Pâtisserie ALEX

Address: No. 18, Lane 553, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd, Sinyi District
Telephone: (02) 2762-3236
Hours: Mon - Sun 11:30am to 9pm
Price: $$

Overlooking the Songshan Cultural Park, Pâtisserie ALEX is a cheery cafe that offers a range of European cuisine. From apricot raspberry almond tarts ($120 NT) to Russian tea cakes ($24 NT for two) to pistachio cakes with tropical fruit mousse and pineapple cream ($130 NT), Alex has a varied dessert menu.

On this occasion, I initially decided to forgo the desserts. All were quite small (as desserts here are wont to be) and I was in the mood for a meal. I ordered the salmon salad ($200 NT) and sat down with my book. I love all the natural light pouring into the cafe! The large windows looking over the park give patrons a nice, sunny view in the summer. It's in a prime location too - one of the exits for the Songshan Cultural Park  is mere feet away.

I wasn't expecting the salmon salad to be quite so huge! And after my experience at the Consulate Cafe, I wasn't expecting the salmon portion to be on the generous side but, surprise surprise!, it was more than I hoped for. The salmon salad included eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some onions. Unfortunately there was a watered down ranch dressing on most of the salad (underneath the salmon). This was my fault though; I've forgotten that salads in Taiwan automatically come with some sort of sauce. Still, I was able to scrap the majority of it off.

I loved that they gave you four slices of slightly buttered bread! The salad is much more filling with a carbohydrate on the plate and, if you wanted, you could turn your salad into a sandwich. I am nothing if not a fan of versatility. I all but inhaled the salad and then decided I had room for some dessert.


Alex offers little desserts, like Russian tea cakes and honey lemon Madeleines ($28 NT for two), in pre-wrapped plastic bags. These desserts are extremely small (they can typically fit in the palm of your hand) but they're a safe bet if you don't want to purchase a $140 NT piece of cake you might hate. I purchased the Russian tea cakes and ate them in the park. Gone quickly, the tea cakes tasted like the ones I remember back home. All in all, a very delicious experience. Maybe next time I'll spring for the more expensive desserts...

 

Pâtisserie ALEX has a Chinese and English menu, and the waitstaff are extremely friendly and attentive. There's no service charge and as far as Wi-fi goes I wasn't able to find a connection. If you're around the Songshan Cultural Park area, I highly recommend a visit!

Mei's Tea Bar

Address: 16, Lane 37, Yongkang St, Taipei (台北市永康街37巷16號)
Telephone: (02) 2394-2425
Hours: Unsure at present
Price: $$

Yes! Mei's is back! For those of you unaware it even went away in the first place, you now have time to hightail it over there before it shuts down! A brief history: In February, there were some grumblings from neighbors about the noise from Mei's. Some wanted the tea bar closed, but Mei posted a memo outside reminding everyone to be quiet and respectful as a way to bring the noise level down and mollify the neighbors. This worked for a couple weeks. Then Mei's closed for a week, reopened, and closed again. 

So it's official. Mei's is no longer on Yongkang Street. She moved the tea bar to another area of town; but the old Yongkang establishment now serves as an homage to Mei's. Mei still owns the location, the interior is the same, and the menu is practically the same as regards the food dishes, but wine has been taken off the menu completely. Additionally, the Yongkang "Mei's" now operates under a Chinese name that I have since forgotten.

To celebrate (the return of?) one of my (new?) favorite Taipei cafes, I sat down to order my Egyptian spice tea ($180 NT) ... and couldn't find it on the new menu (a menu which was still being drafted and was presented to me on rolled up paper). Not wanting to question the poor server even more than I already had, I settled for the Chai tea latte ($180 NT) and the English scone with butter and jam ($90 NT). 

Whilst waiting, I studied the menu a little more and saw that mulled wine was still listed, but there was no sign of the Egyptian tea. I assume this is because the new menu is still coming together and some items haven't been crossed out or added on. That being said, I'm a little nervous that the menu will change and be, primarily, in Chinese. Here's to hoping some things stay the same.

The chai tea latte was delicious and just what I needed! It came with it's own sugar bowl and I quickly polished off my four cups. Unfortunately, they were sold out of scones (a frequent problem!) and I did without. At the Yongkang tea place there's no service charge and the wait staff friendly as always. I promise to search out the new Mei's in the coming months. I'm sure it'll only be bigger and better! 

