August 21, 2010
CalaCala 義大利廚房
Took the kid out to Nangang, where the Software Park is deserted on the weekend and the manicured grounds offer plenty of space to run around. The weather was nice and the coffee shop was even open for a drink after chasing the kid around. It was getting past sunset by the time the kid (and his folks) finally wore himself out.
Had the car with us, so it seemed easy enough to go somewhere for dinner. But not having done any research beforehand I had no idea what was available in the area. Some quick searching on the iPhone and the GPS devices pointed to this Taiwanized-Italian restaurant in Neihu as a decent option. Offered the suggestion to the wife, and it turned out that this restaurant has a sister branch in Sindian near her mother's place and she'd eaten there a couple of times. So no points for innovation, but with the kid along safe and reliable isn't a bad way to go.
Apparently we weren't the only ones who were looking for some spaghetti in the evening. The multi-level restaurant amongst the re-developed Neihu office parks was packed, with lines waiting out the door, and almost every table had a kid or three. We were out of other ideas, and a thirty minute wait isn't that bad. Thankfully the kid was a really good sport about it.
The restaurant was brightly lit with faux-timber tables and almost-kitschy country-style decor. The food was similarly cheerful and hearty. Was worried that the kid wouldn't like the strange new flavors, but when I shared my spaghetti in tomato-mushroom sauce he slurped it up and asked for more. He didn't quite have the patience to sit through the entire meal but with all the other families and kids in the house nobody minded our gyrations. The various cutesy decoration items were enough to catch his attention until the wife could finish her pesto-seafood pasta.
It's not sophisticated gourmet fare nor was it trying to be. It's not exactly the cheapest plate of pasta in town, either, NT400 for the full combo meal pasta+soup+salad+dessert. But with a 1.5-year-old in tow a pleasant, kid-friendly family-style restaurant was just what we needed.
caLAcaLA (內湖店)
台北市內湖區內湖陽光街240號
02-87523208
逸鮮棧 - Sushi & Fruit
The underutilized space in the alley behind our building finally saw signs of refurbishing earlier this year and this restaurant was the result, the core crew coming from the famous [Shintori] Japanese restaurant. The alley was soon packed with Benz and other fancy cars of the visiting diners. We were just looking for a convenient lunch, after finally putting the kid down for a nap. So we were rather under-dressed, walking into the fancy restaurant for a late lunch in our home casual clothes. The center of the restaurant is dominated by the three-sided sushi bar, with a few tables off to the side and a private room or two for large groups. Decorated in the modern-Nippon style with gray stone, white Corian, and stainless steel.
Wife didn't want a cold sushi meal, so we sat at a table instead of along the bar and ordered off the full menu. The menu featured different meats in combination with fruit, as befitting the name of the restaurant, while the sushi set meals offered chef's selections at various price levels. Perhaps I've been spoiled by being treated to more expensive Japanese restaurants, but I found the sushi platter to be just good, not great. But maybe that's on me for ordering the cheapest NT600 combo, when a typical sushi omisake course runs well over NT1000. It wasn't as if they were skimping on the materials, such as the anago eel instead of unagi was worth bonus points. And the pineapple roll was kinda cute, befitting the theme of the restaurant. Wife's entree featured a piece grilled free-range chicken thigh, decorated with peach slices and scallions. Very simple but nicely done, light and tasty. But the portion size was awfully small, even given the less extravagant pricing. And she doesn't like scallions. The accompanying bowl of fried rice, with its hint of curry flavoring, was not exactly to her liking either.
The sushi meal only included a few pieces of fresh fruit afterwards. But the chicken meal included a more extravagant dessert. In a clear glass was carefully layered with milk pudding on the bottom, a layer of clear gelatin and fruit medley, then a layer of fresh mangoes, and finally a scoop of mango ice cream on top, with passion-fruit sauce. Now that's something worth the price of admission, with the ingredients, textures, and construction all coming together, with enough size for the two of us to share.
It's not as if we left hungry, but perhaps given the high-end atmosphere we were expecting more out of an NT1000 lunch. On the other hand, that's not much money for a high-end Japanese meal, either. So perhaps what we need to do is to return to splurge for the higher tiers, preferably with a generous, well-off, relative in tow. After all, all those Mercedes-driving patrons can't be wrong?
