mei eats

No Sole

Posted in Desserts, Food News on March 12th, 2008 by mei| | 2 Comments.

Where’s the pistachio gelato?

Sold out.

But you still carry the flavor, right?

Um. Depends on what gets delivered.

I am grossly perturbed by my visit to O Sole Mio just now. The last time I visited I had to rush home to post glowing praises but today I also rushed home to post – but for very different reasons. I had to post lest I loose my street cred as a foodie.

First and foremost, there was no pistachio gelato in sight! I really should have gotten the plain frozen yogurt since the pistachio gelato was out but I couldn’t resist the temptation to try other flavors. The chocolate gelato wasn’t very chocolate-y. The strawberry fro-yo also didn’t taste very strawberry-ish somehow. I don’t even remember the other flavors I tried.

I ended up ordering the passion fruit gelato but, surprise, it didn’t taste very passion fruity. I felt that the sugar to fruit flavor ratio was way out of whack – too sweet. While there were no icy particles of DEATH there were some questionable lumps that I could have done without. All in all, it was a disappointing experience.

Have any of you readers the other flavors at O Sole Mio? Did repeat visits prove the joint to be consistent? I beseech you to message me!

In the mean time I think I’d head back to Yogurt Me. Hungry Girl in Taipei has a post about the place here.

O Sole Mio

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

I 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 (å°æ±åˆé¹¿ 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
é€šåŒ–è¡—14è™Ÿ
02 2754 7979

Heng Yang Store – No. 57, Heng Yang Road
è¡¡é™½è·¯57è™Ÿ
02 2313 1189

Taichung Store – No. 122, Yi Zhong Street, Taichung
å°ä¸å¸‚ä¸€ä¸è¡—122è™Ÿ
04 2229 3168

Correction and Addition

Posted in Food News on July 11th, 2007 by mei| | 0 Comments.

I made a lil’ boo boo on yesterday’s post. Swensen’s does not include pints on the buy one get one free promotion. But then why buy pints when you can… buy quarts? Bigger IS always better.

Moreover, yours truly found out (in-between sampling the rum raisin and vanilla ice creams) that there’s also a buy one get one free voucher promotion. Well, how does this work? You buy one voucher (440nt) which can be exchanged for a quart of ice cream – any flavor… and you get another voucher free. No flavor limitations like the current quart promotion (Yay, after all I am not too excited about taro ice cream… nor about getting two quarts of my fave cookies and cream). The only catch is that you have to wait till August 1st before you can start using the vouchers.

I can wait that long. I think.

Sweet Summer Swensen’s

Posted in Food News on July 10th, 2007 by mei| | 2 Comments.

My eyes are glazing over due to food coma. Dexterity and cerebral response time – sloooowww. But here I am typing away, albeit with great effort, for yours truly have important news to announce.

SWENSEN’S IS HAVING A BUY ONE GET ONE FREE ICE CREAM PROMOTION!!!!!!

Only until July 10th so you better hurry! Quarts, pints, scoops, what have you… buy one get one… FREE!!!! I believe the quarts are limited to certain flavors but you have the most of the main yummy classic flavors on the list anyhow (say, cookies and cream and strawberry). The only catch is that you have to show up there at the store. No pre-ordering. And it’s take-out only I believe. I don’t know about any of the other Swensen’s branches but this pertains in particular to the Swensen’s on the Renai Circle.

Guess where I’ll be during my lunch break tomorrow.

And sorry folks, yet another blog post with no photos. Blarg.

Swensen’s åŒè–è¥¿é¤é ‚ç´šå†°æ·‡æ·‹
No. 109, Renai Road Section 4
ä»æ„›è·¯å››æ®µ109è™Ÿ
02 2772 6174

Burger Bonanza

Posted in Food News, Non-Asian on June 4th, 2007 by mei| | 1 Comments.

Burp. I’ve been eating waaaaay tooo many burgers as of late.

It’s quite surprising how many burger joints have sprouted just this past year. In the past one would have to resort to Mickey D’s or da King but now, Taipei-rens are spoiled for choice. I’ve mentioned a few burger joints in an earlier post but here are two more to take note of.

Bongos, the brother branch Coda, is a nice little eatery tucked away in the Gongguan area. What I liked about it at first sight was the option of outdoor seating. There simply aren’t many options when it comes to dining al fresco in Taipei, are there?

Moreover, I was quite nicely surprised that there is a used book selection!!! Being a prolific reader I am aghast at how expensive books can get at a certain bookstore that opens 24 hours and at the other store in the tallest building in the world… but back to food. Yours truly was truly happy that Bongo caters nicely to the vegetarian palate. I ordered the veggie burger (pictured top left) and was not disappointed. Given that a friend said that the meat burger is much better than the veggie one, it was still pretty darn good. Now, I am all curious about the beef one. Next time.

The veggie patty was nicely spiced and the texture was just right. It was dense, chewy and HUGE! I had to take many breathers to polish it off. The burger came with fries that were…alright, a salad (which I liked, nice fresh mixed salad leaves – you pick the dressing) and a soda which is, well, the same anywhere. Go on Mondays, like I did, and you get a 10% discount (or was it because I was wearing that mini skirt?). Can’t exactly recall how much tab was but I’d say 200nt ballpark.

Pickles is another burger joint that I tried out recently. It’s in the Shida area where I hang out a lot. Pickles serve your average burgers as well as some brunch food items like waffles. No veggie burgers here, tho’. Waaah.

