Went there this afternoon with the in-laws. Awesome food, wonderful experience, quick service and great prices. We spent 2500 for 5 adults and 2 kids. I had humus, eggplant salad, falafels, and the lamb fillet kebab and couscous as my main. I finished of with some Moroccan beef cigars.
The lamb fillet was cooked beautifully, moist and tender. In fact all the food tasted…well, fresh.
A very big difference from the abortion of a meal I had in a ‘Greek’ restaurant in the same area a few months ago (precooked, frozen, microwave reheated, sticky, tasteless slop).
I did find the eggplant salad slightly bitter, not sure if that is the way eggplant is, maybe I am too used to the sweet/spicy way they cook it in Taiwan. Also, the sauce on the Moroccan cigars tasted bitter. Will ask them to leave that out next time.
There will be most definitely be a next time. The kids also enjoyed it, a lot, and the parents in law were also impressed, and are keen to go back.
Went the other night & had an affordable, tasty meal and great service.
Place was pretty much empty, but it was also quite early for dinner. The waitress was kind enough to ask if I preferred to speak English or Chinese, so I did my best mixing up both
I had the lamb kebab combo including a coke, veggie soup, eggplant salad (very good!), lamb kebab (pretty tasty & nicely cooked), potatoes (a little cumin & chili powder - with the lettuce they tasted like Mexican food) and choice of Jasmine rice or couscous (chose the couscous, but they were a bit dry).
My only complaints/criticisms:
All I really wanted was the pita kebab, but they apparently only serve it during lunch. Dinner is plates only. I long for the standard European “kebab stand” where you get your wrap to go at 3am after a night of drunken revelry!
I saw the lunch flyer posted on here and on their door, but I don’t think the times were listed anywhere on it. Maybe it’s standard in Taiwan that lunch is 12-2pm, but I didn’t know that. Unless it would confuse most people, I’d suggest adding the hours for lunch (as well as the operating days/hours).
Morrocan tea isn’t listed as an option for the combo. I didn’t really want a soda, but the only choices are Coke & Sprite.
I’ll be back, but probably just for lunch kebab & tea
It was also a tough decision because Out of India next door smelled REALLY good!
Have gone for lunch a few times because the $88NT special was hard to beat.
Went again today & discovered that, sadly, the prices have increased. They now offer “minced” meat or eggplant pitas w/fries & drink (small cup of soda or tea) for $95NT or $150NT (70% higher!) for the shish-kebab pitas, which are the chunks of meat as pictured on the flyer.
The fries are still great, but the pitas & drinks are relatively small. $88NT was a great deal, but I can get a lot of different stuff for $150NT.
I will say that the place was actually almost full of people this afternoon, which is a change from my previous visits. Could be because school is back in session (which may also explain the price hike…).
[quote=“sjhuz01”]Went again today & discovered that, sadly, the prices have increased…
I will say that the place was actually almost full of people this afternoon, which is a change from my previous visits. [/quote]
Astute move on the part of the owner. Too cheap and you fall below what constitutes ‘value’ in the eyes of many (particularly in the Orient). Put the price up a bit and there is more value in going somewhere that is not perceived as being cheap. It is essentially the third P in the big three P’s…product, price and positioning. As long as you deliver the product with standards and service above the price being charged, such price increases are fine. And anyway, things have been going up. Raw material prices are much higher than they used to be. I’d rather pay more to ensure the continuity of better ingredients than pay the same for a degraded meal based on purely financial considerations and lesser ingredients.
When times are slack or tough, it is better to increase the prices to maintain margins, standards and customers. Discount and go cheap and you alienate the existing customer base by attracting riff-raff and cheapskates. When you then attempt to put the price up to ‘normal’ and sustainable levels, the cheapies leave in a huff and the formerly good customers take a while to drift back.
I wish all the best to the owner; it’s a tough business and as long as he absolutely refuses to listen to the vocal minority that whinge about a couple of dollars here and there, he should do well.
Just off Shi da Rd. Coming from Heping/Shi da gate intersection, pass the dorms heading west(ish) toward Roosevelt. It’ll be on your right across the park from the night market area, on the same little street as the “Red Roof”(?) coffee place on the corner. Turn there & go about 200m. You see the “Out of India” sign on the left, and a burger place on the right. Babakebaba is immediately next door to the Indian place.
…or were you kidding after the lengthy discussion and multiple maps posted previously?
