Opened last month, FreshCafe near the Nanjing East Road MRT Station (南京東路捷運站) was born of a simple concept: inexpensive, healthy Western-style food, including made-to-order salads, prepared quickly.
The restaurant was founded by the owners of Nutrifresh (URLTK), a delivery service that focuses on healthy meal plans (for details, see the Sept. 1, 2011, edition of the Taipei Times, page 13). Not all of FreshCafe’s offerings are “health foods” (the menu includes pasta and cans of Coca Cola and other soda drinks are available), but nothing is greasy and there is an emphasis on fresh vegetables in most dishes.
The counter’s assembly-line organization makes FreshCafe an efficient and attractive alternative to fast-food restaurants. The simple, uncluttered restaurant has plenty of seating, including a balcony out front, but the emphasis is on take-out and delivery (which is available within 1km of the store).
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
The restaurant’s kitchen is organized around an American-style salad bar, from which customers can pick veggies for a made-to-order salad (staffers also use the produce in cooked entrees, sandwiches and wraps). Toppings include grated carrot, bell pepper, chopped onion and button mushrooms, along with chicken, beef, ham, shrimp and tofu and four kinds of dressing. I ordered the shrimp salad (one of the most expensive options on FreshCafe’s menu at NT$100) and paired it with peanut lime sauce (the three other options are creamy Italian, Thousand Island and Caesar dressing). It was delicious, with fresh, crispy vegetables and a good amount of shrimp for the price.
The pasta dishes at FreshCafe are very simple. In addition to a meat or tofu topping, customers are given a choice of penne pasta or spaghetti and red or white sauce. The red version is a marinara sauce with the addition of fresh basil and is light without being skimpy.
FreshCafe opens at 7am to catch commuters on their way to work, though breakfast options like the omelets are available all day, along with coffee for NT$45 a cup. Wrapped in foil, the slim breakfast burritos (NT$60 to NT$80) are a quick, portable meal. The beef rolls (NT$80) were filled with juicy grilled steak, egg, cheese, salsa and potato. Served with a side of potato, the omelets (NT$45 to NT$75) are prepared with vegetables, including bell pepper, mushroom and onion, and are fluffy instead of being greasy. My tofu omelet was light on the filling, but I still found it sating.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
Drinks at FreshCafe are priced to compete with convenience stores. Cans of soda (including both Diet Coke and Coke Zero) are NT$25 each, tea is NT$15 and lattes are NT$50. In the near future, the restaurant will expand its menu with soups and quesadillas.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
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