dtsm

I can't recall name but looking at website believe it's billed as The Dragon, cantonese cuisine....although i differ with the website - we did not order cantonese. Taiwan restaurants since late '80's basically is one stop shopping, they say specialize in one cuisine then .......ize and give you other foods.

But the lunch was quite nice and someplace I would personally return again for visit. POV

carterdayne

Thanks for clarifying the post - yes, this is the one I was referencing.

Fliar

Ended up eating at Shinyeh and going to Brown Sugar - both excellent recommendations. Thanks to all!
I also spent some time in Villa/Herbs (sp?) and in some place called Champagne II, although my memory of that is a bit hazy now ;-)

jimbo99

I'm amazed. In general I really hate the food here!

dtsm

I agree, Saigon has great food. But if food is terrible in Taipei, how do you survive when in London?

jimbo99

Vietnamese food in Kingsland Road? If I get Vietnamese food here, it can be so totally Taiwan-ed as to be unrecogniseable.

I know people laugh about UK food, but I think there are great "foreign" restaurants there. Also I think the supermarkets are great too. In Taipei as soon as you want something "foreign", you have to go to a "special" supermarket (like City Super, Jasons etc) and pay a ridiculous price. Even a tin of imported baked beans in Taipei costs about 90p - in Saigon 50p. City Super did have some awfully expensive stilton cheese when I was last there - but it looked to be in a terrible state. Their HK branch is much better, about half the price and much better condition too,.

But my great discovery is that stilton freezes! I picked up 2 Kg "round" at waitrose above gloucester road tube last trip and packed it in those purpose made ice pack things. On arrival in Taiwan it was still nicely cool. Cut it up into several chunks which I froze. Im "unfreezing" a chunk at a time. Its great! Really does work.... (most cheeses just crumble).

Arrived with 47Kg of baggage - about 36Kg was food... I've got quite a stash. Topped it up with my recent trip to Vietnam...

taipeipeter

I'm assuming you generally don't like Chinese food. I love it. Anyway, de gustibus non est disputandum. I agree it's slim pickings for Western food--for a few things, Costco is great (they even had good stiltons for a few months, but no more ) and Carrefour is OK.

jimbo99

Nah.... Costco seems to have become more localised (the bread seems to have got sweeter). Plus I was annoyed they wouldn't take my credit card. I must apply for Chinatrust visa - but I can't get one because I'm foreign... I complained to their headoffice who said I should be able to use any visa card - I replied but I couldn't - then they said they were having trouble communicating with their local management.....

Carrefour just annoys me - people standing around shrieking at you to buy this that or the other. Noticed the guy slicing the meat - no gloves/mask/hat, sucking gum. The sticks are sometimes OK, but not always fresh (at the Chungho branch anyway). Made the mistake of buying one without squeezing it first - it was rock hard when I got it home. Found a more local bread shop - they seem to supply a few local vietnamese. Its OK most of the time. They say "phone ahead to reserve some". Well did that only to find that they would happily sell it anyway if someone comes in and buys it up....

Actually though I generally dislike Taiwanese food (too oily and smelly) there are somethings I like. I got on fine in Shanghai and Hong Kong. I think also its an attitude thing - pizza hut is crap compared with pizza hut in the UK and other countries I've been to. Even pizza hut in Vietnam (just arrived) is miles better. They seem to localise everything here. Alleycats is about the only decent pizza I've found here. But generally very smokey (yuk) unless I go on their "non-smoking" night - Mondays.. yeah right.

Plus I think service is bad... So much better in Hong Kong/Shanghai. How many times have I turned up at 9pm, say, and then found half the stuff on the menu is "not available" because the beancounters can't face the risk of throwing stuff away. No embarressment or apology - the customer must fit in and be grateful. "meiyou" was the first word I learnt when I came here. You can still be eating when they'll interrupt your meal to collect the money 'cos it suits them to cash up. Plus I hate the way Taiwanese universally love to "book tables" and are then still happy to wait sitting on chairs by reception whilst the "receptionist" decides which table to allocate you. Plus they always remind me of the borg from Star Trek (or the Cybermen from Dr Who). They've got those earpiece things and a haughty, officious look. We are Taiwanese and you will be subsumed into the society.

