Restaurant #61: Shanghai Kitchen, Taipei

 (Visited in June, 2011)

Shang Hai Xing Cun, Shanghai Kitchen, is one of popular Chinese restaurants specialized in Shanghai-style food in Taipei. Their signature item, braised pork, has rich texture of taste, with high quality of pork. My friend invited me for lunch.

Stinky Tofu

When people visit Taiwan, they always wonder what Stinky Tofu is. As you can guess, it is tofu with VERY STRANGE smell. It is really strange… I usually cannot stand it. However, I was surprised when this item was served in front of us. There was no such a smell! My friend told me that that is just because we were the only table who ordered Stinky Tofu. Ha ha. I see. If many tables order it, then we could SMELL it.

This Stinky Tofu (清燉臭豆腐) was steamed one, with spicy soup. Once I put my nose closer to the dish, yeah I could slightly smell it. It is stinky tofu. As you can see, soup was made of spicy oil and red pepper. Surprisingly, it tasted good.

Braised Pork

Here is their signature item, Braised Pork (東坡肉) (NT$ 420). I forgot to take a picture, but it was served with white bun (割包). Take one piece of pork, put on top of white bun with shredded green onion then enjoy the richness taste of the pork. Wow! I know the similar taste of this sauce, because on Japanese food, we have similar item called Kakuni (角煮). However, this braised pork was quite different. Tenderness, sauce, texture… I have never tasted like this before, especially I was astonished by the tenderness of pork. The meat simply melted in my mouth, without biting. The fatty part was like pudding, and don’t even feel it would hurt my cholesterol number. Quantity was a lot, so just a two of us could not finish all. I brought it back to my home and ate with steamed rice the next day, which was also tasty.

Beancurd Preserved Vegetables with Soybean paste

雪菜百頁 (NT$ 420). This was interesting item. I am not quite sure what it was, but I believe it was something like Yuba (湯葉). Yuba was cooked with interesting vegetable, so-called 雪菜. I have tried雪菜 before, and I kinda like feeling in my mouth when I bite it.

Sour Fish

Last item is Sour Fish (醋溜魚片). To tell you the truth, it was okay taste among other items. I think it is just because of my taste. Of course, it was delicious, but I personally not a huge fun of sourness. Sweetness and sourness, for me, are a bit too strong taste for me. I like light taste, as close as raw or original taste. So this dish had heavy taste. I also thought their fish was not fresh enough, which was disappointing. Ironically, this was the most pricy dish in this lunch.

Their service was alright, but they could train workers more properly since their food is great. Sadly, the friendliest person was a guy in bullet parking. I would like to go back there again to enjoy their braised pork. Next time, I hope I get just a little bit better service.

http://www.shanghaikitchen.com.tw/

Restaurant #60: Saboten, Taipei

(Visited in March, 2011)

Saboten is a Tonkatsu restaurant from Shinjuku, Tokyo. I haven’t heard of this restaurant until I saw in Taipei. In Taiwan, this tonkatsu restaurant (勝博殿) locates in some department stores; SOGO and Mitsukoshi. I tried “Anzu”, which is another Japanese Katsu restaurant in Taipei, and it was OK, so I was not sure if I should have tried this restaurant… Yet, my friend asked me to, so… let me report this.

I chose the branch in ZhongXiao SOGO. It was a long line, so we waited for 30 minutes or so. The waiter guided us to the comfortable table. Our seat was in good place, and I was quite happy about it. The décor was simple, but it looks old. Also, some families with kids and babies were eating dinner, so it was quite noisy.

The other waitress came to us and explained their menu and system since it was a first time for us to visit them. According to them, shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup and appetizer are all refill free. Yes! (^^) Their workers were well trained, and friendly.

Compared to Anzu, Saboten’s items are slightly expensive. I hoped that their katsu taste better. I ordered Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu (ねぎおろしロースかつ) (NT$ 300), and my friend chose Tender Hire Katsu (やわらかヒレかつ御膳) (NT$300).

Appetizer

Their appetizer was black beans and Japanese radish pickles. This Daikon pickles reminded me of one Japanese restaurant my friend and I always went in the states. Good memories… Black beans were a bit sweet, tasted alright.

