吃飯了嗎？

Gordon Biersch

Wife and kids were staying at her mother's house for the weekend so I had a Sunday morning to myself. Took advantage of my moment of freedom to hit the brewpub for some beer & grub. The dark-wood bar is relatively uncrowded, compared to the rest of the bustling restaurant, as the concept has done surprisingly well since making its debut a while back.

The menu was faithfully transplanted from its American roots, thus featuring many items not usually seen in the Taiwanese basic burger-and-pasta American-style restaurants. It's almost kind of overwhelming, so I skipped to the list of House Specialties, where the Cajun Fish Tacos caught my eye. Some American-Mex food plus a tall glass of Hefeweizen seemed like exactly what the doctor ordered. The dish certainly looked the part. The tacos were filled with blackened fish topped with a creamy sauce and pico de gallo salsa which were tasty but not too spicy. The double-wrapping of soft flour tortilla and crunchy blue-corn tortilla shell was a smart flourish. Unfortunately the tortilla shells were a bit stale and not too crunchy, possibly due to lack of turnover or Taiwan's high humidity? But the food did went well with the beer, not surprisingly.

Gordon Biersch 鮮釀啤酒餐廳
台北市信義區松壽路11號2樓(新光三越A11館2F)
02-8786-7588

籌學費

We parked the car in the garage and went down RenAi Blvd instead of going home for dinner. I'd noticed this curiously named restaurant before but the wife wasn't in the mood for American food back then. Today she was more amenable.

The restaurant is a tiny converted shack in an alley just off Guangfu Blvd. The interior is decorated much like an American family diner, but the extensive menu scrawled in chalk across an entire wall covers a surprisingly ambitious range. There's the classically American burgers and breakfast foods, but there's also American-Italian pastas, and a whole section of Cal-Mex dishes. One could be generous and talk about the open kitchen, or just note that there's no room for a real cooking space so they simply had a bar to blocked off an area with a few gas-can burners. As a family-run operation, I'm inclined to think of it as a pleasantly quirky feature, since it also allows them to chat with the patrons. The name of the restaurant itself comes from their mother's restaurant work supporting her children through school, and any tips are donated to educational charities.

I couldn't resist the temptation of Mexican food, especially the less-often seen dishes, so I ordered the beef chimichanga. Wife wasn't as inclined for adventure so she chose the fettuccine Alfredo with chicken.

I wasn't a big fan of the chimichanga while living in the States, but it's so rare to find it in Taiwan that I had to give it a try. I wanted the fried burrito to be good but frankly I was prepared for disappointment, as is usually the case for Tai-Mex. The dish made a good first impression, the pan-fried tortilla wrapping glistening hot and golden brown. Two ramekins with mild salsa and sour cream were on the side to dress up the chimichanga or to dip the home-made tortilla chips. The inside was packed with ground beef, onions, and sweet peppers, generously spiced with chili powder. Humble ingredients, but when well-prepared it is tasty as a rare treat. Wife's pasta was less flavorful. But the sauce was rich and nicely thickened, unlike the soupy white sauce often found in Taiwan eateries. The wider fettuccine noodles suited the sauce better, too, more so than the usual strands of spaghetti.

With just the two of us, we didn't even get to the online-famous bacon cheeserburgers. And there were a ton of other tempting options on the menu that still needs tasting, too. Will definitely return.

籌學費
台北市信義區光復南路417巷37號
02-2345-1398

The Burger Stop 漢堡站

There has been an absolute explosion of high-end burger places in Taipei recently. I can probably name a dozen off the top of my head just within the eastern part of Taipei (if I cheat a little bit and count Posh I, II, and III as three). Heck, there's one almost directly downstairs from our place, which hasn't been good for my waistline at all.

Into this egg-tart like frenzy comes The Burger Stop. Located behind the main Zhongxiao boulevard in a nondescript alley, it's sited amongst many restaurants of various cuisines near but not quite at the heart of the 東區 action. Walking into the shop certainly brings a good first impression. Other local burger places tend to go with the spare Ikea-modern look, or seem more like coffee-houses than burger-shacks. The Burger Stop goes for the retro-diner look and nails it: brightly lit, red-and-black colored racing theme (complete with real racing slicks piled in a corner), with some white-tile accents. Clean, air-conditioned, free wi-fi, and free soda refills too, perfect for eating in, although swiping on an iPhone screen with greasy fingers isn't such a great idea.

That's all well and good, but there's plenty of handsome-looking restaurants in Taipei serving up mediocre food and worse. Thankfully that's not the case here. The American owner is in the store patiently teaching the crisply-uniformed staff about properly cooking the burger patties, how to run the shake-blender for the hand-made ice-cream shake, and demonstrating how to batter-and-fry the onion rings. Wait, did you say onion rings? Yes please! An inexpensive upgrade to the burgers-and-fries combo, the thin onion rings are thinly but thoroughly coated in crisp batter. Not heavy and soggy with breading, but crispy and locking in the sweetness of the onion. Made with real onions dipped and fried as I watched, not the perfectly circular Stepford-onion-rings out of a frozen bag.

And the burger itself wasn't bad, either. The most In-n-Out-like burger I've had in Taiwan, but better! Perfectly sized with crisp slices of iceberg lettuce and tomato on top of the fresh-beef patty and custom-baked buns. Cheese is melted on top of the burger with a layer of secret sauce (i.e. Thousand Island dressing). The neat-and-tidy fast-food-style burger is differentiated from the other places serving restaurant-style huge-and-sloppy burgers, although the subtleties of the burger-art may be lost with the eating public here.

It's a testament to the rapid evolution of the Taipei restaurant scene that such a burger place would've been manna from heaven when I first arrived a few years ago, is now just one-amongst-many excellent American burger options within walking distance. The downside of the Taipei restaurant scene is that the craze-bubble inevitably pops, but I hope The Burger Stop hangs in there and survive the competition fallout. If only for those onion rings!

The Burger Stop
台北市大安區延吉街137巷26號
(02) 2711-7079

田納希新平價牛排

Cousin A wants steak! But not too expensive steak. And we didn't feel like going far from wife's mom's place. That pretty much left only this particular restaurant available to try. Despite its proximity and visible popularity, wife and the girls have never tried it before, so we do have the element of anticipation working for us, as we sat on the bench outside awaiting the second seating. Yes, the restaurant is so popular that they strictly seat only with reservations, for two seatings per night at 6pm and 7:30pm. Hey, Taiwan folks eat early, and eat fast.

The old-school styling starts out with the faux-wood-cabin interior and carries right through to the cuisine. The crudite-style salad comes with the choice of thousand-island or ranch dressings. The soup comes in a mini-tureen, perfect suited to be covered by the puffy pastry shell, a tasty seafood chowder contained within. One more old school-touch that's much appreciated: their own fresh-brewed sweet iced-tea.

The steak wasn't half bad, not the highest grade but they put enough into it so it still comes out tender and juicy. Thankfully they put the goopy sauces (peppercorn and mushroom options, per usual) on the side without having to be asked, or worse dump it all over your meat without asking. The side-dishes were positively night-market-ish, though: spaghetti, frozen veggies, and a fried egg. But they do bring it with style, still sizzling on a hot iron platter, covered with a metal dome. The waiter first took the time to warn us to shield ourselves with paper napkins, in order to guard against the sputtering splatter coming off the sizzling hot platter as he uncovered the food with a flourish.

