Taipei Food Extravaganza

This is a collection of foods I had in Taipei, which I think is excellent in terms of authentic international (well Asian) fares and great variety of the local cuisine. There are a lot so take it easy on reading especially those of you who like reading in the middle of the night!

I had a great lunch at a packed little lunch place for Unagi Don (Japanese eel rice), went to a tight little cafe called Domo for an excellent espresso (which was the last good espresso I had on the trip), had a few quick dinners at night markets, went for a dance shoe shopping frenzy (and this had anything to do with food??) and filled my luggage with more food than clothes.

Ah satisfaction.

And of course I also had time to go to NICE restaurants and cafes and performed the "don't touch the food before I photographed it" ritual - and that's what I'll share in more details. I should describe it as a degustation rather than separate events, just so it flows. Emphasis - the following was not consumed on the same day/meal. If you actually thought I'd consumed all that in one sitting (or one day), I shall declare war on you!!

Lets start with entree - Deep fried tofu stuffed with fish liver - it was fantastic, tofu was crispy on the outside and very silky on the inside, and the flavour of the liver was creamy but not rich. It was supposed to be dipped in a light soy sauce dipping sauce but I didn't bother coz it was just nice enough as it is. It was followed by "rice in soup" - if you often have Japanese noodle soup, you might know the type with sesame and seaweed strips. To have cooked rice in the soup meant the rice soaked up all the nice flavours of the soup and it was satisfying on its own. Then we had a nigiri sushi (with what fish I'd forgotten), fish was tender but not falling apart (like cooked cod does), and the charred bits were fantastic. Char-grilled calamarigreat with just lemon (or nothing at all) - it came with a salt and pepper for dipping, which was finely ground and very fragrant, but again I didn't really need that because the charred bits on the calamari was enough. Salted plain-grilled sanma fish was full of the flavour of the fish, and really char-grilling is the best way to appreciate it. Sanma (or Pacific saury) has heaps of fine bones but the flesh is very tasty. But if you accidentally broke the liver it will leave the flesh very bitter - some people like the bitterness, not me not I.

Hot pot. YUM. I know it was still summer in Taiwan but who cares when air conditioning keeps my cool... A vegetable pot with soy sauce stock, and additional serve of wagyu beef. Oh wagyu beef - thy beauty, texture, high content of saturated fat... not that I care about that last point, of course. The soup base eventually got a bit salty for us though.

BURP. Excuse me!!! Now I move on to desserts. Haagen Dazs ice cream sound Ok with you? Of course. And what's dessert without coffee? Try an iced coffee - literally ICED coffee, because it was made from melting ice dripping over ground coffee, extracted overnight. Apparently this slow and cold extraction does not extract caffeine, but either they used crap coffee, or the lack of pressured steam just doesn't extract the elements that give a good espresso its depth and body. The waffles at the same cafe was incredibly popular and well deserve their fame - hot off the waffle plate, served with fruit and vanilla ice cream. Simplicity is best.

There, that concludes my foodie experience in Taiwan. I certainly enjoyed it... hope you hated me for it too!

Girly get together. In need of a restaurant that serves good food and has comfortable ambiance so the girls can talk without the need to shout. Pomegranate was actually very much a last minute decision, as none of us have been there and it had good reviews from customers, so a reservation was made before 6 (for dinner at 7) and off we went.

Driving along the buzzing Darling Street, going deeper and deeper into Balmain, we FINALLY found Pomegranate, located away from the main strip of restaurants and shops, and with minimal signage to make it hard for those who didn't remember the street number. As we walked in we wondered why we bothered making the reservation because it was empty at 6:50, not that it mattered much anyway. As we poured through the menu, customers started streaming in and sure enough, by 7:30 every table was filled! Then the girls finally decided on what they wanted, ordered, got told we might have ordered more than we can finish but didn't care, because we wanted to try everything we could possibly fit in our stomach.

