Zee Live House

After that long week of bike riding I was ready for a proper meal. Like a big hunk of meat proper meal. Fortunately my parents wanted to go to a restaurant that my mom liked. She went to it with her friends the day before for lunch and was quiet impressed by it. It's in the Dongqu area 東區 (near Zhongxiao DunHua MRT station). We went for dinner and found out the dinner and lunch menu are different in meal as well as pricing. It's a difference from $500NT to $800 NT+. It's a quaint place until around 10 pm I think. Around 10pm they dim the lights, close the curtains, put away the buffet and the live band comes in and starts to warm up. But before that, you can enjoy the quiet atmosphere as well as the splendidly european decorated design of the first and second floor. After ordering my german pork knuckle dinner, they informed me I can help myself to the small buffet in the back. The small buffet table, in front of the glass windowed kitchen, has a salad bar, fruit bar, some cheese and an assortment of western cake desserts (ie. tiramisu). My dinner...superb. Nice crispy charred skin on my pork knuckle that peels away to reveal the juicy tender burgundy pork meet underneath. I do have to mention that they could have cooked it slower, to allow for a more fall off the bone meat. If you want that fall off the bone pork knuckle meat, i'd suggest going to Waterfront restaurant in Danshui. Excellent example of pork knuckle there! Overall it's a nice two level European style fusion restaurant with a live band with a warm well decorated atmosphere. Pricing is a bordering expensive (for a local), but it won't break the bank. It's in a great location in Dongqu, a very popular and rich area to venture out to. There are plenty of other upscale restaurants, boutiques, cafe's and delicatessens here much like Zee Live House.

Zee Live House
台北市敦化南路一段190巷12號
(02）27118766 and (02）27710260
http://www.zeelive.com.tw

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