I had their bacon cheese burger (top right). It is okay lah. Nothing wrong with it but I didn’t feel the love with that burger. Can’t quite pinpoint what it was. Perhaps the sub par quality of the side dishes (you can choose two of the following: regular fries, hash browns, criss cut fries, and cole slaw). The cole slaw was pretty much just shredded lettuce with mayo and the hash brown… I didn’t even order the hash brown! Nonetheless, I am not writing this place off. I would give them another chance if they can come up with a vegetarian option. The staff was extremely attentive. Prices range between 100 and 200nt.

The last pix is of Mei’s lentil veggie burger(bottom left). Looks alright but taste-wise it could be better. Cut me some slack, will ya? It was my first time making a veggie burger patty and I didn’t even use a recipe. Truth be told, I just wanted to use up the bag of lentils I have. Well, for anybody who is curious enough, it was a mixture of lentils, edamame, shitake mushrooms, carrots, shallots and garlic. I think it would taste better with more spices (cumin? definitely more shallots and garlic) and if I added some cooked pearl barley for extra chewiness. Anybody with good veggie burger recipes, message me!

Oh, some of you may remember my post about the other new burger joint, California Grill. I did manage to make a quick visit when it first opened up. I had the salmon burger and it was really really good. The only thing that could be getter was the bun. I thought it was a bit dry and stale tasting and despite being priced comparable to the other burger joints (100 tdo 200nt range) I thought the portion was a bit on the small side.

Bongos
No. 3, Alley 5, Lane 74
Wenzhou Street
(in the Gongguan are)
æº«å·žè¡—74å··5å¼„3è™Ÿ
02 2365 6059

Picklesã€€ç¾Žå¼æ¼¢å ¡
No. 24, Lane 40, Taishun Street
(in the Shida area)
æ³°é †è¡—40å··24è™Ÿ
02 8369 5858
Closed on Tuesdays

Mei’s Veggie Burger Joint
Message me if you want to do “business.” Hah!

Where’s the Beef?

Posted in Food News on April 25th, 2007 by mei| | 6 Comments.

Double Taipei Foodie News Flash! Yours truly has just heard through the grape vine that a new eatery is opening up in town. California Grill will be having it’s grand opening this coming Saturday, April 28, and their regular burger or teriyaki chicken burger with either fries or salad will be on a promotional price of 100nt (originally 185nt). Go between 11am and 10pm.

No, I am not getting paid to write about them.

California Grill seems to be offering a nice menu for all, even a tofu burger for vegetarians. I’m eyeing the salmon fillet sandwich with pesto sauce. And for those who give a damn about the provenance of your meat, the eatery advertises using “USDA approved beef.”

Thus far, yours truly have been going to The Diner on Ruian Street for her burger fixes. There’s also Mary’s Hamburger in Tienmu. But that’s in Tienmu.

I love love love The Diner. Not only were the hamburgers great but their brunch selection is AWESOME. Did I mention that they make Philly cheese steak? My only pet peeve about the place is that it’s always crowded and during the weekends the wait is quite insane (most, patrons are college kids who go to school in the vicinity) although still worth it.

I don’t remember Mary’s Hamburger very well. It has been quite some time since I went there. It is quite an old establishment and it is a piece of Americana in Tienmu. I just recall that the burgers were on the small side.

Seriously, where was the beef?

California Grill åŠ å·žç‡’çƒ¤å ¡
No. 53-1, Yong Kang Street ã€€
æ°¸åº·è¡—ï¼•ï¼“ä¹‹ï¼‘è™Ÿ

The Diner æ¨‚å
No.145, Rui-an Street
(Near Hoping East Road and Ruian Street)
02 2700 1680
å°åŒ—å¸‚ç‘žå®‰è¡—145è™Ÿ
(è¿‘å’Œå¹³æ±è·¯èˆ‡ç‘žå®‰è¡—å£)
www.thediner.com.tw

Mary’s Hamburger èŒ‰èŽ‰æ¼¢å ¡
No. 752 Chungshan North Road, Section 6
ä¸å±±åŒ—è·¯6æ®µ752è™Ÿ
02 2871 4997
Open: 8am to 10pm.

Burger photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Taipei International Vegetarian & Organic Festival 2007

Posted in Food News on April 25th, 2007 by mei| | 0 Comments.

Taipei Foodie News Flash! The Taipei International Vegetarian & Organic Festival of 2007 (å°åŒ—åœ‹éš›ç´ é£Ÿæš¨æœ‰æ©Ÿç”¢å“åšè¦½æœƒ2007) will be held at the Taipei Show Hall 2 (Originally the WTC Hall 2) [å°åŒ—å±•æ¼”äºŒé¤¨(åŽŸå°åŒ—ä¸–è²¿äºŒé¤¨)] from 5/10 to 5/13.

Taipei Show Hall 2 (Originally the WTC Hall 2)
å°åŒ—å±•æ¼”äºŒé¤¨(åŽŸå°åŒ—ä¸–è²¿äºŒé¤¨)
No.3, Song-Lian Road
T 02 2920 9771; 02 2722 8618
F 02 2720 0311 ã€€
æ¾å»‰è·¯ä¸‰è™Ÿ(åŽŸä¸–è²¿äºŒé¤¨)
www.taipeishow.com.tw
(Website in Chinese only)

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