Bakery 49

There's nothing like the comforts of home. So as a friend and I roam around the global mall for a quick bite, my periphery sees a sign that says CLAM CHOWDER. We stop and walk over to Bakery 49. Bakery 49 turns out to be a quaint restaurant specializing in northern and southern California cuisine. It was started by a group of friends that have relocated from San Francisco. Walking in, the atmosphere reminds me of Napa valley. A row of wine fridges line the back framed by a brown and white stone hearth. Because the restaurant is located in what global mall calls the outdoor seating restaurants, it has both indoor and outdoor seating as well. However the indoor seating is the one with the view. Continuing to the food. I only tried the clam chowder. It's reasonable priced at $150NT, +$30NT for the sourdough bread bowl. The clam chowder was nice. I tasted house made and creamy with bits of bacon on top. I forget which disappointing restaurant I went to before that had clam chowder, but I was pretty sure it was straight from a Campbell's can. Bakery 49's clam chowder is so far the best clam chowder i've had to resembles what you get at Fisherman's Warf. I do wish it was a bit creamier and more chunky. It did have a few good sized calms in there, but no potatoes were added. I would have paid a little more for a larger size too. I guess they do still have to localize it. It's definitely a smaller size compared to a real SF bread bowl. Some of the other things I noticed on the menu: chicken and waffles, kobe burger, pastrami reuben sandwich, shepard's pie, fried calamari and Cioppino. They also have a pretty nice assortment of California wine from the likes of Duckhorn and Stag's Leap. Looking on their website, they have two other locations in Dunhua and Mistukoshi A8 near the 101. Their other two locations seem to be larger too. One with a full sized bakery and wine bar. Check them out at www.bakery49.com. I will be returning to my SF away from SF.

DunHua location

台北市松山區敦化北路222巷6號

Mitsukoshi A8 location

台北市信義區松高路12號B2

Banqiao Global Mall location
新北市板橋區縣民大道二段7號2F

Home cookin': Pancakes on a lazy sunday

Lazy Sunday pancakes. I woke this morning not wanting to do anything except feed my hungry stomach. And it was asking for only one thing, pancakes! After some research on places in Taipei that offered pancakes, I gave up. It was either too far or too expensive. So I called up brother from another mother aka Kiwi, which happens the live in the neighborhood. I remembered last time he had some left over Costco pancake mix and golden syrup. So my girlfriend and I strolled on over to the Yonghe traditional markets for some fruits and toppings. After fighting our way through some thick crowds, we ended up with some strawberries and bananas. Thinking back I saw a vender that sold nuts. Some crushed pecans or walnuts would have added some stellar crunch texture. Next time. So we zipped on over right in time as Kiwi was just starting to fry up the first batch. We tried some plain and some with banana slices mixed in. Some chopped fruits and golden syrup, viola! Enjoy!

Killer pizza!

They serve the most killer pizza at Chicago Pizza Factory. Walking in, the decor really gave off a down home feel. It felt like I walked into someone's spare room filled with memorabilia clutter. After closer inspection, it all Chicago memorabilia. This really hits home for me. Looking around at some of the toys, signage, pictures, Cubs and Bears items, an old midway airport status board (i think)...really brings back the memories. However this only leaves room for about 4 tables. Once the owner discovered I was from the states, he opened up and started to speak in fluent English. He also spoke to my girlfriend in Japanese too, so he's at least trilingual. I learned Chicago Pizza Factory is actually a Japanese pizza brand, not a local restaurant started by a long time Chicago resident that moved to Taiwan as I would have assumed. Taiwan originally had 14 locations, if my memory serves me right. But the owner found it way too hard and stressful to manage 14 branches. He would teach the chef's how to properly make the dough and pizza, but after a month, they would cut corners and the quality would suffer. So he closed all but one location. Now he can get off of work at a reasonable hour and see his family and also personally manage the pizza quality. This means a lot. We ordered two pizzas because there was a special going on. Looking through the menu, they had some localized versions with very odd ingredients and some traditional versions with american toppings as well. He recommended that I order it with extra thick crust and extra sauce option. That way it'll be closer to what I was used to in the states. The sauce really makes or breaks the flavor of a pie, so extra is a must. I don't understand how Taiwanese can call their bland sauceless pizzas, pizzas. I dreamed of a stuffed crust or a properly Chicago-style thick crust, but in the end the crust was about normal. Thick for a Taiwanese that's used to cracker crusts, but not thick enough for a die hard Chicago pizza fan. But don't get me wrong, it's still an exceptional crust. Crunchy, buttery and golden delicious! The owner said he only uses the freshest and most natural ingredients, so the crust will stay moist even eaten as leftovers. It won't get hard and dense like cheap crusts. But why not a super thick true Chicago-style thick crust? Because he used to do that on special order, but it would take up to an hour to cook. He discovered many customers were too impatient and complained of the wait time. So he trimmed the thickness and cook time down. They do make deliveries, but dine-in or pick-up will net you a better deal. Pies run about $300-400 for a 9" and $480-580 for a 14".

