Tong Ji [通記]

Visit: July 30, 2012
Address: 台北市中山區雙城街13巷11-1 號
Number: (02) 2597 - 3063

My dad and I pretty much randomly chose this restaurant as we were looking for somewhere to sit and have a simple lunch.

Menu

通記 menu

Braised Beef Noodle Soup - Meat & Tendon (紅燒半筋半肉) $140 NT

Braised Beef Noodle Soup - Meat & Tendon 

The beef noodle soup was really different from the usual Taiwanese braised ones. The soup was much clearer and lighter and tasted a bit Vietnamese. The beef was cooked okay.

Papaya Salad (涼拌青木瓜) $90 NT 

Papaya Salad 

This didn't taste like the usual Thai papaya salads either. It's like the restaurant's own version of papaya salad.

Thai Fried Chicken (椒麻雞) $160 NT

Thai Fried Chicken

The chicken was fried so the meat is nice and tender, but the sauce was a bit off. It didn't taste very Thai... or taste like anything actually.

Stir Fried Water Spinach (炒空心菜) $70 NT

Stir Fried Water Spinach

Some veggies to complete the meal :)

For the price that you're paying at Tong Ji, the food is okay. The food may not be completely authentic, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't taste good.

Fifi Tea House [Fifi 常玉廳]

Visit: July 30, 2012
Address:台北市大安區仁愛路四段15號2F
Number: (02) 2721 - 1970
Website: http://www.isabelle-wen.com/wenfifi/

I've always wanted to try Fifi, but for some reason I never really got to it. Yet, on the day that I finally went, neither my date nor I were hungry, so I wasn't able to order the dishes I wanted to try.

Fried Chicken with Red Pepper (當紅炸子雞) $300 NT

Fried Chicken with Red Pepper

I was a little surprised when I saw the dish because I was expecting more of a stir-fry style dish. Although the fried chicken bits were good, the chicken wasn't seasoned evenly, so while some had a nice chili taste, others were a little bland.

Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetable - Water Spinach (清炒空心菜) $320 NT

Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetable - Water Spinach 

Fifi is a nice place to have some Chinese food. The food is pretty standard and the service is decent as well. I would recommend Fifi, but ehhh, there are a lot of better restaurants.

Canton Court [粵菜廳]

Visit: July 25, 2012
Address: 台北市中山區中山北路二段63號 2F
Number: (02) 2100 - 2100
Website: http://www.ambassadorhotel.com.tw/TP/Dining/taipei_dining_info.htm?CTID={FD832E93-9F3B-43B6-B0A5-81738CA05562}

Just an afternoon of lunch with my dad and my grandpa.

Menu

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Steamed Chicken's Claw with Chili Scallop Sauce (XO醬鳳爪) $80 NT

Steamed Chicken's Claw with Chili Scallop Sauce

The chicken claw here was actually pretty easy to eat since the meat just kind of slid off the bone.

Pork with Honey Pastry (蜜汁叉燒酥) $100 NT

Pork with Honey Pastry 

We thought that dining with 3 people today would be an awesome number for dim sum. But then... there came only two yummy pork pastries.

Roasted Pork Rice Noodles (叉燒腸粉) $120 NT

Roasted Pork Rice Noodles 

Steamed Yam with Taros Cake (山藥芋頭糕) $80 NT

Steamed Yam with Taros Cake 

The steamed cake was a little too dry for my liking

Assorted Barbecue Suckling Pig Plate (乳豬拼盤) $600 NT

Assorted Barbecue Suckling Pig Plate

I wasn't a huge fan of the duck in the assorted plate. The suckling pig was decent, but My Humble House still makes it better.

Crispy Fried Chicken (脆皮炸子雞) $600 NT

Crispy Fried Chicken 

I actually ordered this thinking it would be crispy stir fried chicken... big oops there. The chicken was a bit dry, but it was still good.