For a place that calls itself a 平價 value-priced restaurant, the meal was surprisingly pricey, averaging out for NT4-500 a head. On the other hand, Taiwan does have to import most of its beef. So it's not so unreasonable to ask a fair price for a fair cut of meat. If I wanted cheap instead of value I would've just gone across the street for the NT 50 滷肉飯 roasted pork-bits rice bowl.

田納希新平價牛排
台北縣新店市民權路41號
02-8665-9829

Alleycats Pizza, Huashan

Asian pizza has long been the butt of Western jokes, and even now I get slightly queasy at the sight of green peas and corn with squid on a cheesy seafood pizza. However more authentic alternatives have been popping up all over the place in Taipei. And Alleycat's Pizza has been leading the way building thick-walled brick-ovens and hand-made thin-crust pizzas with Italian-style toppings like Margherita and Quattro Stagione.

Starting from their original location near Yongkang St., Alleycat's has steadily expanded with new branches in hot spots where trendy young folks would appreciate the foreign-style pizza. The latest Alleycat outpost in the Huashan Cultral Center fits the pattern, inserting itself amidst the former warehouses that are now transformed into art galleries and performance spaces. Taking over one of the buildings on the grounds, they had plenty of space to work with, unlike their other more high-rent locations. And they took advantage of the breathing room in the decor, with rustic wood beams across the high ceiling and faux-fresco wall paintings behind an open bar and kitchen.

On a weekday lunchtime the room was fairly empty and we had our run of the place. Two pizzas would probably be too much, but one pizza plus a biz-lunch sandwich combo sounded good. Wife chose the pesto-chicken panini which was solidly competent, although Toasteria Cafe's version is a bit better (more cheese!). The side-salad was a surprisingly decent Caesar, real Romaine and all. I've been eating way too much meat and other heavy foods lately, so a thin-crusted veggie pizza seemed like a good idea for a satisfying but light lunch. Veggies were lightly cooked but still crunchy from the fast, high-heat cooking in the pizza oven. The hand-formed dough and dedicated stone oven really make Alleycat's pizza crust one of the best in Taipei. Not cheap, especially with a beer to wash it down, but good food in a good space makes it worthwhile.

Alleycat's Pizza Hua Shan (華山店)
台北市八德路一段一號
No. 1, Sec. 1, Bade Rd.
02-2395-6006

Gordon Biersch Brewery & Restaurant

The first time we visited they were still ramping up, and wife was pregnant and afflicted with morning-sickness with no appetite at the time. So we decided to give it another try now that they've settled into the local scene. Gordon Biersch has done surprisingly well in Taiwan since opening, staying busy even when we've passed by on weekdays. Good place to entertain overseas customers staying at the Hyatt, or for an after-work get-together for all the office-workers nearby. Glad to see them managing to keep most of the items on the menu, even the more obscure items like Cobb Salad. Blue cheese is a dicey proposition for Asian folks, and I wouldn't eat it straight up, but a little bit in a Cobb really makes it.

The pizza was slightly disappointing, though. Not impressed with the crust at all. There are lots of pizza places in Taipei now with fancy brick ovens doing legitimate Italian-style blistered crusts, so the bar has been raised and American-chain quality doesn't quite cut it anymore. On the other hand, it's nice to just have an American style mushroom-pepperoni pizza without fuss. The garlic fries were fantastic, much better than the last time we visited. Definitely a must-have at GB. Thankfully the wife is fairly tolerant to garlic-breath.

Oh yeah, there's the beer, too. They import the recipes and materials to brew in Taiwan. A nice amber ale with a heck of a lot more flavor than the sex-in-a-canoe-style Taiwan Beer.

Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant
GB鮮釀啤酒餐廳
台北市松壽路11號2F
Mituskoshi A11 2F
02-8786-7588

吃蛋吧

Coffee and toast at home is nice and all, but we've missed being able to go out for a relaxing weekend brunch, now that we've got a little ball-and-chain. Finally the baby is able to sit up on his own in the stroller, so brunch seemed like a good excuse to take him out on a little local excursion. Omelet To Go has good reviews amongst the local food-bloggers, and its location near the XinYi-Jilong intersection next to a park wasn't too far to walk with a stroller. And the wife likes omelets.

Got there early, before the sun got too high in the sky and became too hot for the baby. Good thing, too, as the place filled up quickly, many are also young families out for weekend breakfast. Wife even ran into an old classmate, there with his own little baby, who was already being sent to classes!? The space was clean and well-lit with picture windows in front and solid wood furniture inside, definitely a step up from the typical Taiwanese breakfast-shack. The straight-forward menu is scrawled on blackboards that lined the walls, featuring a wide variety of omelets and sides, plus some other light lunch far like pasta and wraps. With a name like Omelet To Go, though, we certainly weren't going to order anything but. Wife had the Denver Omelette with hash browns. I had the weekend special cheese omelet with smoked salmon cream sauce, eggplant parmesan on the side. The omelets were generously proportioned with lots of filling, definitely American-style rather than French. The exterior perhaps a bit more singed than proper, but the interior still soft and gooey with melted cheese. The hash browns were thin and crispy, definitely not the thick, mealy, mass-produced stuff. Endless coffee is nice and decently drinkable, although they only had creamer cups instead of real milk, which was a minus.

Once the baby started to squirm in the stroller, we had to take turns eating while the other held him in our laps, and when that wasn't enough take him out for a walk around the park. But he never made a big fuss or bothered the other diners, which was awesome. It was nice to be able to go out for a meal as a family unit, and Omelets makes for an excellent morning option. Unfortunately we won't be able to indulge too often, with that pesky work and all during the week.

吃蛋吧
Omelet To Go
台北市信義區光復南路473巷11弄40號 (中興公園旁)
02-2720-8782

Brownies Cafe

We were out of everything at home, which seemed like a good excuse to go out for brunch. Wanted something a bit more substantial than coffee and pastries, but with the baby along we couldn't go far, either. Been to this cafe hidden away in an alley nearby for dinner before, but never tried breakfast. So we bundled the baby up in the stroller and rolled down the street for a visit.

I had the signature breakfast, which included salad, toast, egg, and a choice of breakfast meat (salami, in this case). I could do just as well at home, but then I'd have to cook, wouldn't I? Coffee or tea is free with the breakfast but I ponied up extra money for a cappuccino, which was kinda unnecessary, to be honest.

Wife had the breakfast croissant with smoked chicken. I've done the croissant rant elsewhere already so I won't repeat it here. But at least the croissant-like bread made for a pretty good soft roll, in this case. Some good fresh greens to go with the cheese and chicken. All in all a pleasant way to spend the morning in a quiet unharried environment. The food is just a bonus. Thankfully the baby was good for most of the time, as long as we passed him back and forth to keep him occupied. And when he got fussy we could just ask for the check and go back home.

On another occasion the wife took baby to her mother's house for the evening and I was on my own for the evening so I dropped in for their dinner service. They offer some simple pseudo-Western dishes like pastas, herb chicken legs, and rice gratins. My pesto chicken spaghetti was practically drowning in the creamy green sauce. It's pretty tasty, in a reheated vacuum-packet kind of way. But I was satisfied with it for a quick single-person meal in an upholstered chair and nice space with free wireless networking.