Chicago Pizza Factory
No.1, Ln.11, Sec.2, Jianguo South Road, Daan District, Taipei
台北市大安區建國南路2段11巷1號
0227-072-121
http://www.chicago-pizza.com

OMG BBQ in Taipei!

I've been craving and searching for a good american BBQ restaurant for a while. Maybe I wasn't searching that hard, as I didn't have high hopes for something like that. But fortunately through my cross-fit trainer, he introduced me to a BBQ joint opened by a foreigner in the jhongshan district 中山區. It's called Ed's Diner. Looking at their Facebook page, I see they ordered and imported a rather large oven. And judging by the stacks of wood, it's a wood burning oven. So I was salivating with anticipation of a properly slow cooked wood smoked BBQ pork/beef/chicken. I had to pick up my girlfriend from the Songshan airport today, right about the time for lunch. Coincidental timing. So we took a quick MRT ride over to Jianan Rd. MRT station (the same one next to Miramar mall). The walk over to the restaurant which didn't take long, about 10 minutes. When we arrived, it was empty because it was a bit early for lunch (a little past 11). But I wanted me some BBQ! The interior has a very simple American design of wood and brick. They only have about 12 tables, but I think I remember a few outside too. Walking through the saloon doors in the back, is the bathroom. The bathroom has a hawaiian theme to it. Odd. I don't see how that ties into the BBQ, unless they served some Kalua or Lau Lau, which they don't. But that's ok, perhaps Ed has a love for Hawaii too. On a tangent, this bring sup another good quest...Is there a good Hawaiian BBQ restaurant in Taipei? Now back to the BBQ, I ordered a pulled pork hamburger plate and my significant other, some BBQ chicken. The pulled pork turned out pretty delicious. Tender and juicy with that good porky flavor. The sauce was tangy but not too strong that it overpowered the flavor of the pulled pork. I was a tad disappointed with the smoke flavor though. It didn't have much. Perhaps it's because he's using 龍眼木 (roughly translated Dragon's Eye wood). I'm not familiar with that wood, but from my knowledge, cedar/hickory/mesquite would be the wood of choice. However I guess that type of wood may be hard to come by. In addition, it was raining that day. Perhaps the moisture got to the wood and the smoke wasn't able to penetrate to the meat properly. Furthermore, I felt the hamburger was a tad on the small side. My girl's BBQ chicken on the other hand was much better. Our meals came with a soup, salad (or fries) and baked beans (other sides available). The baked beans were good in my opinion. Soft, sweet and smokey in flavor. However my cross-fit trainer brings up a good point. Ed's Diner used black eyed peas instead of haricot beans. It's been so long since I had quality BBQ I totally overlooked that. Either way, it was still tasty and had a great smoky and sweet molasses flavor. I WANT to visit this place again. Perhaps with some of my foreign friends that miss good ol' down south BBQ. I was eyeing the brisket sandwich on the menu, so I'll be having you next time! Prices range from $150 to $350, with a wallet smashing $750 NT 14oz Angus beef prime rib steak. Browse their menu on their Facebook page.

