Restaurant Review -- Buxiban zone (part II)

Following last week's review, Shad reports that there are a number of cheap vegetarian eats at No. 72, Zhongxiao West Road Sec. 1. And she is correct.

There are four restaurants on this single block: two selling a variety of dumplings, one selling rice, noodle and soup dishes, and one with a vegetarian buffet.

NOMM chose this last one, and enjoyed a nice meal even though it was almost closing time. NT$75 bought a mixed plate of vegetables and the house-special of "lion head" (獅子頭; a kind of meatball), with a bowl of rice and bottomless soup.

Text and photos copyright Jiyue Publications
(apologies, Blogspot is still not uploading photos)

Restaurant Review -- Buxiban Zone (Taipei)

Many Taipei students get out of school and go straight to cram schools for several hours trying to fill what should be an already full head with more information, and in the process further destroying any chance of a wholesome childhood with a balance of learning and play.

Often students have time just to grab a bite between classes, as do teachers, and with mostly snack food available, this is rarely vegetarian and is rarely nutritious. 

So it is good that 5 years ago the Vegi Garden (植善蔬食多國料理) opened on Kaifeng Street offering meals in Eastern and Western styles that are “pure veg, low sugar, low salt, low oil”. 

The menu sounds exotic, ranging from Japanese wild mushroom hand-made noodles (NT$180) and Thai sweet and sour hot pot (NT$260), to Spanish golden stewed rice (NT$190) and pumpkin mushroom baked penne pasta (NT$210). For an additional NT$80, all become set meals with a soup, side dish and drink.

NOMM found the soup good, and the side dish (soft white tofu) excellent. The main dishes of Italian wild mushroom rice (NT$190) and Thai coconut milk curry hot pot (NT$260) were disappointing, however. The latter’s soup was so weak it was unidentifiable as having been made with either curry or coconut milk. 

Address: No.47, Kaifeng St. Sec. 1 (開封街一段47號)

Telephone: 02-23118198

Hours: 11:00~14:00 & 17:00~21:00

NOMM processed food index: 1 (low)

Text and photos © Jiyue Publications 2012

Restaurant Review:-- Pizza and good view, Taipei City

So Wild Free Pizza and Cheese outlet in the back alleys near NTU at Gongguan (公館) has just four seats—which cannot be reserved—so most customers end up eating take-away pizzas in the tiny park opposite.

For a more conducive atmosphere, diners can try the Ximen (西門) branch.

So Wild specializes in small (8-inch) pizzas with somewhat unusual flavours. These include apple/cinnamon, banana/almond and ginger superman, as well as more regular mushroom/asparagus, rosemary/potato and Korean kimchi all at NT$169. Drinks cost NT$25~60.

 

Don’t expect fine dining, but the upstairs open-air views across a more trendy part of this fashion-conscious area of Taipei City is enjoyable if one is already in this neighbourhood.

Address: No.1, Lane 50, Xining S. Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City

(台北市萬華區西寧南路50巷1號)

Hours: 12:00~22:00

Restaurant Review:-- Noodles from a noodle maker (Taipei)

Many items sold in restaurants are bought in rather than made on site, and this is particularly true when it comes to noodles.

One exception is ZhongYuan Su Mian Shi (中原 素麵食; "Central Plains Vegetarian Noodle Foods" [no English name]), located on Qingdao Road that runs parallel to Zhongxiao East Road.

Only open on weekday lunchtimes and with only eight items on its menu, ZhongYuan has the confidence of a specialist provider.

These eight noodle dishes range from NT$35 to NT$60 per bowl, and include "dry" noodles such as sesame paste and "mixed" paste, as well as "soupy" noodles such as hongshao (紅燒; soy flavoured) noodles.

"Dry noodles" come with a free bowl of soup, and side dishes such as the cucumbers and tofu eaten by NOMM cost NT$25. Dumplings are available if the boss has time to cook them.

 Text and photos copyright Jiyue Publications

Restaurant Review:-- Biandang (lunchbox), Taipei City

 Before very long in Taiwan, you'll probably be asked to do overtime. Out goes your social engagement, your home-cooked dinner, or glass-of-wine-with-movie-and-feet-up evening.

More pertinently, your boss will probably hint that the case is so pressing, you cannot even pop out of the office to grab some food. "Don't worry," (s)he'll say, "I'm getting bian-dang (便當; lunchboxes) for everyone." You say that you're vegetarian, but (s)he saw this coming: "Don't worry, they do vegetarian bian-dang."

So you're landed with a so-called vegetarian lunchbox produced by a meat-selling establishment. Even if you dare eat it, it's probably almost inedible and barely nourishing.

UNLESS of course, you are one step ahead of your boss, an whipping out a business card you say "That's ok, please pick me up a bian-dang from here."

One such place is ChongHui Vegetarain ( 崇慧素食; no English name) at 54 Anju Steet (安居街) near Liuzhangli MRT (Tel: 02-27398323).

