O Sole Mio

Posted in Desserts, Food News on February 13th, 2008 by mei| | 0 Comments.

pistachio_gelato.jpgI really don’t hang out enough in my neighborhood. If I did, I shouldn’t have missed the opening of this new(-ish) gelateria in my side of town.

“Pistachio gelato? No way.”

Way.

I’ve been a fan of The Girl Who Ate Everything for quite some time now and she definitely knows how to make my life sound incomplete without experiencing pistachio gelato. Not surprisingly, that’s exactly what I ordered at O Sole Mio.

I’m no expert on gelato (*sigh* doctor’s orders not to have anything cold in fact) but here are my findings - O Sole Mio serves gelato that is very rich and creamy and at 97% fat-free it sounds too good to be true. The store also carries frozen yogurt which I thought was satisfyingly creamy and it is the type of fro-yo that actually imparts the yogurt flavor. Will definitely visit again.

The pistachio flavor could have been stronger but I’ll admit I have nothing to base this on. My senses could have been numbed after bite #3 anyways.

I was also happy to know that the milk used to make the icy treats is from Taidong (台東初鹿 company to be exact) and not imported. Eat local!

A small tub of gelato is 70nt and for the frozen yogurt, 60nt.

O Sole Mio
Tonghua Store - No. 14, Tonghua Street
通化街14號
02 2754 7979

Heng Yang Store - No. 57, Heng Yang Road
衡陽路57號
02 2313 1189

Taichung Store - No. 122, Yi Zhong Street, Taichung
台中市一中街122號
04 2229 3168

Beautiful Blog

Posted in Uncategorized on February 10th, 2008 by mei| | 0 Comments.

No, not mine.

I thought I’d be using my time wisely during the Chinese New Year break to catch up on some seriously back-logged blogging. But no. Between stuffing my face and sleeping in, I’ve been secretly watching a lot of food porn. I have a short attention span and a one track mind - but I stopped dead in my cyber-tracks when I came across this site.

My words are not going to do justice to Keiko’s blog - www.nordljus.co.uk. View it for yourself and you’ll see for yourself why I’m even bothering to write this blog post at 3:03 am on a Saturday night. And no, it’s not because I don’t have a life.

The simple lay out of the site is spot on. Her writing lets her sensitivity and gentle impartialness shine through. She never gushes about a popular ingredient or dish like many a food blogger I know. Praise is awarded where it’s needed and is heartfelt. The photographs are not only gorgeous, but Keiko is also one of the few fellow food bloggers with such amazing talent who openly shares information on the cameras she uses and the techniques she employs to create such results. From the comments, I could see that she’s been asked such questions times again but she always responds willingly and with humility. I haven’t seen a blog as inspiring as hers in a very long time.

Keiko, if you are ever reading this - here’s a quick shout to you in my rusty 日本語.　おいかわさん、ブログは本当にすばらしいです。写真も私に深い感銘を与えた。よくアップデートして下さいね！

1010 Hunan Pop - 1010 新湘菜

Posted in Chinese on February 1st, 2008 by mei| | 1 Comments.

bellpepper_blackbean3.jpgI was going to write a blog post sometime ago entitled, “Beat this Meat” (in reference to 1010 Hunan Pop’s signature ribs, not man-meat, m’dears :>) but a previous visit and a lackluster serving of ribs made me forget about this restaurant. Until this week.

This visit has redeemed 1010 Hunan Pop to be Mei’s favorite Chinese restaurant in Taipei.

I don’t dole out accolades perfunctorily. I also lose interest fast if an establishment effs up. Well, here you have it - a restaurant that has finally managed to catch my attention and keep it. This is one restaurant where I’d gladly order anything on the menu. A small warning for those who can’t handle their spices - Hunan cuisine is hot stuff. Moreover, this is probably not the most vegetarian-friendly place to dine. However, pescetarians and those who would partake in seafood could appreciate the handful of surf( if not turf) offerings.

I’m not going to make many recommendations here since I believe that you can’t go too wrong with any of the dishes here but here are a few suggestions:
-preserved egg with roasted chilies (燒椒皮蛋 - I’m not a huge fan of preserved eggs but, boy, were these done right. I’ve never had chilies roasted and peeled in the Italian fashion before but it’s good stuff.)
-beef with pinenuts and rice cakes (松子年糕牛肉 - It’s one of the few non-incendiary dishes.)
-seared peppers in fermented bean sauce (虎皮青尖椒 - [pictured top right] I thought that it was the pièce de résistance during my most recent visit.)

If you would like a non-firery veggie dish I’d recommend the stir-fried green sprouts (炒荳苗）since it’s a veggie that Is not all together that common in most Chinese restaurants.

The cumin-encrusted pork ribs (神仙孜然肋排骨) is a very popular dish at 1010 and it was a dish I had inhaled during my first few visits. However, I feel that the quality has gone done and that the ribs weren’t as flavorful as I recalled them to be.

Desserts don’t deliver the wow factor. But they are agreeable. I’d go for the warm chestnut soup with longan fruit (桂圓栗子湯）or the black sesame soup (either warm or cold) with tapioca pearls (芝麻西米露).

Read Prince Roy’s blog post about 1010. I can’t help but nod my head vigorously in agreement with pretty much everything he says.

1010 Hunan Pop 1010 新湘菜
www.1010restaurant.com (It’s currently not much of a website but if you want more information about the restaurant google the restaurant name in Mandarin and you’ll see how popular it is in the Taiwan blogsphere.)
Eslite Xinyi branch - 6F, No. 11, Song Gao Road
02 2722 0583
Fuxing North branch - No. 301 Fuxing North Road
02 2713 6345