Guang Ze Noodles (Pa Ding Wu) [廣澤擔仔麵(冇冇有擔仔麵)]

Visit: June 21, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區福華路10號 (Next to ZhiShan MRT Station)
Number: (02) 2836 - 8988

I've always passed by this pretty well regarded Taiwanese restaurant, though I've never actually been to it. There were a few times when I had takeouts from the restaurant, but you know how takeouts are, they're never as good. To satisfy my own appetite and to take my thong-wearing visiting Aussie friend somewhere to eat, we (...well I) decided to come here. My goal of the meal: to make him eat as many weird things as possible.

Menu 

Menu

Cripsy Intestines (脆皮肥腸) $200 NT

Crispy Intestines

Even though many Taiwanese restaurants serve this dish, I've actually never had it before. Verdict? Not bad (:

Shrimp in Fried Chinese Dough (百花油條) $160 NT

Shrimp in Fried Chinese Dough

Once again, another new dish for me to try. It was quite interesting and delicious. The shrimp paste is first stuffed into the fried chinese dough or fritter (translating isn't my strong suite) and then stir fried in this sweet and sour orange sauce.

Yam Leaves Stir Fried with Preserved Eggs (皮蛋炒地瓜葉) $100 NT

Yam Leaves Stir Fried with Preserved Eggs

The dish looks and sounds interesting, but honestly, it just tastes like stir fried yam leaves.

 Pig Liver (粉肝) $100 NT

Pig Liver

Not bad, but not the best. Lv Sang [呂桑食堂] is still the best.


Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice aka Lu Rou Fan (招牌滷肉飯) $25 NT

Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (Lu Rou Fan)

I've actually heard a lot about the pork rice here. I mean seriously, look at those juicy fatty chunks of meat~ The braised pork rice was yum yum yum!

Guang Ze Noodles actually used to be called Pa Ding Wu, but for one reason or another, it changed its name. The restaurant did indeed live up to its reputation, though as I've said said before, Lv Sang [呂桑食]堂 is still my favorite. I'd recommend this simple little Taiwanese restaurant.

Shing Peng Lai Restaurant [興蓬萊台菜海鮮餐廳]

Visit: May 25, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區中山北路7段165號
Number: (02) 2877-1168
Website: http://www.splr.com.tw/
Ah, I know that this is LONG overdue, but I completely forgot about it. :/

Menu

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.


Lungs and Liver in Sesame Oil (麻油雙腰)

Lungs and liver in Sesame oil

I'm not the biggest fan of this type of sesame oil. Although I'm not quite fond of the liver and lung of the pig, the insides were actually okay in this dish.

Chicken (白片放山雞)

Chicken

Man, the chicken is just so good. The meat was not dry at all and contained quite a bit of moisture while the skin is just nicely slippery without being overly oily.

Fried Pork Ribs (招牌排骨酥) $150 NT/Piece

Fried Pork Ribs

This must be my favorite dish of the entire night. I've never ever had such crisply fried ribs before. MUST ORDER!

Fried Oysters (香炸鮮蚵)

Fried Oysters

Once again, the restaurant really does know how to fry their foods. Loved the fried basil :D


Fried Tofu (香炸豆腐)

Fried Tofu

To me, the tofu wasn't all too special since it was quite bland, but as far as the crispiness goes, it was quite good.

Stir Fried Rice Noodle (肉絲炒米粉)

Stir Fried Rice Noodle

I'm not that fond of rice noodles, so the dish was just okay to me. But I think a lot of people really enjoyed the dish, especially with the sweet potatos also fried into it.

Hong Kong Style Fried Rice (燒臘飯)

Hong Kong Style Fried Rice

This type of rice is extremely oily... but it's definitely worth it. There are bits of Chinese sausages, spring onion, and minced pork belly in the rice. It's like discovering little pieces of treasure :D

Complimentary ICEE

Icy Dessert

Overall, I would say that the restaurant is very authentic in its Taiwanese food. I definitely recommend this restaurant, though keep in mind that it's not the classiest place ever.

Sonnentor Cafe [日光大道健康廚房]

Visit: May 24, 2012
Address:台北市天玉街38巷18弄6號
Number: (02) 2874- 0208
Website: www.escents.com.tw

I was walking around Tien Mu with my sister, and we decided to find a cafe to sit at on this hot sunny day for lunch. I suddenly remembered passing by Sonnentor Cafe all the time, so we ended up going there for lunch.

Menu

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Classic Caesar Salad (日光大道經典凱撒沙拉) $340 NT

Classic Caesar Salad

Toscana Set (托斯卡尼義式田園) $420 NT

Cappuccino and Bread

The bread was pretty good with a very chewy texture. The sauce on the other hand... not so much.

Toscana Set

Chicken Puff and Ham

The chicken puff was quite delightful because it had a nice puff pastry with a chicken egg salad inside. The rest was just okay.

The amount of food in the Toscana set was quite staggering. Had I known that there would be o much food, I would've skipped the salad and shared the set with my sister.

Overall, I thought that the Sonnentor Cafe is worth a try. The food is good, and their bakery section is extremely extensive, though I did not have the opportunity to really try them. I thought that the cafe would be overpriced, but seeing the things of it, it price-wise it's also pretty decent. I'd recommend the Sonnentor Cafe.

Shanghai Shanghai Restaurant [紅豆食府]

Visit: May 20, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區中山北路六段77號 8F (Sogo)
Number: (02) 2833-2208
Website: www.shanghaishanghai.com.tw/

As a little celebration since my cousin just came back from college in the States, we decided that it was only appropriate to dine at a Chinese restaurant. Since my grandma for some reason wanted to stay in Tien Mu, we ended up at Shanghai Shanghai - a good but not amazing, Chinese restaurant.