In sells lunchboxes at midday and evenings, as well as hotpots in the evenings.
Diners can choose either white or "purple" rice, three side vegetables (out of more than a dozen -- NOMM had peas in pods, tofu and bamboo shoots), and a "main" dish of fake meat (NOMM had fish).

All choices are NT$50, and the restaurant will send to your office for orders of NT$500 or more.




Text and photos copyright Jiyue.Publications 2012

News Brief: Plasticizers rear their ugly heads

Ten food items out of 322 recently tested by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Health (台北市政府衛生局) tested positive for excessive levels of plasticizers, TVBS reports today (full Chinese-language article here).

The items included drinks, probiotics (益生菌) and flavored pastes and sauces. Worst culprit was Chengtai (誠泰) brand mushroom sauce (香菇拌醬) from Xiluo (西螺) in Yunlin (雲林), which contained a diisononyl phthalate (DINP) level of 1944ppm, more than 200 times the permitted level of 9ppm.

The company responded that the DOH tests had been conducted on old stock with a form of packaging subsequently replaced, but which had not been completely removed from shop shelves. It agreed to allow the public to return purchases for a full refund.

Other products falling foul included a toon-flavored sauce (香椿醬) with DINP level of 1545.6 ppm and pineapple paste (鳳梨醬) at 16.9 ppm.

Translation © Jiyue Publications 2012

Restaurant Review -- Wenzhou "big dumplings" (Taipei)

The English word “dumpling” is used to cover a wide range of local foodstuffs, from sticky rice zongzi (粽子) and rice-flour tangyuan (湯圓), to a variety of ravioli-like stuffed pastry jiaozi (餃子) guotie (鍋貼; “pot-stickers”) and hundun (餛飩鍋; “wonton”). 

Perhaps because of Taiwan’s historic ties to Zhejiang Province (浙江; Chiang Kai-shek and many of his coterie came from there), that “Wenzhou big wonton” (温州大餛飩) are exceedingly popular here, with, in Taipei alone, dozens of small mom-and-pop stores selling them . To date, NOMM has only found one that sells a vegetarian version.

Located amongst half-a-dozen wonton-specialist restaurants on Taoyuan Street (桃源街), “Champion Veg-&-Meat Wonton” (冠軍菜肉餛飩; no English sign) at number 9 is unique in offering mushroom-flavoured vegetarian wonton (香菇素食餛飩; NT$80). 

 

As the owner warns, however, unless taken home for cooking (NT$100 for 10), these will only be “pot-side vegetarian” as they are cooked in the same water as meat dumplings. 

 

 to be completed

Restaurant Review:-- Baozi (steamed-bread dumplings), Taipei City

Sushi Dianxin (素食點心; "Vegetarian Snacks" but no English name) is a vegetarian institution. People travel from neighouring counties into Taipei City to stock up on its soft, large, variously-filled steamed-bread dumplings (包子; baozi).

The flavours include  Brassica juncea var. crispifolia (雪裡紅; see here for explanation of this vegetable), cabbage (高麗菜), mushroom and bamboo shoots (香菇竹筍), wholemeal flour with mixed grains (全麥五穀), Chinese yam (山藥), green beans ( 四季豆), "eight treasure sauce" (八寶醬), Hakka pickled vegetable (客家酸菜), radish (蘿蔔絲), sweet sesame (芝麻) and osmanthus-flavoured bean paste (桂花豆沙). All cost NT$20.

When NOMM visited yesterday at 12:30pm only the first kind was available, which is typical in that rarely is there a full selection on offer.

Baozi originated in North China but have long had a wide range of regional variations. Immigration of Han Chinese from all parts of China following the ROC defeat in the Chinese Civil War (1949) means that many different kinds are available in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Sushi Dianxin is unusual in providing only vegetarian baozi.

The shop/stall is located just outside the Guangfu Market (光復市場) at 149, Lane 419, Guangfu S. Road.

Tel 02-2878 1949
Opening hours: 08:00~14:00; 7 days/week
NOMM fake meat/processed food index: none in the one flavour sampled (NOMM will report back after trying more)








Text and photos copyright Jiyue. Publications 2012

News Brief: Shida Night Market becomes official secret

Visitors to the Shida Night Market (師大夜市) in Taipei who take the MRT will now find that the popular evening food center is no longer listed on station signs showing appropriate exits, TTV (東森新聞 ) reported yesterday.

Following local residents’ complaints about noise, chaos and littering, the city government has covered the name with tape, and similarly removed it from tourism websites. 

Arguing that the area is residential and not a business district, residents’ organizations even want the nearby bus stop name changed from Shida Night Market (師大夜市) to Longquan Neighborhood (龍泉里) or Heping East Road Police Substation (和平東路派出所).

Full Chinese-language article here).

Translation © Jiyue Publications 2012