Tag Archives: risotto

July 18, 2012 · 3:22 pm

MEOWVELOUS

Name:
MEOWVELOUS CAFE & RESTAURANT
貓下去西餐快炒小館

Address:
No. 38 XuZhou Rd., ZhongZheng District, Taipei City
台北市中正區徐州路38號

Hours:
Tue – Sun 5:30 pm~9:00 pm
(Closed Mondays)

Reservations recommended! They only pick up after 3:00pm. 02-2322-2364

The restaurant setup is like a long hallway: one side for the diners, one side for the kitchen.

It’s a classy night. Open that bottle of red wine. 900NT for a bottle.

Complimentary soup – broccoli soup. The bread is outsourced from Boite de Bijou, a popular bread/dessert shop in Taipei.

Seared Seafood Mix (270NT)

Bold flavors and refreshing!

Romaine Heart Salad with Crispy Chicken Breast (260NT)

The egg is the centerpiece of the salad!! I speculate the chef cooked the egg half way, just enough for the egg white to solidify. Then continue the egg yolk cooking with a blow torch! This leaves the yolk with a creamy, gooey texture. YUM!

80z Rib-Eye Steak with Fries (580NT)

Satisfactory piece of rib-eye! Seasoned, tender and not over grilled.

Cheese Risotto (300NT)

With brown butter, mixed vegetables, apple, bacon and hash brown.

Don’t doubt the flavor combination! But the hash brown is still an interesting touch. I’m not complaining since hash browns are delicious!

Daily Special – Pork Knuckle (550NT)

If you are a fan of pig knuckle, you should definitely try theirs when it is available.

Lemon Tart (100NT)

Nothing too out of the ordinary. But it is delicious!

Found this on their wall! The little girl from 川島小鳥 Kawashima Kotori’s photography! She is adorable.

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In my opinion, Meowvelous serves quality food for reasonable prices. To put it simply, it’s a great place to convene for special occasions without having to ball out.

Definitely make reservations days in advance, especially for parties of 2 or more. Space is limited; there are only 5-6 tables in the restaurant.

DIARY

Date Visited: 7th of December, 2011

Name:
DIARY

Address:
No. 53, DongFeng St., DaAn District, Taipei City
台北市大安區東豐街53號

Hours:
Mon-Sun 3:30PM~1:00AM

This reminds me of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the episode on not having a store sign automatically makes your establishment hip and cool.

of a wimpy kid

The open kitchen really sets the ambiance of the restaurant.

Tastes like dried apples…addictive.

Wild Mushroom Risotto (280NT)

Won’t say it’s the best (check out my post on La Giara!) but it’s a respectable risotto! Good flavors and the cook was generous with the mushrooms! But, alas, the risotto is your regular mushroom risotto, nothing out of the ordinary.

Steamed Perch with Garden Salad (320NT)

The “garden salad” is the top portion. Underneath the bold, yellow zesty-ness lies red carrot stripes. And the dish is definitely not short of butter, yum.

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So DIARY is known for innovative dishes with bold flavors. I guess I wasn’t so daring that night. But the perch, indeed, had “in your face” lemon flavors. I’ll save the daring menu orders for next time (chocolate fried chicken, fried fish with squid ink batter).

La Giara

Date Visited: 28th of October, 2011

Name:
La Giara
萊嘉樂

Address:
2nd Floor, No. 352, FuXing S. Rd. Sect. 1, DaAn District, Taipei City
台北市大安區復興南路一段352號2樓

Hours:
Mon-Sun Lunch 12:00PM~2:30PM (Last call at 2:00PM)
Mon-Sun Afternoon Tea 12:00PM~5:00PM
Mon-Sun Dinner 6:00PM~11:30PM (Last call at 10:00PM)

Ho fame…ancora! *insert hand gestures*

Slightly tricky to find this place. Even though it’s listed at No. 352, the entrance is located closer to No. 348/No. 350.

Already loving the interior

Very romantic setting. According to Stinky Tofu, lots of proposals take place in this restaurant!

What’s better…foccacia weave or bacon weave ? Haha

Compliments of the chef~! Beef plus rice, deep-fried.

Insalata di Spinaci (380NT)
Calamari alla Trapanese, Serviti con Salmoriglio (490NT)

So we ordered an appetizer and salad. They split it for us.

The salad consists of fresh spinach leaves tossed in a dressing of olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. Highly recommend it!

Stuffed squid topped with breadcrumb, served with salmoriglio olive oil dressing, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and parsley.

I want to like it more but I don’t. It’s a unique item on the menu but for some reason it didn’t do it for me. The flavor was too foreign, thought the stuffing didn’t do the calamari any justice.

Risotto Quatro Formaggi (530NT)

Risotto in four cheese sauce .

You know how I said the risotto at Luna d’Italia was a “real” risotto? I take it back…THIS is a REAL risotto!!!!! So amazing!!! Just lo0k at it!!!

Risotto Gamberi e Cappesante (530NT)

Risotto with shrimps and scallops.

Another solid dish.

Gnocchi di Patate al Gorgonzola (530NT)

Potato dumplings with gorgonzola cheese.

“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!” So…uhm…I’m in love with this gnocchi. This is why I’m using this loving font color. Softest gnocchi I’ve had up to date in Taipei. Once you take a bite, it melts in your mouth, literally! I can’t believe potatoes can be made into such a creamy texture! Sooo much goodness in one little dumpling. The gorgonzola never fails as a good sauce for gnocchi. The quantity may seem small for the price but, trust me, you will feel full before you finish the plate.

Semifreddo di Mandorle con Cioccolata (250NT)

Semi-frozen almond cake with chocolate.

How can I make semifreddos at home?! I want to eat the whole damn cake!! This cake is less icy and more almond-y than the semifreddo from Luna d’Italia. Couldn’t get enough of this cake.

Was going to get the pistachio semifreddo but they were out for the night. Oh well, until next time.

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Check out I Love Stinky Tofu ‘s blog post about La Giara! We’re both fans of this restaurant!