Eating in Taipei

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Taipei City - 徹思叔叔抹茶咖啡 Matcha Ways

Value for money: 7/10

Cleanliness: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Quality of food: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

Matcha ways - pretty good matcha ice cream! $80 #Taipei #Taiwan #eatingintaipei #eattaipei #matcha #Japanese #eat #eating #food #foodie #icecream #tea #dessert #delicious #Sunday #funday #weekend #matchaways #love #ilovetea #photography #photooftheday #picoftheday #green #happy #ilovefood #cheapeats

A photo posted by Eating in Taipei (@eatingintaipei) on Sep 3, 2016 at 11:30pm PDT

We're not looking at the highest quality matcha, nor the nicest atmosphere (fairly busy, inside the department store and facing the main road), but Matcha Ways is pretty good.

The menu is a good size, offering most of what you would want...

We didn't get the cheesecake, this time, but I have had it in the past and it is delicious!

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抹茶重乳酪起司培 mǒ chá zhòng rǔ lào qǐ sī tǎ

Matcha custard tart

$50

抹茶即拿 mǒ chá jí ná

Matcha pastry puff

$25

The matcha puff was alright - light pastry, enough filling and not very sweet. But, honestly, I would pay an extra $25 and go for the tart instead.

The pie was pretty good, and gone fairly quickly (always a sign of deliciousness). You can see that the pastry is thin and crispy and that the matcha custard filling is in no way dry - it gets 2 thumbs up!

徹思叔叔聖代 ché sī shū shū shèng dài
Uncle Tetsu's matcha bowl
$150

I still maintain that the matcha bowl at 平安京茶事 round 1 / 平安京茶事 round 2 is far superior to any other I have tried, to date. However, this one is much less expensive!

The make up: copious amounts of thick, rich matcha ice cream - pretty good, but the matcha flavour is fairly weak. We also have two sticky mochi balls (not much flavour, but great for texture), red beans (sugary, sweet, earthy, delicious) and some matcha jelly (more bitter than the ice cream, and a good contrast because of this).

抹茶霜淇淋 mǒ chá shuāng qí lín
Matcha ice cream
$80

Definitely miles better than a convenience store special ice cream flavour and much better than a few other places I have tried. But, the matcha flavour isn't very strong. It is rich and delicious, but not very bitter.

The bottom line:

If you want quality, go to: 平安京茶事 round 1 / 平安京茶事 round 2

If you want convenience and still a fair level of quality, then here is your ticket.

Opening Times:
Monday - Sunday
10:30 - 22:00

Tel:
02 2563 6529

台北市松山區南京東路3段337號

No. 337, NanJing East Road, Section 3, SongShan District, Taipei City

B2 and 1F both have places, but this is a review of 1F

Happy Eating!

Labels: 7/10, Cafe, ice cream, Japanese, matcha, SongShan District

Friday, September 30, 2016

Taipei City - 108 Matcha Saro - Eslite XinYi

Value for money: 10/10

Cleanliness: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Quality of food: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

This their 4th store in Taipei to date, in the Eslite building in the XinYi area near Taipei City Hall.

I've also been to their TianMu branch and Q Square branch, too!

A great location with passing trade galore!

The menu here is the same as at the other stores, however, their is a subtle difference here - cocktails!

This souffle cake is delicious, make sure you try it!

108 Matcha Saro do a killer 大阪燒 which is like a pancake pastry sandwich hybrid filled with your choice of red bean or matcha custard - both are delicious, but the matcha custard remains my favourite.

Part of their new menu, it looks interesting!

I started with the original 大判燒 with matcha custard inside.
$40

Let me tell you: hot off the griddle with the matcha custard lava burning my mouth, I was still grinning foolishly from ear to ear - delicious!

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Next up was the Matcha Affogato
$258

An iced bowl of matcha ice cream with matcha tofu, Japanese sweet balls, red bean paste and cream, served with a steaming pot of matcha tea.

The money shot! Let me tell you, it tastes as good as it looks, too: the matcha ice cream is rich and delicious, not too sweet when combined with the matcha tea. The red bean paste lends a savoury element where the chewy mochi ball adds good texture.

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I also got to try their Almond tofu and Matcha tofu

They were both fairly good, but it didn't particularly strike me as tofu. I would say more like a softer mochi. The almond (right) had a good flavour and I enjoyed the chewy texture. The texture of the matcha (left) was the same, with the flavour a little more delicate.

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Matcha Beer
$208

Step 1:

Honey added to the ice cold glass

Step 2:

beer added on top of the honey

Step 3:

honey and beer mixture stirred

Step 4:

a little water, ice and matcha powder are shaken in a cocktail shaker

Step 5:

The matcha is added to the beer and my oh my does it look good!?

Lastly, stir your matcha into your beer, and take a sip. There's a constant bitter sweet taste going on within this cocktail, as the matcha and the beer add bitterness in depth, but the honey adds sweetness to balance it wonderfully.

