Big Tom

Address: 2F., No. 233-2, Zhongzheng Road, Danshui

Telephone: (02) 2626-1622

Hours: ?

Price: $

  So over the holiday I wanted to get out of the city a little bit. I went to Danshui (not too far out there on the red line) and ate at one of my favorite cafes. Danshui is known for its delicious street food and there's a lot of fantastic cuisine around every bend. When you've had your share of chòu dòufu and want to sit somewhere to take it all in, I recommend Big Tom's cafe.

What Big Tom lacks in number, it makes up for in location. There aren't many of these cafes around the island, but what little there are are in high traffic locations i.e. Taipei 101 observatory, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The one in Danshui is a cozy little affair that occupies the second and third story of a building right on the waterfront. The view is absolutely breath-taking at sunset and it's a good opportunity to snag some scenery photos.

The day I went to Danshui happened to be a little chilly and overcast, so I decided to order a hot brown sugar caramel latte ($85 NT) and a fresh waffle with maple syrup ($90 NT). The latte came first and was topped off with the customary foam. On top of the foam was a thin layer of brown sugar. Absolutely divine! I liked that the brown sugar wasn't just dumped into the latte. You had the option of stirring it in or waiting for it to dissolve, thereby controlling the sweetness of the latte (a little).

I tend to forget that there are some places in the world that take the word "latte" seriously. In Italian the word "latte" means "milk", so if you order a latte in Italy you will not be getting a cup of coffee with milk. At Big Tom, a brown sugar caramel latte is essentially a shot of espresso with a lot of steamed milk and foam. Regardless of its coffee to milk ratio, the drink is delicious and I definitely wasn't disappointed!

The waffle, piping hot and dusted with chocolate powder, arrived shortly after my latte. Let it be known that this cafe has the best service of almost any cafe I've been to in Taipei. The servers are friendly, quick, and have a good attention to detail. I've never been kept waiting more than a couple minutes for anything at any time of day.

 The waffle didn't come with butter, but there was a small dollop of whipped cream on the side (and an edible, chocolate "Big Tom Ice Cream" wafer). The waffle is typical of Taiwanese waffles. It has a cake-like consistency and isn't as fluffy or light as an American style waffle. This being said, I enjoyed my afternoon tea meal. It was the perfect thing to combat a cold, grey day. I wish it had been a little warmer and then I would've been in the mood to sample some of their ice cream flavors!

Big Tom offers a variety of flavors like cookies and cream, marionberry cheesecake, Oregon wild strawberry, banana walnut, and green tea. Two scoops (in a waffle bowl, I believe?) are $198 NT, and pints are $320 NT. They also sell floats, sundaes, bagels, and ice cream making classes (subject to location). 

The staff is fabulous and the menu is in English and Chinese. I've never had to use the restroom in this location and, that being said, I'm not sure where they would have room to put one. This is going to be my last post for the next week as I have quite the work week in front of me! If you want to know more about Big Tom, check out their website.

Swensen's

Address: No. 109號, Section 4, Rén'ài Road, Daan District

Telephone: (02) 2772-6174

Hours: 24 hours

Price: $$

Well a little researching could have saved me from making this mistake. As I've mentioned, it's Chinese New Year week so many of the places I want to review are closed until Friday or Saturday. In the meantime I decided to review an American chain restaurant I've seen a couple times. Swensen's is an old-fashioned San Franciscan restaurant that serves shakes, root beer floats, cheeseburgers, and other classic American dishes.

 The interior is a little reminiscent of an Applebee's with the dark color scheme and classic Tiffany-esque chandeliers. I like that the seating mainly comprised of booths, not tables. This restaurant is smaller than I was expecting, and I noticed several parties of three or more waiting in the lobby. I researched Swensen's online menu to get an idea of what would be served, how much it would cost, etc. The website is simply swensens.com so instantly I knew it would probably prove less than helpful. In Taipei, Swensen's serves everything from steak to curry to pasta to tuna melts to fish and chips. There are four types of burgers, three types of melts, and two types of curry, so the choices under a particular heading are sparse. 

I ordered a chocolate milkshake ($199 NT) and thought that the waiter would come back for my food order. Seeing him wait beside my table, I told him I didn't know what I wanted. He said that that was okay and he would just wait for me to make up my mind. I'm not really good at deciding what I want to eat with members of the wait staff standing over me and waiting for me to make up my mind. I hastily pointed at something in the direction of the sandwich section and gave him my menu.

My meal arrived sans milkshake. I thought that maybe it would be served as my dessert, but it arrived a little while later. I wished the milkshake was served as an appetizer or as a regular beverage that comes before a meal, but to each his own. Also, I had apparently ordered a mushroom burger ($280, "set menu" $420 NT). Fine by me. The burger was definitely American-sized and looked delicious!

The first thing I noticed about the plate was a surprising lack of potato wedges. Are they rationing them out? I had exactly eleven wedges which was a little disappointing. The burger itself was okay. The bun was by far the most memorable part of the dish! It was lightly buttered and toasted, perfectly fluffy, and served as an additional "condiment carrier" for the chives, grated cheese, and sour cream. I can't really explain this burger, so I've made a list of pros and cons. Pros: fresh lettuce, toasted bun, melted swiss cheese. Cons: soggy-beyond-recognition tomato, lukewarm burger, unexpected presence of chives, sour cream, and grated cheese. In Swensen's defense, perhaps the chives, sour cream, and grated cheese WERE mentioned on the menu and, in my haste, I didn't see this. 

As I was eating, I noticed many diners had ordered the "set menu" of practically all dishes. The set menu differs slightly depending on what you're ordering but for the sandwiches, "International Favorites" (like Hungarian goulash and fish and chips), and curry, the set menu includes a beverage, soup, salad, main entree, and a dessert. Maybe this is why I had eleven potato wedges? 

Anyway, the chocolate milkshake was delicious! It wasn't too watery or milky and tasted like a good ol' Swensen's chocolate milkshake. Swensen's Taipei has an ice cream bar, but the flavors have changed to reflect Asian preferences. For example, there's no cookie dough, macadamia, Rocky Road, cantaloupe, Wild Mountain blackberry, bubblegum, almond praline delight, etc. but there are red bean, yam (taro), Japanese green tea, lychee sherbet, and Brandy Bordeaux cherry flavors. I like that Swensen's has "Taiwanese" flavors of ice cream but was too full to sample any of them.

Will I be coming back to Swensen's? Sadly no. If I need an American food fix, I'll head over to the Diner or Carnegie's. Fun side note; as I ate, I couldn't help but notice Jay Z was rapping in the background. It was such a weird juxtaposition to be sitting in a Swensen's and listening to "Niggas In Paris". Okay, maybe "Paris" wasn't playing, but still. 

I'm not sure how well individual staff members speak English, but the menu is in English, so just point if all else fails. There's a 10% service charge and there's a $100 NT per person minimum. If you want to know more about Swensen's locations in Taiwan, check out the international website at http://www.swensens.com/