Yogurt Art

Address: No. 14, Alley 8, Lane 216, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd, Daan District
Telephone: (02) 8771-5366
Hours: 11:30am to 10pm
Price: $ (depending on size and weight)

Delicious, cold, nonfat, calcium packed, and just a third the calories of normal ice cream, frozen yogurt is the perfect summer treat. I've visited several "froyo" joints in Taipei, but there aren't many good DIY places with reasonable prices. A friend suggested Yogurt Art and now, I'm hooked.

There are a variety of different flavors at Yogurt Art (40 to be exact), though there are only eight available at any one time. The flavors change with the season and when I visited a couple days ago, the choices were country vanilla, cable car chocolate, ripe strawberry, Oreo, cinnamon apple pie, summer fruit, berry tart, and plain tart. Because you're paying by weight ($56 NT per 100 grams), there are no rules or stipulations concerning mixing and matching yogurt flavors. How about equal parts Oreo, chocolate, and strawberry? Sounds like a delicious twist on a Neapolitan to me!

Every froyo machine has two different flavors, and there's a middle lever that will swirl the two flavors together, making your job of creating the perfect dessert even easier. After thinking about it, I decided I really needed some cinnamon apple pie in my life (sorry Neapolitan). Filling my cup a little more than I should have, I headed over to the toppings.

 There are over 20 toppings and I'm not going to name them all, but some memorable ones are kiwi, mango, granola, gummy bears, Oreo pieces, waffle cone pieces, chocolate chips, sprinkles, strawberries, mochi balls, marshmallows, M&Ms, and Fruit Loops. I sprinkled some Oreo pieces, chocolate chips, and granola onto my cinnamon apple pie and went to weight and pay. 

Yikes! Almost 300 grams! My total came to $134 NT; not bad, but I couldn't believe how quickly all those grams added up! Digging in, I was reminded of Mixx in Boston. The yogurt is really flavorful without being overly sweet. There's no hint of tartness, but you're not going into a sugar coma either. The toppings actually went together quite well (I was a little surprised). The Oreos and chocolate chips were as mouth-watering as I imagined, and the granola really brought out the cinnamon apple pie flavor. It was a little like eating a chocolate apple crumble. 

My only complaint concerns the raisins in the granola. They were rock solid. I definitely thought I might need dental work after that first twinge-inducing bite. Afterwards, I was careful to sift through the granola and pick out the offending raisins. 

With delicious yogurt, varied toppings, DIY freedom, no service charge, and a rewards card, Yogurt Art will certainly become a fixture in my life. The reward card lasts for four months and, within that time limit, you must purchase nine cups of yogurt to reap the reward. Reward: the tenth cup is discounted ($100 NT off the price of the tenth one). What with the money saved and the calories a third of ice cream, walk over to Uniqlo and go crazy! Visit their website for more info and other locations.

Haricot

Address: Lane 233, Section 1, Dūnhuà South Road, Daan District
Telephone: (02) 2773-7111
Hours: 10am to 10pm, days not listed
Price: $$

On beautiful sunny days, I really just want to find a nice cafe with outdoor seating and read. In Taipei, that's more difficult than one would imagine. Many a Taiwanese eatery lacks outdoor seating; those with outdoor seating have only one or two tables (and nine times out of ten, those tables are already occupied). So, more often than not, I find myself back at Haricot, enjoying their outdoor seating area all to myself.

Settling in to my usual table outdoors, the waitress brings me the menu, but asks if I want my usual (the smoked salmon panini for $240 NT). Sure, why not? Disappearing to get my usual glass of ice water, she leaves the drink menu, in case I deviate from my pattern. Nope.

As the breeze picks up, I can't help but wonder why outdoor dining isn't more of a thing here. There are entire months in Taiwan when the weather is absolutely perfect. Temperature, humidity, wind speed; everything perfect. My smoked salmon panini arrives with a side of french fries and a salad.

The  salad is quite good. A lot of iceberg lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and some cabbage. There aren't any tomatoes or other assorted fruits and vegetables, but I'm not too picky in this regard. There is a light balsamic dressing drizzled on top which I thoroughly enjoy ... until I see all the oil at the bottom of the plate. Then I feel slightly guilty.

The panini itself is made of toasted wheat bread and consists of iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, salmon, capers, and very light cream cheese (so light as to be almost imperceptible). This sandwich tastes as healthy as it looks. Finally! I can eat something in Taipei and not agonize over the calorie content! I absolutely love this panini (though the bread isn't what I would typically recognize as "panini bread") and it's obvious to me why this is my "usual". 