Brownies Cafe
布朗尼咖啡
台北市信義區逸仙路42巷3號
02-8786-0833

New York Pizza Kitchen

Wife's mom took the baby so we finally had an evening to ourselves. Wanted to go some place nice for dinner, but nothing too formal, and there's certainly nothing formal about pizza. Located at a prime location on the 仁愛-安和 intersection, down the block from the Dunhua Eslite bookstore, NYPK is an Italian-American restaurant offering American brunches in the morning and New York style pizzas and pastas at night. The restaurant was full of ABCs looking for decent pizza, and hip chicks stopping in for a bite before heading out to the many lounge bars nearby. Us unreserved late-comers were exiled to an outdoor courtyard. Thankfully the evening had cooled down just enough to make the outside temperature tolerable, and we were reasonably sheltered from the street noise, such that we were disinclined to move inside even after a table opened up.

We were there mainly for the pizza, but we weren't hungry enough for a whole pizza, and they also offered other dishes. So we got a red-sauce seafood spaghetti and a Sprite float to go with a couple of pizza slices. The pasta was decent but forgettable. The pizza base ain't bad, thin-crust but not too thin, cooked in a dedicated brick oven visible in the open kitchen. But NT95 for three pieces of pepperoni is not a good $/meat ratio. It's even worse with the chicken-parm pizza as it's NT120 for three chunks of chicken.

NYPK is an American restaurant in Taiwan, and much like a Chinese restaurant in the US, it may be pretty good, but it's still not the same. On the other hand, it's nice to have a safe option for a good-old American slice of pizza. Not Italian authentic-but-different, and definitely not the Asian-style franken-pizzas.

NY Pizza Kitchen
台北市大安區安和路一段53號
02-2775-1582

台北君悅大飯店 - 凱菲屋

We had an expiring gift certificate for the Grand Hyatt, our one final perk for holding our wedding at the hotel. But NT3500 doesn't quite cover a whole banquet, but it seemed gauche to leave the infant at home with mom to run out for a nice meal with just ourselves. I searched through their restaurant web pages and noticed that the Cafe buffet restaurant just happened to be offering a Lady's Night discount that day. With all of the wife's sister and cousins, it wasn't hard to round up the perfect crowd to take advantage of the opportunity. And mom was okay with babysitting since she's always supportive of a good deal.

I like to start my buffet attack with a plate of cold items. They had a nice variety of greens, pastas, and seafoods for their salad platters. There were also areas serving dim-sum and other Asian foods, but even a high-end hotel can't do much for food that sits in steamers and under heat-lamps for a whole evening. The fresh juice-bar is a touch of class, though, to set it apart compared to the usual all-you-can-eat pig-troughs out on the street. Not to mention the impeccable interior decoration as befits the best hotel in Taipei.

But really, it's all about the fresh greens for me. There was a separate DIY-Caesar area with romaine leaves, croutons, bacon bits, parmesan shreds, and dressing which you can toss into a big mixing bowl to mix up your own salad.

Maybe it was because we visited relatively late on a mid-week evening, but the food quality seemed a notch down from my expectations. The roast was just a little bit tough, the seafood wasn't as extensive. Although the dessert area was pure chocolate heaven, with mousses, cakes, puddings, and a fountain. With our gift certificate and the discount it turned out to be a fair value. So I guess it's true about 一分錢一分貨.

Cafe
凱菲屋
台北市信義區松壽路2號
02-2720-1234

Famous Larry's NY Pizza

I've kinda given up on pizza in Taiwan, after even Costco went native with toppings such as Seafood&Corn and Beijing Duck. Sure, there are fancy Italian places serving up thin-crust Euro pies, but nothing like the bread-y topping-packed American-style big-slice.

Was browsing The Hungry Girl In Taipei blog and noticed her recommendation for Famous Larry's. Not sure about how famous Larry really is, but I'd already begged off dinner at home so I had to forage for myself. So I decided to grab takeout on the way home from work.

Unfortunately, it's not like the high-turnover American fast-food-pizza shacks, where you can choose from the ready-cooked pizzas and take a slice to-go immediately. I could choose any flavor off the big blackboard menu, but then they have to assemble my single-slice order by putting the appropriate toppings on a slice of par-cooked pizza base and finishing it in the oven. On a slow weekday evening I guess I can understand why they do it this way, but I wanted to get home and the open storefront was drafty, albeit nicely decorated with Americana touches.

So I finally received my slices and speed-walked home before they cooled off. Had to have a slice of the pepperoni pizza just to see how they do the basics. The Soho pizza adds a California touch to the NY-style pizza base, with pesto, mushroom, and chicken toppings. The crust is corn-meal dusted and thin, but not too thin. The slices are generously large, cut from a 19" pizza round. Two slices were almost too much but I could afford to be gluttonous alone at home.

I'm not a super-picky pizza connoisseur and it seems like they have the right idea except the slice couldn't be folded, a deadly sin for a self-purported New York style pizza. Maybe the crust got hard between the re-baking and the cooling-off process during transport. Nevertheless that was a pretty major bummer.

On the other hand, the flavors are all good, and it's close to home, so we'll give it a second chance sometime. Anything but Pizza Hut.

Famous Larry's New York Pizza
Yanji St, Lane 137, No. 2
台北市延吉街137巷2號
02-2771-1032

also

Heping E. Rd., Sec. 2, Lane 118, Alley 54, No. 8
台北市和平東路二段118巷54弄8號
Tel: (02) 2738 4747

長谷川先生的家

We always together with wife's younger cousins to celebrate the big school holidays. The kids love American-style burger-and-fries. The workin' folks prefer a posh restaurant, preferably in the fashionable streets of east-Taipei. Nowadays there are plenty of places which can satisfy both requirements, as fancy-burger restaurants seems to be the latest fad.

This particular spot went with the quiet-elegance approach. You know it's a low-key place when the Help Wanted sign is bigger than the store's name sign. The restaurant and its large picture windows are obscured behind an artfully overgrown garden and patio, topped off with a red telephone booth. They endeavored to make the inside like a cozy home, with thick wood dining tables and lots of bookshelves filled with random items and mirrors on the walls. Sitting around the long table it felt as if we were in the dining room of a well-appointed European home, which is certainly a unique atmosphere for these parts.

Invited David along with us for this occasion, and he went straight for the deluxe signature-burger. You get an extra fried egg and onion rings on top of the standard bacon-cheeseburger, which is like an Aussie or Kiwi thing, I think. Unfortunately the beer was stupid expensive, so he only had a couple of small-bottle Heinekens and I demurred altogether. The Oreo milkshakes were good, though, fresh hand-made and all.

As for me I had the straight-up bacon-cheeseburger. All the elements were certainly in place. Lots of fresh veggies and good crunchy bacon on a fresh-baked bun. But where's the beef? Although I'm sure the beef is as high-quality as the rest of the ingredients, the Mickey-D-sized patty seemed to get lost a bit within all the trimmings. The Diner is still the winner, far as patty mass goes.

A good time was had by all, although the location seemed more appropriate for a date than a boisterous gathering, apparent by the fashionable couples occupying the other tables. Maybe we'll have to come by ourselves the next time. But boy there sure are lots of other burger places still left to sample.

長谷川先生的家
光復南路240巷45號
02-27415880

紅洋蔥

We've passed by the unassuming little family-style steakhouse dozens of times without giving it a second look. However, the wife was looking to eat more protein to help the baby gain weight. So the big red banner offering two steak dinners for price of one caught our eye. Thankfully we were there relatively early and could snatch a table, as the restaurant was soon packed with bargain-hunting families and young couples.