Entree came and we were delighted. The violet dumplings with mince and coriander was gorgeous, made into individual flowers and served on spoons. We wondered how we could possibly consume them - they were just so beautiful. And then we bit into it the sweet fragrant filling... and were sent to heaven. We also had a taro roll - thin tofu sheets wrapping taro, water chestnut and cashew nuts, it had such delightful taste to it, great texture and flavour that is gentle but distinct, with a lovely subtle sweet chilli dipping sauce that was nothing like what you get from the usual local Thai. The entrees were so delicious we simply anticipated main for the rest of the time.

Then our main dishes came. We ordered duck Choo Chee, crispy pork belly with fragrant light curry sauce, and fried barramundi in sweet chilli paste. Then of course we piled rice onto our plates ready for attack. The waitress tore the meat off the duck thighs and spread it evenly over the aromatic curry sauce, so I didn't bother taking a photo of the dish. Oh this was heavenly! I'm partial to duck and this was one of the best ducks I've had, the curry was mild, sweet and very aromatic, I could eat it all night. The pork belly was deep fried so the crackle was very crispy, which made it a bit hard to chew, but still delicious. The light curry sauce had lemon grass and lime leaves in it, and was mild, very fragrant and appetising. The fish was more potent because of the chili, but I find myself quite happy consuming through the fish without having to water down the fire because it was bearable for a chili wuss like me. And it came with little flower shaped egg pieces decorating the dish - we were absolutely in love with them and called them the "Hello Kitty Eggs" because they were so cute.

To pick a favourite out of the three was not too easy - it was the contest between the duck and the fish - as I know I'm always partial to a duck and curry, but I really enjoyed the fish too. In the end I gave the duck the "Cindy's favourite dish for the night" crown. Not saying the pork was bad, but it was just not as tantalising as the other dishes.

The waitress was right - we did order too much - we managed to finish the dishes only because they were so delicious, and it would have been a waste. We were so stuffed because the servings were great. Of course we didn't tell the waitress we were stuffed - because she would have said "I told you so" and possibly refuse our dessert orders. Yes we had dessert too..... A baked taro cake with coconut ice cream, and a roasted rice cake with coconut ice cream. I opted out because I didn't think it was possible to have more food pushed into my stomach (which was protesting at being overworked). The desserts had texture and flavour that we all thought "hm... thats interesting... what is it". I guess we are all used to the classic western desserts like creme brulee or chocolate mud cake.

We had such a wonderful time at the restaurant, we ended up leaving after everyone had left - first in, last out. We felt sheepish towards the waitresses because they were waiting for us to finish so they could pack up and leave! But then we were great value for money because we ordered more food than anyone else. Highly recommend this place, I really couldn't find much flaw there, loved the interior (no tacky Thai decorations), waitresses were efficient and polite, food was fabulous, price was right (just under $150 for all the food and bottle of wine we had). We will definitely remember and revisit this place!

Pomegranate Thai Restaurant - 191 Darling Street Balmain

Ice and Slice

We found a fantastic gelateria et pizzeria called Ice and Slice, located at 135 King St (Broadway end), courtesy of the entertainment book. Coming with no expectations, we were overjoyed and delighted to see the many flavours of gelato on display at the entrance, and instantly knew we will have gelato for dessert.

We were led into the back room of the cafe where they had to clear a newly finished table for us because they were busy. We were hungry, therefore quite annoyed that we didn't get any table service. Then Peter realised we've got to order and pay at the counter. So we picked our pizza and gelato flavours (after long deliberation on flavours), and we impatiently waited while salivating at the steaming pizza at the table next to us.

After a short wait we got our prawn pizza (called The Queenslander) and Quattro Stagione which has ham salami olives cheese and mushrooms all mixed up. The pizzas, I swear, were up there with Napoli in Bocca standard. Thin, soft but chewy crust that wasn't charred and crispy like Gourmet Pizza Kitchen (which any pizza purist will never go near), and the toppings were fan-tabulous. The Queenslander is an off-putting name unfitting for the delicious pizza - Prawns were big sweet and fresh, quite unlike most of the seafood pizzas elsewhere (even Dolcissimo's seafood pizza used frozen prawns!!), and our Quattro Staggione was equally satisfying and mouth watering. And the cheese that just drags and clings and made our mouths water uncontrollably as we try to cut the stringy mozzarella away from the neighbouring slice (break, damn it, break!)

