Yi Yuan Pekingese Restaurant 頤園 - Westin Hotel

Address: 133 Nanjing East Road, Sec 3, Taipei. (B2 Westin Hotel)

Telephone: (02) 8770-6565

Hours: 12:00PM-2:30PM; 6:00PM-9:30PM

What do you know when you are about to dini at a quality hotel? You are definitely getting great service in an upscale atmosphere that will make your wallet bleed.  I would also dare say that typically the food can be counted on to be excellent.  It stands to reason that when an 4 or 5 star hotel provides every other amenity that a guest would desire, providing amazing dining choices would be one of the most important things that they would care to strive for.
Yi Yuan Pekingese Restaurant 頤園 at the Westin is able to pass all of the above criteria easily.  The food is splendid, the service is magnificent, the decor is luxurious and the prices are of course exorbitant... check, check, check and check.

 Combo Platter.  Some good flavor with a spicy kick to it.

 Sea Cucumber. 

Nice QQ(cannot think of the English equivalent... perhaps chewy) noodles that is mixed on hand.  

Yi Yuan Pekingese Restaurant 頤園 is located on the B2 floor of the beautiful Westin Hotel, with ample seating for large parties and intimate gatherings alike.  We were here for a dinner on a quiet Monday night and were seated in a private room.  The restaurant didn't seem too busy, but there were a decent number of patrons coming in and out.  

I arrived in time to see my God-Mother finishing up her order with the waitress.  I was not privy to what was ordered, and to be honest, I wasn't too worried about it.  Eating at a Pekingese restaurant, I knew there was definitely going to be one thing guaranteed to appear in front of me, and that was enough for me.

 Oh boy.. YUM.

Duck.  In all stages of devastation.

Isn't Pekingese cuisine synonymous with Duck? Is that just my uncouth nature spilling out again? Regardless, Peking Duck is the signature dish of this type of cuisine, and why the heck shouldn't it be? It's just oh so very delicious.

The Peking Duck at Yi Yuan Pekingese Restaurant 頤園 is renowned around the city as being one of the best Taipei has to offer.  I've been told that in the Japanese tour books about Taiwan, they all highly recommend Yi Yuan, so you will often see Japanese tourists come here to dine on this exemplary creation.  The chef is known to travel to Beijing every year to review his skills on roasting the duck, and his techniques on making the sauce and pancakes which often accompany the duck.  As you can see, Yi Yuan 頤園 and its chefs take tremendous pride in their signature item, and it shows in the finished product.

The duck is superb.  The meat is moist, the skin is crisp, and every inch of it is oozing with flavor.  If you manage to wander into Yi Yuan 頤園 without ordering the Peking Duck, then you have truly missed out.

 Pancake and the necessary fix'ns. 

Yi Yuan isn't only renowned for its roast Peking Duck, but as also a great spot to get a taste of many modernized versions of Pekingese gastronomical staples.  We had a wide range of food for us to experience.  From a mushu like dish, to combo platters and dumplings.  I found the food to be a joy to look at, which I have continuously said might be on occasion just as important as the taste of the food itself.

 Love the sauce that accompanies the perfectly cooked fish.  Sweet and a bit tangy.

Yi Yuan 頤園's version of the scallion pancake.

Caramelized Taro with spun sugar.  

You can fill out your meal around the necessity that is the Peking Duck.  But I would definitely recommend the scallion pancake, along with the combo platter to start.  The sea cucumber is also a famous dish of theirs, but i'm not a fan of sea cucumbers in general so I didn't give it a taste.

To be honest, I didn't find any dish to be lacking, but clearly not everything can be great.  But it is a testament to Yi Yuan 頤園 that everything ranged from good to excellent.  I enjoyed the presentation of many of the dishes, and how they preparation was done table side, that's always a nice touch and something commonly done in Pekingese restaurants.

I greatly enjoyed my experience at Yi Yuan 頤園, and must thank my God-Mother for the treat.  If people are ever in the mood to be a bit lavish and have some amazing Peking Duck done right, I now know where to go.

Overall Yi Yuan 頤園 Receives: 

-Til Next Time-

BAANCHAN - ATT4FUN MAll

Address: ATT4FUN 5th Floor. Taipei Taiwan.

Eating in a department store is always so confusing.  For some reason, everything always seems so appetizing to me.  I really don't know if other people feel the same way, but there is something about all these restaurants and food options being piled together that excites the heck out of my taste buds.  The downside is that eating in such a place is typically a very hit or miss proposition.
My mother and I found ourselves in the relatively new ATT4FUN for lunch on a random Friday.  I think we walked by each restaurant twice, traversed multiple floors before we decided to test our luck at BAANCHAN, and give this Korean restaurant a go.

