A pâtissière, eating around the world
![[Taipei] Sushi Jubei 鮨十兵衛](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1126455.jpg)
Sushi Jubei 鮨十兵衛
Add: 5, Lane 23, Section 2, Anhe Road, Taipei / 台北市安和路2段23巷5號
Tel: 0981 018 018
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 11:30am-9pm (closed on Mon)
Price: [lunch] 1500-3000 NTD [dinner] 2500-5000 NTD
Visited: Feb 2015
12-seat sushi bar by Shawn 蔡孝文, previously of Sushi Nomura 野村壽司.
Lunch sets are priced at 1500, 2000, or 2500 NTD. We chose the 1500 NTD set, which began with this katsuo no tataki, grilled skipjack tuna.
Ika (squid).
![[Taipei] Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne 富錦樹台菜香檳](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1126092.jpg)
Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne 富錦樹台菜香檳
Add: 1F 17, Lane 199, Dun Hua South Road, Taipei / 台北市敦化北路199巷17號1樓
Tel: (02) 8712-8770
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 6-10pm (closed on Mon)
Price: [dishes] 350-1500 NTD [champagne] 450-600 NTD/glass, 2500-2980 NTD/bottle
Website: www.fujintreegroup.com
Visited: Feb 2015
“Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne” is the newest establishment by Fujin Tree Group, the folks behind a row of popular cafes and boutiques in the Fujin Road vicinity. The name itself is intriguing, for Taiwanese food + champagne is not an usual combination. The aim is to create a place where one can enjoy Taiwanese cuisine without the frenzy of a typical local restaurant, so they’ve put together a stylish dining room and installed a few bottles of champagne in there to up the game.
The interior design is rather interesting with 14 unique dried plants hanging from the ceiling, designed by 李霽 Joshua Lee. I imagine the vibe to be even more alive during the day, with natural light streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
![[Taipei] Kajitsu 菓實](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1126481.jpg)
Kajitsu 菓實
Add: 2F., No.128, Kangding Rd., Taipei / 台北市康定路128號2樓
Tel: 0978870653
Hours: Wed-Sun 12-9pm
Website: pojowowo.blogspot.tw
Price: details here.
Visited: Feb 2015
Two months ago back in Paris, I was home after another long and exhausting day in the kitchen. As usual, I was mindlessly going through my Facebook feed (not the best thing to do before going to bed but it does loosen me up after an intense dinner service), and a page called “菓實 Kajitsu” caught my attention. I started browsing through their beautiful pastry photos paired with down-to-earth writings, and was immediately charmed. I decided that I need to visit this place when I’m in Taipei.
So here I am, two months later, in Kajitsu’s homey and cozy pastry studio located in an apartment building of Wanhua district, a very old neighborhood in Taipei City. I met the couple behind Kajitsu, Abby and Evan, who welcomed me with hot tea and freshly baked pastries. Abby is the pastry chef and Evan, an industrial designer by trade, takes care of the marketing part of the business, including photography and graphic designs.
Abby didn’t start young as a pastry chef. She was a psychology major in university and worked as a Japanese translator briefly after graduation, before she decided to start her pastry career as an apprentice for Japanese pastry chef Tadashi Yanagi (柳正司). She then spent a year at Boîte de Bijoux before launching her own studio in October 2014, where she could have more freedom in both ingredient choice and product design. They purposefully chose Wanhua, where the rent is much lower than in the hotter areas of Taipei, so the extra money can be spent on quality ingredients such as imported Isigny butter from France and Nisshin flour from Japan.
![[Taipei] Light One Cafe 光一咖啡](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Untitled-31.jpg)
Light One Cafe 光一咖啡
Add: 2F, 1-4 Lane 20, Section 2, Zhong Shan North Road, Taipei / 台北市中山北路2段20巷1-4號2樓
Tel: (02) 2531 0131
Hours: 12-9pm
Price: 140-200 NTD/coffee
Visited: Feb 2015
A cafe renovated from an old apartment, with giant windows that let in plenty of light and shades of green from outside. A pleasant space to sip on a cup of coffee.
![[Taipei] The Tasting Room 啜飲室](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125835.jpg)
The Tasting Room 啜飲室
Add: 14, Alley 5, Lane 107, Section 1 Fu Xing South Road, Taipei / 台北市復興南路一段107巷5弄14號
Tel: (02) 8773 9001
Hours: 5pm-midnight
Price: 100-250 NTD/beer
Visited: Feb 2015
啜飲室 The Tasting Room opened just shy of one month ago in a quiet lane of Fu Xing South Road. What it is: a beer bar that features a selection of some 20 craft brews from around the world, and a gallery that showcases local Taiwanese art. The design is simple but stylish – it’s one big open space with a shiny beer bar on the left, communal tables at the center and back, and a few smaller tables on the right. Warm woods, soft lighting, and jazzy piano in the air. It’s a charming space, a love a first sight for me.
