Located just off Ankang Road (安康路), one of Sindian’s busiest through roads, Bruce’s Kitchen manages to supply a very passable imitation of rustic idyll in its hillside cottage setting and with its wide wooden verandas. While there is plenty of indoor space, if the weather is fine, the terraces are where you want to be. These outdoor areas have been carefully designed with marqees and huge sunshades to ensure that even in the warm weather, diners are shaded from the worst of the sun and are able to catch the mountain breeze.
The other feature of Bruce’s Kitchen, which will be decisive in whether you decide to go there, is that it is a fully vegetarian establishment, even to the extent of catering to strict Buddhist vegetarians who object to the stimulating effects of garlic and onions. All dishes can be served without these offending ingredients if required.
The food is primarily Western in style, though with a Taiwanese twist, that it must be said is not always successful. Service is fast and efficient, but overall the food tastes a little too obviously as though its been designed for speed and ease of service. It is not surprising that its most successful dishes are those with the closest links to fast food.
One of Bruce’s most popular dishes is the tempura with herbs (香草天婦羅, NT$50), a light, crispy batter held together by finely sliced vegetables and western herbs. It has a subtle herbal fragrance, and the light texture is almost enough to convince you that the batter, which is by far the main ingredient, has no calories at all.
Working through the menu, it was clear that while all the ingredients were vegetarian, they were not necessarily fresh, and the mushrooms with basil (羅勒鮮香菇), another side dish, may have made use of canned mushrooms, which somewhat detracted from the appeal. On the other hand, the cheese dumplings (巧達起司餃), crisp pastries with a soft white cheese, where really quite interesting.
There is a selection of 10 main dishes that can be ordered individually or as a set menu that includes a soup, salad and dessert, all priced at NT$160 and NT$300, for a single dish or set respectively. Pumpkin and mushroom soup were on offer the day I visited, with the former tasting suspiciously like it had been reconstituted from a powder.
The main dishes themselves were competently put together, and featured a variety of pastas and paellas that covered a wide range of flavors and textures. The fried rice with pine nuts and herbs (香草松子草飯) was a personal favorite, probably because it was the simplest. Other dishes such as the pumpkin and cheese pasta (南瓜起司麵) were a little stogy, and lacked the bright, crisp flavors that I associate with the best vegetarian cuisine. But then, the prices are extremely reasonable for such a well thought-out venue, and while Bruce’s Kitchen may err on the side of efficiency over quality in relation to its food, it certainly does not shortchange its customers. Bookings are essential for weekends.
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