Chao Fare Collective 潮品集

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Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段172號
                No. 172, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Da-an District
Phone #: 02-2772-2687-9
Business Hours: Sun-Thurs: 11:30 – 14:30, 17:30 – 21:00
·                           Fri-Sat: 11:00 – 15:00, 17:30 – 21:00

Website: http://www.sanwant.com/

Price Range:   $$$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: semicasual

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: Upscale Chao Zhou Restaurant
Review

The Chao Fare Collective inside the San Want Hotel on Zhong Xiao East Rd is an upscale Chinese restaurant featuring the regional cuisine of Chao Zhou. Although part of the menu seems to be cantonese dim sum, most items in the front of the menu claim to be Chao Zhou cuisine. Chao Zhou Cuisine seems to be a little less salty and not so heavy. Also, it seems like most of the dishes have a sweet quality in them. The set meals all consist of shark fin soup, appetizers, entree, and a dessert starting from 980 NT. However, from now til 5/31/2011, you can try their all you can eat 880 NT per person special anniversary menu to try this restaurant out for a cheaper price. This special menu applied only to dinner hours only. Check this place out before this promotion is over.

Macho Tacos 瑪丘墨式餅舖

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Address: 台北市延吉街126巷3號
                 Yanji St, Lane 126, #3
Phone #: 02-2731-4489
Business Hours: Mon-Sat: 12:00 – 15:00, 18:30 – 22:00
·                           Sun: 12:00 – 15:00, 18:30 – 21:00

Website: http://www.machotacos.com/

Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: no

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
Recommendation: Decent Tacos in Taipei

Review

After being disappointed by Oola Mexican Grill, the search continued for a mexican food source that would fill that craving for tacos and burritos. Thankfully, Macho Tacos opened up in Taipei in it's full lucha libre glory and began to supply Taipei with decent baja style tacos at an affordable price. Three tacos cost 160 NT, and other items won't squeeze your wallet out of more than 200 NT per item. This is most likely as good as it gets in the East District Taipei area. If you're fed up with all the phony "mexican" food, then you got to take a trip to Macho Tacos hombre~ Vamonos rapido!

Abundant Delicacy Brasserie 鼎珍坊

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Address: 台北市復興南路一段219巷1號1樓
　　　　No. 1, Lane 219, Section 1, FùXìng South Rd, Da-an District
Phone #: 02-2781-2518
Business Hours: 11:30~14:30, 17:30~21:30

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: no

Attire: semicasual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4.5 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Quality Cantonese Food

Review

In the East District lies a quite popular Cantonese Food restaurant called Abundant Delicacy Brasserie (Ding鼎Jen珍Fang坊). They serve a wide assortment of Cantonese food from fried rice and pork legs to abalone dishes. The food seemed to be slightly oily, but the items are not generally too salty or spicy. Each dish is fairly expensive, all above 300NT per dish, and can go upwards to around 1500 NT for items like roast duck or seafood. They seem to have had a lot of celebrities eat at their restaurant, and their quality cooking is well known in this area. If you have some money to spend on pricier cantonese fare. Remember to bring more people with you because this restaurants seems to be more fitting for large groups.

Blue Family's Traditional Taiwanese Snacks 藍家

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Address: 台北市羅斯福路三段316巷8弄3號
　　　　No. 3, Alley 8, Lane 316, Section 3, LuóSīFú Road, Jhongjheng District
Phone #: 02-2368-2060
Business Hours: 11:00am~12:00am

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $
Accepts Credit Cards: no

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Yummy pork buns

Review
In the back alleys of Gong guan across the street from the NTU front entrance lies a area filled with restaurants. Amongst these restaurants is a simple little crack in the wall joint called Blue Family's Traditional Taiwanese Snacks. They offer a simple menu with all items priced around 50 NT. You can get braised pork buns割包, chinese tamales粽子, and four-god soup 四神湯　here. This place is special because you can actually customize the braised pork bun lean meat to fat ratio of the buns. This is a pretty popular place for takeouts, and not too bad for eating in as well. I recommend this place for a quick, cheap, yet succulent bite.

Slack Season 度小月

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Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段216巷8弄12號
　　　　No. 12, Alley 8, Lane 216, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Da-an District
Phone #:  02-2773-1244
Business Hours: 11:30am~23:00pm

Website: http://www.iddi.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: idk

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: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Posh Southern Taiwanese Cuisine Restaurant

Review

Tainan is a city located in southern Taiwan that is known for a dish called Danzi Noodles. It is a minced pork based soup noodle that has that strong braised soy sauce/pork oil flavor mixed with cilantro. Slack Season is the most famous and supposed originator of the dish, which was created over a century ago. This restaurant is a testament of the success and popularity surrounding this dish  because the creator started from a small stand in front of a temple to this two story posh location in one of Taipei's most expensive areas. Slack season offers Danzi noodles and other traditional Taiwanese sides and dishes like braised raw clams and braised pig intestine. This is the perfect location to introduce foreigners to southern Taiwanese food, while staying in Taipei because they have a very modern and sleek restaurant space and plate the dishes beautifully for only about a 25% increase in price. I recommend each trying a bowl of Danzi noodles and pairing it with a few side dishes depending on the size of the dining party.

Beautiful Garden 美觀園

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Address: 台北市萬華區峨嵋街36號
　　　　No. 36, ÉMéi St, Wanhua District Taipei City
Phone #:  02-2331-7000

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: idk

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:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.16 out of 5
Recommendation: Old-school Taiwanese-Japanese Fare
Review
Beautiful Garden is an old school Japanese restaurant located in the heart of Xi Men Ding. They have been open since 1946, which is when the first generation owner learned his craft from a Japanese chef who was around during the time Taiwan was a Japanese colony. Although the restaurant has passed hands to the new generation, their menu items are made in the spirit of their ancestors. Their sashimi is cut very thick and meaty. It is not a good entry level place for sashimi virgins, because their cuts make each bite undeniably fishy. The menu items can be very cheap with set meals for under 300, but if you want to splurge and get sashimi or rare nigiri like sea urchin, then your bill can rack up to the size of your belly. I think an average person can be satiated for under 1000 NT. This is the right place to try traditional Taiwanese-Japanese Fusion. I would not recommend this place for delicate Japanese food, but would guide hearty eaters towards this place. The decor and service are subpar, since they are super busy and don't have the time to remodel. However, bring your non-picky tourists here to get a feel of old-school fare and enjoy the bustling Xi Men Ding while you are at it.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

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Address:  台灣台北市信義區松壽路30號
                地點 03/2011搬到敦化北路民生路口
　　　　No. 30, SōngShòu Road, Sinyi District Taipei City, Taiwan 110 
                Location change to Dwun Hwa/Ming Sheng Intersection 03/11

Phone #:  02-2722-4567
Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual-semicasual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3.67 out of 5
Recommendation: Familiar Italian-American Cuisine

Review
Romano's Macaroni Grill is a Italian-American restaurant offering pastas, pizzas, and salads in the heart of Taipei. The entrees all price at around 450 NT. Each person can have a nice meal for under 1000 NT each. The restaurant is currently ending its lease in the NEO19 building in the Hsin Yi district in Taipei. It will be moving to its new location in the Song Shan District at the Dwun Hwa and Ming Sheng intersection. The cuisine at this location is mediocre and does not carry the same quality as the American Macaroni Grill locations. However, the service and atmosphere is very high among the restaurants of Taipei.