Ed's Diner
1/F, 216 Le Qun 2nd Rd, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市中山區樂群二路216號1樓
http://zh-tw.facebook.com/EdsDinerTaipei
02-8502-6969

Topping off the night with a Swensen's milkshake

Tonight is a revisit night. A revisit back to my favorite local deli for the freshest cut of meat between two soft slices in Tianmu (天母). Yes, It's Willie's Deli, formerly called 6&6 deli. I love this place. The interior reminds me of those old southwest general purpose stores you find scattered all over the Sierra Nevada valley. Back before super convenience stores and Costcos. The time of horse drawn carriages and cowboy hats. HaHa, I'm not that old. But thats just what it reminds me of. If you missed my old entry about this place, then let me do a brief reintroduction. Tianmu is Taipei's foreigner central hub. All the Americans, Europeans and Japanese tend to congregate here and live here. Therefore little shops like Willie's Deli is in huge demand. Willie's Deli is primarily a importer of rare American/European goods as well as a meats/cheese deli. Supplementing the deli, are a few tables to sit down and enjoy some of the sandwiches freshly sliced from the deli counter (ranging from $180-$300 NT). But as a fine foods importer, the place is also packed ceiling high with rare imported good that you can't find anywhere else in Taipei. In addition, this foods market expands to the basement where some great imported pastas, beers and cereals are. Furthermore, there's a small modern and very professional kitchen tucked into the corner for the monthly culinary classes they hold. So tonight I enjoyed a great little half pastrami and half corned beef sandwich on a soft whole wheat bread. By the way, you can't order it half and half. I traded with my culinary partner panda girl. In addition, we tried some of their awesome baked mac 'n cheese. I totally forgot about mac 'n cheese! Oh how my taste buds thanked me for brings back some good old traditional flavors. I...I mean, we...promptly inhaled that. As a result, I decided to make a stop by Swensen's Grill and Ice Cream on the way home. This is another great american restaurant. It resembles a TGI Friday's or a Bennigan's, for those that know what I'm talking about. I just wanted an ice cream float ($219 NT). Another down home delicacy that I have forgotten about. They have about 12 flavors to choose from and it's served in a tall, classic, frosty mug. Delicious and very satisfying down to the last slurp! I didn't get a chance to try out their dishes, but it's definitely on my list of places I have to visit. Great american food and dessert and a great way to end the day.

Willie's Deli
No.6-1, lane 14, ZhongShan N. Rd. sec 7, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市中山北路7段14巷6-1號
http://www.williesdeli.com.tw
02-2876-8557
02-2876-8558

Coda Restaurant near NTU campus

After church, a few members got together to have some dinner together at a favorite Italian-American eatery. The background information stories of a man named Andrew Lunman that started his first sit-down restaurant in Taipei called Bongos. Bongos which is very close to Coda near the National Taiwan University campus, is an american style restaurant with a little southwestern flavor thrown in. After the success of Bongos he started another establishment around the corner called Coda, where I found myself today. Coda is a more upscale restaurant serving Italian-American dishes like pizza, pasta, seafood and wine. There is also some baked rice au gratin dishes, poutine, burgers and salads in the menu too. Prices range from $200-350. The atmosphere has a slightly dim but comfortable environment. The colors of cream, dark wood and salmon are used to create a more sophisticated atmosphere. I ordered a spicy baked sausage rice au gratin which turned out pretty darn good. I tried some of the pasta and that also turned out very delicious. It had a very bold and unique flavor, that shows it's a creation from the chef that wasn't borrowed from a cheap cookbook. The wines were eclectic and enticing, but over my budget for the evening. The burgers and fries looks pretty meaty and juicy too. It's something i'll have to try next time. However i'll definitely have to book early. Due to popularity, there is often a long wait and limited tables.