The menu is written on the blackboard right above the bar, and if the names don’t tell you much, the friendly bartenders will. As it was my first visit, they made a few recommendations and let me try a small dose of each before choosing. The prices are very affordable – a glass of beer ranges from 100-250 NTD – making this a easy place to frequent without breaking the bank. For now there is no food on the menu, though I heard talks about 滷味 (Taiwanese braised snack foods) for the future.
![[Taipei] Savour Cafe](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125711.jpg)
Savour Cafe
Add: 115-2, Section 4 Xin Yi Road, Taipei / 台北市信義路四段115-2號
Tel: (02) 2701 2498
Hours: 11:30am-10pm
Price: [drinks] 100-200 NTD [food] 140-200 NTD
Visited: Feb 2015
A stylish cafe with bare concrete walls, warm wooden furniture, plenty of natural light, and pretty baristas. Decent drinks, decent desserts, decent service.
![[Taipei] 2½ Months Soba 二月半そば蕎麦麺](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125468.jpg)
2½ Months Soba 二月半そば蕎麦麺
Add: No. 1-1, Lane 20, Zhongshan North Road Section 2, Taipei / 台北市中山北路二段20巷1號1之1樓
Tel: (02) 2563 8008
Hours: 11:30am-2pm, 5:30-9pm (closed on Wed)
Website: www.facebook.com/healthy.soba
Price: 250-350 NTD/person
Visited: Feb 2015
Taipei has a plethora of ramen and udon joints, but soba shops are a rare find. Unable to get good buckwheat noodles in the city, a Japanese couple decided to open their own restaurant and named it “2½ Months Soba”, which refers to the two-and-a-half-month process of sowing and harvest to produce buckwheat. As far as I could tell, this place is authentic with many Japanese customers.
The noodle menu is roughly divided into three parts, including hot soup noodles, dipping soup noodles, and cold noodles. I tried the XO樱花蝦芝麻酱蕎麥涼麵 (190 NTD), which is soba noodles served with a XO sauce + sakura shrimp + sesame sauce. Also comes with mashed turnip, chopped green onions, and dried seaweed slices.
![[Taipei] Fresh Station Sushi & Fruits 逸鮮棧](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125526.jpg)
Fresh Station Sushi & Fruits 逸鮮棧
Add: No. 500-5, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao Dong Lu, Taipei / 台北市忠孝東路4段500號之5
Tel: (02) 2725 3555
Hours: 11:30am-3pm, 5:30-10:30pm
Price: [lunch] 320-660 NTD [dinner] 600-1200+ NTD
Visited: Feb 2015
When some friends invited me to have dinner at “Fresh Station Sushi & Fruits”, I wasn’t sure what to expect. “Fresh Station” itself sounds like a salad bar, and the sushi + fruits combo just threw me off completely. Apparently this is a sushi bar that incorporates fruits into its cuisine, which sounds like a desperate attempt to differentiate itself from the hundreds of other sushi restaurants in Taipei…but the friends who invited me to dinner are serious foodies, so I trusted their opinions and went in for a try.
Upon being seated, my friends told me that they are actually not a fan of Fresh Station’s fruit cuisine, but really enjoy the more traditional sushis prepared by the chefs here. So that’s what we had that night.
One of the restaurant specialty is its large variety of pickles – apparently they pickle everything – which are supplied to customers generously throughout the meal.
![[Taipei] Si Zhi Tang 四知堂](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125631.jpg)
Si Zhi Tang 四知堂
Add: 18, Section 3, Jinan Road, Taipei / 台北市濟南路3段18號
Tel: (02) 8771 9191
Hours: 12-10pm
Price: 800-1200 NTD/person
Visited: Feb 2015
Si Zhi Tang, a low-profile Taiwanese fusion restaurant with dishes that are a little bit out of the ordinary. Reviews of this place are highly mixed, with the negatives generally focusing on its high prices. I was debating whether to try this or just go to a good old Taiwanese restaurant with guaranteed good food and good prices, but decided to come here anyway to see what it’s about. The meal turned out to be quite pricey as expected, but the dishes were delicious, the service was smooth, and the overall dining experience very pleasant. I’d say it’s a nice place to try at least once.
Si Zhi Tang might be slightly hard to find even if you have the exact address, especially if you go after dark. When you reach No. 18 on Section 3 Jinan Road, look for a small alleyway-like entrance that will lead you to the restaurant.
![[Taipei] Stoppage Time 補時](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/L1125603.jpg)
Stoppage Time 補時
Add: 30, alley 15, lane 96, Section 2, Heping East Road / 和平東路二段96巷15弄30號
Tel: (02) 2736 6506
Hours: 11am-11pm
Website: www.facebook.com/stoppagetimecafe
Price: 100-160 NTD/coffee, 130-140 NTD/pastry, 220 NTD/sandwich
Visited: Feb 2015
A stylish cafe that opened up pretty recently in Taipei. They’ve got a huge kitchen area, communal tables, and individual desks. They serve coffee and tea, sandwiches and sweets. They play good music, and they project movies and soccer games onto their big white wall from time to time. I like, quite a lot.
