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

1885 Burger

Yesterday I was out looking for 1885 Burger and was unable to find this fabled burger joint. So I rechecked the google maps and finally found this new burger establishment near Shida night market today after school. From what I hear, there's been several burger joints popping up around Taipei in the past few years. All competing for the best burger in town. 1885 is one of them. Hidden away in a small corner off Heping road, is a decent sized restaurant with a big obvious banner saying "1885 Burger". When Yuki and I got there, there was a line outside and a 30 minute wait. But they called us in after only 10 minutes. I ordered a blue cheese burger. The patties were small, but seem to be genuinely hand-packed as it didn't have a hockeypuck shape and sized differed between each burger. They have daily specials and the atmosphere was very rustic. The only two negatives i have to point out is the patty size and the blue cheese was runny and not thick and clumpy like it should be. But the taste was all there! I still think Allen&Dickenson's has it beat by a very small margin. The fries at 1885 are excellent too. Each burger comes with fries in a tin bucket. The majority of the burgers run from $180-230 ($40 extra for unlimited refill drinks). Overall an enjoyable experience. I forgot to check if they have beer. You need a beer with your burger if it's a friday night! To the next burger joint!

No. 24之1號, PǔChéng Street, Daan District
Taipei City, Taiwan

The KGB

Tonight's recommendation comes from my friend Andrew. Since he's a New Zealander aka Kiwi, he has a relationship with this restaurant. It's called, KGB, Kiwi Gourmet Burger. Yes, i know, KGB, CIA...harhar. The backstory is that a native Kiwi decided to stopover in Taiwan for 3 months on his way to London. He ended up staying here permanently and still hasn't been to London. These kind of stories are sounding all too familiar now a days. Anyways, this special little Kiwi burger joint is not in the Shida night market, but it is on Shida Road across from the Watsons drug store. The burgers are uniquely created and delicious! For example,

Lamb Burger – a NZ lamb patty with honey lemon feta, tsaziki and a sliced cucumber.

CC Heaven – smooth creamy camembert cheese covered with cranberry sauce. It’s thanksgiving on a burger. Great with beef or chicken or the walnut lentil patty.

Doesn't that sound mouthwatering? Although it was a little over my $300 NT daily student budget, it's definitely worth it. Perhaps I'll be a more frequent visitor once I get a paycheck. It sits about 20+ patrons with one table outside. The waitresses are cute ;) and I think there is free Wifi. Sorry no pictures. You'll have to just check it out yourselves one day.

Allen & Dickson Diner

Today a classmate of mine recommended a burger place in the Shida market. Allen & Dickson Diner. It's a small place out in the back of one of the alleys. The interior is decorated with old american tin advertisements from the 50's to the 70's. There's also a big surfboard mounted to the wall as well as other trinkets, giving off a coastal vibe. I tried one of their burgers, the house special burger.Oooh! This is the best burger i've had since leaving California. It's better than Evan's burger by far. It still has room for improvement, but it's still pretty delicious. The patty is still not hand-packed, but it's definitely equal to the american size. The lettuce is the big negative. It looks like they just cut a chunk out and threw it in, instead of picking out the flat leaves that would make the burger more "level". The fries are above average. Thick and golden. But it's missing a little of the saltness and crispiness i'm looking for. Still, for being so convenient to me across from my MTC campus, it's a great find. Prices range into the $300 NT with a drink. I've been told of other burger joints nearby though. ie, The Diner, KGB burger, JB burger, 1885 burger...so this place will definitely try to hold it's own against those restaurants. We'll see as the battle for superior burger continues...to be continued.

Shopping for a leather jacket

Today after class, I helped my friend Jerry with his english report on the KMT-CCP revolution. It took a while and his english is much better than I expected. His report is about college level and uses a lot of scholastic words I rarely use. I really had to use my brain on this one. After about one and a half hours, we finally finished. But Jerry had to leave early, so he treated me to dinner at Evans Burger. I had a country fried steak. Never tried that before in Taiwan. It turned out to be ...eh so-so. Delicious but still small and taiwanese flavored. Not the real american country flavor to it. Probably missing the deep fry in the week old oil slathered with artery clogging gravy. Evan's burger version tasted almost ...healthy? Afterwards, I did some quick shopping around Shida night market for a [fake] leather jacket. It's getting cold here in Taipei and I need some thicker threads. I found two i liked, one is a little plain and the other has a really high collar (probably too fashionable for my tastes). I'll get some opinions, but the search continues.

Evans Burger

Finally got around to trying out a burger at Evans Burger. They serve salads, hot dogs, chicken burgers, fish burgers... I had a chili burger with jalapenos. I love japapenos in my burgers haha! Overall, It was ok. Pretty good for Taiwan, so-so for an american burger. The meat could be thicker. Despite not asking for how I wanted my burger cooked, it still came medium rare. And it is definitly cheaper. $240 NTD for a burger, 4oz of fries and free refillable soda. There was a line there, but the wait wasn't too long. The atmosphere was like a TGIF and is a great place to hang out for a while chatting (聊天) away with friends. I didn't have my camera again this time, so this is from my iPhone. So...sure, I'd come back with a few friends. Yummy burgers!

ShiDa (師大路夜市) night market next to NTNU

I visited the ShiDa night market for the first time tonight. It's right across the street from the MTC campus and next to the NTNU campus, so I may be frequenting this night market once school starts. It's a small night market, but still has plenty great food to offer. I've noticed that each night market have additional unique offerings that can't be found at other night markets. So it's important to explore all the night markets. The night market you decide to go to on a specific night, just might depend on what your craving at that moment. A few of the foods I haven't seen at other night markets is a giant desert crepe place. The crepes were the size of my head. Definitly a sharing size! I also discovered a belgium style lounge/pub (serving beer of course), Hong Kong puff pastry stand, Taiwanese beef noodle soup and a burger joint called Evans Burger. Of course the finest catch of the evening is Stinky Tofu! I found a place there that is pretty darn good. I think the best i've had so far. I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any photos to share.