A3 Bar & Restaurant

Profile

Address: 台北市信義區松仁路28號1F
                 No 28, Song Ren Rd., Taipei, Taiwan
Phone #: 02-8729-2866
Business Hours: 7:30-00:00
Website: http://www.bellavita.com.tw/store.php?d=69

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Elegant place for afternoon tea, dinner, evening drink.

Review

A³ is an modern bar and restaurant situated in the elegant Bellavita shopping center in the Sin Yi district. The dining space has a contemporary and retro chic design with the black and white checkerboard flooring. The service here is impeccable. You will feel catered from the moment you walk in. However, the prices here are are a little high, but I feel it is worth what you pay for. This is a great place to visit for a relaxing afternoon tea or a late night snack over some well concocted cocktails.

Red Forest Teppanyaki 紅林鐵板燒

Profile

Address: 台灣臺大安區臨江街5號
                 No. 5, LínJiāng St, Daan District
Phone #: 02-2704-4166
Business Hours: 11:00-02:00 (conjecture)
Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  2 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 2.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Clean Cheap Teppanyaki Fix

Review

In the Tong Hua nightmarket, there is a plethora of street food to choose from. In the midst of all the stinky tofu and skewered items there are a couple of hole in the wall teppanyaki restaurants to dine in. They are pretty much the same: similar seasonings, similar no frills service, and similar subpar ingredients. However Red Forest seemed like a more popular joint, so I gave it a try. The place is relatively clean, the food is prepared fast, and it offers that famaliar tasty Taiwanese teppanyaki vegetable and meat sauces.Red forest is a good place to get a quick and cheap Taiwanese style teppanyaki meal and is open late.

Pizza Pub 比薩屋

Profile

Address: 台灣臺北中正區忠孝東路一段12號
                 No. 12, Section 1, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Jhongjheng District
Phone #: 02-2321-1818
Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 18:00-22:00
Website: http://www.sheraton-taipei.com/english/r_pizza.htm

Price Range:   $$$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 2.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5
Overall: 2.5 out of 5
Recommendation: Don't try their overpriced and bland pizzas

Review

Pizza Pub is a upper-mid level restaurant serving pizzas in a nice dining space. They are located in the B1 level of the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei. The concept of serving pizzas in a homey yet classy pub is a very good idea. However, the restaurant fails to serve delicious pizzas, which leaves you with nothing else to satisfy you besides consuming the unimpressive aura of the dining space. It costs 450 NT for 8 inches of bland, uncheesy dough circles here. The value at the pizza pub is very low and it feels like you are paying a lot for bad food and bad service. I really wanted to like this place, but their core product is just so bad that I can not recommend their pizzas to anyone with a clear conscience. If you have to come to Pizza Pub, try something else instead of their pizza.

Xin Jiang Barbecue 新疆野宴-OUT OF BUSINESS

Profile

Address: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段160巷25號1樓
                 No. 25, Lane 160, Section 1, DūnHuà South Road, Daan District
Phone #: 02-8771-8001
Business Hours: 17:30-0:00
Website: Xin Jiang BBQ Facebook Page

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: not all items
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Xin Jiang themed Recline-Down BBQ Restaurant

Review

Taipei has offers a wide range of options for those seeking barbecue meet. The predominant restaurants are the Japanese style yakiniku self-serve bbq with it's variants, then the Korean barbecue restaurants, and then you get the hybrid Taiwanese hot pot / griddle-based BBQ restaurants. Xin Jiang Barbecue is one of rarer restaurants that offer a wide variety of skewered food items for you to grill over their charcoal tabletop pit. You might have had a taste of Xin Jiang bbq skewers with their famous Cumin Lamb Skewers 羊肉串. They have this and many more skewers utilizing fresh ingredients. The main seasonings at this BBQ restaurant is cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. The lack of sauces is no problem as these simple ingredients are enough to accentuate the natural oils and flavors of the meats themselves. You might find yourself paying around 500 NT per person, but this is definitely worth it based on the quality of the ingredients. If you are fond of Cumin Lamb Skewers 羊肉串, then you must visit Xin Jiang Barbecue.

Update 06-10-2011

Added new items to the Dazzling Cafe post.

Kaffee Amadeus

 

Profile

Address: 台北市市府路45號4樓
                 No. 45, Shi Fu Rd 4F, Sinyi District
Phone #: 02-8101-7625
Business Hours: 10:00~22:00 (Guesstimation)
Website: http://www.kaffeeamadeus.com/

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
Recommendation: Comfortable but Pricey Coffee Shop

Review

Kaffe Amadeus is an Austrian style coffee shop offering various beverages, meals, and desserts hailing from a Viennese influence. The name Amadeus pays homage to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who is a cultural icon of the Classical era in Vienna. However, the store models its dining space over the Baroque period in Viennese history and thus results in a lovely and splendid area to enjoy a cup of Viennese Coffee over some Apple Strudel. This is a popular spot for foreigners to take a break from meandering around the Taipei 101.

Update

Made an addition to the Onion Flower post by including 5 more dishes to it.