Restaurant: Greek - Go! (希臘左巴)

Only a couple of Greek restaurants in Taipei strive to be authentic, and one of them is Greek - Go!

As owner He Sheng-hsun (何昇勳) tells it, fate intended for his to be so.

The former Liberty Times music critic was on vacation in Greece and looking for inspiration when he stumbled upon a restaurant whose friendly proprietor gave him advice and allowed to take pictures.

Having studied ancient Greek philosophy in college, He believes Taiwanese — who he says tend to equate money with happiness — could learn a lot from the culture.

Hence the restaurant’s name Greek - Go! (希臘左巴) is a play on the Chinese for “Let’s go to Greece” (希臘走吧).

But Greek - Go! isn’t simply a case of someone taking their vacation home with them. Everything from the space’s cozy atmosphere to the quality of service speaks of meticulous preparation.

The restaurant was designed by He’s brother, an interior designer. The color-scheme is soft yellows and blues with wood-finish tables.

CDs from He’s extensive music collection — he likes Galaxy 500, the Smiths and Yang Nai-wen (楊乃文) — are stacked neatly on wooden shelves. His sister-in-law, who runs Greek - Go!’s Taida branch, is a painter and designs a lavish new menu with photographs and her artwork every six months.

Staff on a recent visit were polite and at ease with customers, even when asked to explain the menu in English.

And the food — at least for a reviewer who used to live in a predominately Greek part of Queens, New York — was a close approximation of the real thing.

He Sheng-hsun recommends the moussaka (NT$290), made from lamb, eggplant, rice and 10 different spices and grilled with a topping of grated cheese. A vegetarian version is also available. He also recommends the more traditionally Greek mixed greens salad (NT$180) and Greek omelet (NT$180).

In addition, there are standards like grilled chunks of lamb (NT$350), which are marinated with lemon, olive oil, garlic, white wine and a mixture of spices that’s heavy on rosemary.

There are a few Chinese-style dishes on the menu, too. He served more of these when he opened his first branch on Shida Road nine years ago, but he has slowly been phasing them out.

In case you’re wondering, Taipei’s other “authentic” Greek restaurant is Mykonos, which recently moved to a new location on Siwei Road.

The difference, He said, is that his dishes are more Greek, while the other’s are more Turkish.