Just got back from "the zone" (the "dead zone" more like). Evening sir... all beers are NT$100 for happy hour until 9.30. OK thanks... all beers? Yes sir. Does that include Boddingtons? Yes sir, all beers. OK I'll have a Boddingtons. Get the bill - get charged $140. But your colleague said $100. No... that's for beers that normally cost less than $150 - Boddingtons is normally $200 - we can't discount to $100. So why did your colleague say "all beers" even after I double checked? Oh she is new... she made a mistake.... yawn yawn ........... and of course its 10% on top for "service"....

OK...rant off!!!

taipeipeter

Reply to Jimbo: A few minor points: yes, the food can be oily. But for my eating out 'style', I find it overall acceptable. I've found a lot of very reliable restaurants with dishes in the NT70-150 category, or in other words not really fancy but pretty pleasant. Some I listed in the FT 'review' section.... I've yet to find a 'real' bakery--the Costco multigrain bread and their bagels are OK, I think.... Shopping is not a pleasant experience.... I like eating in random restaurants in Hong Kong (and for that matter Singapore) very much; Shanghai I find very difficult: most 'regular' restaurants are REALLY oily and salty, so I've gradually picked out just a few that I can return to.

Major point: Foreigners with permanent residence and proof of employment can now get credit cards in Taiwan. They changed the law some months ago.

jimbo99

OK, going OT a bit. I think most foreigners here only have residency (ARC) rather than a permanent residency - but of course just because the law permits it, doesn't mean to say its possible to get one. And some banks will happily tell you the law is one thing when you know the law is something else. I know there's been a bit of a clamp down on credit - and some foreigners had credit cards cancelled or their limits reduced despite perfect payment histories. Anyway, whatever, I don't really want a TW credit card. I just resented the whole business of paying to have Costco membership in the first place, and then having to use only the credit card that wanted me too. Actually an exception was they would take Amex - but I would get charged 2.75% back in the UK for forex on that and later cancelled it anyway as I had basically stopped using it.

Sorry folks to have hijacked this thread. Despite the nasty things I've said about eating in Taiwan, I will try and get back with my "favourite" restaurant. (Hopefully it won't destroy their reputation.)

dtsm

Need to clear up a few points:

1. Costco is a US big box entity and stateside they ONLY accept Amex; visa and mc doesn't cut it. Lousy rule but like many big box operations, they have a deal with Amex....so you want to be a member, gotta follow their rules.

2. Costco Taiwan, IMHO is awesome. I happen to live near one stateside that is very very upscale - Costco measures and quantifies local consumption and then stocks their shelves accordingly. They've got it down to a science and it shows when walking the Taiwan operation, especially the party platters, local foods, etc. that is available. They don't break out their numbers but I would guess Taiwan is a very profitable store for Costco.

3. Taiwan food - I won't argue that it isn't anywhere near the same as in the 70's and 80's (it started going downhill in '90's) ..... but let's respect local customs. People in HK and Shanghai like to eat late, so it only starts to get busy at 8:30 pm. Taiwan historically always shut down by 9 pm; however hours have now been extended to 10 or 10:30 pm....but not the 'norm'.

POV


PS - thanks again for the HCMC hotel pm

taipeipeter

A further word of praise for Costco--yes, big box store and not a huge selection, but fair prices. Good meats. Also they took my suggestion, so next time you buy Triscuits there, you can thank me (I got tired of lugging my favorite cracker back from US trips).

A clarification about credit cards: banks are now allowed to give them to ARC-holders (I shouldn't have said permanent residents in my previous post), which was not previously the case. Of course, it's up to the bank to decide about the credit risk, terms, etc. I have a card with Chinatrust, which I find very convenient. They don't even seem to charge exorbitant fees when I've used it outside Taiwan.

EWANMEBABE

go down the snake market, basically there is some toilets in the middle of it all. Walk with these on your right, you will see on your left a sea food place with everything outside but inside its just like a palace with crystal everywhere. YOu need to look for it but I guess its about 100 mts from the toilets. This has to be one of the best hidden gems in TPE, no idea of name but well worth the hunt

das

Any suggestions for a high end sushi place in Taipei, in line with the quality you'd expect in Japan?

Thanks!

taipeipeter

Not exclusively for sushi, but good:

Shintori Restaurant (Jian'guo N. Rd.): 新都里餐廳，建國北路一段80號 - through the building lobby down to the basement. There's no sign: just ring the bell. tel. 2501-7000. www.shintori.com.tw. This is part of a small chain of restaurants, but they are not all Japanese.

Possibly also Sashi-Miya (Fuxing S. Rd.): 三四味屋，復興南路一段126巷1號3樓. tel. 8773-4888. www.hach.io8.com.tw.