Coda Restaurant
No.23, Lane 283 Roosevelt Rd. Sec.3, Taipei
台北市羅斯福路三段283巷23號
http://www.coda.tw

Recommended to Kitchen 66

A while ago now, iBurger and another reader recommended that I try out Kitchen 66 near the Taipower MRT station. I'm always up for a try at some good burgers in Taiwan. As cliche as a westerner craving a burger is, a good meaty juicy burger is just what my stomach was craving this evening. So I took two of my usual culinary explorers with me to hit up with supposed great burger joint. Wandering down the alley, I see a neon sign that looks like the old Route 66 sign, but instead it says Kitchen 66. Walking inside, you are visually confronted with a TGIF looking interior with a black and white checkerboard floor. An old gas pump that looked like it was found in the middle of the New Mexico desert was next to the door. Random bits of old american signage and trinkets were hanging on the wall. And there were several cityscape pictures of New York and Chicago too. I ordered a spicy burger (i believe some jalapeno and Chipotle were involved) and some one else ordered a pizza. The burger turned out to be excellent! Big patties, juicy, cooked slightly under medium and a great spicy tangy sauce. I wish they asked how I wanted my burger cooked though, as i do like it a little more pink. The burger bun to meat ratio was good. However they toasted the bun on the outside not the inside. I don't really think there is an edible difference, but it's a new method I've never seen. Perhaps it's to keep the crisp from being "sogged" from the juices of the burger. The other burger was the bacon cheeseburger, with one lonely strip of bacon. How stingy of them! The fries were OK. I like the seasoned fries from 1885 better. The pizza on the other hand was a huge disappointment. It had the thinnest crust I have ever seen. I mean cheap cracker thin! Can you even call it a crust? Someone please teach the Taiwanese how to make a proper pizza crust. Why do the Taiwanese people like this brittle flavorless cracker crust that can barely hold the weight of it's cheap corner cutting ingredients on top (peas and string beans...really!?). Moving on, I also saw they had fish and chips. I'll have to try that next time as one of my new culinary hunts in Taiwan is to find a good fish and chips joint. I'm skeptical, because even in the States, it's hard to find a decent fish and chips place. For now, stick to their burgers and use the pizza as a frisbee.


Kitchen 66
台北市溫州街74巷3弄11號
No. 11, Alley 3, Lane 74, Wēnzhōu Street, Daan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 106

金色三麥 Leble'dor

The day for my one year anniversary with Yuki is coming up. However with the coming arrival of my parents next week, we thought this weekend would be a last time to celebrate it privately. So for dinner we decided to go to a Taiwanese german restaurant at the top floor of the Q Square mall. It's called Leble'dor. It's a famous Taiwanese beer brand that is heavily influenced by the german art of beer. It was first introduced to me at CitySuper market in Sogo Tianmu by a sales representative. It tasted awesome! I mean Taiwan beer (the brand) has it's merits, but not for it's superior taste. The beer brewers at Leble'dor really did their research. It's some great tasting beer similar to what you'd find with American microbrews like Blue Moon, Fat Tire, Longboard or Anchor Steam. So we were much anticipating our first experience to eat and drink there (on tap). Walking in, the interior design is reminiscent of a log cabin/wine cellar. With wood logs, iron fencing, stone, wood barrels and candle chandeliers, it really gives off a warm cozy atmosphere. first things first, two 40oz steins of seasonal beer please! The selections were Hefe-weizen, Honey, Dunkel, Seasonal Lager. Looking through the menu, it's' mainly a mish-mash of fusion asian, german and american fare. Pizza, salads, bratwursts, onion rings, steaks, fries, pasta, hot pot, soup and mexican. We ordered a mix of food + one recommended: the garlic beer-flavored shrimps (recommended), beef steak with sauce, onion rings. The food turned out pretty good. Well as far as onion rings, steak and fries goes. Perhaps because I've been an American for too long, I don't find a good set of fries, onion rings and steak as that special. But I'll give Leble'dor credit in that, those were one of the best fries and onion rings i've had so far in Taipei. Next time I really want to try out their pork knuckles, german sausage platter and grilled chicken leg cartilage. The only disappointing part is the most shocking to me. The beer! It still has the same great taste that I had at Sogo, but they served it mildly cold. Beer needs to be served ice cold! I asked the waiter if he could bring me back an ice cold one, but he said that's the temperature they keep their refrigerator at. So much research and development went into some great beer that the Taiwanese can call their own, and they shoot themselves in the foot by serving it under chilled :(. Their own bottle even says serve chilled at 5° C. I definitely want to revisit this restaurant in the future. I love the beer and the menu looks delicious (albeit more american than german), but please oh please put my beer in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving it to me. As a side note, You can go to the many other Lebre'dor locations around Taiwan and buy the liter bottles of any of the four varieties. The Sogo CitySuper in Tianmu seems to only sell the Lager and Dunkel.

