Chiou Hwa Seafood Restaurant (九華樓)
at the Gloria Prince Hotel
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPE TIMES
Address: 369 Linsen North Road, Taipei (台北市林森北路號)
PHOTO COURTESY OF YOGI HOUSE
Telephone: (02) 2581 8111
Hours: 11:30am to 3:30pm and 5:30pm to 9:30pm, every day
Average meal: NT$2,000
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Menu in Chinese and English
For a fruity meal fit for a king take a ride up Linsen North Road to the Gloria Prince Hotel and enjoy a combination of sweet pulps, savory meats and fish -- including some rare and unusual items even the most experienced gourmand may not have tried before. Once you are seated in the elegantly appointed dining room, with its gilded furniture and brightly polished chandeliers, settle down for what could be a two-hour plus gastronomic experience.
Club 75
Address: B1, 22, Songshou Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei (台北市松壽路22號B1)
Telephone: (02) 8786 1591
Open: Daily 6pm to 2am (3am on weekends)
Average meal: NT$500 to NT$100
Details: Menu in English and Chinese. Credit cards accepted
Whether it's a chicken salsa appetizer, vegetarian pasta or late-night craving, Club 75 offers a tasty selection of light and full-course meals. The reasonable prices and quality food make it worth going just for a meal, but with live Latin and jazz music nightly and a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, it's the kind of place that can easily turn dinner into a night out.
Sweet Dynasty (糖朝)
Address: 160 Zhongxiao E Rd, Sec 4, Taipei
Telephone: (02) 2772 2889
Open: 11:30am to 10pm Average meal: NT$200
Details: Chinese menu, English menu coming next month. Credit cards
The Taipei branch of well-known Hong Kong restaurant, emphasizing refined taste which turns an ordinary dim-sum item into a delicacy. All-natural ingredients that emphasize a long cooking process and health-oriented sweets are the keys to good tastes of the restaurant. There are more than 300 items on the menu, including noodles, rice, congee, stir-fried dishes and sweet soups. Large prawn congee, wonton noodles and tofu pudding in a wooden mini-pot are must-try items.
Oma Ursel Cafe-Restaurant
Address: 292 Fuxing N Rd, Taipei (
Telephone: (02) 2392 2447
Open: 11:30am to 10pm
Average Meal: NT$500 Details: English menu available, Credit cards not accepted
In March, Taipei's two German restaurants called Schwarzwald -- one on Wenzhou Street, one on Yongkang Street -- parted ways and the Yongkang branch changed its name to Oma Ursel Cafe Restaurant, but retained its manager Chiu Dai-yu (邱岱玉) as well as the cooking staff, who have made it one of the few authentic German eateries in town over the past four years. The new name is a tribute to Chiu's German mother-in-law, whom she credits for teaching her everything she knows about German cuisine -- and one look at the menu will show that she's learned a huge amount. Great food at great prices in a cozy atmosphere make Oma Ursel a top choice.
Qiong Fang Ju (瓊芳居)
Address: Stall 25, B1, 70 Xining S Rd, Taipei
Telephone: (02) 2381 6519
Open: 11:30am to 9pm Average meal: NT$100
Details: No credit cards accepted. No English menu
Mention noodles and Ximending in the same sentence and most people will think of A-Chung Noodles (
Chocolate & Love
Address: 148, Xinyi Rd, Sec 4, Taipei
Telephone: (02) 2702-4371
Open: 11:30am to 2pm for lunch; and 6pm until no one's hungry for dinner
Average Meal: NT$250
Details: Credit cards accepted. Menu in Chinese and English.
The week after the Taipei Times gave Chocolate & Love a favorable review this past July, the kitchen closed. Pity it was, because the pasta was tasty and, under the management of Dutchman Barry Smit, it was quickly becoming a swinging little party place. But the kitchen has been recently commandeered by Nathan Garrod and the pots are hot again. With Smit's penchant for putting together a party atmosphere, Chocolate & Love looks set to be the east-side's hipster hideout next year.
Joyce Cafe
Address: 22 Qingcheng St., Taipei, behind the Nanjing E Rd MRT station
Telephone: (02) 2514 9495 for reservations
Open: 11am until 11pm
Average meal: NT$1,500 per person
Details: Credit cards accepted, menu in both Chinese and English
We're not at the night market any more, Toto! This is fine dining at ?well, its finest. Happily, at Joyce Cafe the emphasis is on dining. The fine stuff is left in the background. Start with sauteed fresh mushrooms and escargot in a puff pastry, followed by either pan-fried fillet of catfish served with dill sauce, oven-roasted boneless chicken served with green pepper sauce or braised veal knuckle with fresh rosemary and lemon grass in a white wine sauce. Or how about pan-fried king prawn wrapped in fillet of sole and covered with lobster sauce? Yes, to all of the above.
Yogi House
Address: 3, Ronghua 3rd road, Tianmu, Taipei(台北市北投區榮華三路3-1號)
Telephone: (02 ) 2821 6782
Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm, closed on Mondays
Average meal: NT$350
Details: Menu in English and Chinese. Credit cards accepted.
Balancing each meal with organic foods according to Yin (more sweet) and Yang (more salty), Yogi House is the first purely macrobiotic restaurant to open in Taiwan. The diet isn't strictly vegetarian but Yogi house is, and it substitutes all meat and dairy items with a soy-based product. A meal of organic vegetables, beans and whole grains might not sound appetizing, but the set dinners offer some of the tastiest and definitely healthiest dishes in the city.
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