Elite Concept Cafe [一禮莊園 Cafe]

Visit: August 6, 2012
Address: 台北市南京東路三段133號
Number: (02) 3518 - 3177
Website: http://www.westin.com.tw/01_text.asp?sn=24

Menu

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Cake Display~

Cake Display

If only there were more cakes on display :/


Mango Tart (德式芒果塔) $200 NT

Mango Tart

The mango tart was just quite splendid. The crust was really nice and the mango slices were fresh instead of canned. 

Just some afternoon tea~

I would recommend Elite Concept Cafe for its cakes and its laid back atmosphere. Despite the fact that the cafe is in the lobby of the hotel, it wasn't loud or irritating at all. 

Dolce Cafe

Visit: June 13, 2012
Address: 台北市中山北路三段26-1號
Number: (02) 2585 - 7968
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dolce-Cafe/153930804676166

Seeing how since summer is about just relaxing my way through the days, I've developed a new habit of eating alone at cafes and reading. Yes, lovely lifestyle there.

Menu

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Caesar Salad (凱撒沙拉) $140 NT

Caesar Salad

For the amount of salad on this plate, the Caesar Salad was so cheap. There was nothing fancy to it.. just a plain old big salad.

Coffee Lungo (黑咖啡) $110 NT

Coffee Lungo

Dolce Cafe is a nice little cute cafe located in the alley by Da Tung Office. It's a nice place to relax there.. so why not?

Tim & Mel - Pâtisserie & Bistro

Visit: June 7, 2012
Address: 台北市仁愛路四段345巷四弄39號
Number: (02) 2752-1829

I've actually come across Tim & Mel several times while I was surfing on the web, but it was always about their afternoon tea and desserts. So when my friend suggested this bistro for dinner, I hesitated a bit but agreed anyways.

Spiced Wagyu Beef Salad with Balsamic Reduction (和牛肉蔬果沙拉奶油芥茉醬) $480 NT

Spiced Wagyu Beef Salad with Balsamic Reduction

I didn't expect my salad to be anything special, but hey it was actually very good. The beef was cooked just right and seasoned nicely.

Pan Crisped Chicken Pasta (潘翠雞義大利麵) $380 NT

Pan Crisped Chicken Pasta

My friend's pasta was likewise better than I thought it would be. The chicken was surprisingly tender and the sauce was also pretty good.

Classic Cheese Cake (起司蛋糕) $130 NT

Classic Cheese Cake

Since I saw so much about their desserts online, I was hoping for something amazingly awesome. But I guess since we went for dinner.. most of the cakes were gone and so we ware only stuck with a few choices. The cheesecake was good but nothing out of the ordinary. The crust was hard enough for me, and the cheesecake filling was also rich enough for my liking.

Although Tim & Mel is generally known for their desserts. the desserts did not particularly wow me today. Perhaps it was the lack of variety or something, but I'd recommend this tiny bistro for its food. The store itself is really tiny and even though I didn't need to make reservations, I'd suggest you make them since it seats around ten people only.

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

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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.

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!

Latitude 25 [北緯二十五]

Visit: April 5, 2012
Address: 台北市信義區松仁路38號1F
Number: (02) 2321-1818
Website: http://www.lemeridien-taipei.com/#/cuisine/4

 I know that this is long overdue... but I've just been a little busy recently.
The Latest Recipe and My Humble House at Le Meridien have both gotten a copious amount of media attention. However, Latitude 25 seems to always be ignored...which is why I decided to go try it.

Complimentary Bread

Complimentary Bread

 The bread was a little dry but it wasn't bad at all.

Coffee (Not sure what this was)

Coffee

Beef Steak Sandwich with Onion Compote (頂級牛排三明治) $560 NT

Beef Steak Sandwich with Onion Compote

 According to my friend, the sandwich was pretty good.

Garden Salad
I don't have a picture of my garden salad, but I really liked it. There were pieces of buffalo cheese to go with the vegetable and the olive oil was also went very well with the salad. From what I remember, the salad wasn't too expensive, but I do wish that the portion was larger.