What are you, part owner or something? Calling a repeat (and previously satisfied) customer a “whingeing” cheapskate (why do Brits & Aussies insist on adding unnecessary letters to words??It’s “whine”.) is hardly a way to win customers or positive reviews. Understand the need to keep prices in line with overhead, but there’s no need for baseless insults…
As I understand it, this place just opened recently. It was empty each and every time I went, afternoons and evenings, except for the most recent, which happened to coincide with the start of the school semester. The only reason it was full then was because people hadn’t been there yet & it was someplace else to try.
I think it’d be foolish for a “foreign” establishment to alienate its “foreign” (apparently to some people that means “cheap-skate” and “riff-raff”) customer base in favor of locals who prefer beef noodle soup anyway.
Additionally, in case it wasn’t clear, this restaurant is across the street from dozens of (cheaper!) alternative eateries, typically populated by university students who, I imagine, are not the wealthiest of patrons. I think if they want to attract customers, listening to the “vocal minority” of those complaining about a few bucks would likely include nearly everybody in the area.
No I wasn’t, we went trying to find the place, but alas, we must’ve walked down the wrong street as we couldn’t find it…
The map isn’t exactly clear and the google map location is way off, it’s nearer JB’s than where it should be located, so that wasn’t helpful at all.
Will have to make another attempt sometime soon.
[quote=“sjhuz01”][What are you, part owner or something? Calling a repeat (and previously satisfied) customer a “whingeing” cheapskate (why do Brits & Aussies insist on adding unnecessary letters to words??It’s “whine”.) is hardly a way to win customers or positive reviews. Understand the need to keep prices in line with overhead, but there’s no need for baseless insults…
[/quote]
Now now…bit tetchy there aren’t we. I was making an observation on (in my view) the necessity of positioning a product at the right price point but you seem to be the one that went off on an anti-Brit/Aussie tirade. Oh dear. You must be one of those Yank-type people who knows everything. NO, I am not a part owner, nor have I ever been there; bit of a jump on your part to make that assumption. If I owned a restaurant in Taipei and posted on these boards, I would be far more circumspect and subtle dealing with riff-raff, cheapskates and whingers. If, by my speaking generically, you feel slighted then perhaps I was inadvertently more accurate than I had intended to be. If you were insulted then it was hardly “baseless” as the original premise for your post was to complain about a price hike which in the grand scheme of things is bugger all.
I believe this place opened in February which though not long is not that recent either; not in the restaurant business.
[quote=“sjhuz01”]I think it’d be foolish for a “foreign” establishment to alienate its “foreign” (apparently to some people that means “cheap-skate” and “riff-raff”) customer base in favor of locals who prefer beef noodle soup anyway.
Additionally, in case it wasn’t clear, this restaurant is across the street from dozens of (cheaper!) alternative eateries, typically populated by university students who, I imagine, are not the wealthiest of patrons. I think if they want to attract customers, listening to the “vocal minority” of those complaining about a few bucks would likely include nearly everybody in the area.[/quote]
Most “foreign” establishments in Taipei, even with a substantial foreign clientele, are patronised in the majority by “locals”. To state that they (locals) prefer beef noodle soup “anyway” is fallacious and degrading. This is not true. I would happily alienate those foreigners who posted about a small price increase on these boards in favour (too many letters for you there, sunshine?) of locals who didn’t. That way, I could filter out the undesirable demographic and retain both foreign and local customers with the means to pay, improve service, buy in better ingredients and cater to them. Your insinuation therefore that I equate “foreign” with Fawltyesque “riff-raff” is simply not true BUT I will say this: Taiwan has a larger proportion of foreigners who have the audacity to go to pricier places then bitch and moan about the price than any other major Asian centre I have been to/lived in. Cheap locals stick to what they can afford and from what I have witnessed NEVER complain about the price more expensive places charge; too much face to lose, you see. If they had an issue with the price, they simply wouldn’t go back not moan about it online, whch for an operator is perfect because then the focus can be on more viable patrons. Of course, the establishment itself must be able to justify its prices through service. If the service was crap and the food inedible yet the price charged was exhorbitant then fair enough but stating that “sadly” a restaurant increased a lunch special from NT$88 to NT$95 is worthy of ridicule, frankly.
You did state that after they put the price up, it got busy. It may have something to do with the area in which it is located but it may also have something to do with a perception amongst the noodle-munching classes that if it is cheap, it is no good.
Yes, the prices have gone up, which reflect the crap economy, rising food and labour costs, etc, etc which have been mentioned many times before.
