[Taipei] Shin Yeh 欣葉台菜

Categories taipei
[Taipei] Shin Yeh 欣葉台菜

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE and follow me on TWITTER or WEIBO!

Shin Yeh 欣葉台菜

Address: 34-1 Shuangcheng Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei / 台北市中山區雙城街34-1號
Tel: (02) 2596 3255
Hours: 11:00am~midnight
Website: www.shinyeh.com.tw
Price: 300~500 NTD/person
Visited on: 2012-01-24

Popular among locals and tourists alike, Shin Yeh is a safe bet when it comes to quality Taiwanese food. If you are a real foodie, make the trip to Shin Yeh’s original location on Shuang Cheng Street for the best of the best.

Shin Yeh, the original store

For a simple meal, go for the simple dishes. We started with 滷味肥腸 Braised Pork Intestine with Preserved Vegetables (260 NTD) – chewy texture, slightly spicy, addictingly good.

滷味肥腸 Braised Pork Intestine with Preserved Vegetables, 260 NTD (S) / 450 NTD (L)

滷味肥腸 Braised Pork Intestine with Preserved Vegetables

正宗菜脯蛋 Fried Eggs with Dried Turnips (185 NTD), fluffy fried eggs and crunchy dried turnips, perfect with a bowl of porridge.

正宗菜脯蛋 Fried Eggs with Dried Turnips, 185 NTD

Continue Reading "[Taipei] Shin Yeh 欣葉台菜" →

[Taipei] Kaohsiung Oden King 高雄黑輪大王

Categories taipei
[Taipei] Kaohsiung Oden King 高雄黑輪大王

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE and follow me on TWITTER or WEIBO!

Kaohsiung Oden King 高雄黑輪大王

Address: 523 Bei An Road, Taipei / 台北市北安路523號
Tel: (02) 2533 6304
Hours: 10:00am~12:00am
Price: 15~35 NTD/oden
Visited on: 2012-01-25

On a cold winter day like this, there’s not much better than a bowl of oden and hot soup as a late night snack. But what is oden, you ask? This winter dish, basically put, consists of skewered items like fish cakes, meat balls, turnips, deep-fried tofu, tofu skin, pig blood cakes, mushrooms…all cooked and bathed in a savory vegetable broth. There are countless street stalls in Taipei selling odens, but if you are not sure where to go, try Kaohsiung Oden King near Exit 2 of MRT Da Zhi Station (捷運大直站) – this is definitely a local favorite.

Kaohsiung Oden King

There’s always a crowd at Kaohsiung Oden King. Most people get the oden to go, but there are a few tables available for “dine in” as well.

The stall

Let the guy with the ladle know which items you want. Point, but don’t touch. All the prices are written up on the headboard, but you really don’t have to care about how much each oden cost – we just ordered whatever we fancied, and the total came up to be only 180 NTD for two people. What a steal!

Continue Reading "[Taipei] Kaohsiung Oden King 高雄黑輪大王" →

[Taipei] Just In Bistro

Categories taipei
[Taipei] Just In Bistro

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE and follow me on TWITTER or WEIBO!

Just In Bistro

Address: 1/F Neo 19, 30 Songshou Road, Hsinyi District, Taipei / 台北市信義區松壽路30號Neo 19 1F
Tel: (02) 8786 2000
Hours: 11:00am~midnight
Website: www.justinquek.com
Price: [lunch] 580~780 NTD, [dinner] 1,000~2,000 NTD/person
Visited on: 2012-01-25

Nothing feels quite so comforting as a piece of warm apple tart, fresh out of the oven. Served as it is here at Just In Bistro, in a red hot metal pan with sauce caramel, it is irresistible.

Just In Bistro

JQ’s signatures baked fine apple tart with sauce caramel, 400 NTD

JQ’s signatures baked fine apple tart with sauce caramel (400 NTD) has got all the right elements. A delicate tart base made up of 8 phyllo pastry layers, a spread of tangy green apple slices, a glaze of bitter sweet caramel sauce, and a sprinkle of crunchy toasted almond slices.

Continue Reading "[Taipei] Just In Bistro" →

[Hong Kong] Madam Sixty Ate

Categories hong kong
[Hong Kong] Madam Sixty Ate

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE and follow me on TWITTER or WEIBO!

Madam Sixty Ate

Address: Shop 8, 1/F J Senses, 60 Johnston Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong / 香港灣仔庄士敦道60號1樓8號鋪
Tel: +852 2527 2558
Hours: 12:00pm~12:00am
Website: www.madamsixtyate.com.hk
Price: [lunch] 148~178 HKD, [dinner] 400+ HKD
Visited on: 2011-09-12

Chef Director Chris Woodyard and Head Chef Andrew Braham have put in plenty of heart into Madam Sixty Ate, and it shows in the details. From the hand illustrated menu featuring cauliflower-tailed fish and bunnies nesting in pea pods, to the edible art pieces that come pouring out of the open kitchen, there are quirky personal touches sprinkled throughout the restaurant. It all starts at the elevator, where a pig (her name is Eliza) greets diners in her wooly attire.

Entrance

Love the bright, airy space.

Dining room

Love the wall paper.

Wall paper

Love the open kitchen.

Open kitchen

LOVE the hand-illustrated menu. Meet Pedro the Squid.

Continue Reading "[Hong Kong] Madam Sixty Ate" →

[Hong Kong] Caprice

Categories hong kong
[Hong Kong] Caprice

Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!