I would definitely go back to Latitude 25 for a light meal. The atmosphere there is really laid back and the waitresses were all very attentive. Contrary to what I thought Le Meridien would charge at their cafe, the prices weren't too high either.

Salut [灑綠茶館]

Visit: March 11, 2012
Address: 台北市仁愛路四段266巷8弄2號
Number: (02)2325-6878
Website: http://www.salut.com.tw/main.htm

On this particular afternoon, my friend made reservations for Salut to celebrate her birthday. Knowing me, I had already researched Salut before entering the restaurant and sadly did not like it. However, I decided to attempt to enjoy this afternoon with an open mind.

Menu
 
Afternoon Tea Set for 2 (灑綠下午茶 2 人份) $580 NT

Afternoon Tea Set for 2

Afternoon Tea Set -  Egg Salad Sandwich (玉米蛋沙拉三明治), Tomato Bruschetta (義式番茄片) and  Seafood Quiche (海鮮酥盒)

Egg Salad Sandwich, Tomato Bruschetta, Seafood Quiche

Our of all of these, the sandwich was my favorite. I really liked how they toasted their bread with a waffle maker. There's also a lot of substance in the sandwich instead of a simple slice of ham and cheese. The seafood quiche was also quite enjoyable.

Afternoon Tea Set - Cookies (手工餅乾）, Madeleine Cake (瑪德連）and Fruit Tart (水果塔)

Cookies, Madeleine Cake and Fruit Tart

 The madeleine cake was way too dry for my liking, and the fruit tart wasn't all that yummy either. Out of the three, the cookie was the only decent one.


Ａfternoon Tea Set - Mont Blanc (蒙布朗) and Lemon Cheese Cake (香檸起士)

Mont Blanc and Lemon Cheese Cake

When I looked at their collection of cakes, I was so disappointed with how everything consisted a significant amount of mousse. I tried ordering the lemon cheese cake to get away from the mousse, but even over half of the cheese cake was made of lemon mousse. The mont blanc was also pretty horrible, because it just tasted like sweet whipped cream.

Afternoon Tea Set - The a l Opera （歌劇綠茶) +20 NT and Fresh Fruit Tea (水果茶) + 30 NT

The a l Opera

The tea was good, except I wished that there were tea leaves in the pots and that they would refill the tea pot instead of simply pouring tea in our teapot when they first served it.


Fruit Waffle Set (水果鬆餅) $160 NT 

Fruit Waffle Set

 The waffle was decent but had nothing special to it.

Quiche Set - Spinach and Bacon (菠菜培根鹹派) $130 NT

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

 I enjoyed the crust of the quiche, but overall, the quiche was just okay.


Tiramisu (提拉米蘇) $90 NT

Tiramisu

 The bottom layer of cake was soggy and the mousse was pretty greasy.

Chocolate Mousse (巧克力伯爵幕斯) $90NT

Chocolate Mousse

 Once again, this was just greasy mousse. There's a really tiny piece of cake in the middle of the chocolate mousse, but it definitely wasn't enough to offset he greasiness.

Berry Mousse Cake $90 NT

Berry Mousse Cake

 I was expecting a lighter version of the other cakes, but this was once again pretty heavy. By now, I felt pretty grossed out by all the mousse.

Molten Chocolate Cake (岩溶巧克力蛋糕盤）$120 NT
before

Molten Chocolate Cake

after 

Molten Chocolate Cake

The molten chocolate cake was yummy and was my favorite cake out of the huge selection we ordered.

Beef Lasagna (茄汁牛肉千層麵) $280 NT

Beef Lasagna

 The beef lasagna didn't exactly taste like a lasagna. It wasn't bad, but it had a pretty weird taste.

Baked Rice with Chicken in Red Coconut Curry Sauce (紅咖哩雞焗烤飯) $270 NT

Baked Rice with Chicken in Red Coconut Curry

 The only thing I enjoyed about this dish was the cheese on top. The rice was soggy, and I could barely taste the curry sauce. The chickens were kind of random scattered throughout the rice.

