Restaurant: Bien

Now opened for a couple of months on Chinshan S. Rd., Bien has clearly entered the ring with the neighborhood's other bar-cafe-restaurants such as 45, 99 and Brown Sugar. And a welcome entry it is.

Bien is a four-story establishment with all the trappings of a pub; bar, pool table, DJ booth, TV tuned to the game and dimly lit couches pushed to the corner. What sets it apart from the many other establishments in the neighborhood, however, is its menu.

During the lunch and dinner hours, Bien serves up some culinary delights such as boneless tandoori chicken leg (NT$200), grilled minutesteak (NT$170) or the scrumptious honey mustard lamb (NT$200). Also available are lemon chicken (NT$170) and a fillet steak (NT$220), though it should be said that all the meats at Bien get much better when diced and speared onto a kebab.

Pastas are also available during lunch and dinner with spaghetti carbonara (NT$160) or pesto (NT$150) nearly enough to fill you and a friend. Penne and angel hair pastas are also priced at NT$160. Clam with white sauce on a bed of angel hair pasta is a safer bet than vodka with pink sauce.

Since each of these are only available earlier in the day, anyone coming later in the evening to get soaped on suds will have to flip the menu over.

Look no further than Bien's list of six different kebabs: beef, lamb and chicken flavored with masala curry and curry, cumin, honey mustard or rosemary. Onions, peppers, garlic and a plump tomato help fill out the spit without crowding out the chunks of meat. They're all priced at NT$50 and NT$60. Save yourself additional trips and order two or three at a time. Any of the more adventurously seasoned kebabs are one of the better late-night snacks you'll find in the area.

Sidled up next to the kebabs on the grill are Bien's veggie barbequeque selection, with each item priced at NT$40. While these are essentially the veggies from the kebabs sans meat, they're tasty nonetheless.

If you're not that hungry, a smoked salmon appetizer (NT$200) is tasty, but doesn't go that well with beer. A better choice is the asparagus wrapped in bacon. Six wraps sell for NT$100 and aren't nearly enough -- better get an order of hot beef cheese wraps to go with them (NT$100).

As it's laid out, Bien gets more interesting on each floor. The first floor is standard high-table-and-stool cafe fare with a bar on one side. The pool table and TV can be found on the second floor. The third floor is wisely equipped with another bar, but it's the fourth floor that you'll want to sink into. A smartly appointed dinglo has high ceilings with exposed rafters, huge windows and comfy couches lining the walls.