Made us think maybe we could have had a pizza each. Then again, we wanted to save room for gelato.

The gelato. Oh the gelato. I haven't had these flavours for years and I'd almost forgotten how yummy they tasted. Silky smooth, rich in flavour but not heavy or overly sweet, aromatic hazelnut, rummy rum and raisin, and the pistachio, oh that pistachio, no wonder pistachio is one of THE gelato flavours to have. And it left us wanting more despite feeling rather full already.

Pizzas were about $15 on average and gelato was $6.10 for 3 scoops. They also do sundaes ($7.90) such as banana boat and peach melba and other tantalizing mix of flavours (one of them a "vanilla bean gelato spaghetti"). They also do desserts such as tiramisu and baked cheesecake. The waffle with maple syrup and vanilla gelato looked attractive too but not sure how good the waffle is considering its not freshly made. Only trouble is finding parking, so car pool or try public transport. But it doesn't matter. This place is excellent value, hugely satisfying, and I would definitely come back for more.

Sorry, no photos as we weren't expecting fine dining. Besides, it'll be impossible to photograph a fantastic pizza while you're starving. I'm sure you understand.....

Blue Eye Dragon revisited

Back for a late supper after salsa - and we ordered a scallops stir fried with XO sauce and fried chicken with basil and five spices again, simply because it was light and delicious. The scallops were huge, plump and tender, flavour was light and nothing like the usual XO sauce flavoured dishes that are often too spicy and greasy. This dish was simply cooked to perfection. Although in my opinion the presentation of this dish was too simple, it tasted better than it looked. The chicken was as good as we remembered it. And we couldn't resist the smooth and creamy Movenpick ice cream - fantastic way to end the meal.

Thai Princess

The usual Friday night, post-salsa hunger. Where to tonight? "Lets go to that Thai place next to Cindy's friend's restaurant!" (http://www.thaiprincess.com.au/)

Alright I wasn't particularly hungry thanks to my cuppa soup before leaving uni (ahh the simple pleasures of artificial flavouring in a cup), and neither was Jean, so we only ordered 2 things among the 3 of us. Pad Thai with tofu, and stir fried chicken with chilli and basil.

Fabulous Pad Thai. The tofu is still soft and moist on the inside and crispy and flavoursome on the outside, while the noodles were 'al dante' (eh, in want of a Thai version to describe the perfect noodle texture!!) and flavour not just your usual take-away sweet-tangy Pad Thai. Chilli basil chicken was also more than satisfactory - I would have soaked up all the sauce (spicy but not firey, thank heavens) with more rice if I were starving... And we enjoyed the piles of basil buried under the piles of chicken too. And, although it didn't seem like a lot of food when it first came, we were STUFFED at the end because the portions were deceivingly large! They really packed it onto the plates!

Our friendly waitress was very attentive and chatty (probably because we kept asking her how hot our dishes are) and walked us to the door - very nice! She also reminds me of a dear friend who's soft spoken, petite and very friendly, so we left the restaurant with that "we'll be back" mentality! And they didn't mark the Entertainment card so we get to use the discount again! YAY!

(I promise to return to La Brasserie, which is right next door, I promise... some day....)

Lindt Chocolate Cafe

It was a case of self-induced chocolate overdose last Sunday.

The IMAX pre-movie advertisement was nasty. It started with these huge IMAX sized chocolate desserts floating on the screen, followed by a soothing voice telling us “this is a gentle reminder not to have too much popcorn.”

Seriously, since I started at the gym I’ve been watching my calories (shock horror!) but this ad totally broke any of my inhibitions and self-discipline. “We’re going to Lindt after the movie!”

There were too many choices it makes my head hurt, and too many temptations it makes my waistline tremble. Anything you can imagine about chocolate was there – an assortment of cakes, tortes, gateaux, slabs, biscuits, macaroons, ice cream, hot or iced chocolate drinks, as well as the Lindt chocolate flavours you never see in supermarkets. The moment you lay eyes on these happy creations you toss the hard work at the gym out the window… and you indulge.