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.

Roaster Family Coffee

Address: Lane 243, Jīnhuá Street, Daan District, Taiwan
Telephone: Not provided
Hours: Not listed
Price: $

Google Roaster Family Coffee and you'll pull up a slew of results. Too bad all these results are about the coffee branches in LA. Everyone in Taiwan will tell you that, despite Google's prolific mention of American locales, the RFC company sold it's first cup of coffee in Taiwan about 12 years ago. Using coffee siphons and eschewing the Starbucks model of fast, mass produced coffee concoctions, RFC serves up some of the best coffee around.

Confession: I've actually never been inside RFC (other than to settle my bill and take a quick glance around). The outdoor seating area is small but, being on the main road, lends itself to excellent people watching. The interior, or what I've seen of it, looks like a posh cafe with a muted gold and scarlet color scheme, coffee siphons everywhere.

RFC doesn't just serve coffee; there's a healthy collection of teas on the menu as well. Since I was feeling slightly under the weather, I ordered the lavender tea ($150 NT). RFC does sell food, but its fare is quite basic i.e. bagels, toast, etc. The focus is primarily on their beverages (can't fault them for that).

The lavender tea doesn't come with milk. Indeed, most of the RFC beverages arrive at your table sans sugar, milk, honey, or other additives that would alter the flavor of the coffee/tea. These people are "beverage naturalists"... if such a term even exists. So when my tea came with honey, I was quite surprised. This was probably a testament to how ill I looked. 

The tea was able to steep as long as you liked, which in my case was quite a while. Though I was a little congested and unable to taste much, after a couple sips my sinuses weren't as horribly congested. The tea is crisp, herb-esque, and tastes vaguely medicinal thanks to the lavender. This is exactly what I needed!

Deciding to make use of some of the honey, I poured in a dollop of the sweet stuff. The honey, in and of itself, was sweet without being overpowering. It was so runny, it was almost the same consistency as water. It didn't taste like the usual supermarket honey (thankfully), and I'm not ashamed to say I ate a couple spoonfuls of it.

RFC is a great place to go for a cup of coffee with friends (or tea when you're feeling ill). The menu is in Chinese and English, and the waitstaff is wonderful. The only mention of the Taiwan branch next to Da'an Park is on Facebook. While searching online, I also came across the possibility of a branch in Neihu. Looks like more research is in my future...

Donna Caffe

Address: Lane 170, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd

Telephone: not provided

Hours: Mon 10am to 9pm, Tues - Fri 1pm to 11pm, Sat 10am to 12am, Sun 10am to 8pm

Price: $$

UPDATE: Donna Caffe is now closed. The Papa Gio next door bought them out and now Donna is an "overflow" restaurant. Such a shame!

Since it's Chinese New Year and a lot of places remain closed, I went to the Dunhua area (yes, again) to see what was open. Surprisingly, a familiar little cafe/bistro was open ... and packed with people. Donna Caffe is a cute European place right next to the German Town restaurant. There isn't always such a big crowd, but with only a few restaurants open during the holidays, there was a five minute wait for a table. Also, because I've reviewed this cafe before (see 'Ginjer'), I'll include pictures from both visits.

Donna Caffe has relatively simplistic and modern decor. A few paintings, an orange accent wall, and beautiful bouquets everywhere (there's even one in the restroom), make this cafe welcoming and tastefully decorated. I like Donna because it isn't gimmicky like some of the other cafes and restaurants in the area. German Town, for example, is a garish caricature of a "German" restaurant complete with cuckoo clocks, marionettes, nutcrackers, a gingerbread house, paintings of Neuschwanstein Castle, and probably the remains of the Kaiser. Donna isn't trying to sell the European atmosphere; they're just trying to sell good food.

 Bright and cheery, Donna is a good place to come for a cup of tea or coffee. Also, there's isn't a rule about outside food or drink. ... Or maybe there is and I just haven't been reprimanded yet?

 The menu is relatively light in comparison to other cafes in the area and offers sandwiches, "royal Austrian pancakes", "salty fried cakes", and desserts. Everything on the menu is reasonably priced for the area with the Buckwheat sandwich at $95 NT and the Bomb sandwich at $85 NT.