There were five different combo-meal combinations one could choose from. A small glass of brisk fruit-vinegar worked to cleanse the palate. Didn't expect much more than generic iceberg salad mix for the salad, but we were pleasantly surprised with a whole-leaf Caesar. Loved the presentation, whole romaine leaves covered with dressing on the root end, leaving the green leaf exposed, sitting in the perfectly shaped elongated bowl with croutons, cheese, and bacon bits on top. Although bacon bits aren't suppose to be in Caesar salad, they do use real bacon, and you never go wrong by adding bacon. I was also impressed by my beef consomme soup, clear but beefy in flavor. The wife's onion soup was a bit more pedestrian in comparison, lacking that intense caramelization of well-cooked onions.

For the main course, I had the triplet combo of jumbo prawn, herb chicken, and steak, with mushroom sauce on the side. The steak was a bit tough, the prawn was kinda small, and the crisp-skinned chicken was... chicken. But all in all it was a good amount of food and greater than the sum of the parts. Wife had the Angus steak and had a good time hacking away at it.

A competent creme brulee and panna cotta rounded off the meal and went nicely with the half-decent coffee. There was ice cream available, too, but it was icy, barely scoopable, and not worth the trouble.

Sure, it's no Ruth Chris or Mortons, but there are good reasons why this place has survived for so long even as more fashionable eateries have came and went around it. Sure it's a bit faded and old-fashioned, but I think that actually adds to the atmosphere.

紅洋蔥
台北市光復南路180巷14號
02-2721-7512

Yuma Southwestern Grill

Modern Taipei is metropolitan enough to offer some interesting, if not always authentic, takes on foreign cuisines. However, Mexican food, or more accurately Cal-Mex and Tex-Mex Americanized Mexican food, has been the big gap. To be honest I haven't even been brave enough to even try the local places, having seen such horrific reviews on the net. It's kinda surprising since you figure there's enough Americanized kids returning from Cali who've had their share of tacos and burritos to support a business. Instead, it's a sad state of affairs when Chili's is about the best one can hope for.

But hope sprang anew when I heard about Yuma Southwestern Grill, the new venture by the founder of Alleycats Pizza. Thankfully it's not too far from home so I was able to convince the heavily pregnant wife to waddle down Zhongxiao with me. The alley has quite the cluster of Western restaurants, with Alleycats, Toasteria, and Mary's Hamburger all right there besides Yuma.

The interior was spacious with high ceilings and widely spaced tables but the warm southwestern colors and decor gave it warmth. There's also more space downstairs and outside with long tables & benches for big crowds, regular tables and chairs for couples, and a bar for singles. The menu is definitely concentrated on the namesake grill, with ribs chickens, and prawns in various sauces all cooked by the coal grill. The appetizers looked good, too.

The menu description for the Nachos Nevada: "Tortilla chips, Monterey Jack cheese, fajita style bell peppers and onions, jalapeños topped with romaine lettuce, tomato salsa, sour cream, and fresh cilantro." All served in a sizzling hot iron skillet. Oh my god that sure sounded good. It's been so long since I've had a good plate of nachos. It came piled high with all the good stuff listed above, kept warm by the hot&heavy iron skillet, and it's big enough to be an entree for two, or shared as an appetizer amongst a whole table.

With the big appetizer, we decided that one entree to share between the two of us was enough. Chose the half-chicken with the peri-peri sauce, which was a flavor I haven't seen around here before. Even the half-chicken was plenty for the two of us to share. Marinated with the tangy-spicy peri-peri sauce, with additional peri-peri and also a cilantro cream dipping sauces on the side. The meat was juicy and tender, even the breast meat. Got the "combo" with Spanish rice and corn on the side, but the rice was only okay and the corn was a sad joke, but at least the chicken was legit. And we still had some nachos left to work on. Belgian beer with Mexican food? Sure, why not, as the big 500ml glass of refreshing Hoegaarden was good company to the spicy food.

Left enough room to share a dessert. Might as well as go as Mexican as possible so we chose the vanilla-lime flan. The Mexican pudding is a bit harder than the typical milk pudding, and the lime juice and zest added a bit of extra tang and flavor. But I wasn't really blown away by it.

Wished our stomachs were bigger or we had a larger group to check out more of the menu. A local-run place certainly offers more foodie-cred than Chili's. They have some nice-looking biz-lunch deals, too. Too bad I'm not around to take advantage of them. Might be a good choice next time we need a place to arrange a big group dinner with wife's sister & cousins.

Yuma Southwestern Grill
台北市忠孝東路四段216巷11弄21號
Lane 216, Alley 11, #21 ZhongXiao East Road Section 4
02-87738895

Hidden City Cafe

Contra Costa county was running an electronics recycling event, so it was finally time to dispose of our ancient Macs. Even though the Smurf-blue G3 and the Powerbook 1400 were still in working shape, they've outlived their useful lives and mom ordered me to cut down on the electronic junk stacking up in the closet. Dad and I loaded up the car to head out to the county dump in Richmond, but on a fine Sunday morning it seemed a shame to go straight to the dump and back. So I brought the wife along for a breakfast detour.

Tucked snugly in Point Richmond, Hidden City Cafe is true to its name, a popular breakfast/lunch spot hidden a world away from the gritty streets of Richmond proper.

We got there just in time to get a table for four in the front room. Soon after the weekend brunchers were packing both dining rooms and lining out the door. The wife appreciated the rustic-French decor, with kids' art hung on the walls for that down-home touch.

The omelette was well-stuffed with tomato, cheese, shrooms, and smoked bacon which all melded together as a good American omelette should. The toast was thin and limp, like Safeway bread, but the home-fry potatoes weren't bad. I had fig-topped buttermilk pancake short-stack. The fresh-cut figs showed up beautifully on the pancakes. Dad had breakfast earlier so he was content to share some of the SO's omelette with a glass of sweet fresh-squeezed blood-orange juice.

So we went on to responsibly dispose of our high-tech junk, and still got home in time for the first half of the early NFL games. Now that's a good Sunday morning.

Hidden City Cafe
109 Park Place
Richmond, CA
(510) 991-6746

Lake Louise Village Grill And Bar

Lake Louise was the highlight of our Canadian Rockies trip, and our premium tour group got to stay at the lake-side five-star Chateau Lake Louise. However, the budget did not extend to the food, and the fancy restaurants within the Chateau resort were out of the question for dinner. Instead we went to the more modest family-style restaurant in the nearby mini-mall. Turned out the restaurant was closed to normal diners, the whole place being totally booked by various Asian tour-groups for the night. And not just one seating, either, as another group was just packing up and leaving as we arrived, to be replaced by a third group soon afterwards.

They'd billed this as the fancy Western-style steak dinner highlight of the tour. But after seeing the tourist-trap leanings and the general mediocrity of the tour grub so far, I wasn't holding out much hope. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, though, the benefit of low expectations, I suppose. The beef was fairly decent, a Sizzler-ish cut of a sirloin, but not tough like the usual cheap stuff. Canned-tasting mixed veggies were blah, but I'm willing to concede a bit there in exchange for better beef. White rice instead of mashed potatoes for the Asian tourists, which was fine with me. I don't demand too much local authenticity from my side dishes. Plus the rice actually worked pretty well with the gravy.

Yeah, the steakhouse in the Chateau probably would've had even better food, and I might even have ponied up if it were just the two of us. But it might've cost us a couple hundred loonies for the privilege. As it was, we had a perfectly pleasant meal with a big group of familiar folks for casual dinner conversation on a rainy evening in Lake Louise.