The french fries are perfectly cooked, as referenced in my last Haricot review, and the ketchup rendered superfluous. Some things never change, and these french fries are reason alone to visit and return to this Dunhua eatery. 

Dining at Haricot previously, I have received several glasses of tea on the house. On this particular occasion, I received a water "upgrade". The staff is so nice here and the owner always makes a point to talk to me and ask me how everything in my life is going. I believe that Haricot is to Taipei what Cheers is to Boston sans alcohol. My bill came to $264 NT with the 10% service charge, and I promise that next time, I'll step out of my comfort zone and eat something else.... Maybe the ham and cheese panini.

Haricot

Address: Lane 233, Section 1, Dūnhuà South Road, Daan District
Telephone: (02) 2773-7111
Hours: 10am to 10pm, days not listed
Price: $$

Since I'm always on the lookout for good food in Dunhua, I was surprised to see a restaurant I didn't recognize almost right across the street from Ginjer. Haricot had a cute look ("a little old, a little new" as the owner put it), and the menu outside boasted European cuisine at reasonable prices for the area. 

Haricot has a chic rustic look and tries without trying too hard. While the tables and flooring were a synchronized cedar, the chairs and light fixtures were a tasteful hodgepodge. Though the interior was more "Alaskan lodge" than "European cafe", I really appreciated the effort put into the design and layout. With the soft jazz music in the background, I spent the better part of the afternoon enjoying the ambiance.

On the menu, I noticed the continental, John Dory, and deluxe breakfast sets were served all day and seemed to list an insane amount of food. So insane, in fact, I decided to forgo the continental breakfast and its pancakes, cheese omelet, bacon, ham, potatoes, salad, garlic bread (why garlic bread?), and coffee. Instead, I chose the smoked salmon panini ($240 NT). Unfortunately, the restaurant hadn't yet received the delivery of panini bread. So after the owner apologized and gave me an iced tea on the house to ease my suffering, I chose the Swiss cheeseburger ($260 NT) and a cup of illy coffee ($120 NT).

 

When my plate arrived, I dug into the salad, seasoned with a strawberry balsamic dressing. I liked that the dressing was a little out of the ordinary; salads here tend to come with the same, bland ranch or Caesar dressings. The French fries had really been fried! They were hot, crispy, and probably 1,000 calories in and of themselves. Delicious. And lastly, the burger itself. I'm quite pleased to report that the Swiss cheese was actually sliced from a block of cheese and didn't taste processed or plastic-y like certain brands of cheese (I'm referencing you, Kraft). The bun had been lightly buttered and toasted and was delectable. The lettuce, onions, and tomatoes were all fresh and plentiful; absolutely no complaints. The burger actually had two hamburger patties, one on top of the Swiss cheese (as shown) and another (complete with an additional slice of Swiss cheese) underneath all the lettuce. Take a good look at that hamburger patty. Aside from the dollop of barbecue sauce, what do you see? That's right. The patty doesn't look like the standard fast food fare. This is at once encouraging and discouraging. 

Don't get me wrong, I hate pink slime hamburger patties as much as the next girl, but whenever I encounter a patty that looks drastically different from what I'm used to eating, I wonder, "Is this 'hamburger' more fake than the fast food hamburgers, or is it more natural?". Usually one bite is all it takes. Biting into my burger, I couldn't quite figure it out; was this a half-beef, half-turkey burger? was this a frozen, store-bought patty? was this some bizarre new organic beef burger my palate wasn't accustomed to? I was perplexed. Summation: the burger components were delicious, it was just the beef that gave me pause. That being said, I will most certainly go back to Haricot for that smoked salmon panini.

The menu is in English and Chinese, there are pictures accompanying every item, and there's a 10% service charge. In case you're a little curious about the menu, Haricot took over Posh Burgers. The owner told me that Haricot opened in January and retained most of the wait staff and Posh's menu items, but added a wider variety of pastas and beverages. In fact, I think the owner of Haricot was the owner of Posh Burgers. Since Posh was a sinking ship, I didn't think it polite to ask her if she was the previous owner (and she was very sweet and gave me a 10% discount for my next visit). Haricot claims to have a website at haricot.com.tw, but punch this into your browser and you'll come up empty-handed. Because it's just getting off the ground, there aren't any other reviews online and the only mention of Haricot you'll find is here.