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

Irodori 鮨彩 @ Megacity

There's a new mall that has opened in Banqiao. It's part of the FE21 chain and is called MegaCity 大遠百. It's right accross from the Banqiao MRT station and New Taipei City City Hall and fairly close to the original FE21 mall. The new mall is a very modern took with outward slanted windows. The courtyard in front has been remodeled to include a lower level atrium and a giant Christmas tree in the middle. The Interior design of the food court area is awesome. It's modeled after Venice. So there are Venetian boats in a water filled canal, a 3 story Venetian building facade and lamps, pillars and walkways all tying into the theme. In fact I shouldn't say it's the food court, but the restaurant avenue. The basement floor is the food court. Don't worry, they created another themed world of visual delight there too. The Food Republic, the name of the food court, is painstakingly modeled from ceiling to floor to resemble the 40's era of China/Taiwan. They have rustic store fronts, with wood paneling, clay shingles and wooden beams. The old wooden chairs, lanterns, and various decorative items (including some old rusty bikes and straw baskets) help bring the atmosphere back 70 years. It's part museum and the coolest food court I know of in Taipei. But moving on, my parents, my cousin and I decided to try out one of the restaurants on the Venetian floor (9th i think). However it's Chinese New Years and most of the restaurants were booked, limiting our choices. Fortunately we were able to get a table at Irodori Sushi, one of our top choices. The interior resembles a simple and humble Japanese restaurant, not thing to elaborate much about. After sitting, we quickly decided on a set meal for 4. It turned out to be way too much food. After the salad, vegetables sticks and loads of sushi, there was still the hot pot. The beef that the hot pot came with probably weighed in over 2 kilograms. If you click through to the original image size, you may be able to make out the thickness of the pile 'o meat. Consequently, less than half way in, we all quit and called for a doggie bag. The quality of the sushi was excellent and the presentation was great. The bill ran into just under $1000 NT per person, so it's not going to be a cheap meal unless you stay away from the sushi. But note for the future, the set meal for four can definitely be split more thinly with 5 or even 6 people. The price will definitely be worth it for five people. Nice place overall and recommended. Great Venetian atmosphere, great service and perfect for a lazy saturday after some shopping (for people with fat wallets). Perhaps I appreciate it more that it's not on my checkbook. So big thanks, Mom and Dad!

*MegaCity Venetian floor and Food Republic picture credit goes to http://www.wretch.cc/blog/bajenny. Thank you!

Irodori Sushi 鮨彩 in the Banqiao Mega City Department store
新北市板橋區新站路28號9樓(板橋大遠百)
http://www.zoe-grp.com/irodorisushi

Lin Family gardens

Today, we went to Lin Family gardens in Banqiao, New Taipei City, Taiwan. We joined her coworkers for a full day of relaxing and strolling through the gardens and the old houses of the Lin family. "The Garden was built during 1888 to 1893 and it is the only classic garden as historical site. It is also the well-kept model building representing gardens and residences of Qing Dynasty. Its garden scenes are inspired by Chinese traditional gardens as well as the style of south of Yangtze. The place is eloquent and is listed as 2nd degree historical site." The size of the property, various architecture, ponds, artwork, flowers make this a worthwhile visit. They also have occasional traditional art performances. Last time I visited, I was unable to catch a show, but this time I was able to catch a traditional chinese puppet show. Afterwards we headed into the traditional market nearby called HuangShi (黃石市場). There, Yuki's coworkers introduced us to many famous food stands. The famous squid soup shop, breakfast shop, shaved ice shop. Unfortunately the market was too big for me to remember where they were. Traditional markets like these are really off a tourists radar and "local". With no street names and similar looking street stall really make you depend on local Taiwanese help. Of course, you can also just follow the lines of people outside of the famous stands. Here's a picture of the squid soup place. Hard to miss that line wrapping around the corner! I thoroughly enjoyed my day. Thanks to Yuki's local tour guide friends for showing me the local side of Banqiao instead of the typical Far-Eastern mall and Global mall that I visited earlier this year.I hope to revisit this place as it's very convenient to get to. It's just a short skip and a hop away from the Fuzhong MRT station (捷運府中站) on the blue line.

*Photos taken from Google Images

Lin Family Garden (http://en.linfamily.tpc.gov.tw/html/enlinfamily/visit/visit.jsp)
No.9, Ximen St., Banqiao Dist., New Taipei City 22056, Taiwan

黃石市場
No. 37號, Gōngkǒu Street, Banciao District
New Taipei City, Taiwan 220

Banqiao, Taiwan

Today, Yuki introduced me to Banqiao. It's a newly developing city just outside of Taipei city, in New Taipei City. We visited two large malls there. The FE21 mall and the MRT station Global mall. The FE21 mall is like any other mall in Taipei, but Yuki and I agree it was more comfortable. Possible due to less traffic and feeling of a slower pace. It doesn't feel as busy and rushed as the malls in Taipei. It's possible the racks and walkways were wider. The FE21 is still a very upscale mall. Moving on to the Global mall, It's attached to the Banqiao MRT station, which makes it very convenient to get to. It's smaller, will only two floors and basement with mostly food. But the wooden desk atrium full of cafe's and restaurants was what made it stand out in my mind. It has large skywindows to allow as much sunlight to enter the long atrium. In addition the large planted trees, wooden deck, patio furniture and a neat line of cafes and restaurants give off a very relaxed, outdoor feeling. Afterwards, we decided to stick around for the Banqiao night market. Don't be fooled by the distance, thinking you have to take the next MRT stop to get closer. It's close enough to just walk there. Although I didn't find anything particularly special to this night market, it was good to find another large night market that I haven't explored yet. Overall, I get a much more different, relaxed vibe from this developing city. I'll definitely consider coming back. Although it's so close to Taipei and it's still a city, I got the same feeling as when I first arrived in Taipei. On top of that, it only costs me an MRT fare to get here. A whole new city for me to explore. The Taiwan discovery never stops. *Photo taken from "Taiwan High Rises" photo group.

Global Mall
Banqiao MRT station

FE21 Mall
No. 152號, Section 1, ZhōngShān Road, Banciao District
Xinbei City, Taiwan 220

Banqiao Night Market
Nanya East Road (南雅東路) 2 blocks west of the MRT line.