Lake Louise Village Grill & Bar
Samson Mall
101 Lake Louise Drive
Lake Louise, AB
403-522-3879

Big Sur Bakery And Restaurant

Unfortunately, we didn't have the time this time to cruise all the way down the California coast, but we wanted to go as far as Big Sur, at least. There's no actual Big Sur city, per se, so this appropriately named roadside restaurant seemed liked as good a landmark as any to mark our turn-around point. Although it took us a few back-and-forth along Highway 1 to find it for sure, since the car's GPS mis-labeled its position on the map.

Got there toward the late-side of lunch, but the menu was short so no time needed for review. A curried split pea soup and green salad for her, with bread crusts on the side. A simple cheese-burger and fries for me. Nothing fancy, but tasty and fresh. Took a while for the food to get to us, but we weren't in any hurry, and the outdoor patio offered a nice view of the surrounding forest and coastal mountains in the distance. Kinda expensive, but not so easy to find good quality food in the middle of a national forest, even one as well-traveled as this one.

The bakery goods looked delicious with luscious sweet rolls and soft cookies. Unfortunately the wife spied a stray fly trapped in the display case which turned her off. Nevertheless, we were properly refreshed and ready to turn around for the trip back up the coastal highway towards home.

Big Sur Bakery And Restaurant
47540 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-0520

Passionfish

Following the travel advice I found online, we decided to stay in a B&B in Pacific Grove near Monterey, instead of within Carmel proper. The quiet little town right along the sea was a perfect overnighting location, but what to do for dinner after a long day of driving and sight-seeing? The reviews of the places along Monterey Cannery Row were almost universally dire. However, there was a popular option within Pacific Grove itself. Passionfish was almost universally praised as the finest restaurant in the area. The tourist business must be good, considering the place manages fill a 140-seat space made from a converted town house. I was actually worried about them not having a table for walk-ins, but the large space and a late weekday evening meant that we were promptly seated with no problems.

As one might deduce from the location and the name, seafood is the name of the game. My fried oyster starter was fresh with the rich brininess coated with the hot, crisply fried breading, but $8 for four was a bit pricey, even with the organic arugula sprinkled on top. Just one more oyster would've made me totally satisfied. The wife had the cream-of-mushroom soup. Smoky bacon bits totally made the pedestrian-sounding soup sing. After all, everything tastes better with bacon, no?

The wife chose well-stuffed raviolis in a spicy southwestern chili-chipotle sauce. Definitely not her usual taste but she's not afraid of a little heat and seemed to like it well enough. Although the rich sauce and strong flavors got a bit tiring once the dish got cold.

I had grilled fish with a tomato salsa and spicy microgreens on top. Buttery chanterelle mushrooms, sweet corn, and haricot vert on the side. Very fresh, and the seafood is guaranteed sustainable!

The restaurant's fine reputation is certainly well-earned. A friendly, warm atmosphere and locally-sourced food makes it a perfect vacation meal to experience California's bounty. The wine list is suppose to be a standout, too, although I'm not knowledgeable enough to judge. All in all a fine way to finish the first half of our coastal over-nighter.

Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
(831) 655-3311

Portola Cafe And Restaurant

The wife thought we're already spending too much time looking at fish, but it was getting into the afternoon and there were still a few things I wanted to see. So decided that we'd just eat in the Aquarium instead of going out to Cannery Row, which mostly looked like expensive tourist-traps anyway.

The restaurant was split into a self-service cafe and a sit-down restaurant. Although lunch service had ended by the time we got there so we could sit wherever we wanted. There were stations offering pizzas, grill items, or pre-made salads and sandwiches. Holy crap was it expensive but the quality was surprisingly good, with organic burger patty and fancy cheeses on the pizza. The space looks out right into Monterey Bay and they made sure to make the windows nice and big to bring in the light and show off the view. Or there were also benches and tables outside, but we stayed inside to get out of the wind. Not the most memorable meal in the world, but I was glad I still had the chance to check out the otters and jellyfishes before the wife finally dragged me outta there.

Portola Cafe And Restaurant
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, California 93940

Foreign Cinema

Finally got the chance to visit the Bay Area again after the honeymoon. Like last time, we drove across the Bay Bridge to stay with Sam and Michelle at their place in San Fran for a night. Being gracious hosts, they treated us to dinner. Thankfully it worked out that our typhoon-delayed travel plans didn't affect our dinner date, because I was looking forward to trying out Foreign Cinema.

Converting a movie theater into an alternative dining venue is old hat nowadays. But FC was one of the first, and it offers a more upscale menu than most restaurant/theaters. But it was a relatively chilly night, and we were more interested in chatting and catching up instead of obscure movies in European languages. So we sat inside instead of out in the courtyard where the actual foreign movie was being projected onto the whitewashed side of the neighboring building. It was too bad we missed out on Foreign Cinema's namesake schtick, but the space inside was very nice, too, with high ceilings and good spacing between tables, an increasingly rare feature due to sky-high rents.

The menu items were suitably Cali-cosmopolitan, good ingredients with a basis in Mediterranean techniques. It must've been such a revelation way back when CP first did it, but it's almost like comfort food at this point. I had the salmon wrapped in fig leaf, while Sam chose the Middle-Eastern-spiced lamb skewer. Sam doesn't even particularly love lamb, but he feels compelled to order it when he sees it just to have something different. On the other hand, I've gone more towards ordering generic things like salmon and chicken more to experience non-exotic ingredients done well. SO had slices of Kobe bavette steak with arugula and tomatoes. She found it a bit too rare for her liking initially. Really it should've been that way for a perfect medium rare, but they took it back to cook it to medium-well without flinching. The meat even retained most of its tenderness and flavor after the secondary cooking, now without bloody juice drippings. Michelle had halibut on a curried chutney, perfectly sustainable seafood and another interesting flavor to be passed around the table as we shared nibbles.

A half-bottle of pinot-noir was well-received by all, although split between three it was more a taste than a glass, which was all we wanted, really. The meal was well portioned to leave room for dessert, and the four of us shared a lusciously rich chocolate pots-de-creme covered with whip cream and a deconstructed pear-nectarine crisp a-la-mode. A cappuccino for Sam, plain coffee for me topped it all off.

Foreign Cinema has thrived for almost ten years, practically an historical institution compared to typical SF restaurant lifetimes. They've done it by appealing to both locals and tourists, or both at the same time, like in our case. Not to mention that it makes a great first-date restaurant, with the movie serving as conversation starter or escape hatch, depending on how it goes. Of course, all buttressed by good food at upscale but not wallet-busting prices. Looking forward to going back again in the future, to catch a movie this time.

Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St.
(between 21st St & 22nd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600

Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant

Taipei would seem to be a curious choice as the first foreign outpost of the venerable American brewpub chain. Apparently some corporate scion with more money than sense fell in love with the idea and threw enough money at GB to convince them to let him set up shop, complete with local microbrewery. It's not a new thing in Taipei, but the existing offerings are hardly impregnable, and hopefully Gordon Biersch name is still worth something even in the unfamiliar environment across the Pacific.

They carved out a corner in the Mitsukoshi Dept. Store XinYi A11 to make it into your standard brewpub, slightly miniaturized. For drinks, there was a sampler of the Gordon Biersch beer selection for me, and a strawberry lemonade for her. Started with a big plate of soy-glazed chicken wings which went nicely with both our drink selections.

SO wasn't too excited about the prospect of garlic-breath, but I insisted on the signature side-dish to go with my burger. The garlic was definitely strong with these fries, raw and pungent. They asked how I wanted my burger and surprisingly they actually meant it when I asked for medium-rare. The burger managed to hold together nicely on their custom bun, but still-pink meat was almost too juicy and moist for a burger.