Clam and Sponge Cucumber (蛤蜊燴絲瓜) $320 NT

Clam and Sponge Cucumber

To my surprise, I very much enjoyed the soft sponge cucumbers and the nice flavors in the dish

Seafood Fried Noodles Cantonese Style (海鮮廣東炒麵) $320 NT

Seafood Fried Noodles Cantonese Style

We asked for our noodles and seafood sauce to be separated so that the noodles will remain crispy, but it really wasn't necessary. There was so much nicely cooked fresh seafood in the sauce, and the entire dish was good.

Canton Court has a huge selection when it comes to food. I'd have to say that the service is a little inattentive and inefficient for a hotel restaurant, but I would still recommend Canton Court.

Yi Yuan Peking Cuisine [頤園北京料理]

Visit: July 24, 2012
Address: 台北市中山區南京東路三段133號 B2 (Westin Hotel)
Number: (02) 8770 - 6565
Website: http://www.westin.com.tw/01_text.asp?sn=52

I went to Yi Yuan under the impression that we'd be ordering the duck... but nope, never happened.

Menu 

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Combination of Two Appetizers: Shredded Chinese Cabbage & Marinated Chilled Salty Chicken (雙拼拼盤: 鄉野素還真 & 鹽焗雞隻白玉腿) $620 NT

Combination of Two Appetizers: Shredded Chinese Cabbage & Marinated Chilled Salty Chicken

The shredded Chinese Cabbage wasn't all that great but the chicken was pretty good.

Deep-Fried Pork Chop with Salt and Pepper (椒鹽排骨) $520 NT

Deep-Fried Pork Chop with Salt and Pepper

I was actually quite disappointed with the dish. I felt like the pork chop was a little soggy, and the meat was too tough.

Stir Fried Cabbage and Pork with Spicy Seafood Sauce (京式變臉) $400 NT

Stir Fried Cabbage and Pork with Spicy Seafood Sauce 

I very much enjoyed the stir fried cabbage. I loved the spiciness of the dish and how the bacon adds that extra flavor to the cabbage.

Pan-Fried Scallion Pancake (香煎蔥油餅) $320 NT

Pan-Fried Scallion Pancake 

The scallion pancake wasn't the best I've had, but it was still pretty yummy. The pancake wasn't too dry the way other places usually mess it up.

Deep-Fried Sweet Potato with Cane Sugar (地瓜拔絲) $320 NT

Deep-Fried Sweet Potato with Cane Sugar in the making

The sweet potato is first caramelized....

Deep-Fried Sweet Potato with Cane Sugar in the making

Then the waitress uses the remaining melted sugar to make the stringy sugar by pulling the melted sugar back and forth.

Deep-Fried Sweet Potato with Cane Sugar

The result was quite impressive. Although the taste was there, I felt like the sweet potato should have been caramelized more since some pieces were crispy, while some were just soggy. The sweet potatoes were also a little too dry in the middle.

Yi Yuan isn't the first restaurant I would go to if I had the choice. I've had their duck a while ago, and I remember that it was cooked pretty nicely. However, this time without the duck, the selection of food just seemed so limited. The dishes we ordered today were literally the only ones that sounded decent, the rest... mehh.

Fourplay Cuisine

Visit: July 24, 2012
Address: 台北市大安區東豐街67號
Number: (02) 2708 - 3898
Website: http://www.facebook.com/FourplayCuisine

I've heard a lot about this bar that serves really fresh cocktails and whatnot. So I finally went to fourplay with a couple of my girl friends.

Menu

Menu

(Thai Crispy Chicken) 泰式暴力脆雞 $300 NT

Thai Crispy Chicken

The chicken was surprisingly good and also at a good price. The meat was really really moist and the skin was also really crispy.

Drinks $250 NT - $450 NT

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Well since I went there for the drinks, it's only logical that I show you the ones we ordered. The cocktails all tasted really good, and the bartender can cater to basically whatever flavor you want. There weren't just fruity cocktails, but there were plenty of coffee based ones as well as this tiramisu one.

I would definitely recommend fourplay. It's a really nice place for dinner and for friends to meet for drinks.