The owner originally wanted to tack on service charge, but I was against that since I personally hate them. I told him to just raise the prices if that’s what he had to do to meet his desired profit projections. Which he has done. I personally feel customers will appreciate the honesty more of paying the price that they see on the menu, and not be surprised by a SC at the end of the meal.
Baba Kebaba may not be the cheapest place to eat in ShiDa, but they still offer great food at an entirely reasonable price, the alcohol is dirt cheap, atmosphere is relaxing, they have a great lunch special, and they still have regular belly dancing shows and shisha pipes
No I wasn’t, we went trying to find the place, but alas, we must’ve walked down the wrong street as we couldn’t find it…
The map isn’t exactly clear and the google map location is way off, it’s nearer JB’s than where it should be located, so that wasn’t helpful at all.
Will have to make another attempt sometime soon.[/quote]
Swede, there are two Watsons on Shi-Da Rd.
The smaller one is right beside the night market.
We are located in an alley directly across from that Watsons.
Beside Out Of India, across from Evan’s Burger.
Hope that helps.
Ate at this place tonight with my girlfriend. I thought the food was ok. I went for the Lamb Shish Kebob. It offered 2 on the menu, so I played it safe and ordered the lamb tenderloin one assuming it was probably just leg meat that had been tenderized. I wasn’t sure what else they would serve on the cheaper one, and I was hungry.
It was expensive, but decent. The portion was OK, nothing special and I was dissapointed in the presentation. Maybe not having any Middle eastern people there had something to do with it. Also no green pepper or onion with the apparent kabob, that wasn’t really a kabob but just meat cooked on a grill. I expect that from a shish kebob… I mean cmon, all you need to do is look at a picture of shish kabob and it has leg meat chunks with green peppers, onions and sometimes tomato or carrot. I know I am spoiled because in Michigan I would order the same meal and pay 2 or 3 dollars less and get way more authentic food with tons more meat and grilled veggies.
I took the bus for about 50 min from Neihu to try this place, but I dunno if it is worth it to go back. It was decent but pricey for the amount of meat offered and no grilled veggies…
My gf spent about $7 US and got pretty much the same dinner but with some different lamb. I wish I would have bought the cheaper meal.
This is our new and current menu.
I’ve also added it to the first page of this thread to keep things current.
It’s been further tweaked and improved on the old one.
Also you can see our lunch special.
Cheap!
Hope you guys can try it out!
Any chance you guys will add Turkish Pizza to the menu? I really miss that, as it’s something so simple and tasty…
I’ve yet to convince my GF that we should go
Looks like you guys have a lot of nice stuff on the menu.
We ate there last Saturday night. I think we were the first customers of the evening, probably due to not eating much during the day.
We were very satisfied with the food. Had the falafel, dolma and tomato soup for starters, then I had the spicy fish on couscous for main and my fiancee had the combo kebab. All the food was great, we’ll definitely be back.
Again, very friendly and quick service, and good food.
I started with the Pita and Hummus appetizer. The Hummus was good, but the pita bread was microwaved…not grilled…yuck!! :no-no: )
My main was the Kebab combo set meal, and all three types of meat were beautifully cooked).
Their Tahini sauce ( I now know the name) is slightly bitter and I don’t enjoy it, I wonder what sesame paste they use to make it.
The set meal salad is uneventful, exactly the same stuff they put in the stuffed pitas. I finished everything off with the pistachio nuts ice cream - yum!
Hubby and father-in-law ordered the beef and chicken kebab combo, and they also were very happy with the meat. Mother-in law-in had a beef pita and said it was “ok”, I think next time she will go for the Kebabs instead.
I also ordered some stuffed pitas to take home. The Beef Pita was well-filled, but the Falafel Pita was a bit low on Falafels and heavy on the salad filling. Next time I will place an order for extra Falafels to go with that (if possible?). I also requested Hummus sauce instead of Tahini sauce, but they they forgot to make the change.
The stuffed Pitas heat up nicely in the bench top oven, but they will easily get very crispy and can’t be heated for too long and at too high a temperature.
We were getting ready to leave when a belly dancer arrived at 7:10PM, so we felt obliged to let her finish her show - not my cup of tea.
Quite possible in the future, but not right now.
Our menu designer is out of the country, and we don’t mess around with the menu unless he approves it.
I’m glad to read the recent positive reviews.
When you’re happy, we’re happy.