Shredded Cabbage

Shredded cabbage (キャベツの千切り) is always served with Katsu. I always eat a lot.

Sesami

Same as Anzu, sesame was served.

Item was served in front of me.

Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu

Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu looked great! Katsu was politely laid on the plate, covered Daikon Oroshi. I thought their Oroshi was a bit dry, but it was still tasty. Katsu was juicy and chewy enough to enjoy the taste of pork. Unfortunately, my rice was already cold. What happened!?!?!? I asked Okawari, and the second bawl was warm enough.

Hire Katsu Set

My friend’s Hirekatsu was, to be honest, so disappointing. I don’t know what happened. Did they serve different item or what? This katsu was quite different than we expected. Meat was thinly sliced, and wrapped to make it katsu shape. I found the similar item on their menu, which was called “Kasane Katsu” (千層錦豬排). But… Hire is usually not Kasane Katsu, right? I really want to know if we ordered it wrong, or they served wrong item… Taste of meat was not bad at all, but still quite different than Hire. Sorry my friend…

Oshiruko

Green Tea Ice Cream

Both katsu set included a small dessert. Both dessert items were good: Oshiruko and Green tea Ice cream. We enjoyed it.

Overall, I liked their appetizer and everything but Katsu, such an ironic. I believe Anzu’s Katsu matches more to my taste, and it is close to a real Japanese style, although their sauce and other appetizer are alright. As a Japanese, Katsu in here couldn’t satisfy me.

I would like to visit them again to confirm their Hire katsu... If that was all they have, then I’d rather cook it by myself. It is all about a quality of the meat. I hope I will be satisfied with their food next time.

Total: NT$ 660 (for 2 people + 10% service fee)

Saboten: Japanese Tonkatsu Restaurant

http://www.saboten.com.tw/index.php

Travel #04: Taipei to Sapporo

(February, 2011)

It was about time to go back home and enjoy white snow and delicious food. In addition, it was a great chance to visit Sapporo Snow Festival. It was a first time in five years to see snow, so I was very excited!

In-flight Meal

Chicken

As usual, I couldn’t eat in-flight meal… I really tried, though… Pork or chicken, I always choose chicken. I should try pork next time…

After four hours of flight, I was already in Sapporo Int’l Airport. It was still clean and neat. I arrived at noon time, so head to Sapporo station to have lunch~!

Taking JR (Japan Railway) to get to Sapporo downtown, 40 min later, I was at downtown to eat Tonkatsu (とんかつ).

To be continued…

Restaurant #54: Kaffe Amadeus, Taipei

(Visited at Jan 31, 2011)

Kaffe Amadeus is located in SOGO FuXing—easy to access. I like FuXing SOGO, because the building is still clean and organized. This Kaffe Amadeus operates the other branch in Taipei 101, but I prefer SOGO branch with nicer view. My friend and I met at 11:30 for lunch. The café was quite empty, but slowly more and more customers came. I recommend you to go there before noon. I ordered business lunch set—daily soup, salad, bread, main course, and coffee.

Oops! Sorry I forgot to take a photo of a salad.

Daily Soup

Daily soup was pumpkin soup. It was not bad, but I should say it was nothing special. There was no pumpkin’s sweet-taste, it was too mild for me. Oh well, it came with lunch set, so I should simply enjoy it.

Garlic Bread

It was purely enjoyable. I always like garlic bread.

Tomato Cream Pasta with Salmon & Asparagus

Main dish was Tomato Cream Pasta. It is not easy to find good cream pasta in Taipei, but I liked this one. The blend of tomato and cream was quite interesting taste. Asparagus was very fresh, and it was matched with this sauce. I like salmon in general, but the smell of fish might be a bit strong.

Vienna Coffee

I could choose one drink in their gorgeous coffee/tea list. I chose Vienna Coffee. It was so creamy, and the cream was melted in my mouth. My friend chose Hot Chocolate. Hot milk was served with chocolate bar, then the chocolate bar was put into milk, so that the chocolate melted… Tempting... I should try this next time.

Overall, I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, and foods are also fine. The price is a little bit expensive, I think, but sometimes it is okay to spend a bit more to enjoy different feeling.

