Come eat now！ 6 popular Taipei restaurants that opened in Q1 this year

Reported by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

New restaurants keep popping up non-stop. ETtoday EBC News Cloud has compiled a list of popular new restaurants that opened in Taipei in Q1 of this year (2016). Among them, it’s found that the new wave isn’t limited to eateries from Japan and Korea—there’s also an Italian dessert shop COVA, Chaofang Cantonese Dim Sum that originated in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, as well as Mamak stalls brimming with Malaysian flavors.


▲ Roast duck. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Chaofang Cantonese Dim Sum Buffet
The Kaohsiung-based Dah Ba Catering Group officially entered Taipei in 2010 with the launch of “Chaofang Cantonese Dim Sum Buffet.” Its Breeze Nanjing branch officially opened on January 9th. The biggest highlight of Chaofang Cantonese Dim Sum Buffet is its dim sum buffet format, combined with freshly cooked à la carte dishes, offering a hundred delicacies—especially with weekday lunch at just NT$479 and weekday dinners/holiday lunches and dinners at only NT$549, making it an exceptionally affordable option in the greater Taipei area.

The Taipei Neihu InBase branch also officially opened on March 8th. With up to 350 seats, it’s the largest branch in all of Taiwan—twice the size of the Nanjing branch. In addition to more seating, many new dishes have been added, such as spicy crab stir-fry, freshly made sliced fish soup, live-prepared satay seafood vermicelli pot, and limited-time offerings of Hong Kong-style braised beef tendon.

Nanjing Branch
Address: 4F, No. 337, Section 3, Nanjing East Road, Songshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-8712-8800

Neihu InBase Branch
Address: 2F, No. 68, Xinhu 2nd Road, Neihu District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-8792-2345


▲ Japan’s No.1 popular freshly baked semi-melted cheese tower PABLO is now available in Taiwan after January 15. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

PABLO
Japan’s No.1 popular freshly baked semi-melted cheese tower PABLO opened its first store in Taiwan on January 15th at HOYII Taipei Main Station, launching a three-in-one “flagship store” that includes dine-in (with takeout counter), takeout services, and retail. In addition to freshly baked semi-melted cheese towers and gold-medal cheese towers, it also offers cheese puff pastries, sandwich cookies, and two overseas-exclusive layered pies.

The star of Japan’s No.1 popular freshly baked semi-melted cheese tower brand PABLO is its “surprise and happiness-filled” desserts. Using exclusive recipes and handmade blending techniques, everything is freshly baked on-site, filling the store with a warm aroma of cheese, attracting a horde of dessert lovers on a pilgrimage. PABLO’s fantasy sweet—the freshly baked semi-melted cheese tower—features a uniquely developed “semi-melted” baking level that ensures the filling is rich without being greasy, silky smooth, making many people in Japan willing to wait one or two hours just to have a taste. The freshly baked matcha white bean paste red bean semi-melted cheese tower combines imported cheese, Uji matcha powder, red bean paste, and mochi—all hand-mixed to balance the bitterness of the matcha with the sweetness of the cheese, paired with the multi-layered texture of the red bean and mochi.

Address: 1F/B1, No. 36, Section 1, Zhongxiao West Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2370-3678


▲ Extra-large pork loin cutlet. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Yaba Miso Pork Cutlet
The long-established Japanese pork cutlet shop “Yaba Miso Pork Cutlet,” a must-eat for travelers visiting Nagoya, Japan, has officially opened in Taipei’s Yongkang commercial district. Founded in 1947, it has been around for 75 years. To authentically recreate the Japanese flavor, Yaba’s secret miso sauce and the crucial ingredient of bread crumbs for the fried pork cutlets are flown in directly from Japan. Japanese head chef Senno Hirohito will also be stationed at the store during the opening period, presenting authentic Nagoya-style miso fried pork cutlets.

Address: 1F, No. 171, Section 2, Xinyi Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2341-8810

▲ COVA’s desserts and cakes are all made fresh daily. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

COVA
The century-old Italian Milanese dessert institution COVA has finally officially opened on February 18th. Here you can enjoy the most authentic Italian-style coffee, cakes, and chocolates. Small cakes and desserts (like cream puffs) are NT$70 each, daily selected cakes are NT$220 per slice; as for COVA’s signature chocolate products, the Goodnight Chocolate is NT$35 per piece, the Gold Brick Chocolate is NT$70 per piece, and filled chocolates/truffle chocolates are NT$80 each regardless of flavor.

Address: 2F, No. 68, Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2722-7655


▲ Penang-style salted egg stir-fried | (Image / Huang Shiyuan)

Mamak Stall
Mamak stalls are a common sight on Malaysian streets. With a blend of Chinese, Indian, and local Malay cultures, they have developed uniquely local dishes such as Nasi Lemak—a fragrant coconut rice loved by Malaysians and often eaten for breakfast—as well as towering, tissue-like crispy roti, and curry laksa. Now you can enjoy these in Taipei’s East District too!

At the Mamak stall in the East District, you can try Hainanese chicken rice—created by homesick Hainan immigrants who moved to Malaysia—bouncy chicken slices, flavorful braised dishes, and spicy local stews, as well as curry laksa, one of Malaysia’s top ten famous dishes. The authentic version comes with both noodles and rice vermicelli. The broth blends curry with the creamy aroma of coconut milk, simmered with various spices, and both types of noodles soak up the rich flavors.

Address: 1F, No. 72, Lane 187, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Taipei City
Phone: 02-27316086

▲ Kongling One Chicken is now available in Taiwan too!(Photo by Huang Shiyuan)

Kongling One Chicken
Many people have been eagerly awaiting the Korean-style dish Kongling One Chicken, which began trial operations in March. The owner who introduced Kongling One Chicken, Rui YongfY, said that the broth is made by simmering over ten kinds of vegetables for five hours, resulting in a lighter taste compared to regular chicken soup. As for the chicken, 45-day-old free-range birds are used, making the meat especially tender.

If one chicken isn’t enough to fill you up, you can add knife-cut noodles (NT$60) and steamed white rice (NT$20), as well as seaweed egg porridge (NT$60). The shop recommends cooking the porridge by adding the rice, egg, and seaweed to the remaining broth (they’ll add more if needed—the broth can be replenished) after finishing the chicken, and slowly simmering it into a comforting porridge.

Address: No. 14, Lane 83, Section 1, Da’an Road, Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2781-8181