Sunday, April 12, 2015

Ooh Cha Cha (vegan health bar)

Ooh Cha Cha
No. 207, Section 2, Nanchang Road, Taipei
台北市中正區南昌路二段207號
Monday - Friday:     10:00 - 21:00
Saturday - Sunday:  10:00 - 20:00
MRT: Guting (exit 2, continue straight to the first lane. Make a right turn and it's at the corner).

Ooh Cha Cha is a cozy and inviting little bistro, opened in a very bright space surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Once stepping into the bistro, you feel like you want to eat healthy instantly! The menu is simple, but still has quite some choices to choose from. 
We ordered the Hopeful Hummus Bowl (NT$ 250), which is a gluten-free dish of brown rice and quinoa, cucumber, beets, tomatoes, baby greens, buckwheat sprouts and roasted garlic hummus topped with cilantro. It surely looks and taste healthy and is quite filling too. 
The Tofu Banh Mi (NT$ 150) is a whole wheat sandwich roll filled with non-GMO tofu, pickled carrots and radish, organic cucumber, walnut pate and cilantro, all topped with cashew mayo. This sandwich is one of my favorites! The ingredients are simple, but all put together they taste so good. You should definitely give this one a try when you go there!
The Immunity Flush (medium: NT$ 110/ large: NT$ 140) is a healthy smoothie drink made of organic kiwi, mango, freshly squeezed lime juice, organic seasonal greens and cranberry juice. If you don't like any of the ingredients (of any drink), you can tell the staff to omit that ingredient. 
For dessert we ordered a raw dessert: Lime Cashew Cheesecake (NT$ 120). The cheesecake was not as heavy and rich as a normal cheesecake and the freshness of the lime in the cheesecake was perfect to end the dinner with. 
If you are up for a healthy snack, lunch or dinner, go check out Ooh Cha Cha!

Wendel's German Bakery & Bistro (溫德德式烘培餐館)

Daan branch (大安店1932)
No. 28, Lane 260, Guangfu South Road, Taipei
台北市大安區光復南路260巷28號
02 - 2711 8919
Monday - Sunday:   08:00 - 22:00 

(Last order 21:00)
http://www.wendels-bakery.com/index.asp
MRT: Sun-Yat Sen Memorial Hall (exit 2)

Tianmu branch (天母旗艦店)

No. 5, Dexing West Road, Taipei 
台北市士林區德行西路5號
Bakery: 02 - 2831 4592
Restaurant: 02 - 2831 4415
Monday - Sunday:   07:00 - 22:00 
(Last order 21:00)
http://www.wendels-bakery.com/index.asp
MRT: Zhishan (exit 2)

Neihu branch (內湖店)

No. 11, Alley 22, Lane 513, Ruiguang Road, Taipei
台北市內湖區瑞光路513巷22弄11號
02 - 8751 3708
Monday - Friday:     11:30 - 21:00 (Last order 20:00)
Saturday - Sunday:   09:00 - 12:00 (Breakfast)   12:00 - 21:00 (Last order 20:00)
http://www.wendels-bakery.com/index.asp
MRT: Xihu (exit 2)

As the name says, Wendel's is a German bistro which has a bakery next to it. The bakery sells all kinds of German bread, cakes and pastry. I love their European kind of bread, which is different from Taiwanese and Japanese bread, that is often softer and sweeter. 
Germany is famous for their Wiener schnitzels, so when I saw the Schnitzel "Wiener Art" (NT$ 425) on the menu, it was something we had to try. The two pan-fried breaded pork loin schnitzels were served with a slice of lemon, French fries and a bowl of mixed salad. The schnitzels were quite big in size and tasted good. They came with the wrong country flag on top though, haha. ;)
Another thing that Germany is known for is the German sausage (bratwurst). The German Style Bratwurst (NT$ 395) is a pan-fried pork sausage served with onion sauce, home cooked sauerkraut and creamy mashed potatoes. It doesn't look like much, but the sauerkraut and mashed potatoes are quite filling. The bratwurst dipped in the onion sauce was very enjoyable and tasted authentic. 

烤師傅 - 炭燒專賣店 (港式燒烤)

烤師傅 - 炭燒專賣店 (港式燒烤)
No. 2-1, Alley 151, Lane 30, Yongji Road, Taipei
台北市永吉路30香151弄2-1號
11:00 - 14:30   17:00 - 21:00
This popular restaurant is hidden in an alley next to Crown & Fancy bakery, which is located diagonally opposite of MRT City Hall. I have heard good reviews from several friends mentioning how good their BBQ pork is, so I finally got to check it out myself. It is a very small restaurant with just a few tables and it's not allowed to take photos inside. Basically this is one of those places where you just eat and go.   
I ordered their signature dish 招牌燒肉飯 (NT$ 99), which is rice covered with marinated BBQ pork, some veggies, a slice of sausage and a half semi-boiled egg. It looked simple, but tasted surprisingly good!
My friend ordered the 香嫩烤豬排飯 (NT$ 99), which is tender roast pork chops with rice, veggies and a half semi-boiled egg. Actually I liked these pork chops more than their signature BBQ pork slices. I think the taste of the marinated meat came out more in these pork chops, which made them yummy!
The menu is simple, but still gives you a variety of choices to choose from.
Looking at the bottom of the menu, you will see that they have five (yes, 5!!) telephone lines for take-out orders! Business must be good~ 

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Eric Boulangerie Patisserie

Eric Bakery (艾力克法國經典烘培)
No. 169, Section 3, Tingzhou Road, Taipei
台北市中正區汀州路三段169號
Monday - Sunday:  10:30 - 22:30

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Round Table Teppanyaki Shabu Shabu (圓桌鐵板燒涮涮鍋)

Round Table Teppanyaki (圓桌鐵板燒)
B1, No. 552, Guangfu South Road, Taipei
台北市大安區光復南路552號B1
02 - 2700 8699
11:30 - 14:30   17:30 - 22:30
https://www.facebook.com/roundtable.tw


San Ho Yan (参和院 台灣風格飲食)

San Ho Yan (参和院 台灣風格飲食) 
No. 14, Lane 101, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Taipei
台北市大安區忠孝東路四段101巷14號
Monday - Sunday:
Lunch: 11:30 - 14:00
Afternoon tea: 14:00 - 17:00
Dinner: 17:30 - 22:00
Supper: 22:00 - 01:00 (Friday & Saturday until 02:30)









Monday, April 6, 2015

Sunny Hills (微熱山丘)

Sunny Hills (微熱山丘)
No. 1, Alley 4, Lane 36, Section 5, Minsheng East Road, Taipei
台北市松山區民生東路五段36巷4弄1號
www.sunnyhills.com.tw