy and light to eat.

Foie Gras with Mashed Potatoes

Foie Gras with Mashed Potatoes

 The foie gras wasn't on the menu, but when the waitress introduced it, I was automatically drawn to it. I'm not going to deny, the foie gras was pretty oily... but isn't that the whole point? The foie gras was cooked just right, and oh my gosh, I just love the mashed potatoes at Ruth's Chris. I'm not even going to imagine how much butter they put into the mashed potatoes...but hey, all that matters is that it's pretty awesome.

Sizzlin' Blue Crab Cakes (紐奧良蟹肉糕) $450 NT

Sizzlin' Blue Crab Cakes

The crab cakes were awesome too! I'm not usually a big fan of crabs, but the crab cake didn't have the disgusting fishy taste, nor did it result in a mouthful of oil when I bit into it as I would've expected. The outsides were a bit crispy, while the insides weren't dried up, but instead retained most of its moisture.

Petite Fillet - 8 Ounce (小菲力牛排 - 8 ounce) $1350 NT

Petite Fillet

 My sister and I originally wanted to cowboy ribeye since we enjoyed it so much last time, but due to some recent beef issues in Taiwan, Ruth's Chris no longer serves bone-in steaks for now.

Insides of the Petite Fillet

I got mine medium rare, but told them that I'd rather have it a little more on the rare side since the sizzlin' plates usually cook the beef a little bit more. As you can see, they did a pretty good job at it. Last time, when I had the Fillet at Robin's Grill, I thought that it was the best I've ever had, but after a bite of Ruth's Chris' Petite Fillet, Robin's Grill falls to a very close second. The fillet wasn't tough to chew on at all, and it was just so tender. Cowboy ribeye is still my favorite though :D

Ribeye - 16 Ounce (肋眼牛排 - 16 Ounce) $1850 NT

16 Ounce Ribeye

 Once again, Ruth's Chris didn't disappoint with a piece of meat that was cooked just right. The ribeye was good compared to other restaurants, except personally, I don't think I enjoy the ribeye as much as the other portions. The ribeye was a little more fibrous compared to the fillet, and was also a little chewer compared to the cowboy ribeye.

Dessert Selection

Clockwise form the Creme Brulee: Cheesecake, Chocolate Molten Cake and Chocolate Sin Cake

 The dessert selection just looked so yummy! Don't be fooled though, these weren't all the desserts that they were serving that night, these were simply the ones they were showcasing.

Chocolate Sin Cake (巧克力蛋糕) $260 NT

Chocolate Sin Cake

 Man, this dessert was so appropriately named. The cake is completely made of chocolate fudge with no flour whatsoever, so it guarantees a full-blown chocolate experience. The chocolate sin cake was just so rich and fudgey that I couldn't resist it... eating it was just such a guilty pleasure.

Caramelized Banana Cream Pie (香蕉奶油派) $350 NT

Caramelized Banana Cream Pie

 I remember hesitating a bit when I was going to order the banana cream pie because I was so worried that under the bananas would be whipped cream or something really lame. Ordering it was an awesome idea. I, being forever obsessed with pie crusts, was very much satisfied with the crust of the banana cream pie. The banana was also caramelized nicely while the cream wasn't whipped cream, but a more custard-like dairy-rich cream. It went so well with the banana while contrasting nicely with the pie crust.

Honestly, after having been to Ruth's Chris three times (I've only documented it twice), Ruth's Chris has continued to impress me each time. I'm not the kind of person who picks out favorites, but I think that if I really had to choose, Ruth's Chris would be my favorite restaurant. The thing with Ruth's Chris is that it's not just one dish that's good, or one course that's well thought out, but it's just such a well-rounded restaurant. So far, everything I've tasted have just been either good or amazing, and the service there is also exceptional, while the atmosphere just makes you feel right at home. For the average Taiwanese, the presentation of the food might not be as appealing as other restaurants, but the quality is definitely worth the price. Although the steaks are somewhat expensive, I think that overall, nothing is outrageously priced at all, I mean look at the size and quality of the desserts compared to those at Pratisserie Sadaharu Aoki or at Salon de the de Joel Robuchon. Definitely visit Ruth's Chris if you get the chance!

Trattoria di Primo

Visit: April 30, 2012
Address: 台北市復興南路一段107巷14號1樓
Number: (02) 2711-1726
Website: http://www.mr-cheese.com.tw/stores.aspx?id=13

I've been in quite the mood for some cheese lately so I found myself choosing this Italian restaurant for my lunch date.