逸鮮棧
台北市信義區忠孝東路4段500號之5
02-2725-3555
August 14, 2010
M On The Bund
Met up with wife's dad in Shanghai and wanted to take him some place nice to eat. Also wanted to walk around The Bund and Nanjing Rd. areas. Easy enough to combine both activitys, since there's more than enough fancy restaurants on The Bund these days, many opened by internationally-famous celebrity-chefs. But the M On The Bund was one of the first pioneers. The father-in-law is not a big fan of Western food, but we figured brunch would be a safe option. A prompt cocktail upon seating certainly helps to make a good first impression. A mimosa for the wife, and champagne + orange-liqueur concoction for dad and I. The room was mostly filled with foreign tourists, or locals treating Westerner friends. Big picture windows overlooking the Huangpu River brings in plenty of natural light, and affords a great view of the skyscrapers across the rivers. The view would be even better from the large patio, but the suffocating mid-day heat made it impossible to sit outside.
The brunch menu is less adventurous than the standard fare, but the dishes featured good ingredients well-prepared. Wife's dad had the fish-and-chips, which seemed nice enough but didn't get a taste because in the Confucian tradition one doesn't swipe food from one's elders. My Salad Frisée Aux Lardons was dressed with drippings from the thick strips of smoky bacon and the runny egg yolk from the poached egg on top was more than enough richness to offset the slightly bitter greens. Followed by the Eggs Benedict, one original and one Florentine style. Both were dressed with perfectly lemony and buttery Hollandaise sauce, with spinach or bacon on top of real English muffins. Wife had the signature M's Weekend Fryup which came on a huge platter with minute-steak, lamb chop, grilled sausage, crispy bacon, grilled tomato, sautéed onions, mashed potatoes and a fried egg, "of course."
That was enough food for the wife to give up her second brunch course to a shared dessert for the table. They referred to the pavlova "M’s Very Famous," so it behooved us to give it a try. The fame appears to be well-deserved. Lots of fresh fruit and whip cream on top of crunchy baked meringue. More importantly for Chinese palates, not too sweet. The single serving was more than enough dessert for the three of us to share.
As one of the first re-developers on the scene, M On the Bund chose No. 5 for a reason. The entire curve of the Zhongshan Road waterfront stretched out before us, when seen from the outdoor patio. Glamorous old-world buildings of The Bund contrasting with the modern cityscape across the river in Pudong. Heck it's actually more historically authentic to be enjoying a Western meal in the former Concessions area, isn't it?
M On The Bund (米氏西餐厅)
7/F, No. 5 The Bund (corner of Guangdong Rd.)
中国上海市外滩广东路20号7楼
+86-21-6350-9988
小楊生煎
Both English and Chinese foodie sites seem to acknowledge Yang's Fried Dumpling as one of the best purveyors of the classic Shanghai pan-fried dumplings, which is quite a rare agreement. The location near People's Park is the most convenient, and we decided to stop by for breakfast, before meeting up with wife's dad. We were there early so there wasn't any lines and we even got ourselves a table. The chain is big enough to have cleaned themselves up a bit compared to the typical hole-in-the-wall place. Hair-capped workers behind glass diligently stuffed and folded the dumplings with the pork filling. The flat grill is right up front visible to passers-by, convenient to scoop into a box for take-out, or into a bowl for eating in.
Considering the explosive rise in Shanghai's cost-of-living, four-yuan for four dumplings is a real gourmet bargain. I was expecting the dumplings to be bite-sized like xiaolongbao, but they turned out to be a good bit larger and more filling than they look. The hot-off-the-pan fried dumplings has a crispy crust, a chewy skin, and filled with meat juices inside. So it takes some skill (that I lacked) to bite into the bun, sip out the juices, all without it all bursting out or burning my tongue process.
The dumplings are good as a hearty breakfast, a quick lunch, or a late-night snack. It's no wonder they have good business all times of the day.
小杨生煎 (黄河路店)
上海市黄浦区黄河路97号
021-53751793
August 01, 2010
代官山101
Went to the Taipei101 with wife's family for lunch, because it was the one place nearby with convenient parking. The food court was too loud and busy to eat with the baby, so we went upstairs to where the sit-down restaurants are located. After walking a loop around, we settled on this place because it offered more spacing for us to eat with the baby. The restaurant occupies a prime spot on the fourth floor of the mall in the Taipei101 building, offering a wide variety of Japanese-style staples. Perhaps too many, as the menu listed everything from sushi to noodles to katsu to donburi. The restaurant is nicely appointed with solid wood furnitures, segregated booths with either sit-down and tatami seating, and a nice sushi bar with multiple chefs working behind it. But with such a large menu it was impossible to do everything, or even anything, particularly well. Wife's soup udon was tremendously bland, and my tempura set meal wasn't particularly well-fried, either. The set meal does offer lots of side dishes like chawanmushi, miso soup, and dessert. And the mushroom-rice was good, which helped to keep the kid fed, too.
The Japanese set-meal is the most common mid-priced sit-down restaurant around. And one can get similar, but tastier, food at much better prices elsewhere. At least the pricey meal helped to offset the parking fees, so it was barely worthwhile.
台北市信義區市府路45號
02-8101-7828