Kan Pai Yakiniku Restaurant (乾杯)
Address: 2-1, Ln 25, Nanjing W Rd, Taipei (台北市南京西路25巷2-1號)
Telephone: (02) 2555 6110
Open: 11am to 12am
Average meal: NT$400 plus 10 percent service charge
Details: Menu in Chinese, English and Japanese; Credit cards accepted. Parties of four or more should make a reservation.
If the only thing you can think about after dining out is taking a nap, you likely had a good meal. Leave it to a Japanese barbeque joint named after a drinking toast to put you in just such a state. Walk in to Kan Pai and you're greeted with the most deafening irasshaimase! you'll ever care to hear. The staff are decked out like a formula one pit crew, the speakers jam J-pop and customers empty one glass after another while getting their arms tangled turning meat on the grill.
Les Amis (Nitti's Jr.)
Address: 22 Da'an Rd, Ln 84, Taipei (台北市大安路84巷22號)
Telephone: (02) 2752-8251
Open: Sunday to Thursday 11am to 11pm; Friday and Saturday until 1am; closed Mondays
Average meal: NT$600 per person, dinner; NT$300, brunch and lunch, plus 10 percent service charge
Details: Credit cards accepted. Menu in Chinese and English
Mention Western-style breakfast and the next sentence out of anyone's mouth will likely contain the name Grandma Nitti's. Les Amis, which was opened by the owners of this Taipei institution, maintains the same earthy charm as Grandma Nitti's, while being much smaller.
Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢)
Address: 126 Xinyi Rd, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市信義路2段126號)
Telephone: (02) 2351 1031
Open: 11:30am to 2pm; 5:30pm to 3am
Average meal: NT$500
Details: Credit cards accepted. Chinese menuv
Although Taipei has no lack of hot pot restaurants, Wang Yin-chang (王英章) believes there should be more alternatives to the ubiquitous all-you-can-eat version. Dream of the Red Chamber was designed to evoke the world of the famous Qing-dynasty novel. Waitresses in traditional Chinese attire usher customers in to an interior composed of imported wooden Chinese furniture and walls decorated with ink paintings that show major characters from the novel. Delicate red lanterns hung from the high ceilings and the double staircase add to the quaint atmosphere.
Bel Air
Address: 2F, 2 Songshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路2號2F)
Telephone: (02) 2720 1200 x 3198/3199 or (02) 2720-1129/1130
Open: 11:30am to 2:30 pm, 6pm to 10pm, closed on Sundays
Average meal: Business lunch starts at NT$990, set dinner from NT$2,000
Details: English menu. Credit cards accepted
If it was an important night out and you wanted a safe bet for dinner then the Bel Air restaurant on the second floor of the Grand Hyatt is a wise choice. Tastefully decorated and featuring a skylight and fountain, a white linen-covered table by a large window is said to be the most popular dining table in town for a marriage proposal.
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