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Matcha Salty Dog

$258

Step 1:

Grapefruit is used to rim the glass

Step 2:

Matcha salt rims the glass

Step 3:

Honey is added to a separate glass

Step 4:

A shot of vodka is added

Step 5:

A few shots of grapefruit juice are added

Step 6:

Now, we stir

Step 7:

Matcha powder, ice and water are shaken in a cocktail shaker

Step 8:

The grapefruit mixture is poured into the serving glass

Step 9:

The specially imprinted ice is added to the serving glass

Step 10:

The ice cold matcha mixture is poured over the back of a spoon and into the cocktail

Step 11:

Marvel for a while at the colour combination and the imprinted ice

Stir it together and there you have it: The Salty Dog.

A wonderful combination of bitter matcha and bitter grapefruit mixed with sweet honey and strong vodka. This was truly delicious!

108 Matcha Saro on Facebook (XinYi Store)

Opening Times:

Sunday - Thursday
11:00 - 22:00

Friday and Saturday
11:00 - 23:00

臺北市信義區松高路11號B2

B2, No.11 SongGao Road, XinYi District, Taipei City.

Happy Eating!

Labels: 10/10, Japanese, matcha, MRT Taipei City Hall Station, XinYi District

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Taipei City - 平安京茶事

Value for money: 8/10

Cleanliness: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Quality of food: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

This is just an update on the post above. This time we ordered slightly differently, so take a look at both posts to see which you prefer.

Basically this should be called:
"The Everything Set"
$1000

Because that's pretty much what you get: a bit of everything!

Ok, so, here we have: Matcha cream roll, Matcha madeleine, Matcha Canale, Matcha Layer Cake and a Japanese rose dessert.

Wow, wow, wow! This is just a Matcha overload all crammed in to one picture.

Matcha cream roll - 10/10 show-stopping. We went for a no added sugar option of the matcha cream. We were warned it would be bitter, but we both absolutely love matcha tea, so this was no issue in any way whatsoever. However, for the not so regular matcha consumer, I would probably recommend a slightly sweetened version.

Matcha madeleine - 8/10 Really very good! My reason for the 8/10 is that it was bordering on the dry side. However, it is worth noting that it is still awesome and definitely worth getting. Maybe I am just being over-critical because the cream roll and the layer cake were just that good.

Matcha Canale - 8/10 Also very good. However, the outside wasn't quite crispy by the time it had got to us, and the centre was quite cold, too. It had definitely been left to cool and then put in the fridge. Which, in itself, is understandable as they can't be expected to bake them to order, however, I have had better elsewhere.

Matcha Layer Cake - 10/10 An absolute winner every time. This is a must-order here. It hasn't changed from the first time I came and I never want it to.

Japanese rose dessert - 8/10 A Japanese slightly sweetened dessert with a wonderfully fresh and floral rose flavour. A delicious end to a lovely meal.

Matcha Ice cream sundae - 8/10 Top drawer matcha, but maybe a personal taste of not particularly liking tapioca balls means this only scores 8, for me. The matcha ice cream isn't sweet but the matcha latte within is a little sweet. Using Hokkaido milk, the ice cream is thick and rich - delicious! At the bottom of the glass there are plenty of tapioca balls, if this is what you are into (I, however, am not. Unless they are at 陳三鼎).

Can't come here and not get a cup of wonderful Matcha. We got this as part of the meal, simply swapping out the Matcha Latte and ordering this instead. I am not a big fan of latte, especially when a cup of matcha is on the cards. You don't get a big cup, but the matcha is of a high quality, imported from Kyoto (the home of Matcha) and really ticks all of the boxes when it comes to taste. Served with a cherry blossom flower on top.

Tel:
02 2368 2277

Opening hours:
The first Monday of the month Off
Every day 12:30 - 21:30

Week days before 18:00 minimum charge of $300 per person
Week days after 18:00 minimum charge of $150 per person

Weekends before 18:00 minimum charge of $450 per person
Weekends after 18:00 minimum charge of $300 per person

平安京茶事 on Facebook

Eating in Taipei

Happy Eating!

Labels: dessert, Japanese, matcha, MRTTaipower Station, NTNU, ZhongZheng District

Sunday, March 06, 2016

A collection of some of my favourites, so far...

As I reach 20,000 views on my website, I would like to share with all of you who have supported me, in one way or another, my top 10 restaurants/stalls/places I've posted about.

This is my top 10, but they're in no particular order - click the title for the link to my original post to read more.

Enjoy!

1. 阜杭豆漿

Recommended order: 鹹豆漿 xián dòu jiāng Salty soy milk

2. Whalens

Recommended order: Mexican or Maple and Bacon Poutine.

3. 香港茶水攤茶餐廳

Recommended order: 星洲炒米粉 xīng zhōu chǎo mǐ fěn Spicy Singapore vermicelli AND
黑米仙草奶撈 hēi mǐ xiān cǎo nǎi lào Wild rice, grass jelly and milk pudding