The Door

Address: No. 26, Lane 57, Dàzhí St, Jhongshan District
Telephone: (02) 8509-8786
Hours: Sun - Thurs 10am to 9pm, Fri - Sat 10am to 10pm
Price: $$

Who would've thought an American diner such a lucrative concept in Taipei? Well, apparently, everyone. And they're right on the money.

In my new favorite part of town, there's an offshoot of the popular "the Diner" called the Door. Tucked down a tree-lined lane in Dàzhí, the Door is in a picturesque neighborhood. Walking from the Dàzhí MRT, you get the feeling that you're in Portland. What with all the college kids from Shih Chien University, tree-lined avenues, free Wi-fi cafes, bookstores, and small parks and green spaces, it's as close as you'll come to the real thing.

the Door is significantly smaller than the Diner and has only eleven tables inside, some able to accommodate five people easily, while others can accommodate two at best. Arriving on a Sunday around 2pm, I was told there was a 20 minute wait. So, I headed down to Kooka Coffee (yup, you read that right) for a cold latte; more on that later.

Taking a seat at my table for two, I immediately ordered the Asparagus and Chicken Omelette ($250 NT). I'm working my way through their amazing omelets and this one was next on the list. The omelets come with a choice of white or wheat bread, hash browns or potatoes O'Brien, and coffee or tea. There's a complimentary glass of kiwi juice that comes with each omelet order, a small cup of assorted fruit, and all omelets are made with organic eggs.

Several minutes later, my breakfast arrived, smelling divine. Tucking into the potatoes O'Brien, I was initially overwhelmed with the seasoning. There was a lot of salt and pepper on the potatoes and, though the potatoes weren't soggy, there was more oil than I'd care to see at the bottom of the plate. This was the first time I've had a less than wonderful experience with the potatoes O'Brien, so I'll definitely order them next time despite my latest disappointment.

If there's one thing the Door does right, it's most certainly the omelets. Fluffy and delicious, these omelets never disappoint (I should probably knock on wood). The eggs are cooked enough so that they aren't raw, but not so cooked as to taste like rubber. You immediately notice the cheese! It's the glue that holds the whole delightful concoction together. It's warm, gooey, flavorful, and present throughout the omelet, not just stuffed in the middle.

The diced chicken pieces are huge and lightly seasoned, adding another dimension to the omelet. My only minuscule complaint is that the asparagus pieces were quite tiny, a little lacking in quantity, and I had envisioned asparagus heads as being in the omelet, though this was never specified. Also, the onions got a little lost in the sauce, as the saying goes; but overall, I was immensely satisfied.

The wheat bread was lightly toasted and the whipped butter on the side was appreciated. Not wanting to leave, despite my hour-and-a-half-long stay, I decided to order myself a treat (as if a huge omelet wasn't enough). I debated between the milkshakes, nachos, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, until I remembered the list of imported sodas.

the Door serves three imported sodas ($60 NT for a 12 fl oz. can): Dr. Pepper, A&W Root Beer, and ... Mountain Dew? I've forgotten the last one. My eyes probably glazed over after reading Dr. Pepper. I ordered one and was tempted by the waitress to turn it into a Dr. Pepper float for an extra $40 NT, but didn't.

If you need additional reasons to love the Door (you know, besides the locale, Dr. Pepper, American style food, Wi-fi, and cute waiters), consider this; there's self-serve, all-you-can-drink hot coffee/hot tea/ice-cold water, and no service charge! My total came to $310 NT and I drank a swimming pool's worth. The menu is in English and Chinese and the staff speak both. The Facebook page is here.

The Diner

Address: ATT 4 Fun Building, No. 12 Song Shou Rd (台北市信義區松壽路12號1樓)

Telephone: (02) 7737-5055

Hours: 9am to 3am

Price: $$

  Oh the Diner. One of the first places I ate in Taipei, the Diner was a humble restaurant off of Ruian Street. While the original remains unchanged, the Diner has really taken off and opened two additional restaurants, one in the ATT 4 Fun building by Taipei 101 and one off of Dunhua South Road by the Shangri-La Far Eastern Plaza and Carnegie's. The atmosphere in the three restaurants differ and I think it's a cute way to differentiate one from the other and pick a favorite. Today I visited the ATT 4 Fun location for some good ol' fashioned American brunch.

