Hello Kitty, Jay, DTF?! - Restaurants of Taiwan (May 5-8 '12; Taipei, Taiwan)

Another week, another post. I must say… pretty impressed with the regular posting :) Yay!

Still posting about Taiwan… there’s actually so much stuff to do here (please replace the word ‘do’ with ‘eat’).

First restaurant I’d like to introduce, the iconic character of all things Asian: Hello Kitty. Yes, she has her own restaurant here and its pink, all pink and only pink – in different shades. I must say, I had a really bad Hello Kitty phase back when I was around 5/6 years old. I had everything pink and Hello Kitty. If 5-year-old me went to this restaurant, 5-year-old me would cry tears of joy and die happy. When 21-year-old me walked into this restaurant? Slight embarrassment and lots of awkwardness. As much as I’m aware of the color pink, I don’t think it truly hits you until you walk in - the only thing you see is pink. It’s a sense-shocking experience.

Store Front... the foreshadow of pink and pretty that follows

Kitty Cake!

I must say though, the kitty-face cakes look really pretty, and they come in a bunch of different colors, white kitty, tanned kitty, and of course, pink kitty. We all decided to order set meals so we could try a bit of everything. Pricing-wise it’s a bit on the pricey-er side, though for Hello Kitty, I’d say its pretty worth it. I think it came up to around 15-20CAD a person. In Canadian standards this is a deal and a half, in Taiwanese/Asian standards, it’s a mid-range meal, still for a Hello Kitty patented item, I expect it to be pricey-er.

The Hello Kitty curry bread bowl was pretty iconic. Hello Kitty’s head is the bowl. The curry was pretty light flavored and a bit saltier than I’d like. On the other hand, the seafood bake was actually quite good. It kinda reminds me of a baked seafood rice at a 茶餐廳 (HK-style restaurant).

Hello Kitty Curry Bread Bowl

Seafood Baked Rice

Pretty Kitty Drinks!

The drinks that we ordered were actually pretty good, not so much the Kitty head pudding. That was flavorless.

An abundance of flavorless Hello Kitty Head puddings

Kitty Salad - i spy with my little eyes... BUGLES IN TAIWAN!?

At the Hello Kitty Sweets café even the bathrooms have to be decorated. Of course, who could expect any less?

Fancy place where i do my thang!

All in all, I’d say you should come and experience this nuclear bombing of all that is pink and pretty. Come prepared to eat some mediocre food and spend a little more than you would normally, but really, now you can brag and say that you’ve been to the most famous kitty’s restaurant :)

Asian Fingers seem appropriate at Ms. Hello Kitty Sweets Café

Next up? Mr. J’s Secret Restaurant. For those of you who don’t know who Jay Chou is, well he’s the little Asian sidekick in The Green Hornet. In Asia, he’s much more well known… I promise! We decided to go for a little visit to his restaurant which is themed after one of his more successful movies – Secret. If you haven’t watched the movie, well I haven’t either. But I have heard good things about it, so maybe we should all go and give it a try. And if you don’t watch the movie, go to the restaurant anyways. The Secret restaurant is located in the campus of the Taipei Medical University. It is a French-Italian Restaurant. I must say I was a bit skeptical about a celebrity restaurant, and the fact that they serve western food just made me that much more skeptical.

The 'Secret' Menu

Mr. J's French-Italian Restaurant

I must say, the food was a pleasant surprise. The food was all pretty tasty with the exception of the dessert, which was very mediocre. We all ordered set-courses and if I remembered correctly, it was about 700TWD a meal. Not bad for a 4-course dinner. I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, they even had the piano from the movie for you to sit and pose with. Obviously they played loads of Jay Chou’s songs. Though it’s strongly suggested that we made a reservation, it wasn’t very packed. Maybe it’s because it was a weekday? Who knows. Either way, I actually really enjoyed the restaurant, and I’d suggest that if you were a fan of either Jay Chou or his movie ‘Secret’ then you should go and check it out!

Spinach Seafood Spaghetti w/Salmon Roe and Japanese Fish Flakes 

Salad 

Last but not least, the most famous restaurant of the post: 鼎泰豐 Din Tai Fung (DTF: ehehehe… sorry). This restaurant originates from Taiwan and specializes in xiaolongbao (small steamed buns with soup inside). Of course we had to go! First thing to note, SUPER PACKED! But like all things Asian, we fit as many people into a small space in the least amount of time possible. So the actual wait time wasn’t all that long. We order the famous xiaolongbao along with a dan dan meen (peanut/sesame paste noodle) and some green beans. Food tasted as to be expected – very good. Though I have a thing about super famous restaurants, because you expect so much from them, they don’t ever get the chance to surpass your expectations. So, I may not be raving about this as much as I should, but it’s always because I’ve already expected so much from it that it just hits my expectations. Unlike Mr. J’s restaurant, I knew they place was good, and so I expected good things from it. Either way, stop by here – they have multiple stores over the city (and internationally) – and take a pic with the xiaolongbao statue outside!

Left: Xiaolongbao; Top Right: Dan Dan Meen; Right: Green Beans

Take a Pic with Mr. Xiaolongbao!!!

This concludes the restaurant wrap up of Taiwan. I’d say visit all three restaurants. For bragging rights, go see Hello Kitty. For a nice French-Italian meal with a twist of Asian Fusion and celebrity, go to Mr J’s Restaurant. For the more traditional experience, go grab some xiaolongbaos at Din Tai Fung.

Which restaurant would you most likely go visit? Traditional? Fusion? Pink&Pretty? What expectations do you have of certain restaurants when you go for a meal?

