Thursday, October 27, 2016

Taipei City - Cafe Kuroshio

Value for money: 9/10
Cleanliness: 8/10
Service: 10/10
Quality of food: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

It was raining. Then, it rained some more. Then, it rained a shed load more. What to do? Go to a Cafe and relax because it's the weekend (and they have free WiFi)


Haven't we become a bit obsessed with going to cafe's and whittling away time doing work? I still like it, so for the haters out there - close this page (but come back later for posts about my wonderful food reviews).


Now, this cafe isn't going to set the world on fire with new and incredibly challenging dishes/drinks. However, it is going to do exactly what it says on the tin: serve good coffee and cake, in a friendly, comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.



Not sure what a 'Chess pie' is, but hey ho (seriously, though, check your English. If you want to include English in the menu then by all means go for it. But type it out on a search engine or check out a dictionary).



It was still very early when we arrived...








They sound good, right? We had just eaten at Jing Ding so we weren't hungry in the slightest, but, next time I will definitely check them out. 






The menu:


They have a decent variety of different Latte's, actually. Rose Caffe? Interesting. 




And beer, too: 2 thumbs up.



熱貝里斯巧克力
Baileys Chocolate
$150


An interesting caffeine (but still naughty with the added Irish liquor) free hot drink here. It was nice, but not amazing.


美式咖啡
Americano Coffee
$115


To some: boring. 
To me: standard.

I almost always get the straight up coffee with no added milk or sugar wherever I go. I like to taste the coffee, itself (and often the milk can be of questionable quality and doesn't help the coffee beans in any way to shine).

This Americano is quite nice. There's most definitely a good amount of coffee in here with a nutty aroma and taste. It's slightly sour (I quite like this aspect of some coffee) and overall fairly decent.



The bottom line:
Some Cafe's can pretend to be something they aren't. But this one doesn't. There are no frills, nothing elaborate and it's not pretentious in any way. I spent 3-4 hours in here, and felt comfortable doing so.


Cafe Kuroshio on Facebook





Happy eating/drinking!

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by Unknown @ October 27, 2016   0 Comments

Friday, October 21, 2016

Taipei City - Why I love the Taiwanese breakfast

Let's go back to basics. 
Here are the breakfasts you should be enjoying whilst in Taiwan:


 ---------------------------------------------------------

Fried egg pancake 
蛋餅
Fried egg pancakes are just one of those Taiwanese breakfast staples that pretty much every breakfast store sells. At anything between $30-$70, they're certainly affordable! Often with such fillings as bacon, cheese, potato salad, tuna or corn, there's something to please everyone. 




A good place to start would be Loco Food in the ZhongShan District, make sure to try their tuna fried egg pancake!

---------------------------------------------------------

Steamed bun 
包子
When we talk about steamed bun, there are a whole host of different flavours, but the most popular one by far is the pork bun. You can buy these from 7-11 for around $30 or buy them from a smaller Taiwanese breakfast store, too.

You can even get one that doesn't have meat inside (饅頭）and they can fry an egg and put it inside for you. Delicious, and sure to fill your belly to start the day.


 ---------------------------------------------------------


Soy Milk 
豆將
Soy milk should be the drink of choice for your Taiwanese breakfast. It is said to have its origins in YongHe 永和 which is located in the New Taipei City area. My recommendation 100% goes to YongHe Soy Milk Magnate 世界豆漿大王 located near DingXi MRT station. 

Day or night, this place is booming, 24hrs a day. You can have it hot, cold, warm, sugary, unsweetened and salty with egg – so many ways to get your soy milk fix! For the seasoned soy milk drinker, go for the unsweetened one, but for the first time drinker I think the best way to start is cold and sugary.


 ---------------------------------------------------------


Breakfast sandwiches
Just like in the west, Taiwanese people love a good sandwich and like to put their own twist on them. My favourite is 上山採覓 up in the ZhongShan District of Taipei near SongShan airport, where they first toast their bread over coals and then fill it with pork floss and fried egg. 

They also roast their tea over the coals and produce a delicious latte to kick off your morning, too.


 ---------------------------------------------------------


Fried radish cake 
蘿蔔糕
The Daikon radish is ever present in Asian dishes, none more so than the fried radish cake so often consumed for breakfast in Taipei. Also very popular in Cantonese style Dim Sum, the radish is processed into a paste, bacon pieces are added, slices are cut and it is then fried on the hot plate with a fried egg on top. 
A photo posted by @bailittlebai on

Each breakfast place does theirs slightly differently, but I would say Tim Ho Wan would be a great option as theirs is wonderfully crispy on the outside, but deliciously soft on the in.