Kaffe Amadeus

http://www.kaffeeamadeus.com/home.htm

Restaurant #53: Anzu, Taipei

(Visited at Dec 27, 2010)

Anzu, a Japanese Tonkatsu restaurant, opened a new branch at Hankyu department store. It is easy to access from MRT station, and there is always a looooong line waiting for delicious Katsu. Anzu came from Kyushu of Japan. Let’s see how they are doing here in Taiwan.

As usual, it was a long line in front of the restaurant. My friend and I waited for 45 min, which is normal in such a busy and crowded city. Workers welcomed us with “Irasshaimase!” Since I heard their greetings with Japanese, my mind automatically started expecting their service.

My first impression towards them was great; workers were smiling and kindly led us to the table. Décor was beautifully organized, and lighting was appropriate as well. Their menu could be a bit expensive for Taiwanese people, but I think it was reasonable compared with the prices among other Tonkatsu restaurants in Taiwan. Those atmosphere and food quantity must make them satisfied. We ordered Hirekatsu set (腰內豬排套餐) (TW$ 290) and Thick Sliced Rosu Katsu set (厚切里肌肉豬排套餐) (TW$ 330).

Appetizer: Kiriboshi-Daikon

As an appetizer, Kiriboshi Daikon (切り干し大根) was served. A bit salty, but it was acceptable. Yet, an accident happened—hair in the food. Well… no one is perfect, I know. I asked the worker to change the appetizer… To be honest, I was just uncomfortable to pay the service fee…

If you like, add grated sesame.

Shredded cabbage

Shredded cabbage is an important side dish for Tonkatsu. Usually, refill free. I like shredded cabbage, so I refilled several times. They prepared house-made dressing, but I prefer Tonkatsu sauce.

Their sauce was not my taste, because it was too sweet, yet my friend liked it.

Hirekatsu Set

Our dishes were finally served. I was very happy to see my dish, ヒレかつ膳, with golden-colored crispy skin. It was perfect!!! Their Koromo (crispy skin) was really Japanese style and crispy~! Meat was tender and perfectly juicy. I was astonished! I couldn’t even find such a Real Tonkatsu dish in Los Angeles. I am glad that I could enjoy in Taiwan. My choice made my day.

Thick Sliced Rosu Katsu Set

My friend ordered Thick Sliced Rosu Katsu set (厚切りロースかつ膳). When we ordered this item, a worker warned us that it would be oily. When we saw the item, her warning made sense. It came with lots of fatty part. There is another Rosu Katsu set with Kurobuta, which was a bit expensive. I believe Kurobuta Rosu would be better than this. Excluding the fatty part, Rosu was tender, and again, Koromo was perfectly crispy. Katsu, cabbage, siso soup and other appetizer… Those made us full and really satisfied.

Although I prefer lighter-taste Kiriboshi Daikon, their food made me satisfied. Please improve their hygiene, so that I can go back there again.

Total: TW$ 682 (for 2 people + 10% service fee)

Anzu: Japanese Tonkatsu Restaurant

http://www.anzu.com.tw/

Restaurant #52: 龐太餛飩舖子 Wonton Shop, Taipei

(Visited Dec. 22, 2010)

One of my students likes to visit good restaurants. She taught me several reasonable restaurants, and 龐太餛飩舖子 was one of them. The location is not in convenient area, so it is better to access by car. Coincidentally, I had a chance to go to this area.

It is a small restaurant, and interestingly, the décor was amazingly cool. Out of no where, you find such a fashioned tiny restaurant. You can’t even imagine they are selling wonton. My friend and I entered the store. Only two workers and Jazz as background music welcomed us. Menu was quite simple; wonton soup and noodles. We ordered one appetizer (TW$ 30), small noodle (TW$ 40), pork wonton soup (TW$ 55) and shrimp wonton soup (TW$ 80). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of shrimp wonton soup... (ToT)

Appetizer

As an appetizer (小菜), we choose pork ear ski & Tofu bean curd. Both are popular appetizer of Taiwanese food, and Okinawa people of Japan sometimes eat those. Their pork ear was a bit sweet, but I liked it.