A Snack Addict's Guide to Taiwan (May 5-8 '12; Taipei, Taiwan)

The second stop of my trip: Taiwan. I've never been here before but I’ve always enjoyed their food. To me, Taiwan almost seems like a mandarin version of Japan since they also have many cute things. This might also be because of Japan’s occupation in Taiwan in history. But let’s not get into history…

Right off the plane, we were heading for food. First, I’ll talk about the best donuts I’ve had in my life. I’m not much of a bread/dough person, so donuts don’t exactly tempt me. These ones, on top of being a bread-type food, were also ridiculously cute. Pretty-looking things never tended to taste good, that has been my opinion until now. Really should not judge a book by its cover, even if this one was really cute and pretty. And so, at the store called Mister Donut, I tried that best tasting donuts of all time. In cute shapes and colorful varieties, Mister Donut is a donut lover’s paradise. Cute lion donuts are covered in strawberry or chocolate icing. 1CAD is equivalent to 30TWD (Taiwan Dollars), and at 45TWD per donut they’re not the cheapest Taiwanese snacks to buy. You must be thinking, “How is 1CAD per donut NOT cheap?!” Well I need to let you know that food here is abnormally inexpensive. Hence, a dollar a donut actually isn’t the cheapest snack food you could buy. Despite it’s price, I actually ate a donut everyday. The dough of the donut was super chewy and the strawberry lion (which I thought was the best) had a strawberry flavored dough. So yummy! If you ever get the chance to go to Taiwan, definitely go and try a strawberry lion donut from Mister Donut!

Pretty and Tasty Mister Donut

crusin' down the streets of TamSui

We all head over to TamSui District for some serious street-stall snacking. Tamsui is a district by the sea in the Northern part of Taiwan in Taipei. First thing I notice, the street is lined-up with street-stalls calling my name! YUM! Second, the area is actually very pretty, since the open-air market is right along the TamSui River. In such a relaxed environment, I was able to pig-out to my little hearts content. I should start by warning you that if you decide to come and do some serious eating, bring some friends. That way you can try many more food items at once! A skewer of a whole squid, for 2CAD dollars? DONE DEAL. It was also very very delicious. Smelly tofu? Wonderful! Though I might have to mention that Taiwanese smelly tofu is different from that in Hong Kong. It has a less pungent small and they also add some pickled veggies in the middle.

Top: Grilled Squid; Middle: Smelly Tofu; Bottom: Spiral Chips and the Sunset on TamSui River

An interesting snack, the Taiwan Iron Eggs are a must try for many people. They’re named Iron Eggs due to their hard texture. They are either made from quail or chicken eggs. These eggs are repeatedly stewed in soy sauce along with other spices (of which I have no clue are what) until they absorb all the flavors. Though definitely horrible for your cholesterol levels, they are a nice snack with an interesting flavor. They kind of look like Maltesers to me.

And of course, the Taiwanese Sausage. They are absolutely delicious, a must-have when in Taiwan because there just aren’t any other sausages quite like it (hahaha…).

Fishing Fail

Next, heading over to the Guang Zhou St. Tourist Night Market, for more food. Obviously we never get enough. There we got to play a fishing game where you get a net made with paper to try and get a fish. I failed horribly at this game but my friends were much better at it. Since we couldn’t take the fish home with us, we set them free like the good people that we are. A lot more eating here. 

I actually forgot to take a picture of one of my favourite Taiwanese foods: Pork Sauce Rice. A simple dish made of stewed ground pork over rice. It’s also 20TWD a bowl – this is less than a dollar. How can anyone say no to this. This also proves to show that the donut is quite expensive, as I could’ve had 2 bowls of my favourite food for the price of the one donut. Though I can’t say that I regret eating both. Splurging in this fashion? – definitely affordable.

Night Market Shenanigans 

Shaved Ice is a signature dessert to be had in Taiwan. The name explains all, though the ice is flavored, in my case we had a mango shaved ice and a green tea with red bean topping shaved ice. They were both great! The sizes are huge so if you ever decide to go, bring a friend!

great place to cool down in the summer!

Last thing I want to introduce to you: the best cheesecake you’ll ever eat in your life. Though its not actually a Taiwanese delicacy, this is the first time I’ve had it. Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake – honestly the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten. I’m not quite sure if this is a Japanese chain or a Taiwanese company that decided to adopt a Japanese name, but really, at the moment I don’t care. The cakes are so fresh that they make them in batches around every 20mins and you have to line up for it. At first, I was a bit skeptical since I don’t really like Japanese style cheesecakes since they’re usually too ‘cakey’ – as in they’re very bread-y and sponge-y – and I’ve never been much of a fan of that kinda cake.  Though, what should’ve tipped me off is that this cake is the only thing sold at the store, absolutely nothing else is available – and it only comes in one size (18cm). If a store can survive of selling one thing, then really, it has to be good. So after waiting about 15mins we got the cake. The cake was nice and warm in the box. Cutting into the cake was heaven, it was like cutting through fluff, it was so light! The taste? Indescribable – a piece of cake heaven! And at 199TWD a cake? HELL YES! I have hit jackpot, I can now die happy. The cake is not at all sponge-y like normal Japanese cheesecakes, instead it has a light flavor and melts in your mouth, literally MELTS. I don’t know where else you can find this, but you MUST try it if you’re a cheesecake lover and find yourself in Taiwan. The store can be found at the first level of the Taipei Main railway station. At 6 dollars a cake, there’s not reason to say no.

Uncle Tetsu, where have you been all my life?

This blog entry concludes some of the small eats (snacks) of Taiwan that I've really enjoyed. My one suggestion to you when visiting Taiwan? Wear stretchy pants. REALLY stretchy. And be prepared to overindulge.

Are you a big snacker or do you prefer large solid meals? Where have you really enjoyed an abundance of good food, literally just shops and shops of delicious munchies? What would you like to try from the foods that I've introduced on this blog entry?