Mia Cafe [ Taipei/Cafe]

Mia Cafe

add:台北市敦化南路一段235之2號1樓, Taipei, Taiwan

hours: 11:30am-10pm

tel: (02) 2741-8080

mrt: zhongxiao dunhua

pricing: pricey $$$

                                 

Every time I walk by Eslite on Dunhua, I see this elegant little cafe just sitting on the side looking quite inviting. So I decided to give it a try. When we first walked in, the door was opened and we were greeted cheerfully by a staff member, directing us upstairs to their dining area. 

Once upstairs we were once again greeted by the hostess who took us to our seating. The cafe itself was very bright with tons of natural light shining through their giant floor length windows, decorated in very plush and opulent decor. A tad fancy for a cafe, but i like it! 

Mia Cafe is a fusion restaurant that serves sushi to hotcakes to delicate pastries to normal cafe fares. The prices are quite affordable with an average meal costing between 

200-300NT

As I was dead tired from a restless night of sleep, I decided to opt for a green tea latte. The latte itself was a perfect balance between the espresso and the milk. The green tea flavor gave it a little extra kick and the caramel crisp pushed it over the edge! 

The curry beef was surprisingly good, the curry had a good texture and a mild spiciness to it that i love.

I ordered the caviar oishi sushi, which was superb! It was basically a three tiered sushi, with fresh avocado on top of tuna tartar on a a patty of rice topped of with caviar , served with fresh fruits and tofu around it and a tangy sesame sauce.

Sushi Banzai 壽司滿載

Sushi Banzai 壽司滿載

add:台北市忠孝東路四段333號2樓, Taipei, Taiwan 107

hours: 11:30am-10pm

tel: (02) 2731-9716

mrt: sun yet sun memorial hall

pricing: pricey $$$

                  

First of all does anyone else see the Disney font Sushi Banzai is written in? hahaha well what Disney doesnt know... Well anyways Sushi Banzai is an All You Can Eat restaurant conveniently located a few steps from SYS MRT Station exit 1. Exiting the station you'll see a sign for the restaurant, its hard to miss. 

Sushi Banzai requires a two week in advance reservation, but there were plenty of open seats left when I ate there. Maybe their just trying to make it seem like its in demand? Its about 680NT per person for dinner and I think 580NT for lunch. 

Entering the restaurant Im greeted by this beautiful sight of fresh sashimi and a good variety of it as well! They even had my favorite Yellow Tail which i rarely see and my second favorite the Golden something LOL, theres also Salmon,Tuna,Swordfish and Cobia? 

Since its AYCE, I asked for four pieces each (: I was actually pleasantly surprised that the sashimi was very fresh and delicious. The Tuna was superb it was melt in your mouth delicious. The other fishes were also very good but the Tuna was everything and a bag of chips!  

They also a hand roll station but they weren't really worth mentioning, very meh. 

Lots of warm dishes that included baked crab sushi,salmon collar, broiled pork and a great variety of tempura.            
                                                                         

Their tempura shrimps were huge, crispy and flaky just the way I like it, but their sauce was a tad too gingery for me. 

And for desserts one can not go wrong with good ol Hagaen Daaz, but their other little cakes were a little than desirable. The cakes were quite dry and bland, but  a typical sight in AYCEs. 

Sorry for the bad pictures, I always feel weird taking photos at a buffet... Anyways if you are ever in a huge hankering for sashimi , Sushi Banzai is definitely well priced for its quality.  In comparison 12 pieces of lower quality sashimi at Sushi Express would cost you 360NT in itself, so Banzai is quite reasonable! But overall the food at Sushi Banzai is mediocre at best so skip everything else and just indulge in sashimi!~

               

PAOPU 寶舖里民 Cafe

PAOPU 寶舖里民 Cafe

                                 

                                        address:台北市中正區羅斯福路3段210巷頭, 105 Taipei, Taiwan

                                        hours: M-Sun: 10am -10pm                                

                                        phone: 02-8369-2777

Whats better than drinking a hot cup of latte on a rainy dreary day? So as the zany weather of Taiwan would have it, it decided to rain all of a sudden and ruin my free day. So as the old adage goes, when life gives you lemons make lemonade, so we decided to stop in a cafe for some caffeine and wait out the rain. 

What striked  us first about PaoPu Cafe was its very sleek and modern design with it's alabaster walls and clean straight edges. The cafe delightfully opens up on all sides allowing tons of natural light in, and i would think also a even more beautiful night scenery.

                           

The cafe is also a hub for up and coming performing artists, who have regular shows that they debut right in the cafe. They even have a nice and very organized debut calendar that lists when and who is playing on any given day.

The cafe also included a staircase that lead to a balcony-esque thing. I couldn't figure out what it was used for as there was nothing up there but a tree in the middle of a reflective pond.

A downside to the cafe is that it doesn't offer any sort of food and only serves up a handful of drinks.  But the drinks are very well priced but are little on the ordinary side when it comes to flavor. 

So if you're looking for a cheap cup of joe with an excellent space and decor, PAOPU cafe is a great choice. 

                + :  chic, modern and sleek, well priced drinks, live entertainment
                 - :  doesn't serve food, limited choices

                             Overall 3.5/5         

                                                

Cafe 8mm 巴黎米

Cafe 8mm 巴黎米

                                        address: 大安區新生南路三段60巷1號

                                        phone: 02-2363-3237

                                        hours: M-Thur :11-10pm , F-Sun : 11-1am

An interesting cafe nestled in the winding alleys near Taida University, this cafe provides great ambiance paired with delectable fares. 

A little hesitant to enter at first, but at first glimpse, we simply could not leave. The Cafe is decorated interestingly, combining a very industrial feel with fascinating colorful artwork.

The atmosphere was gently cultivated with the cafe's intoxicatingly enthralling choice of music. The music, in addition to the decor seemed to instantly transport one back into Bolshevik Russia. It felt as if gypsies should have been dancing, whilst we eating caviar and bellinis and drinking lots of vodka!

The Italian chocolate was thick and decadent, like drinking a chocolate bar. YUM~

Miss Piggy Panini, stuffed with porky delight and crisp baguette (only half a serving, shared it with a friend). One of the better paninis i've had in taiwan.

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