taipei | Sugared & Spiced

2012/01/302015/08/31

[Taipei] Cafe Flat White

Cafe Flat White

Add: 12, Alley 41, Yongkang Street, Da’an District, Taipei / 台北市大安區永康街41巷12號
Tel: (02) 3393 8872
Hours 12:00pm~10:00pm
Price: [drinks] 90~220 NTD, [food] 160~200 NTD
Visited on: Jan 2012

Update: cafe now rebranded as KIOSK.

The small alleys of Yongkang Street hide a good number of stylish cafes, Cafe Flat White being one of them. If you are lucky enough to find yourself a seat here (they don’t take reservations), it’s a perfectly comfortable spot to spend the afternoon.

Cafe Flat White

Front yard

Signage

Plenty of heart has been poured into the making of Cafe Flat White, and it shows.

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2012/01/292015/08/31

[Taipei] Diary

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Diary

Address: 53 Dong Feng Street, Taipei / 台北市東豐街53號
Tel: (02) 2706 3553
Hours: 3:30pm~1:00am
Price: 600~1,000 NTD/person
Visited on: 2012-01-28

There is no signage outside of Diary, but the warm glow that exudes from its floor-to-ceiling glass storefront easily attract passerby. Walk in, and the buzz instantly envelopes you. It’s a stylish place filled with good-looking people having a very good time. They are sipping beautiful cocktails and nibbling off a menu that offers a snapshot of what young people in Taipei crave right now. The decor is industrial chic, with exposed concrete walls and roof beams, softened by the warmths of antique wooden tables and subdued lighting. Open kitchen, but of course.

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2012/01/292015/08/31

[Taipei] Joël Robuchon Macarons & Canelés

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SALON DE THE de Joël Robuchon

Address: 3/F, Bellavita, No. 28 Song Ren Road, Taipei / 台北市信義區松仁路28號 BELLAVITA 3樓
Tel: (02) 8729 2626
Hours: 10:00am~10:00pm
Website: www.joel-robuchon.net
Price: [macarons] 80 NTD, [afternoon tea set] 1,040~1,200 NTD
Visited on: 2012-01-27

A little angel showered me with some macarons and canelés from SALON DE THE de Joël Robuchon. Thank you! These cuties made my day :)

The packaging was simple and considerate. There was an ice pack attached to the plastic box to keep the macarons cool, and inside the plastic box there was a pack of desiccants to keep the macarons dry. Each macaron rests snuggly within its own square, and none were bruised (before they met my teeth).

The traffic light trio: lemon, rose, and pistachio.

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2012/01/292015/08/31

[Taipei] L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

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L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Address: 5/F Bella Vita, 28 Song Ren Rd, Hsin Yi District, Taipei / 台北市信義區松仁路28號Bella Vita 5樓
Tel: (02) 8729 2628
Hours: 11:30am~2:30pm, 6:00pm~10:00pm
Website: www.joel-robuchon.net
Price: [lunch] 1,280~2,880 NTD/set, [dinner] 3,000~6,000 NTD/person
Visited on: 2012-01-26

The dramatic black and red decor, with a sleek dining bar surrounding a central open kitchen. Yes, you are at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Like the rest of the workshops around the world, L’Atelier in Taipei fosters an interactive atmosphere between diners and the kitchen, separated merely by a counter. A vibrant and convivial vibe permeates the air as chefs experiment and create while diners witness the preparation of dishes right before them. Everyone is part of the action.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Bar seats

Open kitchen

Table setting

If you have groups of 3 or more you can also choose regular tables for easier conversations, but that’s not nearly as fun as sitting at the bar.

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2012/01/262015/08/31

[Taipei] Kaohsiung Oden King 高雄黑輪大王

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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!

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2012/01/262015/08/31

[Taipei] Just In Bistro

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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.

