Restaurants of the week

Azabusabo (麻布茶房)

Address: 198, Tunhua S. Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei (台北市敦化南路一段198號)

Telephone: (02)8771-7877

Open: 11am to 11pm.

Details: Average meal-- NT$250. No English menu, credit cards accepted.

For anyone with dreams of Tokyo, Azabusabo (麻布茶房) is a slice of that city reproduced in Taipei. The restaurant has three branches in Taipei, with its main outlet on Tunhua South Road.

Expect something different from the Japanese noodle places common in Taipei. Azabusabos are upgraded Japanese restaurants with European decor, a style popular in Japan over the last 10 years. This new type of restaurant features spacious dining areas and classic Japanese interior elements such as small, round windows, bamboo decorations and antique furniture, enhanced with Western decor and space divisions, and brighter lighting and colors.

The restaurant's marketing representative Kevin Su (蘇俊宏) said the restaurant chain originated in Tokyo's up-scale southern Azabu District, where many expatriates reside. Embellishing the dining areas at its three Taipei locations are large gold-plated paintings and elaborate wall screens. Azabusabo puts a lot of stock in its decor, spending NT$10 million on each branch. To complement its emphasis on a sleek interior, the restaurants boast a broad selection of foods cued to the chain's central kitchen in Tokyo.

Dishes are surprisingly cheap, considering the setting. The meals are based on so-called Hofeng (和風) food, which feature standardized, cheap meals. There are about 100 items on the menu, ranging from set meals of noodles or rice, various greens and seafood salads, side dishes and a large selection of desserts based on fruit and ice cream. The luscious green tea ice cream and other light desserts have helped make Azabusabo particularly popular among women -- they make up 70 percent of the restaurant's clientele.

New dishes have just been released this week. Try the new Japanese Somen (細麵) thread noodles. Ice cubes are actually put on the noodles with sesame and basil. Another Somen option is the miso flavored meat sauce noodles (味噌肉冷細麵). Both taste light and cool, making them especially refreshing on steamy summer days. For dessert, the recommended item for the season is Babaroya (巴巴羅亞), a colorful cup of mashed red beans and green tea mousse, topped with vanilla ice cream and pieces of fruit.

For information on Taipei's three Azabusabo outlets call 8771-9056 ext. 102.

Kuei Hwa Cantonese Restaurant (桂華餐廳)

Address: 12F, 600, Lin Shen N. Rd., Taipei (臺北市林森北路600號12樓華國洲際飯店)

Telephone: (02)2598-5158

Open: Noon to 2:30pm; 6pm to 10pm.

Details: Average meal--NT$650 per person. English menu. Credit cards accepted.

Of all the great Chinese cuisine, dim sum stands out as a perennial favorite around the world. The greatness of this southern Chinese specialty is especially pronounced at Kuei Hwa Cantonese Restaurant, a classic Chinese restaurant with large round tables, staff in Chinese-style uniform and soft-flowing instrumental music. Adding a twist to this restaurant are the small, two-person tables, weekend buffets and Western dishes.

Main chef Lu Wei-chiang (盧偉強) and dim sum chef Li Po-tien (李柏添) both have 20 years' experience in the catering business and have served in Taiwan and other Asian countries at prestigious hotels like the Grand Hyatt Hotel Taipei. Cantonese restaurants have basically the same dishes, Li and Lu say, but the quality of ingredients make all the difference in creating a great meal. And this restaurant goes to great lengths to buy the best ingredients. The shrimp, for example, are large and supple. In an adaptation to local tastes, the chefs also cut out much of the oil used in Cantonese cooking.