Menu (part)


Lunch Set - Insalada di Stagione (季節沙拉)

Insalata di Stagione

The salad was just a pretty normal salad with cheese shavings and oil vinegar dressing.


Lunch Set - Zuppa del Giorno - Pumpkin Soup (Primo 主廚湯)

Soup

My memory is kind of failing me... I'm not completely sure if it was pumpkin soup, but I remember it not being too bad.


Lunch Set - Pizza A.O.P. - Garlic, Fresh Chili, Mozzarella, Grana Padano (經典A.O.P. 披薩) $320 NT

Pizza A.O.P.

 I've got to say, their pizza was pretty amazing. It wasn't too oily, and the crust was so chewy with such a nice texture. Although I don't think I ordered the right flavor as I should have ordered something with more a more elaborate combination of toppings since this was just a little too plain.


Lunch Set - Rotelle con Fegato Grasso alla Venezianna - Rotelle, Onion, Duck Liver, Onion, Basil, Garlic, Cherry Tomato with Tomato Sauce (威尼斯鵝肝車輪麵) $300 NT

Rotelle con Fegato Grasso alla Venezianna

 Okay, the rotelle was just so disappointing. The flavor was too bland, and it felt like the sauce and the rotelle were two completely separated entities.


 Selection of Desserts 

Clockwise from Tiramisu: Tiramisu, Citrus Chocolate, Lemon Tart, not sure, not sure, Berry Mousse
Center: Mascarpone

The waitress brought over a dessert platter for us to choose from since we wanted to order dessert. I'm not sure if the names are completely correct, but I did my best to translate them.


Mascarpone (麥斯卡邦內小點) $100 NT

Mascarpone

This was my first time having mascarpone. The mascarpone here had raisins mixed in it. I have to be honest, I was so excited to taste the mascarpone, but it just had the texture of unsalted butter/cream and not much taste. Maybe the restaurant didn't serve the mascarpone well, or maybe mascarpones just aren't my thing...

Overall, I would definitely recommend Trattoria di Primo. The lunch sets were extremely cheap considering the amount as well as quality you get. I'd actually like to come back to try their cheese plates, different kinds of pizzas as well as desserts. Remember to order their pizza if you ever get the chance to visit!

Wendel's German Bakery & Bistro [溫德德式烘培餐館]

Visit: April 29, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區德行西路5號
Number: (02) 2831-4592
Website: www.wendels-bakery.com/

After a very fulfilling lunch at Very Thai, my family had our very own afternoon tea with cakes my aunt brought over to my grandparents' house.

Banana Cake (香蕉蛋糕) $75 NT/piece

Banana Cake

The banana cakes look a bit dry, but they really aren't. They're not the extremely moist cakes, but I felt that the cakes were just right without being dry or greasy.

Coffee Walnut Cake (溫德焦糖咖啡) $65 NT/piece

Coffee Walnute Ckae

 I generally dislike cream and mousse cakes, but the coffee walnut cake wasn't too heavy.

Strawberry Cake (草莓蛋糕)  

Strawberry Cake

 The strawberry cake tastes exactly as it looks. The bottom section is simply a sponge cake base, while the top is strawberry jello with fresh strawberries.

Wendel's isn't my favorite bakery, but the cakes here are pretty decent. I'd recommend Wendel's for their pastries and breads.

Very Thai [非常泰]

Visit: April 29, 2012
Address: 台北市中山北路六段77號8樓 (Inside Sogo)
Number: (02)2831-0188
Website: www.verythai.com.tw/


The weekly family gathering called for some convenient Thai food. So...Very Thai it is.

Grilled Pork with Thai Dip (嫩烤松阪豬) $380 NT

Grilled Pork with Thai Dip

 The grilled pork was cooked pretty well without being overcooked and rubbery. I just wished that the sauces were just as flavorful as they look.

Spicy Beef Stir-fry (辣炒手工剁牛小排) $320 NT

Spicy Beef Stir-fry

 I was a little taken off guard when this dish was served. I was expecting large pieces of beef rather than minced beef. Despite the surprise though, the beef stir-fry was actually pretty decent even though it was a little too oily for my liking.

Steamed Seabass in Lemon Sauce (檸檬清蒸魚) $480 NT

Steamed Seabass in Lemon Sauce

 The waiter recommended that we wait for the food to boil before we start eating...and that took forever. I didn't have much of the fish, but a few pieces told me that the sauce was pretty awesome.

Thai Green Papaya Salad (涼拌青木瓜) $250 NT

Thai Green Papaya Salad

 The papaya salad definitely wasn't the best I've had.