The beers were fine, offering a wide variety of colors and tastes and me not being as picky about it as some. We sat right by the open kitchen and some of the other entrees going out looked appealing, too, and appropriately American-sized. It's probably a step up from Chilis, but enough to justify the price difference? Still, variety is good, and hopefully they'll be more active in offering sports viewing options in the future, to bring it really up to par to the American version.

Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant
GB鮮釀
台北市松壽路11號2F
02-8786-7588

Morton's of Chicago

There's so much great food out here in Asia, but the one thing that's missing is a good steak. Sure, there's the fancy Japanese beef, which is tasty and all, but they always cut it up on the teppanyaki or slice it thin for the shabu-shabu, which only distances one from the full-grown bovine. Nobody does the big-slab-of-beef thing better than the classic American steakhouse, and The Venetian Macau chose wisely to bring in the high-end American chain.

After a terrible time at the gambling tables, it seemed much wiser to piss away money on a fancy meal instead of on a game of chance. The interior was almost cliche in its dim, dark-wood-paneled interior. No high-powered halogen-spots here. Thankfully they put us at a relatively bright table near some table lamps. The restaurant was about half-full at best, which was fine with us after a day amongst the bustling Macau streets. The waiter rolled out a cart showing off the different cuts of beef available and rattled off a well-coached spiel about all the offerings on the menu.

Sure, the salmon and lobster and fancy starters sounded interesting and tasty and all, but KISS is the way to go here, especially since all the side-dishes are a la carte and the bill adds up fast. Bone-in rib-eye, medium rare for me. Petit Filet Diane, mushroom sauce on the side for her. Skip the side dishes, and leave more room for red meat. At least the huge loaf of garlic-onion bread came for free.

And boy was it a fine piece of meat. Perfectly seared on the outside and medium-rare pink in the middle, simply flavored with salt and pepper. Asked for steak sauce out of habit but there was no need. The SO's Filet Diane mushroom sauce made for a tasty little side dish, and a big glass of robust Cabernet was a no-brainer pairing.

Nothing like 16 ounces of animal protein to fill the belly up good, but there's always room for dessert. Too full for the heavy cakes and pies, but the creme brulee seemed like just the ticket, a classic dessert for a classic meal. Plenty big enough for us two to share.

Thankfully it was all costed in an unfamiliar currency so I charged it all without worrying about the total bill. Probably wasn't worth the money, by some objective measure, but it was exactly what I wanted right then and I'm thankful we can afford such luxuries once in a while. We did take away loaf of bread, which seemed to be the common practice, with them having a bag for it and all. So we had breakfast taken care of for the next couple of days, too, to bring down the cost-per-meal a little, kinda.

Morton's, The Steakhouse
Shop 1016
The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel
Macau
+853 8117 5000

Forkers

The place offers forty-plus varieties of burgers with a huge list of topping possibilities. Super-popular with the young folks with us having to wait for a table even on a Tuesday night. Us in our work-clothes appeared to be the oldest diners in the room. Made us nostalgic for the student days.

The starters were a nice touch. Veggie salad was decent enough, with a choice of dressings, but the flavor of the potato salad was totally overpowered by dill. I was hoping for real avocado slices instead of mushy wannabe-guac on my California burger. The chili-cheese-fries is a cardiac-killer but oh-so-good. SO's mushroom-cheeseburger was solid and the home-made bun didn't fall apart with all the shroom and meat juices which was a plus for them.

The forty-some burgers seemed a bit gimmicky, and The Diner probably does the basic burger a bit better. But some of the other topping options did look appealing. The side dishes are good and the space itself is very nice. Plus the location is convenient to us. So I'm sure we'll give it a try again, but will make sure to call in a reservation first.

Forkers
佛克
台北市忠孝東路四段223巷10弄8號
No. 8, Alley 10, Lane 223 Chung Xiao East Rd. Sec. 4, Taipei
02-27719285

Khaki 咖啡吧

Part of a three-level complex that makes up FIFI茶酒沙龍, located along the wide, leafy stretch of 仁愛路. The second floor is a Chinese restaurant in the style of colonial Shanghai, and the third floor is an upscale lounge-bar. We had a seat in the coffeehouse on the first floor, taking a break along our stroll to the Flower Market. The space in the back is especially nice, brightly lit with big skylights and fashionably decorated with a motley of tables, couches, and other vintage furnitures.

We ordered something mostly out of obligation so we could rest our feet a bit. Understood that the fashionable space justified a slight premium for some simple afternoon tea snacks. Even then the food was seriously disappointing. SO's blueberry shake was more icy than fruity. My tiramisu was rock-hard and I almost put up with it until the SO spoke up in indignation. They were nice enough about it, at least, but the cake they replaced it with was generic supermarket quality at best. Nice space to sit down and chill, and maybe their dinner menu works out better, but the afternoon tea certainly wasn't anything memorable.

FIFI茶酒沙龍
台北市大安區仁愛路4段15號1F
02-2779-1152

The Diner (樂子)

It was SO's younger cousin's birthday and she likes American-style food. We've already done the chain places like Chili's and TGIFridays. Heard good things about The Diner and from the name of the restaurant you could tell it's classic American fare, mostly done right.

The Diner was decorated more like a coffee-house than a greasy spoon, but the bustling crowd with a good dash of Westerners gave the place a good energy and vibe of a popular spot. The restaurant itself, tucked away in an alley near DaAn Forest Park, isn't very big, so our big group was placed in the annex across the alley. Although they had to run the food across the alley from the main kitchen, we had dedicated servers so service was reasonably prompt.

No need to get fancy here. The burger was big and juicy and the stack of veggie garnish accompaniment were generous and fresh as were the side of fries. Her Philly Cheeseteak probably doesn't reach Geno's standards, the primary sin being the white American cheese-food. But at least they tried with the chewy sandwich roll, and it's hard to go wrong with the beef, onion, pepper combo. The potato chips were lame, though. Was expecting fresh-fried and got stale supermarket crisps. And no refills on the soda! What the hell is up with that? You figure they can afford a soda fountain with all the business. Nevertheless, as long as they do the basics well we'll put up with it. The Egg Benedicts looked and tasted alright, but the presentation was a bit rough around the edges. Will have to hit it at brunch-time to give the breakfast-type items a try sometime.

樂子
The Diner
台北市大安區瑞安街145號1樓
02-27001680
http://www.thediner.com.tw/

Chez Panisse

Always wanted to have a meal at this Berkeley local institution, and honeymoon-time seemed like the perfect occasion. Thanks to Sam for making the reservation exactly one month ahead of time, and even then we were only able to get in for the late seating. The long, narrow dining room was densely packed with tables, but diners were respectable enough to keep the noise down, so it felt more convivial than crowded. The kitchen in the rear is open and you can see the chefs scrambling around, but the warm lighting and the brick-and-wood materials gives it all a homey, comfortable atmosphere.

Dedication to fresh seasonal ingredients means that there is only one set menu each day, with slight modifications to suit vegetarians. Everything was bursting with pure flavor, from the opening vegetable platter to the grilled quail to the final desserts. Nothing fancy, almost deliberately so, but doing the simple well is sometimes the hardest thing to do. And the style fits our palates better anyway. A splash of a good Oregon Pinot Noir fit in perfectly. Comfortable, non-pretentious haute-cuisine. No wonder CP is hailed as a revolutionary concept as the progenitor of the California style.