Caprice

Address: 6F Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 3196-8888
Hours: 12:00pm~2:30pm, 6:00pm~10:30pm
Website: www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/caprice/
Prices: [lunch] 460~520HKD + 10%/set, [dinner] 1000+ HKD
Visited on: 2011-12-23

Caprice barely needs an introduction. The only French restaurant in Hong Kong with three Michelin stars, Caprice is led by Chef Vincent Thierry (ex-Le Cinq of Four Seasons Hôtel George V, Paris), who orchestrates a contemporary French menu around seasonal and imported ingredients, many air-flown in from France. All these takes place in surroundings of opulent gold, custom-made Swarovski crystal chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling windows, a spectacular vista of the Victoria Harbour, and a chandeliered open-kitchen as the focal point. Even the air smells elegant.

Caprice

Swarovski chandelier 

Open kitchen

It is also worth mentioning that the maître d’, pastry chef and sommelier all have Le Cinq on their résumés. An impressive lineup, for sure.

Plating

Continue Reading "[Hong Kong] Caprice" →

[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi

The PuLi Hotel & Spa

Add: 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Zhong Lu / 常德路1号，近延安中路
Tel: 3203 9999
 Hours: [afternoon tea] 2:30-5:30pm
Website: www.thepuli.com
Price: [afternoon tea] 240 + 15% RMB/set, +100 RMB for Moet & Chandon Brut NV
Visited: Dec 2011

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

In this cold weather, there’s not much better than spending a warm and delicious afternoon at The PuLi Hotel & Spa. The sun-filled lobby, an elegant space that feels a world away from the dizzying Shanghai city center, is a most ideal place to enjoy the hotel’s newly launched afternoon tea service.


For a even more secluded experience, head upstairs to Jing’An Restaurant, an understated yet stylish dining room overlooking Jing’An Park. You can also choose to take the tea service out on the terrace, but let’s save that for a warmer day…

Instead of the typical three tier tea stand, we were presented with a gorgeous wooden lacquer box, and instantly I knew PuLi’s afternoon tea would be quite different from anything else I’ve tried in this city. The price: 240 +15% RMB for a set (enough to feed two), or 340 +15% RMB with a glass of champagne.

Continue Reading "[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi" →

[Shanghai] Goga (2)

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] Goga (2)

Goga

Add: 1 Yueyang Lu, near Dongping Lu 岳阳路1号, 近东平路
Tel: 6431 9700
Hours: 6:30-10:30pm
Prices: 300~350 RMB/person (without wine)
Visited on: Nov 2011 (visit 1)

Another casual dinner at the small but delicious Goga, and this time I made sure to reserve a bar seat where I could see the open kitchen in full action. Alas Brad Turley wasn’t there that evening, but it’s good to know that his staff is able to manage the place without his presence.

We started the meal with something we haven’t tasted before – Sizzling Kampachi Sashimi (95 RMB) with fresh yuzu, white soy, and white truffle. A few irresistible slices of kampachi resting a a puddle of white soy and white truffle, delicious.

Continue Reading "[Shanghai] Goga (2)" →

[Shanghai] Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse

Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse Add: 160 Taiyuan Lu near Yongjia Lu / 太原路160號, 近永嘉路 Tel: 6433 8240 Hours: [Sun-Thu] 5-10pm [Fri-Sat] 5-11pm Website: www.rooseveltsteakhouse.com Price: [appetizers] 75-125 RMB [steaks] 300-1200 RMB [sides] 55-85 RMB [desserts] 70 RMB Visited: Oct 2010 Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse is all about the beef. Big, thick cuts of USDA certified filet mignon, New York strip,…Continue Reading “[Shanghai] Roosevelt Prime Steakhouse” →

[Shanghai] Yi Long Court 逸龍閣

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] Yi Long Court 逸龍閣

Yi Long Court 逸龍閣

Add: 2/F, The Peninsula, 32 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu / 中山東一路32號半島酒店2樓
Tel: 2327 6742
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am~2:30pm [dinner] 6~10:30pm [dim sum brunch] 11:30am~2:30pm (Sat & Sun)
Website: http://www.peninsula.com/Shanghai/
Price: [lunch] 250 RMB [dinner] 400 RMB
Visited: Oct 2010

Restaurant Week stop #6: Yi Long Court at The Peninsula. After a wonderful Restaurant Week lunch at Sir Elly’s, I was under the impression that quality at The Peninsula is not compromised by the 118 RMB price tag and decided to give Yi Long Court a try. The restaurant serves traditional Cantonese cuisine by China’s Michelin Star winner Tang Chi Keung, who was until recently with The Peninsula Tokyo and also served as Chinese Executive of The Peninsula Hong Kong in earlier times.

Lunch here started with dim sum combination (逸龍閣點心拼盤), which includes a shumai, a shrimp dumpling, and a vegetable dumpling. The shumai was excellent in both taste and texture, it’s apparent that the ground pork was of good quality. The shrimp dumpling, on the other hand, had a soft and mushy skin, and the vegetable dumpling on the bland side.

Soup dumpling with shark fin (古法魚翅灌湯餃). Again, lackluster in flavor.

Braised eggplants with minced pork and conpoy (瑤柱肉嵌茄子), a dish worth acclaiming. The eggplants were perfectly braised – not too soft, not too firm, with mouthwatering flavors from minced pork and conpoy.

Braised seasonal vegetables in chicken broth (上湯時令蔬), well executed and presented as nicely as braised vegetables can be presented. The light but flavorful chicken broth was slightly thickened with cornstarch so it adheres to the perfectly cooked leaves.

Continue Reading "[Shanghai] Yi Long Court 逸龍閣" →