Green Curry Chicken in Coconut Sauce (綠咖哩椰汁雞肉) $280 NT

Green Curry Chicken in Coconut Sauce

 Although the curry is extremely oily, this is one of my favorite dishes at Very Thai. The sauce is creamy and coconut-y enough, and the chicken slices were also pretty good.

Thai Style Grilled Chicken with Spicy Sauce (泰式香烤雞腿) $280 NT

Thai Style Grilled Chicken with Spicy Sauce

 This was another one of my favorite dishes. The sauce wasn't as awesome as it looked, but the chicken definitely was grilled nicely compared to many of the other Thai restaurants. If you're into Thai grilled chicken though, you should check out the dish at Jolly.

Fried Greens with Shrimp Paste (蝦醬炒空心菜) $180 NT

Fried Greens with Shrimp Paste

 It's called fried greens, but more specifically, this was fried water spinach in shrimp paste.

Spicy Fried Eggplant (泰味茄子) $180 NT

Spicy Fried Eggplant

This is one of those dishes where you make yourself feel better by thinking that you're balancing your so far unhealthy meal with some vegetable, but in reality, the yummy oiliness renders the vegetable factor of the dish insignificant.

Thai Style Shrimp with Pineapple (泰味鳳梨蝦球) $300 NT

Thai Style Shrimp with Pineapple

 I've never been quite a fan of shrimp in mayonnaise so I decided not to waste my stomach space on this.

Seafood & Pineapple Fried Rice (鳳梨海鮮炒飯) $350 NT

Seafood & Pineapple Fried Rice

 The seafood and pineapple fried rice was okay. I just wished that there was more meat floss to mix into the rice with. The fried rice didn't have a distinct taste, so it actually works with the curries and other dishes.

Curry Chicken (咖哩雞) $280 NT

Curry Chicken

 The curry wasn't too special but I heard the the chicken was pretty good even though I didn't have any because there were only a few pieces.

Thai Ice Milk Tea (泰式冰奶茶) $120 NT

Thai Ice Milk Tea

 I really like how they give you the syrup separately so that you can adjust the sweetness of the drink according to your own liking.

Tapioca & Exotic Fruit in Coconut Milk (ㄍㄨ ㄐㄧㄡ西米露)$100 NT

Tapioca & Exotic Fruit in Coconut Milk

 The coconut milk was rich, but not too disgustingly creamy. I'm not sure what the "exotic fruit" refers to, but the taro in the milk was soft enough without being soggy and still retaining it's chewiness.

Combo in Coconut Milk with Crushed Ice (摩摩喳喳) $100 NT

Combo in Coconut Milk with Crushed Ice

 Unlike the crushed ice at other Thai restaurants, the colorful chewy balls didn't taste as artificial as other places.This was a nice way to close off the meal (:

Very Thai isn't somewhere you'd go to for extremely good food, but it's a pretty decent Thai Restaurant Chain. I'd recommend Very Thai if you're just wanting some Thai food or a place to meet up with friends. If you're looking for some awesome Thai food though, definitely go check out Mei Kung (湄河) or Sukhothai at the Sheraton Hotel.

Soft [軟糖自烘咖啡館]

Visit: April 28, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區中正路213巷2號
Number: (02) 2883-2252
Website: tw.myblog.yahoo.com/joycehsu10052009

After some Japanese barbecue at Nanajyoutatsu, I was still craving some dessert...or more specifically, honey toast. The only place I knew of though is dazzling cafe, but I was nowhere near any of its branches. I ended up wandering around the ShihLin MRT station with my friend looking for a cute coffee shop. Buried deep inside one of the alleys, I ACTUALLY FOUND MY HONEY TOAST!

Menu


Complimentary Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears

 It's really cute how they serve complimentary gummy bears (:
 
Honey Toast with Ice Cream (冰淇淋糖酥) $180 NT

Honey Toast with Ice Cream

 I honestly don't know how dazzling cafe gets all its publicity because their honey toast is actually pretty bland and dry. The honey toast at Soft though, was surprisingly crispy on the outside, and soft and moistly buttered on the inside . The caramel sauce was also really tasty. With one spoonful of ice cream or whipped cream and a bite of toast, this was just heavenly~
 
Milk Tea (軟糖特調奶茶) $130 NT

Milk Tea

 The milk tea tasted really fresh without being too sweet.

This was definitely an unexpected find for me. I can't believe that by wandering from coffee shop to coffee shop, I actually found a small homey place with awesome food. I definitely recommend this reasonably priced and quiet little coffee shop!