Chez Panisse
517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California
(510) 548-5525

Cyrus

Wanted to do the Wine Country as part of our honeymoon. Of course, the French Laundry would've been the #1 dining option, but after a futile week's worth of the dialing-for-reservations game, I decided that Sonoma and the two-star Cyrus was the sane way to go. Booked a B&B near Healdsburg Square almost next door to the Hotel Les Mars where the restaurant is located.

Unfortunately, I was a bit under the weather that day, we were probably underdressed for a two-star, and mom hates Western food anyway, although she was at least impressed by the fresh matsutake mushrooms. Nevertheless, the service remained impeccable, and the food was tasteful and tasty as well. The Tasting Menu would've been ridiculous overkill, so we went with the three-course per person option, picking from a big list of options which didn't distinguish between appetizers, entrees, or desserts. Of course, the kitchen sent out the courses in perfect pacing, with amuses, ices, and other small tastes to create a much bigger variety of flavors than a three-course dinner would typically imply.

It was cool to experience one of Bay Area's finest restaurants, and thanks to the folks for picking up the (large) bill. But it was all a bit overwhelming and over-the-top for us, e.g. the caviar cart at the beginning and the cheese cart at the end. Maybe we'll try it again for an anniversary someday.

Phew...

Cyrus
29 North St.
Healdsburg, CA
707.433.3311

Zuni Cafe

Got back to the Bay Area, but this time as a part of our honeymoon rather than just a homecoming, so wanted to do a bit more than the usual sit-at-home-watch-TV routine. I was hankering for some American classics, Sam&Michelle have wanted to go to Zuni for a while, so it seemed like the perfect fit. Unfortunately Michelle got called in at the last minute, but the three of us still managed to have a good meal on a beautiful autumn day.

There was already a line when we arrived for our lunch reservation. The room featured high ceilings, big windows, a loooong bar, copper-clad tables. The perfect blend of the Californian culinary aesthetic, American classic comfort, with a splash of French bistro. No wonder at Zuni's perpetual popularity.

The menu was on a single sheet of paper but I barely needed it since we stuck to the classics. Started with a big plate of perfectly crisp shoestring fries, with home-made aioli and ketchup for dipping. Split one Caesar salad three-ways for a taste. If one were feeling critical one may say that the salad was just a few romaine leaves drizzled with a bit of dressing and a few croutons and a bit of Parmesan. On the other hand, that's what a Caesar salad's all about, and all the parts were impeccable. The signature roast chicken is juicy and crispy and good but to be honest it probably wasn't worth the hour wait and the shockingly high price, even when you include the tasty bread salad sitting underneath. At least we could munch on the fries while the chicken roasted. Sam went over the top with the pork chops, two thick slabs of pork. Stuffed, well-brined, and juicy. He ended up taking most of it home, and it held up well.

Well-done classics in a relaxed environment, no surprises but in a good way. A bit on the expensive side and it's hardly a find, but I had fairly high expectations, which may be even a tougher hurdle and they met it smoothly.

Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street (between Franklin and Gough)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 552-2522

O's Bistro

We had a red-eye flight from Kona back to the mainland, which let us have one more full day enjoying the Big Island. No dinner meal for our cheap-ass ticket, but that was fine with us, since that gave us one last chance to sample the island cuisine. Didn't want to have our final Hawaiian meal at some tourist-trap, but we didn't have time for a drawn out culinary experience, either. So after we stocked up on cheap souvenirs at Wal-Mart, we headed across the main road to O's Bistro.

The unassuming restaurant is located in a mini-mall next to a Safeway. But the interior is nicely decorated with local art and the early-bird prix fixe featured good Pacific-fusion food at an excellent value. An appetizer, entree, and dessert for $25. I didn't just get some cut-rate chintzy dish, either, but a solid chunk of ahi steak cooked Provençal Style, perfectly medium-rare with a tasty white wine sauce. A Southwestern Ancho Fettuccine (with Ancho-Chipotle Cream, Sweet Peppers, Roasted Corn, Lime, and Cilantro) for the SO and it made for a wonderful conclusion to our Hawaiian honeymoon.

O's Bistro
75-1027 Henry St.
Kailua Kona, HI
808-327-6565

Merriman's Market Cafe

Chef Merriman is another pioneer in the Hawaiian Pacific-Fusion food movement. I've been to his main restaurant in Waimea before and it was excellent. Unfortunately we couldn't squeeze it into our honeymoon trip schedule. So on a lazy afternoon wandering the King's Shops was the perfect opportunity to try out their less formal mall outpost at the Waikoloa resort. I had the daily special tagliatelle with tender haricot vert and beefy sirloin slices. A surprisingly substantial vegetarian pesto sandwich for her. Fries were excellent, too, double-fried with aioli and spicy ketchup dipping sauces. Had a frilly tropical fruity drink which was refreshing and not too sweet, although it was a bit spendy, just like everything else around here. Nevertheless, good, fresh food was what I expected and that was exactly what I got, without pretension or excess.

Merriman's Market Café
250 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa, HI
Kings' Shops, Waikoloa Beach Resort
(808)886-1700

Alan Wong's Restaurant

Alan Wong is one of the founders of the Hawaiian-Pacific fusion food movement along with Malvo and Merriman. One of the finest restaurants in Hawaii is located in an unassuming office building along the street, away from the bustling spots of both downtown Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. The inside is classy but casual with a Hawaiian touch, although it was a bit dark for our tastes, i.e. made it a pain to take pictures. The seven-course tasting menu looked great but was a bit too much. So we went with a Five-Course Menu Sampling (with wine) and an extra entree for the SO.

As for the food, the menu can speak for itself:

• Appetizer Duo
  • Soup & Sandwich
    Chilled Vine Ripened Hamakua Springs Tomato Soup with Grilled Mozarella Cheese, Fie Gras, Kalua Pig Sandwich
  • "Poke-Pines"
    Crispy Won Ton Ahi Poke Balls On Avocado With Wasabi Sauce
• Butter Poached Kona Cold Lobster
  Shrimp, Honda Tofu Cake, Jalapeño Tokyo Negi Sauce
• Ginger Crusted Onaga
  Organically Grown Hamakua Mushrooms and Corn, Miso Sesame Vinaigrette
• Twice Cooked Shortrib, Soy Braised and Grilled "Kalbi" Style
  Gingered Shrip, Ko Choo Jang Sauce
• Beef & Foie Gras
  
  Grilled Maui Cattle Company Beef Tenderloin
  Curried Root Vegetables & Pomegranate Port Wine Reduction
  (Extra order)
• Dessert Duet
  Chocolate "Crunch Bars" and Coconut Tapioca
  

All perfectly paced to allow us to share the preliminaries but still offer the two entrees at the same time. They offered us an extra order of dessert so we'd each have a plate, although we were so full that we would've been glad to share one dessert at that point. The Asian flavors actually made the fusion dishes more familiar for us. What could be more homey than a bowl of white rice (which came with the Kalbi short-ribs)? Really top notch.

Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St # 3
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 949-2526

The Library

It's the more casual cousin of the flagship Burgundy restaurant in the XinYi Eslite book/department store. On a rainy Friday evening we didn't feel like foraging elsewhere so it was a good time to give the place a try.

The restaurant was impeccably decorated with high ceilings, solid wood furniture, and comfortable lounge chaises. Usually lounge-style furniture don't work in a restaurant setting because they're usually too low or too soft for one to comfortably sit up and eat. But the chairs and tables were perfectly matched so that we could enjoy our meal in comfort, and would also make an excellent place to kick back for an afternoon tea-party or an after-meal drink. The window-wall overlooking the heart of the fashionable Xinyi district connects the chicness of the interior and exterior spaces.

