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Restaurant of the week - Mahana Restaurant (日安咖啡廳)

By Chang Ju-ping
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jul 27, 2001, Page 10

Mahana's grilled spicy chicken with peanuts is a zesty, refreshing treat. PHOTO: CHANG JU-PING, TAIPEI TIMES

Eat to your heart's content at this buffet-only restaurant named after the Hawaiian word for hello. Frequent customers will notice that the dishes on the buffet stands have changed, since a new chef, named Rex Fan (范振篙), was invited to head the kitchen earlier this month.

Fan was previously a preventive medicine professional, and worked at a military hospital before turning to the catering industry 10 years ago. Fan said one impetus to his switch in careers was that he saw many young people developing chronic diseases, which he traced to improper diets. Another reason was that he wanted to improve upon the healthy, but tasteless food at the hospital at which he worked. So, he quit his 9-to-5 job to become a chef.

His training at the Hilton Hotel helped him become knowledgeable in French, Italian and Californian cuisines.

Judging from Fan's background, it is no surprise that the menu is comprised of healthy dishes. There are no chemical additives, artificial coloring, or MSG. Fan uses chicken stock, beef stock, fruit juice or vegetable juice to enhance the tastes and colors of his dishes.

The buffet is made up of nine starters and cold dishes, five salads, 13 hot dishes and an open kitchen, with a steam area centered around seafood combinations of your choice, and a roast beef carving area. There is also a Taiwanese noodle stand with options of Hakka bantiao, rice noodles, glass noodles and others.

For summer, Fan strongly recommends the lamb and beef. Braised lamb shank with rice sauce, flavored with apple, pear and kiwi juice, as well as marinated beef short rib are the highlights. The meat in both dishes is tender and mildly sweet. For those who like spicy food, try the grilled spicy chicken with peanuts and sauteed linguine with chili and garlic.

Fan said his dishes are mostly French, but the buffet provides a bit of most other cuisines. There are Korean sweet and sour vegetables with chili, Italian-style wild mushroom salad, Japanese baked chicken leg with teriyaki sauce and lemon, Hakka-style baked pork chop with citrus sauce and oriental vegetables in a bitter, melon-based salad. All are well worth a try.

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