Pork Wonton Soup

Pork Wonton Soup (鮮肉餛飩湯) was the simplest item from their wonton menu, but simple is best. The soup was pure and light without MSG. Seaweed was inside and it kept the good balance of the taste. Although there were only 6 pieces of wonton, but each piece was big enough to make us lightly full. I thought seafood wonton (such as shrimp or scallop) would give stronger taste.

Small Dry Noodle

They prepared three different kinds of noodle menu, and we tried small dry noodle (乾拌麵). It was a right decision to order one noodle, otherwise only wonton soup didn’t make us completely full. I have eaten some dry noodle since I came to Taiwan, but this noodle was the best so far!!! It was not really dry; enough soup with ground meat. I don’t think I should eat this everyday, but eating this once a month would make my stomach happy.

Overall, this tiny cute wonton restaurant offers a sophisticated wonton menu; it is called professionalism.

Total: TW$ 205 (for 2 people)

龐太餛飩舖子: Wonton Shop

No. 169, Section 5, ShiMin Blvd, Songshan Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02- 2748-2338
11:00-21:00

Restaurant #51: Ramen Kagetsu Arashi, Taipei

I thought it was almost impossible to find a real Japanese ramen outside of Japan, but I was wrong. I finally found the one in Taipei! I know pretty good one in Los Angeles, but this is really like modern Japanese ramen. It is called “Ramen Kagetsu Arashi”, originally from Tokyo of Japan. I am a huge fan of Sapporo Ramen and have some bad experience with ramen of other areas, but this Tokyo style has some interesting flavors!

Ramen Kagetsu Arashi has several branches in Taiwan, and one branch is located in a new department store. 統一阪急百貨台北店 is very easy to access from MRT station. Many people are waiting in line everyday, as well as this day. After waiting for 10 min, a waiter led my friend and I to a small table. We ordered Chinese Chive & Egg Fried Rice (鉄板イタめしニラ玉味) and their signature item, Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (ニンニクげんこつらあめん), and an extra small Garlic Pork Rice (ニンニク豚めし).

Chinese Chive & Egg Fried Rice (韭菜玉子鐵板炒飯)

韭菜玉子鐵板炒飯, TW$ 160, was my friend’s choice. It was a great choice for not only taste but also entertainment. On the Teppan plate, beaten egg, rice with some ingredients and Katsuobushi were prepared. A waitress mixed all those in front of us beautifully. Of course, we could do it by ourselves, but first time is better to see how the professional do. (^^)

It was some sort of art that the color of beaten egg slowly changed, and smell of katsuobushi was mouth-watering. After mixed with rice, it was okay to eat right away, or also find to wait for a while to make Okoge.

Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (大蒜拳骨拉麵)

My choice was Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (大蒜拳骨拉麵), TW$ 160. For the first time, I was surprised that taste of the soup was Real. Lots of grated garlic and Seabura (背脂) make the soup strong and a bit salty. Taiwanese friends are all told me that the soup was too salty for them. Then, you can ask the worker to add boiled water to adjust saltiness.

Chashu was beautifully lying on the soup surface. Two slices; juicy and tender. If you like Chashu, you can order Chashu Ramen or add extra slices.

A half of boiled egg was in perfect condition. Bamboo Shoots didn’t have strong taste as other Taiwanese dishes, so that it didn’t kill the good smell from the soup, which was great. Green onion (negi), two slices of Chashu (チャーシュー), and Nori (Seaweed: のり) were all decorated perfectly.

If you like, you can add extra topping. I added Wakame Seaweed (わかめ) with extra TW$ 30.

Garlic Pork Rice (蒜香肉燥飯)

We ordered extra small rice called 蒜香肉燥飯 (ニンニク豚めし) (TW$ 45). This was a bit disappointment. A worker might have forgotten to bring the item right away. Once they served the rice to us, it was already cold and the meat over the rice was dry… If it was a real quality of this item, then they must improve the quality.

Overall, I love their ramen and service. All workers were friendly and energetic. Since this first experience, I frequently visit there and enjoy real Japanese ramen. (^^)

Total: TW$ 435 (for 2 people + 10% service fee)

Ramen Kagetsu Arashi: らあめん花月嵐
http://www.kagetsu.co.jp/index.html (Japan)
http://www.gbj-tw.com/ (Taiwan)
# Please check the closest branch from your location.