金色三麥 Leble'dor
台北市承德路一段一號4樓
02-7737-0909
www.lebledor.com.tw

金色三麥 Leble'dor (XinYi Eslite Mall)
台北市信義區松高路11號B1
02-8789-5911

金色三麥 Leble'dor (Miramar Mall)
台北市內湖區敬業三路20號5F
02-2175-3739

金色三麥 Leble'dor (BanQiao)
新北市板橋區新站路28號9樓

Oh I want my Baby Back Ribs!

For the last of the three restaurants and for American food, we went to Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill. FINALLY, I get to go to this place after passing by it several times and reading about it online. Not only is it known for it's western food and western portions, but it praises itself in representing a Chicago style restaurant. Being born and raised in Chicago, I was very eager to try to place out. So after a fine afternoon at Maokong, we headed down to the closest station. Nanjing East Road MRT station. It's called 芝加哥餐廳 in Chinese, which directly translated just means Chicago Restaurant. Lame. Anyways, to begin, the decor is very old school Italian steakhouse. This is true to Chicago. There's heavy influence of Italians in Chicago so a lot of the steak houses have that similar dimly lit, red leather covered booths with high wall seat back made of wood. If you've been to a Maggiano's before, it's similar to that. Although we basically went to for steak, looking at the menu, they also offer hamburgers, salads and pastas. I didn't see any deep dish pizzas or Vienna hot dogs, but this is supposed to be in the fashion of a grill house, not a pizzeria. But it'd be nice to have a real Chicago style deep dish pizza in Taipei wouldn't it? I'd be the first to line up for it. We ordered crab cakes for appetizers, then for the main course; filet mignon, prime rib and baby back ribs (full slab) for myself. They are big portions! I've gotten too used to the asian portions, i've forgotten how large the portion size was in the states. Now I know how I got fat. The filet mignon was tender and juicy from what Yuki's mom said. The prime rib was bloody and it did come with a cup of it's own juices to use for dipping. However they did not offer horseradish, but I never asked for it either. I ordered the baby back ribs however. It's been a while since I had a good slab. Although it was quite tasty, it was no 18 hour fall-off-the-bone smoked ribs. But I'll still give it credit, with the help of a fork and a knife, the juicy meat did scrap off cleanly. They do offer garlic fries, but only as a independent order. The service is ok and they did know English since they probably have their share of american foreigners visit. This place will put a hurt on the pocket book though. Expect the damages to be around $500-1000 per person depending on appetizers, drinks and desserts ordered. I recommend this place, it's excellent. I'd bring my friends back here once I have the cash flow and a larger belt. I've also heard of another western restaurant called Carnegie's, although it's more of a Bennigans/TGIF party atmosphere than the gentlemen's grill house that Dan Ryan's is. Until my next epicurean adventure...good night!

Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill (芝加哥餐廳)
105台灣台北市松山區敦化北路8號
02-2778-8800

*Note: While at Dan Ryan's they informed us that they're moving to Xinyi district near 101, inside of a mall. So the independent location listed above will be closed by January 2012.

NY Bagel in Taipei?

Today, I joined my cousins again for a lunch at NY Bagel on Section 4, RenAi Rd. It's a multilevel 24 hour american style diner. It has pasta, salads, steaks, burgers, milkshakes and of course bagels. I'm comparing it to Noah's bagels from the Bay Area, but it's nothing like it. Noah's bagel is more or less a fast food place, limited tables, mostly order-out. NY Bagels Cafe Taipei is an elegant sit-down restaurant. They had a eclectic menu and I had difficulty with choosing what to eat. So i decided with a steak & pasta (i forgot the name).The meat was cooked perfect, but the taste wasn't quite there. Perhaps it's just the difference between asian cow and texas cow or the type of fire they use. Either way, I still enjoyed it. And being 24 hours, is a great place to eat when the Taipei night life shuts down after 2AM.