Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine (寬心園)
Address: 51, Alley 4, Ln 345, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段345巷4弄51號)
Telephone: (02) 2721-8326
PHOTOS: TAIPEI TIMES
Average meal: NT$430 to NT$500
Details: Chinese, English and Japanese menu
A mixture of Chinese qi aesthetics and modern chic, Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine presents playful combinations of Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese, French and Italian cuisines. Foods are steamed, stewed and sauted rather than deep-fried, and salt and oil are kept to a minimum. Customers can choose from two varieties of set meals (NT$390 and NT$450) that come with vegetable and fruit juice, soup, salad, seasonal fruits and dessert.
As for the main course, 18 options are available, made from ingredients such as truffles, wild mushrooms and ginseng. Among the popular items is a rosemary vegetable hot pot and the wild mushroom noodles, a dish sporting Italian flavors but made with Taiwanese mianhsian (麵線). Easy House Vegetarian Cuisine has grown rapidly and now has six branches in Taipei, Hsinchu and Taichung (the other one in Taipei is on Tianmu West Road, call (02) 2874-5967).
JeJu Korea Restaurant (濟州鍋品料理)
Address: 45, Ln 190, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市敦化南路一段190巷45號)
Telephone: (02) 2731-6622
Open: Daily, from 11am to 10pm
Average Meal: NT$150 for hot pot; NT$600 for barbeque
Details: Menu in Chinese; no credit cards accepted
JeJu is named after an island off the southern coast of South Korea famous for its barbecue food. Even though local palates are unaccustomed to ultra-spicy food, Jiao Ling-yu (焦令宇), the owner of JeJu, has made it his mission to retain Korean food's original flavor. Korean barbecue is a great experience, not least because it is the customer who is responsible for doing all the cooking. Korean barbecue is about meat (NT$600 for two — add NT$300 for each additional person), and lots of it. There are also plenty of exotic side orders, including numerous kinds of kimchi and the exotic daboki (NT$200), a combination of glutinous chewy rice shaped like big cylinders of pasta with tempura, all simmered in a sauce that has a slight kick. For those looking for a simple lunch, JeJu also serves up seafood, kimchi or pork hot pot (NT$150).
L'appetit (拉佩提)
Address: 1, Alley 30, Ln 279, Fuxing S Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市復興南路一段279巷30弄1號)
Telephone: (02) 2709-4572
Open: Monday through Saturdays; lunch 11am to 2pm; dinner 6pm to 10pm. Closed Sundays.
Average Meal: NT$700 per person.
Details: Menu in French and Chinese
A combination of great ambiance and good food, L'appetit is all about enjoying French cuisine. The joint's laid-back atmosphere ensures that you won't be rushed out of the restaurant and the extensive training the servers are put through assures the highest attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of the menu. The restaurant's interior has the feel of a cozy French cottage, making it easy to leave behind the chaos of Taipei and imagine some province in the southern part of France. For those looking for a satisfying luncheon that won't break the bank, L'appetit is one of the most gratifying of haunts. Rotating its menu on a daily basis throughout the working week, for a mere NT$380 diners are treated to soup, an entre, a choice of two main courses, dessert and tea or coffee. As for a la carte meals, entres will set you back around NT$700, each one a handcrafted masterpiece produced by the restaurants culinary team under head chef Christophe Leguerrier.
Sababa
Address: 8, Alley 54, Ln 118, Heping E Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市和平東路二段118巷54弄8號)
Telephone: (02) 2738-7769
Open: Daily, from 11am to 9pm
Average meal: NT$200
Details: English and Chinese menu; cash only
Everyone loves chickpeas whether they know it or not, and the newly opened Sababa is spreading the love with its pita bar, serving up authentic falafel and hummus dishes “with a twist.” Freshly baked pita is the starting point for most dishes here, including the nicely best-selling falafel pita, which is nicely priced at NT$88. Larger “platas” including hummus with Moroccan beef and pine nuts; baked chicken, chips and Lebanese salad; and eggplant salads with homemade yogurt cheese or hummus and falafel balls, are also excellent. Moroccan cigars (NT$58) are a Sababa innovation, wrapping cheddar cheese or beef in a spring roll envelope. As for the ambiance, attention to detail and some tasteful touches make Sababa a pleasant venue to hang out in.
Tanukikoji (狸小路)
Address: 93 Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市安和路二段93號)
Telephone: (02) 8732-8555
Open: Sunday and Thursday from 6pm to 1am; Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 2am
Average meal: NT$900 to NT$1,500
Details: Menu in Japanese and Chinese; credit cards accepted
As a sake bar in this upscale neighborhood offering a cozy, relaxing dinning environment, Tanukikoji stands out above its peers for its culinary refinement that includes a touch of ingenuity. Using only top-quality ingredients, the fine eatery is designed to wow with sets of sushi, sashimi, grilled meats, seafood, a selection of fusion plates sprinkled with a creative twist and of course, a wide range of fine sake sourced from across Japan.
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