As per usual, the place was packed! I wasn't able to sit upstairs at the bar or at a personal table, so I made due with the small seating area downstairs. I believe this is the newest of the Diner's and the ambiance is modern rustic? Does that make sense? Well anyway, it's tastefully decorated with a muted color scheme. The choice of artwork on the walls and use of corrugated metal differentiate this locale with the other two Diner locations.

 Now, I had originally come into the Diner thinking I'd be having a pancake brunch. Wrong. There are simply too many delicious things on the lunch menu. First, the drink menu. What isn't on the drink menu? There are milkshakes (small $160 NT, large $180 NT) in a variety of flavors like Chunky Monkey and Nutella Marshmallow, hot chocolate (regular $70 NT, with marshmallows $100 NT), fruit yogurt drinks ($120 NT), and then there's your standard juice, milk, imported sodas, smoothies, coffee, tea, etc. Alcoholic beverages are the basic Heineken, Corona, Budweiser ($100 NT), Bloody Mary's ($180 NT), and if I'm not mistaken they have Mimosa's and alcoholic milkshakes, though I wasn't looking for these and can't confirm if they're on the menu. After much debate, I chose the hot chocolate with marshmallows. The marshmallows have chocolate syrup drizzled on them and if you let them sit in the hot chocolate long enough, they're almost gooey enough to remind you of that one time you went camping. The hot chocolate itself is relatively standard. It's good, but nothing too memorable. 

 Deciding on a main course was extremely difficult (as always). There are sandwiches, burgers, pancakes (AMERICAN style pancakes), french toast, classic breakfasts, five variations on Eggs Benedict, salads the size of a small alpine mountain, steak, macaroni and cheese, chicken alfredo, and the list goes on (seriously, nachos, quesadillas, cheese fries, chicken wings, etc, etc.). Whilst reading all of this, I decided to try the California burger ($320 NT) which consisted of beef, "white cheese", and avocado. The Diner also has mushroom cheeseburgers, Aloha burgers (with bacon and grilled pineapple), chicken burgers, garden burgers, and (get this!) a Velveeta burger that has Velveeta cheese smushed into the hamburger patty! There is nothing if not variety in this eatery. The price for a burger with your choice of a side (french fries, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, or mashed potatoes) ranges from $170 NT to $330 NT. 

My California burger arrived promptly and it was Absolutely Delicious. This burger is pure Americana. Close your eyes and you could be in one of those swanky Vegas burger joints, this burger is that good. The bun is something to be savored in and of itself. The Diner apparently gets all of their bread from a bread artisan overseas and the proof is in the pudding ... or bun. The hamburger meat was perfectly cooked to my specification of medium rare, the cheese hot and melted, the avocado fresh and ripe. The vegetables to the side were also fresh, crisp, delicious. The french fries leave a little something to be desired though. They were room temperature when I received them and because of my close proximity to the door, they cooled quickly. They were your average french fries from your average restaurant. I would recommend trying the sweet potato fries or another side dish. 

Another fantastic thing about this burger is the sheer heft of it. In Taipei there are too many burger joints selling minuscule burgers. By minuscule I, of course, mean that the burger probably is less than 2,600 calories which, as we all know, is absolutely unacceptable. The Diner burgers are huge, enormous American affairs and for those Americans living here abroad, myself included, these burgers will remind you of home. 

As always, the staff speak both Chinese and English, and the English menu is very detailed with photos and explanations of ingredients used. By the cashier, there's a dessert case with pies, brownies, fresh fruit, and other pastries. I didn't see any prices, but I was much too full to contemplate dessert. While I'm a huge fan of the Diner, my one complaint is the lack of restrooms. In fact, there isn't one. You need to go outside, into the ATT 4 Fun building and find one. If memory serves me correctly, the other two Diner locations have restrooms, so this is just an issue with the ATT Diner. 

Another helpful hint: There is always a crowd outside of every Diner location, but the original Diner on Renai Road seems a bit calmer. Try to go before the lunchtime rush (11:30am to 2pm) and before the dinnertime madness (5pm to 8pm). 

The Diner's website has better directions, but the English version of the website is outdated and largely inaccurate. You're better off copying and pasting the Chinese version into Google Translate. http://www.thediner.com.tw/