While the menu isn't really in English (there's no English explanation as to what a "Bomb" or a "Buckwheat" sandwich consists), there are some photos. Since there are only three or four different variations on an item (four types of sandwiches, three types of "salty fried cakes", seven types of Austrian pancakes), you can discern (to a certain extent), what you'll be ordering. On this occasion, I ordered lavender tea ($160 NT). And when reviewing the Ginjer cupcakes, I ordered rose tea ($160 NT).

Rose tea

Lavender tea

Firstly, the rose tea was one of the best I've ever had. The taste was light, delicate, (and dare I say?) flowery, and the rosebuds in the sachet were pretty to look at and smelled wonderfully. The lavender tea was a darker, more crisp tea with a mint aftertaste. It too, smelled powerfully of its namesake though a sachet full of lavender isn't as wonderful to behold as a sachet of roses ... just my opinion. For my meal, I chose the "Coffee Cream Brulee Royal Austrian Pancake" ($180 NT). To those of you who think I mean "creme brulee", I probably do, however that's not what the menu had printed.

While there are several variations to this dish (vanilla caramel, dark chocolate, seasonal fruits, assorted nuts) it isn't quite apparent to those either unfamiliar with Austrian pancakes or to those who cannot read Chinese what's really going on here. The title names of the dish (vanilla caramel, coffee cream brulee) refer to the thin, inner layer of the pancake (read: these are stuffed pancakes). On a plate with ice cream, some fruits, chocolate syrup, and a disconcertingly tasteless cube thing, the Austrian pancakes are actually quite delightful. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, these pancakes are fluffy yet satisfying. At first I was a little concerned at the absence of butter or maple syrup, but quickly came to the conclusion that butter, syrup, and creme brulee filling would probably be overkill. 

The fruit portion was extremely sparse; there was only one not-really-ripe strawberry and a slice of cantaloupe. A little disappointment there. The scoop of chocolate ice cream that accompanied the pancakes was actually filled with pistachios! It was a good addition to the dish as it broke up the sweetness. Sweet, stuffed pancakes + chocolate syrup + ice cream = too much sweetness! When the ice cream melted, the pancake became this chocolate, creme brulee mash of deliciousness. The next item on the plate remains a mystery. As you can see in the photo above, the coffee colored cube looks innocuous enough. And it was. That's the weird part. It didn't really taste of anything, though perhaps there was a slight coffee flavor? Whatever it was, it was frozen prior to being served as it suffered from freezer burn. Also, it was gelatinous. Nothing wrong with that, but a tasteless, vaguely gelatinous, colorless cube concerns me. Not quite sure why.

As previously mentioned, there are bouquets of white lilies, carnations, roses, and azaleas throughout the cafe. It is especially pleasant when you walk around to the dessert case, the restroom, the wine cabinet and suddenly catch a whiff of a well-placed bouquet. 

The desserts are modestly priced. The passion fruit mousse, strawberry mousse, chocolate cake, Boston cream pie, tiramisu, and mango belige cake are all $80 NT, while the handmade cookies are around $25 or $55 NT. I can't review any of the desserts unfortunately, but since there's a dessert set menu, I may go back with this in mind. In addition, I've never had the wine, nor do I know how much it costs. Such a useless reviewer!

Donna Caffe has a wonderful staff, fluent in several languages. Pick one, four at most. And though there's a 10% service charge, somehow my bill doesn't add up. I ordered the coffee cream brulee pancake ($180 NT) and the lavender tea ($160 NT) which should come to $340 NT without the 10%. I was charged $290, then $29 was added for the service fee and I owed $319 NT. I'm not complaining but I am a little perplexed. Maybe the pancakes come with a pot of tea? 

Though Donna Caffe does not currently have a website, you can visit their Facebook page for better directions.

Maokong Mountain

Address: Lane 38, Section 3, Zhinan Road, Maokong Mountain (指南路三段38巷)

Pricing: $$

  Taking a trip up the Maokong Gondola, my friends and I were excited to go to the famous Maokong teahouses. At the top of the mountain there are many teahouses and the choices are a little overwhelming. If you follow Zhinan Road, past the initial restaurant outside the MRT station, you'll find two particular teahouses that offer a good view of Taipei. Take the stairs down from the main road and you'll walk into the first teahouse.

