March 26, 2011
總督西餐廳 Viceroy Restaurant
Auntie invited everyone to dinner to celebrate her son's grad. school acceptance. The old-school steak-house has occupied its now-prime location right on Zhongxiao E. Rd. for over 30 years.
The all-you-can-eat salad and dessert bar is a key component of the Taiwanese steak-house. The desserts were a bit pedestrian, but the kid didn't mind as long as the puddings kept coming. The salad bar had enough circulation to insure the freshness of the lettuces, et al. Although there's always quite a rush for the good stuff like smoked salmon and the shrimps.
We stuck to the dinner sets which offered various cuts of steaks and seafoods in combination. Not quite a full surf & turf but a tasty combo nonetheless. The beef came with the inevitable pepper sauce but the meat itself was good enough without drowning it in sauce. The seafood medley was stir-fried with a bit of XO sauce for a bit of spicy zing. Auntie's son ordered a pricier rib-eye which came sizzling on an iron pan and showed that they can turn out a serious steak, if one ponies up for it.
Can't really judge these sort of restaurants against modern Western restaurants since the food has evolved to its own category, like Japanese yoshoku cuisine. Though hardly fashionable it's still pretty good food on its own merits, give or take the steak sauces. Now that Fine Herbs has closed it's probably the best option of its kind nearby.
總督西餐廳
台北市大安區忠孝東路四段104號2樓
02-2772-3302
March 19, 2011
Gaku-Den Bakery
The relatively new and aggressively expanding chain opened a branch right outside the SYT subway station Exit 2. From the Nihongo name to the wood-slatted interior it's obviously trying hard to present itself as an upscale Japanese-style bakery. The posters on the wall espouses the benefits of their all-natural home-grown yeast starter, and placards tell of the local sources for the bread additions. There's the obligatory baguettes, but soft-and-fluffy is the predominant theme, with a variety of savory and sweet fillings. Sure, Euro-bread purists may scoff on such Asian stylings, but all the variety is fun and it goes well with a hot cup of coffee in the morning.
The open layout with the bakers visibly shaping and filling fresh dough is a nice sight to see. And considering the size and quality the breads don't seem too expensive. Definitely comparable with the bakeries found in the high-end department stores' food halls. Not trying to be an ultra-premium import at all. Locations are convenient, too. It'll probably be our go-to bakery in the future.
樂田麵包屋
GakuDen Bakery