wednesday cafe.

a summer lunch @ wednesday cafe.

my type of hot weather food.  a caesar salad + a raspberry smoothie.

the icy smoothie is tart and refreshing, and the caesar, is perfect for a light lunch.

xx

No. 123, Section 1, Dà’ān Rd, Daan District, Taipei

vapiano.

vapiano @ ATT for fun.

i dont know why i haven’t posted this yet.. but this has been my favorite lunch/dinner for the last few months.

when i crave salad, i get vapiano’s rocket salad.

arugula, cherry tomatoes, and freshly shaved parmesan cheese, make up the salad; which i ask to be lightly dressed with pesto cream.

i also like to add medium rare grilled steak, to make the salad into a meal.

a lemon pellegrino or a iced latte on the side.

perfection.

xx

ATT for Fun: 10F-2, No.12, Song Shou Road, Xin Yi District, Taipei

good cho’s.

brunch at good cho’s. bagels!

this hidden cafe is set up inside of an old military housing unit in the middle of the xinyi district.

they had a version of “sun tea”.. iced tea brewed for 2 days or so.. the previous guest who ordered one gets to write you a message on your label, and you also get a blank label to write with your tea.. and so on..

i had a scone- which i was impressed with. crunchy on the outside, soft inside.. made with less butter, so it was a bit lighter and not as “flaky” on the inside, but still good. their scones had the best consistency and texture, out of the ones i’ve tried in taiwan so far. i requested  butter and honey. which came at an extra charge.

savory bagel sandwich. i didnt try this but b had it and liked it.

will return again.

xx

54 Songqin St, Taipei City

Galerie

coffee, then light dinner @ Galerie, in the zhongsan area.

zhongsan is not an area that i usually frequent, but after walking around today, i think i’ll be back soon. theres a few cafes that look interesting.. not to mention some cute shops i have yet to walk into.

cute outdoor patio area tucked away behind the ivy covered walls. twinkling lights and a water mister to help beat the heat. i would have loved to sit outside… but alas.. mosquitoes are still my enemy #1 in taiwan.

some of the interior decor.

iced latte. my summer staple.

when we first sat down, it was with the intention of having coffee.. so i ordered a caramelized banana crepe. but as we chatted and sat longer, we decided to order a light dinner. sO yes, i had dessert first! i liked that the crepe was filled with a generous amount of bananas, but the flavor of the caramel was a bit strong.

i just noticed that i’ve been on a bit of a “banana dessert” streak lately..

eggplant and mozzarella starter. a nice spin on the usual tomato.

artichoke and sundried tomato pizza. very light- more like a flatbread.

top by dee&ray + shorts by one teaspoon + bag by goyard

xx

 

No. 2, Lane 25, Nánjīng West Road, Datong District  Taipei City. 02-2558-0096

Tartine Bakery

lunch at Tartine Bakery.

cute interiors. a small space with 4 tall tables, and window counter seating.

some goodies that i have yet to try.

today i had the chicken avocado wrap. a little heavy on the mayo, but good.

beef “chili.” it had the consistency of a minestrone, and was lighter in flavor than a chili.. not what i was expecting.

banana cream tart. the cream was light and fluffy, with caramelized bananas and chocolate at the bottom of the tart.

a nice spin on a classic. miniaturized, and quite tasty.

i have to say that i don’t think i had a good gauge on the bakery today, since i had mostly food.. which is obvy not their specialty. their pastry display looked promising, so i’ll be back for afternoon tea, to try to the strawberry millefeuille, brownie, and the valrhona chocolate + salted caramel eclairs.

until next time..

xx

http://www.tartinebakery.com.tw

STAY

dinner @ STAY.

on this dinner visit i decided to stick with the wagyu rib eye as my main course, but tried a duck consomme soup, and a different dessert.

the crusty, warm bread from lalo, as always, was amazing.. i ate 3 pieces. and killed half the butter.

amuse bouches.

starter of foie gras. this time marinated in red wine, and served with a wild mushroom bruschetta.

duck consomme soup.

wagyu ribeye steak, seared rare. no sauce.