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2011/10/232015/08/31

[Taipei] Dazzling Cafe

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Dazzling Cafe 蜜糖土司專賣店

Add: No 11 Alley 7 Lane 205 Section 4 Zhong Xiao Dun Hua Rd, Taipei 台北市忠孝東路四段205巷7弄11號1樓
Tel: (02) 8773 9238
Hours: [Sun-Thu] 12-11pm [Fri-Sat] 12pm-12am
Website: cafe.dazzlingdazzling.com
Price: 200~380 NTD/honey toast, 140~160 NTD/drink
Visited: Oct 2011

Dazzling Cafe, a honey toast specialty cafe/restaurant in Taipei, has been wildly popular since its opening in March 2010. Let me just define the phrase “wildly popular” for the purpose of this post – during Dazzling’s prime time, it’s literally impossible to get a reservation because the phone line is always occupied by obsessed callers, and if you try your luck as a walk-in guest – well, be prepared for a 3-hour wait before you get seated. I wouldn’t ever go through with the hassle of getting a seat here, and was lucky (or not?) that a friend got a table through connections. Let’s see what the fuss is about.

We ordered two honey toasts to share: Chocolate Fondue Honey Toast (380 NTD) and Strawberry Lover Honey Toast (250 NTD). These were such disappointments compared to the amazing honey toast I’ve had at Organ, which was nothing short of a fluffy loaf of heaven on the plate. The versions at Dazzling Cafe were dry, bland, and sad.

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2011/10/232015/08/31

[Taipei] Shaburi 紗舞縭極品集

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Shaburi 紗舞縭極品集

Add: 21, Lane 270, Dunhua South Rd Section 1, Taipei 台北市敦化南路一段270巷21號
Tel: (02) 8771 5548
Hours: 11:30am-10:30pm
Website: www.shaburi.com.tw
Price: 1,000~1,500 NTD/person
Visited: Oct 2011

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

Not much needs to be explained about Shaburi 紗舞縭極品集, the pictures say it all. Apologies for the confusion in pricing – I went with a frequent patron of this restaurant who took care of all the ordering, and he switched around some of the sets so I couldn’t get the exact prices.

U.S. Prime Boneless Short Rib 頂級牛小排 (1080 NTD/set, 850 NTD/a la carte) with beautiful marbling. A very happy sight indeed.

Next, assorted seafood (??? NTD…I’m guessing around 2,500 NTD) so fresh that parts of the platter were still squirming as they arrived at our table. Exciting for some, but perhaps not so ideal for the faint-hearted.

Taiwanese abalone 台灣小活鮑.

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2011/10/232015/08/31

[Taipei] Pekoe

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Pekoe

Add: 7, Ln 295, Dunhua S Rd Sec 1, Taipei 台北市敦化南路一段295巷7號
Tel: (02) 2700 2602
Hours: 11am-8pm
Website: www.yilan.com.tw/html/modules/mymall
Price: 100~200 NTD/drink
Visited: Oct 2011

Pekoe is a delightful cafe/gourmet ingredient store opened by Taiwanese food writer Yeh Yi-lan (葉怡蘭). It’s located in a quiet neighborhood behind Ren-Ai Circle, very close to a poet and Nomura Sushi. What you can find here: Ippodo hojicha, Christine Ferber jams and jellies, Felsina olive oil, Alsace honey, Amedei chocolates, and the likes. It’s a small but cozy place, a good stopover during any time of the day.

Ippodo Hojicha Tea Latte 一保堂奶泡焙茶 (120 NTD).

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2011/10/182015/08/31

[Taipei] Fourplay Cuisine

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Fourplay Cuisine

Add: 67 Dongfeng Street, Taipei 台北市大安區東豐街67號
Tel: (02) 2708 3898
Hours: [Mon-Thu] 6pm-1am [Fri-Sat] 6pm-2am
Price: 250~450 NTD/drink
Visited: Oct 2011

I rarely blog about drinks, but the cocktails at Fourplay Cuisine are too fun to not write about. This recently-opened restaurant/lounge has no drinks menu – all you got to do is tell Allen the bartender what flavors you are in the mood of having, and he’ll fix it right up for you. To give you an idea of what to expect at Fourplay, here are a few drinks I tried on my visit. Not too many, just all 14 of them…starting with this lavender mojito (that’s a little tea bag on top).

Ruby heart: herb, strawberry, bitter orange.