Like all Korean restaurants.  Some small dishes to get you started.

All the customary Korean fare was represented on the menu.  From savory pancakes, tofu soup, to your grilled meats and Korean style sushi.  The restaurant is nestled in one of the corners on ATT4FUN's fifth floor food pavilion, and has nice large windows overlooking the city.  The decor was simple, and the place was happily buzzing along with a good amount of patrons.  

Like any Korean restaurant, BAANCHAN provides you with some simple side dishes to start.  Some bean sprouts, kimchi and other little treats for you to nibble on as you wait.  This is somehow always my favorite thing whenever I choose Korean food as my dining option.  Who doesn't love appetizers? This is just like getting a ton of appetizers for free....... always appreciated.

 Tofu Stew.

 Meat!

 Seafood Pancake.

Mother's Bibimbap.

We opted to go with a seafood pancake to start, while my mother chose a bibimbap (mixed rice dish) as her meal.  I went with an combo that consisted of a choice of tofu stew and a choice of meat.  

Overall, I didn't think any of these dishes were particularly good.  The seafood pancake was a bit too bland and bready, without having enough of the agreed upon seafood in its DNA make up.  While my mother is notoriously hard to please, her scowl as her bibimbap was brought to her was still slightly exaggerated in my opinion.  She claimed that the dish wasn't authentic and was a bit too dry.  I had a taste myself, and it seemed fine, although definitely far from the best I've had.  

I liked the flavor of the tofu soup although it was definitely a bit on the salty side.  It went well with the rice, but when eaten on its own, the saltiness is eminently noticeable.  The beef however was tough and almost tasteless.  The marinade must have been having an off day as the flavor was definitely lacking.  I can overlook the fact that there were only four pieces since this was a part of a set meal, but the lack of flavor for Korean BBQ is unforgivable.

Some simple Korean sushi options.

Also picked a simple california roll as a topper to the meal (wasn't called a cali roll on the menu however).  It was simple yet satisfying and the thousand island-ish dipping sauce went well with it.  The prices were acceptable, but nothing that I would label cheap for Taiwan as it ran around 1200NT for everything.

Another gripe that I had was the service of the employees.  Something I have grown accustomed to while dining out in Taipei is the impeccable service that you will find in many of the restaurants, be it high end or low end.  The workers were both not attentive and seemed somehow put upon by even the simplest requests.  

As you can see, I wasn't overly pleased with the meal I had at BAANCHAN.  With that said however, the soup and sushi was good, and good Korean food seems to be difficult to find in Taiwan.  If I were to eat at ATT4FUN, there is almost no chance I would choose BAANCHAN again, unless the craving for Korean food had taken over my body.  Percentage of that happening? Slim to none.

Overall BAANCHAN receives: 

-Til Next Time-

Toscana - Sherwood Hotel Taipei

Address: 111 Min Sheng E Road, Sec.3,Taipei,Taiwan   台北市松山區民生東路三段111號

Telephone: (02)2718-1188 EXT.3001

Hours: Breakfast: 7:30AM-10:30AM; Lunch: 11:30AM-2:30PM; Afternoon Tea: 3:00PM- 5:00PM
Dinner: 6:00PM-10:30PM; Brunch (weekends only): 10:00AM-2:30PM

For our caveman ancestors, I imagine there was no more glorious thing than the invention of fire.  Not necessarily for the ability to battle the elements, but really for the ability to cook meat.  Think about how excited they must have been to sink their teeth into a slab of whatever animal was running around at the time.  Somethings really don't change, since many of us still revert back into cavemen when we are talking about beautiful beautiful steaks.  That visceral reaction we get as that perfectly cooked medium rare steak is brought forth...salivating over the keyboard as I think about it.
Toscana really is more than just about the steaks however, as they have a menu full of other options plus a salad bar that is teeming with gourmet choices for you to chow down on.  But even as I say that, it sounds hollow even to my ears.. as steak was what I came here for, and it was steak I got.

Meat Options

 Lovely Room.

Free Bread!

Toscana is located on the first floor of the Sherwood Hotel in Taipei.  It is a very luxurious looking room with seating for 92 patrons.  I found myself here with my family on a Sunday evening, and while when I arrived (6:30) the place was relatively empty, the restaurant filled up nicely as the night progressed.  