Nanajyoutatsu [七條龍炭火燒肉]

Visit: April 28, 2012
Address: 台北市復興南路一段21號
Number: (02) 2740-3580
Website: www.nanajyoutatsu.com.tw/

 For some odd reason, I've just been craving meat recently. My friend being an awesome person, decided to satisfy my craving with some barbecue~

Menu


Fruit Sauce Beef (水果壺漬牛肉) $160 NT

Fruit Sauce Beef

Nope, this is not a tasty drink...but a cup full of raw beef in fruit juice. After I roasted the beef, the fruit taste wasn't that obvious, but the flavoring wasn't too bad. The meat though was really tough and fibrous.

Ox Tongue (牛舌 - 鹽蔥) $220 NT

Ox Tongue

 The ox tongue was really chewy.

Triple-flavored Filet Mignon (菲力三味) $250 NT

Triple-flavored Filet Mignon

 The triple-flavored filet mignon flavorings consisted of rose salt, butter and magnolia leaf. My favorite would probably be the rose salt and magnolia leaf flavored ones. The butter was just too oily without enough saltiness since the meat wasn't marinated at all.

Chicken Cartilage - Spicy (雞軟骨 - 辣味) $80 NT

Chicken Cartilage - Spicy

 The chicken cartilage actually lived up to the spiciness that I love. However, the cartilage itself was a little too hard and didn't strike the balance between hard and chewy.

Roasted Machi  (銬麻糬) $120 NT

Roasted Machi in the Making

Roasted Machi

 Here, they roast the machi in front of you and then cover it in sweetened condensed milk and then in peanut powder. The machi reminded me a lot of the rice cake that I love~ The machi was good~~~

We actually ordered a lot more, but I didn't take pictures of each of the dishes because I didn't think that raw meat would look very appetizing. We actually went to Nanajyoutatsu thinking that it was an all-you-can-eat restaurant, but it ended up being one that we had to order at. I assumed that the serving would be fast since it's raw meat, but it took forever for them to serve the food. It was also a challenge to flag down the waiters and waitresses even though there weren't that many customers at that time. The food was good overall, but there are definitely better barbecue places.

The Villa - Herbs

Visit: April 27, 2012
Address: 台北市樂利路11巷30,32號
Number: (02)2732-3255
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thevillaherbs/info

Menu (partly)
 
Deep Fried Baby Chicken Legs Stuffed Olive (酥炸橄欖鑲雞腿) $280 NT

Deep Fried Baby Chicken Legs Stuffed Olive

 The fried chicken came looking very normal served on top of Doritos.

Cut Open Fried Chicken

 However, when you cut into it, where the bones were supposed to be, were instead replaced by olives and dried apricots. It's the most spectacular little surprise (: The chicken was pretty tender and crispy, but the most awesome part was that you didn't need to work your way around the bones, because it is now replaced with something yummy and edible.

Braised Lamb Shanks in Herbs White Wine Sauce (白酒風味凱莉茴香燉煮小羊膝) $580 NT

Braised Lamb Shanks in Herbs White Wine Sauce

 At a restaurant borderline lounge, I was expecting all the food to be fried and salty. The lamb shanks though, was served light in watery white wine sauce without being too bland. Although the lamb shanks had a little bit of a smell, it wasn't too bad. The soft texture of the lamb made up for the smell.

Braised Veal Ossobuco and Black Eyes Bean in Red Wine Sauce (勃根地紅酒燉煮小牛膝，季節食蔬及黑眼豆) $580 NT

Braised Veal Ossobuco and Black Eyes Bean in Red Wine Sauce

 The veal, like the lamb, wasn't too heavy though the lamb was still a bit lighter. The veal was good, but I still thought that the texture of the lamb was much softer.

Tiramisu (提拉米蘇) $180 NT

Tiramisu

 I really wanted to get the apple pie, but my date for the evening was allergic to walnuts :(, so instead we got the tiramisu. The tiramisu was supposedly the restaurant's specialty, and I guess it wasn't too bad. The mousse part of the tiramisu was yummy, but the cake layers would have been soggy had it not been for icy frozen texture. It was also a little weird that the tiramisu was a bit frozen, but not really. Overall though, the tiramisu wasn't too bad.

What I really liked the most about The Villa - Herbs is its atmosphere. Unlike most dark and lounge-like restaurants, the food was actually pretty decent and not overly heavy. I would recommend The Villa -Herbs to anyone interested in grabbing a decent dinner with drinks.