Menu

Deep-fried Diced Chicken with Dried Hot Pepper (香辣子雞) 360 NT

Deep-fried Diced Chicken with Dried Hot Pepper

This reminded me so much of the Kung-Pao style chicken.

Stinky Tofu Kung-Pao Style (宮保臭豆腐) 250 NT

Stinky Tofu Kung-Pao Style

I think I would've much liked the tofu to be crispier, but the stinky tofu kung-pao style is still a pretty solid dish. However, if you're really into kung-pao tofu, The Peak still has the best in my opinion.

Dry-fried Szechuan-style String Beans with Minced Pork (乾扁四季豆) 280 NT

Dry-fried Szechuan-style String Beans with Minced Pork

For some odd reason, a lot of people avoid the minced pork when they're eating this dish... but isn't the minced pork what makes this dish sing? Shanghai Shanghai does a pretty good job with the dish.

Eel Stir-fried with Leek Sprouts (韭黃鱔魚) 360 NT

Eel Stir-fried with Leek Sprouts

I didn't really have much of this because for some reason, my mom hates it when I have eel, but mostly because they mixed the corriander into the dish... disgusting. The eel was decent, but I think I've had better.

Stinky Tofu Braised in Clay Pot (砂鍋臭豆腐) 250 NT

Stinky Tofu Braised in Clay Pot

I guess you're thinking that I have a crazy family, so much stinky tofu in one day. The stinky tofu in the braised clay pot wasn't as great as I would've liked it to be.

 Braised Pork Belly in Brown Sauce - 3 Pieces (東坡肉 - 3塊) 435 NT

Braised Pork Belly in Brown Sauce

Even though I've lived in Taiwan all my life, I think the number of times I've had Dong Puo Pork Belly (Braised pork belly in brown sauce) is actually limited. So when they served this dish, I found it to be a little too sweet for my liking even though the meat itself was amazing. But don't count on me about the flavoring, I'm no expert when it comes to this dish.


Sea Cucumber Braised with Scallions (蔥燒烏蔘 - 半條) 490 NT

Sea Cucumber Braised with Scallions

The scallions are currently hidden, but man I loved the scallions in the sauce. My mom always says I'm weird for loving scallions so much, but hey, they're just amazing. I didn't fancy the sea cucumber much though. The quality didn't taste that great, and instead of a soft texture., the sea cucumber was really rubbery and felt uncooked.

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings (花素蒸餃) 180 NT

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings

I don't think that there was anything special about the vegetable dumplings.
Chilled Vegetable Fern Salad (涼拌過貓) 200 NT

Chilled Vegetable Fern Salad

Tree fern has a very interesting texture that I like. The dish at Shanghai Shanghai was serves chilled and in my opinion, was just okay.
Cured Jelly Pork (冰宮肴肉) 280 NT

Cured Jelly Pork

I live pork jelly :) This is personal bias, but I wish that there was more jelly instead of the pork strips.
Sauteed Tofu Sheets with Preserved Mustard Greens (雪菜百頁) 240 NT

Sauteed Tofu Sheets with Preserved Mustard Greens

I wasn't a huge fan of this even though my mom seems to love it. If I remeber correctly, Fung's makes this better.

Shanghai Shanghai was exactly as I expected. I would recommend this as just a good Chinese restaurant, but don't expect to be wow-ed. Now that I think about it, it's a pretty reliable chain with clean restaurants to take any friends visiting Taiwan.

Haagen-Dazs - Crunchy Romance

Visit: May 13, 2012
Address: 台北市忠誠路二段55號 B1
Number: (02) 8866-3093
Website: http://www.haagen-dazs.com.tw/

I'm pretty sure that I've been fantasizing about this cake for a few months now. I laugh at the memories of me trying to convince my mom to get Crunchy Romance at any possible occasion. I finally succeeded after such a long wait when mother's day rolled around.

Crunchy Romance (香脆濃情) 1800 NT

Crunchy Romance

So this is how Crunchy Romance works: 1 part coffee ice cream, 1 part Belgian chocolate ice cream, 1/2 part crunchy crust and perhaps 1/8 part of chocolate outer shell + whipped cream. Gah, the formula to ahhmazing. I'm usually not a big fan of ice cream cakes but Crunchy Romance is a huge exception. I just love how the coffee ice cream puts a twist on the sweetness of the cake and most importantly, it's not just chocolate ice cream but Belgian chocolate. Plus, with my love for chocolate and crust, I'm not sure how I can say no to the crunchy chocolate cookie crust that the layers of ice cream were served on.

Crunchy Romance Cross Section

 Okay, the picture of the messy cake doesn't look all that appetizing, but I promise it will be a wonderful gustatory experience. 

The post isn't all that unbiased so it's probably obvious that I would definitely definitely recommend the cake. Haagen-Dazs may often be overpriced, but I think good food is always worth it. I leave you with my final words of wisdom: go get Crunchy Romance now.

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.

Country Cake [鄉村乳酪蛋糕]

Visit: April 2, 2012
Address: 台北市士林區德行東路222號
Number: (02)2836-3553
Website: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/country-cake222/

Despite a Hai Nan Chicken Rice dinner, no one was satisfied. So after meandering through De Xing East road, circling 85C and other cafes, we finally settled Country Cake.

Cake Display

Cake Display

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake (巧克力慕斯) $45 NT, Heavy Cheesecake (重乳酪) $60 NT, Blueberry Cheesecake (藍莓蛋糕) $45 NT, Chocolate Cheesecake (巧克力乳酪) $40 NT

From Left: Heavy Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

Out of the three, I actually enjoyed all of them a lot except for the chocolate mousse cake. I really liked how even the chocolate cheesecake was really rich and creamy.

I would definitely recommend Country Cake's cheesecake. So yummy~