fresh green salad on the side. light lemon + olive oil dressing.

b had carrots as his side.. they were a bit salty.

as we looked over the dessert menus, marshmallows and chocolate pops (not pictured) were brought for us to enjoy.

i decided on a lemon tart. yes, those are slices of lemon on the side. sO sour! it surprised me at first when i bit into a section- i had assumed it would be yuzu or grapefruit.. but when taken with a bite of the tart, the lemon was a good balance against the sweetness of the lemon curd filling.

b’s dessert of yuzu sorbet atop a meringue. the yuzu sorbet was sO good. really light and fresh.

on a side note, i’m currently obsessed with instagram..

.. sO, heres an instapix of what i ate, and what i wore.

sweater by something else + leggings by silvrdwn collection + boots by jimmy choo + bag by chloe.

xx

woolloomooloo. meat pie!

they have MEAT PIE!

i was looking for meat pie on the menu during my first visit at lunch, but did not see it… because its only offered at dinner!

and i’m pretty happy it is.

shiny.

look at the buttery, flaky crust, chunks of beef, carrots.. i’m drooling a bit just posting this.

great texture, good flavor. i haven’t had a good pie in taipei until now.

and of course i had dessert- banana cream pie again.

gluttony.

 xx

No. 379, Section 4, Xìnyì Rd, Sinyi District (02) 8789-0128

woolloomooloo

lunch @ woolloomooloo.

wood furnishings, open kitchen and beer/wine display.

salad nicoise. when its hot out, all i want to eat are salads, and drink smoothies..

salami pizza. thin crispy crust- my favorite. i enjoyed the pizza, it had a good balance of cheese, tomato sauce and salami. the best pizzas, in my opinion are the simple ones.

banana cream pie. sOo good.

there’s a small selection of pastries and desserts at woolloomooloo, i’ve tried the lemon cream berry tart and the banana cream pie so far.. both delicious. the chocolate cake and homemade brownies are next on my list!

xx

Gordon Biersch

lunch @ gordon biersch. dunhua location.

we decided on 2 starters and a salad to share.  heres the fried artichoke hearts with a lemony aioli dipping sauce. it was pretty good, lightly breaded + fried.

glazed chicken wings. i really like the chicken wings at GB. its slightly “asian” in taste, but nonetheless has great flavoring + is always juicy. (and not spicy. a plus for me.)

my usual order of cobb salad with olive oil vinaigrette. the pic is actually  of 1/2 an order.. we asked them split it into 2 plates for us because its huGe! as you can see, theres still tons of avocado, chicken and blue cheese in a half order. yum.

*i decided nO carrot cake for me today.. but normally order it at gB because theirs is pretty authentic.

xx

102 Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City. (02) 2713-5288

STAY

STAY @ Taipei 101.

my first visit to this french contemporary restaurant.

acronym for: simple table alleno yannick. the michelin starred french chef.

amuse bouche of canapes.

the amazing bread basket- obvy, because they serve bread from the MOF baker, Lalos, who has a shop downstairs. i polished off the basket.. not to mention the perfectly spreadable  butter. YUM. the mini crunchy french rolls with sea salt were my favorite

i started with a smaller serving portion of foie gras. their version has hints of passionfruit and coffee. sO good. the fruity tartness combined with the creaminess of the foie gras was a nice balance. the toasted brioche itself was tasty and crunchy/chewy.

then onto my entree of a Australian waygu beef tenderloin steak. seared rare. an order of sauteed mushrooms on the side, and a fresh green side salad. (not really pictured.)

butter sauteed mushrooms.

for dessert, we walked over to the display to pick out our choices. we were served marshmallow lollipops while we gazed upon the many minis to choose from. i saw marshmallows candied bits.. mini muffins, madelines, chocolates, cookies.. but i wished that there was something more substantial to choose from as well.. such as a souffle, or a chocolate galette… i ended up choosing the in season strawberry tart- because if you know me.. i MUST have dessert. :)

to make dessert more substantial, i requested vanilla ice cream to be served with the tart.

quite impressed. everything was well executed and portions were nicely thought out.

will definitely be back again.

 

xx