   This lovely (and nameless [unless you can read Chinese]) teahouse juts out from the mountain and has a great view of Taipei 101 and the surrounding area. You can sit in the sun or in the shade. We only drank tea here and it was $300 NT for a pot ("water fee" included). There were only two of us and the pot lasted about three hours.

The next teahouse is to the right of the fork and serves a variety of tea-infused food. 

 The group was unanimous in voting this teahouse the aesthetic favorite. The tables and chairs are slabs of stone and the atmosphere feels less Western. However, the taller people in our group found it difficult to sit comfortably in these seats as their legs were too long and they needed to constantly re-adjust themselves. People 5'8" and taller, beware.

 The woman at the teahouse taught us how to wash, steep, and change the tea leaves. After this quick tutorial, she took our food order and left us to our own tea-making devices. The tea was about $300 NT as well but the water fee was not included. It was an extra $20 NT per person.

 We ordered the tea leaf fried rice and tea leaf omelet. The tea leaf rice tasted just like regular fried rice (no one was really surprised), and the tea leaf omelet tasted just like a regular omelet (again, we weren't too shocked). The tea leaves are impossible to taste and don't add anything to the texture of either dish, so the consensus was that the food was overpriced. The omelet was about $200 NT and the fried rice was in a similar such category. Arguably, the principle reason to visit Maokong is to sample the tea and tea-infused food. I think that some restaurants should reconsider the dishes they prepare. Frying tea leaves is probably not the best way to infuse a dish with a tea taste. Tea-infused chocolate, cookies, hard-boiled eggs, etc. is definitely more of the fare we had in mind.

All in all, Maokong was a wonderful experience, but I would just stick to ordering the tea. Depending on who's working that day, you may or may not get someone who speaks English. Both teahouses had menus in Chinese and English, so if worse comes to worse, there's always pointing and grunting like a caveman? When making the trip up to Maokong again, I'll try a different teahouse just to compare quality and price. However, these two teahouses have very good, central locations for pictures.

Mei's Tea Bar

Address: 16, Lane 37, Yongkang St, Taipei (台北市永康街37巷16號) 

Telephone: (02) 2394 2425 

Hours: Mon - Fri 3pm to 1am, Sat - Sun 3pm to 2am 

Pricing: $$

   One of my favorite restaurants in Taipei, Mei's Tea Bar is a cozy cafe tucked into one of the many alleys around the Daan area. With the welcoming decor, soothing music, and inviting atmosphere, Mei's is a great place to either have a glass of wine and read a book, or socialize with friends. 

   On my first visit to Mei's I had the hot chocolate ($180 NT, includes cookie). It's by far one of the best cups of hot chocolate! With frothed milk on top in lieu of whipped cream, this drink has the same consistency as that of a latte. However, this, combined with a hint of cinnamon, makes for one of the most unique tasting cups of hot chocolate I've ever had. This definitely isn't some cheap cocoa powder drink! An additional plate of three cookies is $70 NT. 

On my next visit to Mei's, I had the Egyptian spice tea ($180 NT). As with the hot chocolate, the spice tea definitely has some cinnamon in it, but since cinnamon is one of my favorite spices, I'm instantly addicted! Mei's also offers a diverse selection of Taiwanese black teas ($150 - $180 NT) - Sun Moon Lake and Hualian teas to name two. Also on offer is a good selection of international beers like Peroni and Mexican Tecata. And the mulled wine that Mei makes follows a traditional British recipe and is well worth the $200 NT.

   For lunch I ordered duck breast with a salad and a side of rice (~$230 NT). I was expecting all three items to come to the table in three separate dishes or separated into three piles on one plate. However, this particular dish has its elements stacked one on top of the other.

  The rice, duck, and salad was drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette that enhanced the flavor of both the salad and the duck, but left the rice slightly soggy and "vinaigrette-y". Overall, lunch at Mei's was very good and I highly recommend a visit. The menu is in both Chinese and English and all of the staff speak English. The rest of the menu is reasonably priced with items ranging from $180 NT to $400 NT. The appetizers range from $60 NT to $150 NT and include large cheese platters, scones, cookies, apple strudel, and honey pancakes. 

Mei's Tea Bar does not have it's own website, but please read more about Mei's here.