Salut is definitely not somewhere I would go again or anywhere that I would recommend to anyone. You do get a lot considering how much you pay for the food, but there are yummy but cheap places out there. I would've liked cakes without mousse and actual salty food instead of things they sprinkle cheese on then stuff into the oven. Although I had a pleasant day at Salut with my friends, I wasn't satisfied at all with the food.

VVG Bon Bon [好樣棒棒]

Visit: March 10, 2012
Address: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段161巷13號
Number: (02)2711-4505
Website: http://www.vvgbbb.com.tw/index_ch.html

When i first saw the picture of the chocolate marshmallow cake, I fell in love immediately. For a sugar freak and chocoholic like me, this was the ideal cake: fudge+chocolate+marshmallow. I made it my food goal to taste this slice of mouthwatering cake. I can now safely say that I've achieved my goal.

Surroundings
 VVG Bon Bon is one of those extremely cute little dessert places where you feel like you're transported back to your childhood.

They had really cute cupcakes, but I didn't order them because everyone who has been here, seemed to dislike the cupcakes.

  
Menu


Marshmallow & Chocolate Cake (棉花糖巧克力蛋糕) $220 NT

Marshmallow & Chocolate Cake

The marshmallow & chocolate cake did not disappoint. The fudge was extremely rich and fudgey with airy pieces of marshmallow balancing the heavy chocolate. However, unlike usual fudge cakes, this one actually retained its shape when we cut into it...just a random observation. The chocolate cake on the bottom is simply a traditional chocolate cake. I felt like the ice cream was a little too sweet for the cake, and by the time they served us the cake, the ice cream was already half melted.

Lemon with Passion Granite (檸檬百香果碎碎冰) $200 NT 

Lemon with Passion Granite

 We weren't going to order anything else, but we had to satisfy the minimum spending. The lemon with passion granite was yummy, but a  little too sweet and sour for my liking after the rich marshmallow cake. The ice cream on top was also an overkill because it just clashed with the attempted sorbet taste of the crushed ice.

I would definitely recommend VVG Bon Bon for its rich marshmallow chocolate cake. Although it's a really girly restaurant, there were male diners with female companions. I actually think that the guys secretly enjoy the girliness of the restaurant (:

Coffee Alley [咖啡弄]

Visit: Feb. 24, 2012
Address: 台北市松壽路12號三樓 (Att4Fun)
Number: (02) 7737-0700
Website: www.coffee-alley.com.tw 

Decaf Coffee (低咖啡因咖啡) $120 NT

Decaf Coffee

I know I seem like an old woman when I get decaf coffee, but hey, it was late at night. The coffee itself was okay, but the sugar cookies tasted a little cheap.


Strawberry Mille-Feuille (法式草莓千層派) $120 NT

Strawberry Mille-Feuille

 This definitely is not on my list of favorite desserts. The cream basically butter and too thick and heavy. The pie itself although was crispy, left a pretty oily aftertaste, which was not pleasant at all. When I got the Strawberry Mille-Feuille, I was expecting a light and airy late night dessert, instead I left coffee alley feeling a little sick.


Overall, Coffee Alley was just a bit disappointing. Like Dazzling, they have a pretty weird policy of a minimum charge of a drink per person even if you order food or dessert. Although my experience wasn't that great, I still want to go back and try out their Ice Cream with Cotton Candy & Espresso. As of now though, I wouldn't recommend Coffee Alley.

Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI

Visit: Feb. 26, 2012
Address: 台北市信義區松仁路28號 B2
Number: (02)8729-2759
Website: http://zh-tw.facebook.com/pages/...AOKI-Paris.../204868869857

Salted Caramel Macaron (鹽味焦糖) $90 NT

Salted Caramel Macaron

I have always thought that macarons were overrated until today. The salted caramel macaron from Patisserie Saharu AOKI was so airy without seeming overwhelmingly sweet. Contrary to my initial disgusted impression, the salt really did the macaron justice by balancing out the sweetness of the caramel. I'm thinking that maybe I've only been having cheap/bad macarons all along. I definitely recommend Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI even if it seems a bit overpriced.