The Green Hornet

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
1

There is a new Western food option in the Xindian Bitan area. We’re at #108 Xindian Road - that’s the street that runs between the Xindian MRT station and the river. We’re about 130 meters further down from Athula’s curry cart next to the stairs. Keep walking down the street and you’ll find us on the left just before the street bends. The Website (greenhornetcafe.com) should be up by tomorrow, and I’ll be putting a map right up front there.

So, here’s the menu basically:

[quote]Spaghetti – the classic Italian pasta made from Durham semolina wheat. We use dry pasta imported from Italy.

  1. with sun-dried tomatoes in white wine sauce (vegan) – $NT 140
  2. with clams in white wine sauce - $NT 150
  3. with marinara tomato sauce (vegan) - $NT 140

Pesto Linguini – a light and healthy olive oil base with pine nuts and parmesan cheese. We add some sun-dried tomatoes and roasted walnuts for extra flavor. (veg) - $NT 140

Korean Ramen Noodles – a hot and spicy snack, or a light meal – by itself or with an egg poached in

  1. regular - $NT 110
  2. with egg - $NT 120

New York Steak (house specialty) – a 10oz. lean cut, strip loin pan-fried on a cast iron griddle to ensure perfect texture and juicy succulence. Recommended medium. Served with rice or mashed potato and a green vegetable garnish. - $NT 400

Rib-eye Sirloin – a 12oz. marbled cut seared on both sides in a cast iron pan. Recommended cooked to medium-rare to ensure full flavor. Served with rice or mashed potato and a green vegetable garnish. - $NT 380

Chili – a spicy three-bean stew made with garlic and onion in a tomato base. Contains quinoa and lentils for added texture and nutrition. Served with soda crackers, or a bowl of rice (+$NT 20)

  1. vegan - $NT140
  2. “chili con carne” (with ground beef) - $NT 160

Broiled chicken wings, “Buffalo style” – a spicy American classic traditionally served with celery sticks and a blue cheese dip. We par-boil them first to reduce fat and then marinate to soak in the flavor. Our Louisiana-style cayenne vinegar sauce has explosive flavor without too much heat, but we can add some extra heat if you request it.

  1. plain – 5 for $NT 95; 10 for $NT 180
  2. with celery sticks and blue cheese dip – 5 for $NT 140; 10 for $NT 220

Broiled wings, “Kato style” (house recipe) – an Asian twist on an American classic. Think sweet and sesame with lots of garlic and distinctive peppers from Kato’s homeland.

  1. plain – 5 for $NT 95; 10 for $NT 180
  2. add celery sticks and blue cheese dip +$NT 45

Burritos – a flour tortilla smeared with refried pinto beans, doused in salsa, topped with jalapenos and spices, rolled up and served with sour cream. Two per serving.

  1. Regular - $NT 100
  2. Con carne (ground beef) - $NT 130
  3. Chili (veg) (instead of refried beans) - $NT 130
  4. Vegan (no cheese) - $NT 90

Nachos (veg) (house specialty) – homemade tomato salsa and toppings smothered in cheese and twice-broiled to perfection. Served with a side of sour cream.

  1. Regular: salsa, Monterey Jack & cheddar cheese, chopped jalapeno peppers, black olives, and refried beans - $NT 160
  2. Vegan (no cheese) - $NT 140
  3. Chili cheese - $NT 180
  4. Supreme (add beef or chicken and green olives) - $NT 200

Chips and salsa (vegan) – a great budget snack! A generous bowl of our tangy salsa alongside a plate full of warmed corn chips. - $NT 70

Seafood chowder – potatoes, onions and carrots in a cream soup with clams, mussels, scallops and fish. Served with soda crackers and bread. - $NT 95

Salads
(options: Make it big, add $NT40; make it small, minus $NT40)

Greek salad (veg) – onions, cucumber, black olives and feta cheese make this classic salad. - $NT 100

Caesar salad (veg) - made with our homemade olive oil and mustard dressing.

  1. standard (with anchovies and fresh egg yolk) - $NT 90
  2. vegetarian (with capers and no egg) - $NT 80
  3. standard plus chicken - $NT 120

NIGHT MENU
(after 9PM)

~~ Nachos ~~
~~ Chili ~~
~~ Chicken wings ~~
~~ Seafood chowder ~~
~~ Cheese and cracker plate ~~
[/quote]

Here’s a look at the place:

You can see more photos on our Facebook places page here: facebook.com/GreenHornetCafe.com
And if you want to get in the loop on our specials, events and stuff, just “LIKE” that page and you’ll get all the updates on your Facebook feed.

And the question on everyone’s mind, what about booze? Well, we proudly offer Xindian’s only Guinness tap. AND we are selling it at a mere $NT 150 per pint for the time being. You cannot beat that any place, any time as far as I know. The eventual regular price will be $NT 180 - still super cheap. We also offer San Miguel on tap for $NT 130. Bar shots and basic drinks are $NT 90, premiums $NT 100 to $NT 150. Most cocktails are $NT 150, some more or less.