As you enter through the double doors, you will immediately notice the all you can eat salad bar laid out for your dining and viewing pleasure.  It costs around 800NT, so it's definitely not cheap for something that most likely won't be your main course (although it easily could be), but there was a multitude of options available and seemed very fresh.

 A quick look at the salad bar.  Loved the quiche and cheese options.

Simple pizza.  Didn't get to sample it, as it was reserved for the kids.  

I didn't order the salad bar for myself, but I of course picked off the plate of those who did.  This might be frowned upon, but when you are about to pay upwards of 5000NT for a steak, eating some cheese, veggies and quiche seems justified.  I forced my sister to keep getting more and more goodies for me from the salad bar, because lets face it, pilfered food just tastes so much better.

The menu also has other options on it as well, much of it Italian.  From antipasti, soups, pastas, pizzas and other items.  I decided to share a sea urchin pasta with my nephew.

 Sea Urchin Pasta

 Carbonara Pasta

 Simple Green Salad.

Lobster Bisque

The pasta was cooked well, but the flavors of anything else were drowned out by the heavy heavy taste of garlic.  There was only a faint hint of sea urchin in the pasta, and overall I thought the dish of a bit of a failure.  The look of the pasta was a little bland as well.  The colors were not there, and in an establishment like Toscana, I expected a little more out of any dish that I would happen to order off of their menu.

 Dry Aged Bone-in Wagyu New York Strip (18oz, 3200NT)

Some Fixings.

The cuts of meat at Toscana are all dry-aged.  Dry aging beef comes at great expense as it involves hanging the beef and storing it in near freezing temperatures.  This can only be done with the very best cuts of beef, as the process requires meat with a large, even distribution of fat content.  The effect of dry aging is that the concentration and saturation of the natural flavor of the meat.  

The moisture is evaporated from the muscle, and the beef's natural enzymes break down the connective tissues in the muscle.  Enough of the biology lesson? Just know that this process results in an higher quality of beef that is more tender than it would've been.  More tender = more yummy = more money.  

Add the dry aging to already prime cuts of meat and you have just entered meat nirvana.  The above picture is of a Wagyu New York Strip, done medium rare.  It was the choice of a few people of the group and the meat was incredibly tender and of course full of natural flavor.  Not much sauce is needed to enhance the flavors of the meat, but they have some horseradish and mustard options available.

I also thought the mashed potatoes were delicious.  Light and airy and not clumpy whatsoever.  

 Some accoutrements

 36oz Dry Aged Wagyu T-Bone Steak (5000NT).

 Tenderloin Steak side.

Strip Steak side

Ahhh.. the star of most steak restaurants.  The 36oz dry-aged Wagyu T-Bone Steak.  What makes the T-bone steak so enticing is the fact that its comprised of two different types of beef, the larger is a strip steak, while the smaller side is the tenderloin.  

The tenderloin is typically the more desired side of the steak as it is probably one of the most tender cuts of beef there is.  The juices were oozing from the steak, and really, it was difficult not to grin manically as I started cutting into the meat.  There are those that like their meat to be slightly tougher, but I enjoyed the tenderloin cut much more.  While the strip side was also very good, it was no match for the tenderloin.  

There were small bits of the beef that were slightly burnt as we got nearer the T-bone, but that was negligible as far as the overall enjoyment of Toscana's steak.

 Nice dessert options.

Had to do it.

There are also smaller sizes available (24oz for the T-bone at 4500NT, 16oz for the NY Strip at 2850NT) for the steaks above as well as other cuts on the menu.  A dessert bar laden with all manners of sugary treats is also there for your eating delight.  To be perfectly honest, I still don't know how it works.  Meaning i'm not sure if its there for everyone, or only for those that ordered the salad bar, since everyone at our table just basically started in on the desserts without asking.  No one accosted us for this behavior, so I'd say... go ahead and behave the same way.

If I had to do it over again, I think I would have laid off on all the other menu options outside of the steak and added the salad bar onto my dinner.  As you can see, eating at Toscana will run you a pretty penny, but realize that you are getting excellent service along with excellent food.  Perhaps dining in this manner shouldn't be done on a day to day basis, but it is a great place for special occasions or just for when you're feeling especially ravenous.  

I would have liked a little more in the way of perhaps sauces for the steak or dressing up the dish itself.  But the extensive menu options, along with the bountiful salad bar more than make up for these other deficiencies. 

Overall Toscana Receives: 

-Til Next Time-