My friend went for a chocolate cake made of 70% cocoa chocolate – it was fabulously dark and intensely chocolatey. I went for the indulgence for one – their chocolate degustation plate with a bit of everything (warm silky chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream, chocolate truffle, chocolate and hazelnut praline slab, chocolate macaroon, and a small piece of St Moritz cake which is layers of white, milk and dark chocolate mousse). First bite into the ice cream – smooth (but sweet). Second bite into the ice cream with a bit of the chocolate sauce – smooth (but sweet). Then came the attack on all fronts – a bit of chocolate slab (yum), a bit of St Moritz (luscious), a bit of my iced dark chocolate drink (which I gulped lustily), and after just one bite of everything I declared myself incapacitated by cocoa and sugar overdose.

The iced chocolate drink was fantastic, it was rich but not thick, very chocolatey and surprisingly not too sweet. Or maybe it was in comparison with the St Moritz, which was divine but sugar loaded. Towards the end I could not really tell the flavours anymore – all my tastebuds were sugar-coated. I’d also felt a slight pressure on my temples and much to my friend’s amusement, I giggled and behaved like I was tipsy (“oh I’m on a chocolate and sugar high… oh no… oh no…”)

I still say this was well worth the trip – who can I blame but myself for not being able to handle the divine sweetness and rich cocoa? After this experience I still love chocolate, though when I should head back for another self-induced overdose, I shall shelf that thought till indefinitely…

Tip for your visit to the café – go with a small group, get yourself a table first, grab a menu and make your decision while you’re in the queue if the café is busy. The degustation plate for 1 is really enough for 2 or more – especially if you’re weak like me. Their coffee is more expensive than the average café coffee ($4.50) so I would recommend trying their specialty chocolate drinks instead. So what if you get a chocolate/sugar overload – you only live once!

Viscardi's

Viscardi's Ristorante is the restaurant by the Event/Convention Center Le Montage (Leichhardt/Lilyfield area), which is the location of my best friend's wedding (NOT of the Julia Roberts variety, thank you very much) later this year. We intended to have brunch there but missed their breakfast venue by 10 minutes! But having steak at 11:40 was way too heavy so we all went for something simple - Pasta.

Orders for our lunch - Penne alla Romanov - penne with salmon in vodka cream sauce - my choice. The other two orders were Linguine al'arrabiata - linguine in tomato based sauce, basil and chilli, and Linguine Cinque Terre - linguine with prawn, pesto, tomato and cream.

Verdicts? YUM. YUM. YUM. Each mouthful drew a "mmm" and I kid you not, it was so satisfying we could not stop saying "mmm" constantly. The creamy pastas were smooth and rich and full of flavour, but not thick and heavy like some other restaurants do, and absolutely delicious to the last bite. Arrabiata was text-book "ripe red tomato aroma", very delicious, and I could eat that forever (or until my stomach explodes). We reckon the Linguine Cinque Terre must be tossed with freshly made pesto - because it tasted so fresh, the pesto tasted almost minty. Not one of us even thought to reach over for the salt and pepper shakers - no need. They were PERFECT pastas. And guess what, they each costed less than $20 - which is not that much more expensive than what most Italian restaurants charge (eg Dolcissimo charges about $15-25 for their pastas), so we agreed unanimously that this place was excellent value for money!!

Then we had coffee. Because my pasta was creamy and filled me up a little, I decided to have an espresso. TOP CHOICE. Excellent coffee, thank you Mr Barista. A badly made espresso or coffee made of mediocre beans leave a bitter after taste. This espresso was actually not bitter to the taste - truly aromatic and full-bodied with a thick layer of rich crema on top, and actually left a somewhat sweet aftertaste! Argh and it was only $3.... compared to the rubbish served by Starbucks, which was more like $3.55 worth of skim milk with no more than a splash of coffee flavour, THIS is what you call coffee!!

As you can see we were incredibly pleased and satisfied with this place, and for the first time in weeks my friends were able to relax and really enjoy and feel their meal... I was so happy for them... and many thanks to their letting me tag along and share this experience.... truly divine!