Restaurant #47: Saizeriya, Taipei

Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ) is a Japanese chain of Italian family-style restaurants. Recently, they opened several branches in Taipei, so I went to the branch just opened at new 統一阪急百貨台北店. I actually tried their food in Japan, and didn’t like it. One of their sales points is that all items are in reasonable price. Yes, I agree. Their menu is economy-friendly, but the taste was so-so. Yet, sometimes those Japanese family restaurants become a good dating spot in other Asian country, so I expected the warm hospitality from them.

統一阪急百貨台北店 is a department store, just opened, located at City Hall MRT station. Easy to access, and I like their variety of restaurants. Saizeriya is one of their attractive restaurant collections. My friend and I got in right away at 6pm. The waitress led us to the table smoothly, and we were ready to order…. Yet, no one come back to take an order. Most of workers don’t look at our table for some reasons. 10 min later, finally I told a guy that we were ready. He said, “OK, wait for a moment,” then he never came back. I found another waitress, but they kept saying “wait for a moment.” We waited enough moments… Finally, one waitress noticed us and took an order another 15 min later. Wow it took us 30 minutes to order.

They have a serious management problem. While we were waiting for our dishes, we found a teenage group right next to us. They, five girls, actually came after us, but waitress took an order before us… When their dishes were served, one dish was slipped from the waiter’s hands. The food was spilled on the table. Oh my… The waiter told them sorry, and brought a towel. Some other waitresses brought extra towel, however, they were all laughing… Why? A few minutes later, a manager came to the table and talked to the waitresses, yet, this manager were again smiling and kept chatting with waitresses, never say sorry to the customer. I was surprised those girls didn’t say anything to such a poor service.
I almost couldn’t tolerate such a lousy service and behaviors, but then, our dishes were served. Oh well…

Spaghetti with Chicken & Genovese Sauce

Here is my friend’s choice, 青醬雞肉義大利麵 (TW$ 90). Most of Italian restaurants in Taiwan have this item, either with chicken or clam. Saizeriya use their original sauce, but it was much oilier than Japanese branch. The taste was no problem, but the quantity was a bit less compared with regular Taiwanese dish’s quantity.

Grilled Chicken with "Diavola Salsa"

This is my choice, 惡魔風莎莎醤雞排 (TW$ 110), and I added a steamed rice (TW$ 20). Chicken was TOO SMALL! (>o<) Garlic taste over the crispy chicken was good, but it was just too small. If you want your stomach full, you need to order one more dish.


The crispiness was appropriate, and the chicken was juicy enough.

Overall, I liked their dishes. I really hope they improve their service. I am sad that they represent “Japanese restaurant”, but the quality of the food and service was quite far from Japanese one. If they welcome the customer saying “Irasshaimase”, then PLEASE improve the service.

Total: TW$ 220 (for 2 people)

Saizeriya: 薩莉亞義式餐廳
# Here is the Website for 統一阪急百貨台北店
http://www.uni-hankyu.com.tw/taipei/index.asp

Café #05: Café Kuroshio, Taipei

After my friend and I had great lunch at DongMen Dumpling Restaurant, we found a small café on the way back to the school. The café is called “Kuroshio” (咖啡黑潮) (yes, Japanese)! It seems that they open from 1:30pm.


Inside, there were a few customers, and soft rock music was played. WiFi was available, so some customers brought their laptop and enjoyed the free internet. It was simple, but I liked quiet atmosphere. (It is very hard to find such a quiet café in Taipei city…!)

They offer coffee, tea, some juice, and sweet cakes. Their specialty seems coffee, so I ordered simple Café Latte.

Café Latte

My friend’s choice

At the patio, there are some tables. If you are a smoker, you can enjoy the quiet nice Taiwan atmosphere at the patio. :)

I definitely recommend this place to enjoy good coffee and free quiet time. All workers were friendly.

Café Kuroshio: 咖啡黑潮
No. 9-1, Ln. 141, HePing S. Rd, Da-an Dist.
Taipei, TAIWAN
02-2357-0018