---------------------------------------------------------



Fried dough sticks 
油條
These dough sticks are fried fresh for you, and are dunked into your morning soy milk. They are (often, but not always) around 1 foot (30cm) long and can also be placed inside a toasted pastry 燒餅 and eaten like a sandwich. 

My recommendation is definitely the ones at FuHang Soy Milk 阜杭豆漿 but be prepared to wait, as this place gets busy! 

 ---------------------------------------------------------

 Steamed Soup Dumplings
小籠包
Regardless of what time of day it is, these little beauties will hit the spot. For breakfast, it is certainly one of the best!



---------------------------------------------------------


 This post is only a brief outline of what I like to eat, and what I feel you should be eating here, too. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so I like to take my time and really enjoy it. 

 If you have any recommendations on where your favourite breakfast is, then let me know!
Happy Eating!

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

posted by Unknown @ October 21, 2016   0 Comments

Monday, October 17, 2016

Taipei City - URBN Culture


You're hit with colour and liveliness from the moment you walk in.

The art on the wall is from a popular artist invited up to decorate this place, from Taichung. It's fun!

The layout is a lot like Beer and Cheese just up the road. They could perhaps do with a description about the flavours and differences...
Upstairs:










The atmosphere certainly feels comfortable, I could whittle away a few hours sat in the window watching the rain, that's for sure (but that's not me, I'm here to eat!).





------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 To the table:

This was quite a nice change from the boring warm water usually served at the table. This water was infused with both rosemary and lemon, adding almost a tea-like flavour with a nice citrus twist.

The menu:










What we ordered:

 Fried Wanton with spinach and mozzarella
炸菠菜起司餛飩 
zhà bō cài qǐ sī hún tun
$180


 How cool and delicious do these little beauties look?

Served on a sweet and sticky chilli sauce, these fried spinach and cheese wantons were a good way to start the meal. Plenty of filling is packed inside, and the outside remains deliciously crunchy but not too thick.

Raw Pad Thai 
泰式沙拉(麵) 
tài shì shā lā (miàn) 
$280

I do love a good pad thai. This one is raw, so it isn't cooked in any way - quite different to the pad thai I usually indulge in. However, it still worked well. There are plenty of peanuts lending a hard crunch and plenty of finely sliced raw veggies allowing a softer crunch.

 It was good but it wasn't as good as it looked.
Plant-based burger with Kimchi Mayo
全植泡菜美乃滋 
quán zhí pào cài měi nǎi sī hàn bǎo 
$320

Yum yum yum! And not just the burger, but the fries are absolutely awesome. They are worth coming back for, alone.

The burger has lots of layers of fresh flavours, but the patty is a bit too soft for my liking. 

The kimchi mayonnaise is 100% vegan and tastes delicious! Why wouldn't you get it?!


 Ganache
甘納許 
gān nà xǔ 
$180

Definitely a top dessert, right here!

If you ever want to indulge in chocolate naughtiness in a vegan way, this is the one for you. However, be aware, it is big! This took two of us to finish it. 

 The salt on the top complimented the dark chocolate and pulled out more flavours. The ice cream in the middle added good texture and made it feel even more naughty. Finally, the bottom layer of chocolate was soft, chewy and a great way to end the mouthful of chocolaty goodness.

 Definitely save room for this!
Flight of 3 beers: Founders Rubaeus Raspberry



Not my choice order, and I wouldn't order it again. It has a strong raspberry flavour and tastes quite sweet. Basically, I am not a fruit beer fan, at all. If you are, then maybe you will like it.
Heretic Chocolate Hazelnut Porter



This was good, but didn't set my world alight. It's like a lot of porters out there: dark caramel and coffee flavour.
Modern Times Blackhouse Stout



My favourite drink of the night - much deeper in flavour than the porter and a smoother and more refined finish than the porter, too. Delicious.



URBN on Facebook


URBN culture on Instagram
Opening Times:
Every day 
11:00 - 00:00

Tel:
02 2378 8322

台北市大安區基隆路2段252號

 No. 252, KeeLung road, section 2, DaAn District, Taipei City






Happy eating!

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by Unknown @ October 17, 2016   0 Comments