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年度回顧 YEAR IN REVIEW: Restaurants: Best of 2008

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James Kitchen (大隱酒食)

Address: 65 Yongkang St, Taipei City (台北市永康街65號)

Telephone: (02) 2343-2275

Open: Daily from evening until around midnight

Average meal: NT$600

Details: Menu in Chinese, credit cards not accepted



People don’t come to James Kitchen (大隱酒食) merely for its fine Taiwanese cuisine. They come to have a good time with old friends or new companions they meet at the restaurant adorned with a soothingly nostalgic feel — regulars sit on wooden stools, relishing comfort food while listening to old Japanese and Taiwanese ballads.

The menu offers Taiwanese and Hakka classics such as rice with lard (蔥香豬油飯, NT$20), bamboo shoot with pig intestines (鮮筍燒大腸, NT$220) and pork with kumquat sauce (結醬白切肉, NT$175). The kitchen also specializes in fresh fish with strange names, and what’s in stock each day is written on a blackboard.

Friendliness and a homely feel are this establishment’s greatest qualities. Once diners become acquainted with the chefs and the owner, chances are they will never leave the restaurant sober again.

— Ho Yi



Mushroom Park (伯菇園)

Address: 17, Ln 71, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段71巷17號); 60, Mingsheng E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市民生東路五段60號)

Telephone: Renai Rd: (02) 8773-3160; Mingsheng E Rd: (02) 2753-0625

Open: From 11:30am to 2:30pm and 5:30pm to 10:30pm

Average meal: NT$400 to NT$710

Details: Chinese menu; credit cards accepted

On the Net: www.baigu.com.tw

Mushroom Park (伯菇園) is a stand out among Taipei’s ubiquitious hotpot restaurants, with dozens of mushroom varieties available for diners to toss into a boiling pot of fragrant broth.

All items on Mushroom Park’s menu are made without artificial ingredients or preservatives. The VIP set (VIP 套餐,NT$710/NT$630) includes the restaurant’s addictive ice-chilled mushroom “sashimi” appetizer, which is made from the thick, tender stems of king oyster mushrooms (杏鮑菇) and four or five different types of mushrooms (along with beef or chicken) for the hot pot. Your server will introduce each mushroom’s unique flavor and health properties one-by-one -- some can help your blood circulation, while others will supposedly clear your skin or slim you down.

flavorful fat, and served on a bed of stewed peanuts, which soak up the juices well.

— catherine hsu



Witch Cloud (巫雲)

Address: 7, Alley 9, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北 市羅斯福路三段244巷9弄7號)

Telephone: (02) 2369-3906

Open: Daily from noon till late

Average meal: NT$300, including drinks

Details: Chinese menu; credit cards not accepted



After my very first visit, Witch Cloud (巫雲) immediately became one of my favorite dining spots, with its home-cooked Yunnan fare, extensive collection of vinyl records and a unique ambiance that makes this intimate establishment a popular haunt among musicians and artists.

Regulars usually let the chef to decide what goes on the table. From tea salad (涼拌苦茶) and Yunnan papaya chicken (雲南木瓜雞) to pickles fried with pork (醃菜炒肉) and Yunnan pigskin salad (雲南大薄片), the Chinese Province’s strong flavors never fail to delight my taste buds.

Everything is soothingly casual at Witch Cloud, which remains open as long as its long-haired artist owner and his friends decide to hang out. Late diners are welcomed even well after midnight.

— Ho Yi



Toasteria

Address: 2, Ln 248, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段248巷2號)

Telephone (02) 2731-8004

Open: 11am to 11pm Monday through Thursday; 11am to 2am Friday and Saturday; 11am to 9pm on Sunday

Average meal: NT$140 to NT$250

Details: Chinese and English menus; credit cards not accepted

On the Net: www.toasteria.com.tw



Toasteria takes the humble grilled cheese sandwich and gives it a new spark. The menu’s 20 sandwiches — made fresh on a panini-style grill — are imaginative, well-conceived and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

You can’t go wrong with any of the choices, which range from the CLT (cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato, NT$75) and shitake mushroom (NT$85) to the wasabi (mozzarella, smoked salmon, lettuce, tomato and wasabi, NT$105). On the more exotic side, the grapa (NT$95), made with red wine onion jam, gouda cheese, roasted garlic and fresh basil, is a refreshing choice in warmer weather.

Prices are reasonable enough to leave spending room for Toasteria’s classic French fries (NT$40) and excellent salads (NT$110 to NT$130), which use properly chopped greens and homemade vinaigrette.

The food owes much to the passion of owner and chef Tomer Feldman, who created the menus at the Sababa chain and Citizen Kain. But Toasteria is his first love, and it’s apparent in the design of this 4-ping (13m²) storefront space. Not one centimeter of the shop is wasted, and each piece of furniture — from the coppertop bar and vintage-looking wallpaper to the wooden stools — was meticulously chosen. The space ultimately does what the food does: make you feel comfortable and right at home.