Finally, I need to add that we have a super-duper espresso machine and can fix you up a cappuccino or something for $NT 60. Our “house coffee” comes from the same machine and is basically a nice big mug that could fairly be called an extra-long double espresso. And we DON’T add hot water using that dubious local “Americano” technique; we run it long and it still tastes good, trust me. And, most importantly, the mug can be savored for a long time.

The menu posted above is actually not the complete picture. We will be adding Thai curry, SE Asian satay sticks with peanut sauce, steamed mussels, fettuccine Alfredo and macaroni and cheese. We might even add some desserts. Join our Facebook page to stay informed of these upcoming additions.

Hope to see some fresh faces. I know a lot of foreigners live in Xindian and wish there was some decent Western food available. And, as we all know, there are essentially no bars or pubs in Xindian. So tell your friends please. We are eager to provide you with some quality service and flavors. We don’t skimp on quality ingredients or portion sizes. Best nachos plate in Taipei, guaranteed.

2

Tonight (Saturday) we will have some live, original acoustic music by Kevin and Jamison. The first set will be quite early, maybe 7PM or so. There will be some sets later on too, maybe about 9:30 and 11. Kevin plays guitar and pretty much anything else you put in his hands. Jamison plays keys. I won’t be surprised if someone ends up drumming too. Kevin usually brings at least one drum when he performs.

This will be our first foray into live shows. I expect it will be very intimate and pleasant. And totally unamplified I think. We’ll see.

3

Well, good luck with it all, will have to swing by and have a try I guess, always good to see some more options in Xindian.

4

What are your hours of operation? I might be in the neighborhood this weekend. What time do you open for lunch? Do you close between lunch and dinner?

5

The hours of operation are 5:30 til midnight on weekdays, and 5:30 til 1:00 AM on weekends. Sorry for neglecting this key information!

We are also experimenting with lunchtime hours on the weekends. It hasn’t been worthwhile so far, but we are thinking of trying out a “Sunday brunch” with a special menu that will probably include eggs Benedict. :lick: (Anyone know a good source of English muffins? Or Bagels?)

If we do begin opening for lunch on weekends or weekdays, we will just stay open all day. After all, we are a cafe. :wink:

One more thing - we are also open for lunch on Friday because of the special event we call the “Chicken Run,” which entails getting raw chicken delivered to the Hornet at 10:30 AM each Friday providing enough people want it. (I’ll go make a post in the animals/pets forum about this.) To order please find the relevant comment thread here or call me at 0917-152-949.

So far, we have received a lot of support from the foreigner community in Xindian. Our end of town has been crying out for a place like the Hornet for years, and just as I suspected, people appreciate it now that it’s here. I hope it continues this way. I’ll try to keep improving everything to bring this about. The Tex-Mex food items on the menu have been the biggest sellers, though I personally would recommend the seafood chowder (super cheap and super delicious) and the New York strip steak (flavorful with a great texture).

If you are a current or future patron, please visit our Facebook page here: facebook.com/GreenHornetCafe and click the “Like” button so that you will receive the occasional update from us. There are a few photos there that should give you an idea of what the place is like.

6

Here is the logo. It was designed by my friend Tristan:

The colors are fluorescent, so they will glow under a blacklight. (future considerations)

And, even more impressive, here is the sign made of a clear box built from perspex, also designed and built by Tristan. It has a neon circle on the inside, along with four fluorescent tubes. It can be seen clearly from far, far down the street, which was one of our goals in deciding to do the sign this way.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

7

I’ve been to the Green Hornet twice now, and it’s a great deal. Friendly atmosphere and good food and drink at the right price. I’ll be back!

8

Good food at decent prices but the name and decor is bad. Anyways, the crazy thing is I saw the owner on the news. Apparently he’s charged with public misconduct or something like that. He gave some taiwnese person the middle finger and he pressed charges against him. I guess that’s illegal In Taiwan?!?!?? Good luck too you on that and your restaurant. Change the name though;)

9

Good luck with your restaurant and sorry to see verdict went against you, some things can’t be controlled but best to focus your energy now on positive things for your restaurant.

10

I’m interested in trying the burritos. No rice.

11

What would you name your restaurant, Newbie? Just curious. Maybe you should open one if you have a great name for one.

We don’t do rice burritos. Not yet anyway. We don’t even do rice yet, but we will once I add Thai curry to the menu. The menu is not complete yet because our customer flow is still a bit too low.

That was me on the news, yes. There is a thread on it in the legal forums. I was charged with public insult. By the looks of things, you had better take note of that law yourself. :wink: back at ya.