They didn't bring water automatically, pushing their fancy mineral waters instead. Decided to play the sucker and went with a sparkling Austrian water to add a little European flair to our meal. Found the water a bit salty, as one might expect from a natural spring, but it seemed flat, too. Could be just the way it is or maybe the bottle's been sitting in the warehouse a bit too long. Hard to tell. At least it was all-you-can-drink so we made sure we got our money's worth.

SO had a smoked-chicken pizza with some greens thrown on top. Nothing special but it works by itself as a light entree or could be shared as an appetizer. I had the smoked salmon - cod entree. The fish had a springy almost scallop-like texture which was interesting. But the strong flavor of the smoked salmon dominated the taste reducing the fish to purely a textural element. I think a bacon wrap, which is a standard scallop preparation, would've worked better than smoked salmon. Besides, everything tastes better with bacon.

To be honest we were paying as much for the view and the nice furniture as for the food. That doesn't mean the food's at all bad, just not all that special and not a particularly great value. Great spot to go for a drink to impress your date, though.

The Library
110台北市信義區松高路11號6樓
(Eslite Xinyi 6F)
02-87873388

Carnegies

Was due to head off to Shenzhen in few days for a long stint, so I was in the mood for some Western food before leaving, but not Italian, thanks. Decided some good old pub grub was what we needed and Carnegies is widely regarded as one of the better Western pubs in Taipei.

Took the taxi to Anhe Rd. near the Far Eastern Shangri-La, the heart of the pub district on the Taipei east-side. It is reputed as quite the ex-pat meat-market but at the regular dinner hour the place was mostly occupied by gatherings of co-workers or foreigners on-assignment with their laptop bags all chilling out after work. The latter types found their places at the long bar, backed by a massive multi-story, well-stocked liquor shelf. Apparently late-night the bar turns into a stage for folks willing to get up and dance but we deliberately chose to pass on the spectacle.

We were still on Happy Hour drink prices, and 200NTD for a pint of Hoegaarden witbier was pretty reasonable, in a glass almost big enough to dunk my head in. A dainty bottle of raspberry beer for the SO is a perfectly refreshing girly drink. Came in wanting a burger but the steaks looked awfully tempting and why eat ground beef when there's rib-eyes and filets to be had? The rib-eye wasn't a huge piece of meat, but it had neat grill marks on the surface and cooked perfectly medium-rare. Chose the mushroom gravy which came on the side instead of smothering the meat like other places. The sauce had plenty of meaty flavor and made a good company with the meat. Dipped the fries in it, too. SO had chicken rolls stuffed with chevre then breaded and pan-fried, drizzled with a pesto cream sauce. The breading kept the meat moist and the pesto sauce was yummy.

Tasty food, good atmosphere, and a reasonable value. Missed out on the drunken bar-top dancing, but that was fine with us. Certainly a big step up from TGIF. Plenty of other interesting items to be had on the menu and they do a good weekend brunch, too. Will have to check it out sometime.

Carnegies Restaurant
卡內基餐廳
台北市大安區安和路2段100號
02-23254433

MOS Burger

I really should find some good places to eat near CKS Memorial Hall. Was getting late after hanging out at the National Library with the GF doing some thesis research. Decided to pass by the Lantern Festival at the CKS because of the wind and rain. Walked around, in the said wind and rain, looking for a place to eat. The smaller places didn't appeal, so it was down to one chain or another: Yoshinoya or MOS Burger. Had the feeling that Yoshinoya would be tastier, but I've had my share of Beef Bowls and I've never tried MOS Burger. GF did not have an opinion in the matter (it's two fast food chains who the fuck cares).

I got an Italian Burger and Onion Rings with a large Coke. The "large" drink was actually worthy of the name, even by American standards (although it'd be more of a big-medium in the US), which surprised me since I was used to the sorry excuse for "large" lattes in Taiwan coffee shops. The burger as a whole was big and thick, almost as good as the pictures, except that the patty itself was pathetically thin with lots of fillers. The remaining volume was taken up by a large mound of fresh-shredded lettusce and a thick slice of red tomato with a creamy dressing on top. The veggies were surprisingly fresh and crisp, totally unlike the yellow and wilted vegetable matter at MickeyD. It was more like eating a salad sandwich bit of meat for accompaniment, which was actually pretty good in its own way, but it's no double-double, that's for sure. The onion ring portion was a bit small, but crunchy and tasty. Always good to have a convenient option for onion rings for when the urge strikes.

MOS Burger
Many locations in Taipei

Beauregard's California Bistro

Rivoli and Lalimes, my 1 and 1A options for a nice Berkeley dinner, were all bokked up for a Saturday night, and Chinese restaurants were going to be packed for CNY, too. So I figure I'd give this Solano place a shot. The room was large, dressed up in a warm Mediterranean look, and they had a big round table which easily accommodated our party of six.

The crowd was a diverse lot. Large family get-togethers like us, couple of friends having a casual dinner, couple of couples having a friendlier dinner, and a big table of high-schoolers dressed up for the formal (which explains the splotlights lighting up Albany High). Auntie donated a bottle of the '95 Cos d'Estournel which was well worth the $15 corkage. Michelle had a simple squash soup and apple-gorgonzola salad. Hard to screw that up. Sam had wine-braised ribs with polenta which was good and savory but not particularly our favorite flavors. Aunt got the grilled vegetable platter which looked good but not something terribly hard to do right. Dad and Will chose the grilled NY steak special with the chimichurri sauce, which was definitely the tastiest thing at the table. Nicely medium-rare inside and bits of charred crusty goodness on the outside. The acidic herbaceous sauce provided some zing compared to the usual A1.

We'd already gone out for lunch, so I didn't want to get a big main. Tomato-basil angel hair looked good but it's hardly tomato season, and Kung Pao Linguine sounded just insane, so I picked the Spicy Shrimp Linguine for something different. I was expecting pasta and shrimp, perhaps grilled and dusted with spices. Instead I got a big bowl of soupy noodles with chunks of bland tomatillos and red bell pepper, with some meaty but unremarkable shrimp mixed in. The linguine more resembled Chinese soup noodles than pasta al dente. Thankfully dad wasn't going to finish the entire steak anyway so I got something meaty to chew on. I totally should've sucked it up and got the bacon-wrapped cedar plank salmon, or go small with the smoked salmon pizzeta as the main. Real shame that we didn't get something out of the wood-fired brick oven. Place was worth trying, but I don't think it'll become a first-option type of place unless I need the big room.

Beauregard's California Bistro
1373 Solano Avenue (at Ramona)
Albany, California 94706

Au Bon Pain

Yeah, it's nothing new to you, maybe, but a sandwich on a crusty roll can be a bit hard to find in Taiwan, so it's nice to have one right there in the basement of the Mitsukoshi down the street. Unfortunately, the menu is a sad shadow of its American cousins. The bread bowl is good, but the chowder was just a bit worse than disappointing. The ingredients in the chicken Caesar salad were all good enough, but in typical Taiwan fashion the dressing had the sweetness which I hate to find. Would've been good if I got the dressing on the side. Got the steak sandwich for myself, and it was tasty enough. The onion and jalapeño topping made it a bit awkward with the GF after the meal, though.

AU BON PAIN THE BAKERY CAFE
新光三越A8館B2
110台北市信義區松高路12號B2樓

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store
Building A8, Level B2
12 Sung Kao Road, Taipei

02-87805546