— David Chen



Nonzero

Address: 5, Alley 4, Ln 27, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段27巷4弄5號)

Telephone: (02) 2772-1630

Open: 11:30am to 2pm (lunch); 6:30pm to 9:30pm (dinner); 2pm to 12:30am (cafe/tapas bar)

Details: English menu; credit cards accepted; free WiFi



Nonzero is as much about lifestyle as it is about food. This is evident the moment you walk into the spacious restaurant with its chunky wooden communal tables and mismatched antique furnishings. The shelves glitter with bottles of artisan oils, balsamic vinegar, vegetable pastes and spices, while a Parma ham sits stage center on a special stand waiting to be sliced. Nonzero is owned by Chu Ping (朱平), who also runs the Aveda cosmetics franchise in Taiwan. It embraces many similar ideas, focusing on high-quality natural ingredients, bold combinations and striking presentation. Nonzero’s tapas menu ranges from the simplicity of bread with roasted tomato (NT$120) to more unusual but equally simple dishes such as blanched market-fresh squid (NT$350). There is also a truly exciting assortment of salads, including a grilled seasonal warm vegetable salad (NT$450), and an elaborate rack of lamb carpaccio with tomato and arugula (NT$1,000). A glass of quality house wine is NT$250.

— Ian Bartholomew



Tanhou (海島食堂)

Address: 30 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路30號)

Telephone: (02) 2351-6268 X201

Open: 11:30am to 2:30pm; 6pm to 9:30pm

Average Meal: NT$600

Details: Chinese menu; credit cards accepted

On the Net: www.thofood.com



Tanhou is much more than a restaurant. It is a must-visit location for anyone interested in “natural” and organic foods. The restaurant, which had its soft opening two weeks ago, offers set menus (NT$480 to NT$880) that currently favor very simple preparations. A salad of nuts and raw vegetables with an almost invisible vinaigrette impressed with the sweetness of the individual elements. The fish for the sashimi comes from the Tanhou’s own fishery in Penghu, and all the meat and vegetables are exclusively from Tanhou’s agricultural operation and affiliated farms. The same goes for the offerings at the operation’s shabu shabu and juice/snack counters, and the takeout lunch boxes that sell for as little as NT$80. The bakery upstairs should be checked out by anyone interested in good bread, as it offers some of the best white bread in the city, as well as excellent brioches, baguettes and a selection of fancy breads. Tanhou’s fish, pork and chicken are all available in frozen form, and there is a reasonable selection of organic vegetables and fruit. The dry goods area features both local and imported organic goods, ranging from fruit preserves, condiments and rice to environmentally friendly household cleaning products.

— Ian Bartholomew



Like Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant



(若荷蔬食時尚餐廳)

Address: 58, Ln 160, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路一段160巷58號)

Telephone: (02) 2752-0838

Open: 11am to 2:30pm and 5:30pm to 10pm on weekdays; 11am to 10pm on weekends and holidays

Average meal: NT$400

Details: Chinese menu; credit cards accepted; reservations recommended



Hot pot restaurants are a kind of shrine to gluttony. Unlike their shabu shabu cousins, the majority are all-you-can eat meat, seafood and vegetables. Like Lotus follows this tradition but substitutes tofu imitations for the meat, with selections such as fake crab, cuttlefish, fish balls, duck blood and faux chicken leg. Aside from the chicken and crab, however, these tofu imitations are largely free of taste, but that’s fine because the soups are what people are lining up for. The South Asian-style hot pot (南洋風味) is alone worth the visit. Stems of fresh lemon grass swim in a fiery red bowl of red chili and basil that, though spicy, doesn’t overwhelm the palette. Like Lotus also provides a variety of vegetarian dumplings, fresh fruit and ice cream, which are part of the price of admission. Daily tea specials are on offer, the restaurant claims, to aid digestion.

— Noah Buchan



Hutong No. 2 Yakiniku Dining Bar


(古月同燒肉夜食)

Address: 139, Civil Blvd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市市民大道四段139號)

Telephone: (02) 2570-0373

Open: Daily from 6pm to 2am

Average meal: NT$1,100

Details: Chinese and English menu; credit cards accepted

On the Net: www.hutong.com.tw



Hutong is a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant that caters to the hip young crowd that hangs out in eastern Taipei. A bar seating a dozen people runs down the length of the restaurant, in front of which is the kitchen. Diners order dishes individually, which arrive raw and are cooked either by patrons or wait staff. All the meat and vegetables we tried at Hutong were of high quality and are cooked so as to bring out the natural succulent juices. The screens used for grilling are changed frequently because “it is healthier and doesn’t allow the ingredients’ individual flavors to interact,” our server told us. Although the bill was pretty steep, the quality of the food and service at Hutong make it well worth a visit. Be sure to avoid the two stools closest to the restaurant’s entrance because they are located near the dishwashers, which when opened emit a detergent mist that can mingle unpleasantly with the great barbeque smell.

— Noah Buchan

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