12

I was thinking “The Mosaic Finger” you can have daily specials like 2 for 1 chicken fingers, half price finger foods…
You can cash in on this verdict, that crazy bitch may have just helped out your business!! People all over Taipei would come to see the “Fingerman”

13

Finally got my ass down there last night and it was overall a pleasant experience, not taking into account my mates annoying dog…
The food was pretty decent, especially considering the cost (plenty sour cream and freshly made salsa with the burrito) and I ended up meeting a few new people, although oddly enough most of them didn’t seem to live in the area…
Will be back again for sure

14

The Green Hornet Killed Spiderman! You bastard!

then he ran away and opened an eponymous eating establishment. Excellent!

15

There are some photos of the burritos, nachos and a few other things on our Facebook Places page here: facebook.com/GreenHornetCafe

Our customers continue to be predominantly foreigners, but more and more groups of Taiwanese are dropping in. In a few days we’ll be putting up a big lit sign over the stairway at the walking bridge, and then I expect we’ll get swamped. Hope we can handle it. The food is not that complex, but it takes a bit of time to assemble and prepare properly. We don’t just throw stuff on our nachos. We broil them twice (two layers) and we broil our hot wings twice too. Our Caesar salads are made with fresh egg yolks and anchovies.

The beer has been selling fast enough - just fast enough in the case of the Guinness draught. It’s supposedly only good for 8 days or so. we just killed our fifth keg of that on Saturday; I’ll crack a new one on Thursday. The San Miguel is selling even faster. It’s a nice summer beer with a crispy bite to it. You can get a mug of San Miguel for just $75 that is bigger than a standard can of crap from 7-11, so in my opinion we actually can compete with the street for a cheap drinking experience. And coming soon: pitchers!

I do hope to see some honest “reviews” of the food and atmosphere posted to this thread. I know users of this site have opinions. And I promise not to sue anybody over inherently subjective comments. (But you’d better not test me on insults. I’ve got a legal itch in that area.) :ponder:

16

Just tried out this place for the first time…nice atmosphere and the nachos definitely brought back a bit of nostalgia for home.

17

We went by hoping to try the Green Hornet for the first time yesterday afternoon about 4 p.m. but you were closed. What’s up with that? (Your website says you’re open from noon to midnight on Sunday – and I would think given all the folks recreating at Bitan on Sunday afternoon that it would be a prime time for you.)

Oh well, we said hi to Athula and had a nice swim in the river anyway, and ended up having a great meal at the Danzai Mian place on Zhongxing Rd., so it was still a nice afternoon.

[Edit: Aplogies. I must have been looking at an old cached version of your website as I see now that your current site says you are open from 5:30 p.m. Will look forward to getting down there for dinner one of these days.]

18

Sorry that happened to you, Rotalsnart. It was my original plan to open on Sunday afternoons, and I did open early on Sundays for a couple weeks in a row but had basically no business at all. This surprised me. I also thought we would appeal to the Sunday crowds. Perhaps once we get a sign up near the walking bridge. That’s going to happen very soon.

Furthermore, Saturday nights have been surprisingly busy and I’ve been kept up very late. I thought locals would probably come in for a few drinks before heading to Taipei for dancing etc. But a lot of people have just been staying around all night. No complaints from me, of course.

We now have enchiladas. I just tested making them with corn tortillas and they were definitely much better texture-wise than the ones I made from flour tortillas. But I need to buy a bunch more corn tortillas. Until I do, I’ve only got about 8 servings. But I can make the flour tortilla version for a few days if people want me to.

19

Here are some food shots. You can click the thumbnails to get a closer view.

Burritos (vegetarian, beef or chicken):

The beef burritos are the most popular. They contain ground beef that has been steeped in tomato+onion+garlic+jalapeno puree.

Nachos (vegetarian - vegan if you don’t eat the sour cream):

These are the regular nachos. They don’t have any meat, but the refried beans are so savory you don’t miss the meat at all. Our “supreme” nachos are similar, but come on a bigger plate with beef-or-chicken plus green olives.

Pasta marinara (vegan):

A simple tomato, onion, bell pepper, garlic sauce.

New York steak:

That’s imported American A1 sauce, quite different from the local A1 sauce. I like it a bit better; it’s more sour with a more complex flavor. You can buy it at Jason’s and City Super, although we buy it from an import supplier.

steamed mussels in white wine, garlic & herbs broth:

The other broths are “beer + jalapenos” and “vodka + tomatoes.” They are frozen, New Zealand green “half-shell” mussels. I find they taste quite good despite having been frozen. My favorite broth is the vodka-tomato.

20

I’ll be back.

Was there with jimipresley and our boss from the university. My chili con carne was decent, the laoban loved his steak and presley didn’t seem to have problems scoffing down his chicken wings. But what most impressed me were the low prices and the incredibly relaxed and friendly nature of the owner, staff, and patrons. The place has a nice feel to it. I’m sure that before my vacation time is through, I’ll take the line to Xindian, stroll around Bitan for the afternoon, and then visit the Green Hornet when it opens.