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Restaurants: Mary's Bistro Cafe Australian Cuisine (美麗詩澳洲餐廳)

A traditional Australian dinner featuring battered sea perch, seasoned chips and homemade tartar sauce. PHOTO: HO YI, TAIPEI TIMES

Mary's Bistro Cafe Australian Cuisine (美麗詩澳洲餐廳)

Address: 2F, 89 Renai Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市仁愛路二段89號2樓)

Telephone: (02) 3322-1859

Open: Weekdays from 11am to 10pm; weekends from 11am to 11pm

Average meal: NT$400 to NT$1,000

Details: Menu in Chinese and English; credit cards accepted

On the Net: www.maryscafe.com.tw

Jack Lien (連致翔) had a boy's dream job: designing racing cars for the Holden Racing Team in Australia. After returning to Taiwan in 2005 and shifting gear to a career in the heavy-motorcycle trade, the 20-something decided to pursue another love of his life: Australian food.

"Fish and chips, pies and steak are the staples of the traditional Australian table. But now Australian cuisine can be best defined as creative ... and experimental, drawing elements from Asia, Europe and the US," said the proprietor, who moved to Australia with his family when he was 10.

Importing most of the ingredients from Australia and New Zealand, Lien aims to transplant the colorful Australian restaurant scene to Taipei in the spacious establishment decked out in a lively combination of black, white and Ferrari-red with a outdoor dining area for patrons who want to enjoy the summer breeze.

The appetizer list includes Vietnamese spring rolls and nachos to abalone and fried giant oysters. On the salad side, customers can choose from Thai squid to Italian tomato, topped with homemade dressings.

Pizzas, pastas and Asian noodles can also be found on the extensive menu. For a true Aussie meal, you can have barbeque sauce pizza with bacon, eggs, onion and mozzarella cheese. For a more Asian feel, check out the beef or seafood fried noodles spiced with sambal chili sauce.

Meat features big on the menu, with veal ribs (NT$490) and spiced lamb ribs (NT$650) highly recommended, both lightly seasoned to allow the quality of the meat to shine through. A must-try is the prime rib eye steak (NT$820).

Vegetarians are also welcome as the joint serves many dishes made without meat including pizza, pasta and a vegetable roast.

As the night advances and candles are lit, the cafe morphs into a lounge bar and diners can kick back and relax with something from the wide selection of Australian red and white wines, beers and spirits.
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