There is an area like this in Chungho/Yungho area. The place with the odd colored windows in the buildings, lot’s of offices (30,000 people working there) has a lot of restaurants and eateries … yet many leave the compound to go cross the street to eat in hole in the wall places … why? they are cheaper, because the places inside have high overhead …
Right, even more organizational worries …
No-one mentioned least of all me that a restaurant would be even more than 10% by foreigners, don’t know where you are jumping to this conclusion from, would it be your PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS of CORRECTNESS in most things 
We don’t need a lecture about Taiwan being a backwater blah blah, I figured that out when I came here and everybody told me should have been here 2 years ago (that was 8 years ago). DaPingLin is nothing like ZhongHe business park, where I worked previously. In fact I think the owner of the Subway there may have been the one who opened two subways in XinDian recently and they are doing a great trade now.
In rents would be cheaper in XinDian also but large population. I know its risky but opening the 6th burger joint in town is risky also. I really get that alright about people used to discuss real restaurants here, I checked and all I could find information about was the Diner and Diner clones… it does seem to have gone down, the quality of discourse in certain forums, I’m still here propping it up though.
Oh, well. Quality of discourse down. Right. You’ve heard from some people who know absol.utely nothing about the business and you’ve also heard from several people with many years of experience in the field. You just don’t like the answers, that’s all. So enough with your “quality of discourse” crap. You’re not “propping it up.” You’re merely “spouting off” from a position of complete ignorance. Still, Its a free board. Let’s meet at Athula’s for a curry roti and a beer sometime – even though you’re Irish, that’s cool. There are several other Irish that hang out down there of an evening and they’re surprisingly nice blokes, considering. There’s even a Scouser for god’s sake, and a Manc. PLUS, the Scouser’s a ginge – and I STILL speak to him!
I don’t know that place you are talking about, Athula’s? Is that in XinDian? If it is I might drop by sometime. I’m partial to Indian (food). The last sentence in the previous post is only a bit of a wind-up from me, I don’t always take myself too seriously.
I do miss the arch republican battle-ax Fred Smith’s description of food though though I’ve never eaten in any place he ever talked about, simply as it was something different. Business & Money has gone down a lot aswell… I had a posting hiatus of a few years in between when I came and now (I got browned off with some very OTT insults from one of the crew here) and it is quite obvious.
BP, I , like HH, also worked in the Zhonge industrial park you mention, and certainly Dapinglin/Zhizhang corridor is nothing like that. I was in Zhonghe in its heyday -there was a guy doing both Japanses bientang and pasta to die for- and its still just as industrial, dry area. In this corridor I mention in Xindian you have a lively scene, people, parks, etc… lots of movement, people shopping, eating, new building complexes coming up. Zhonghe there is dead, especially on nights and weekends, even though it has a couple of fancy dwellings across the street and an “international” hotel.
As a matter of fact, even close to Xindian City Hall they have a hamburger joint that while not authentic, it’s quite pretty and done up in style, so it gets its customers. Yes, it’s teh 20th in town, but it’s cute.
You know what part it would be nice to see developed, especially now that the riverfront has been demolished? The old street in Bitan. That part where Athula is could be so much better. Instead of the , ehem, “traditional motels”, we could have some interesting restaurants.
[quote=“BroonAle”]Belgian Pie, the chief and Sandman are all absolutely right on all points.
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There we go then, no need for discussion. Have you set up the central committee yet?
Icon, you are right on, Bitan could be so much better considering it’s natural advantages. It had a re-fit but I wouldn’t hold my breath on any fundamental improvements. The words ‘cosmetic’ and ‘haphazard’ come to mind.
Belgian Pie, I understand that you have much more experience in running in a restaurant than me, but I wasn’t suggesting two entirely different menus, just a few tweaks to cater for the different tastes. I’d love to get a nice bearnaise sauce with my steak, rather than a nastly black pepper or mushroom sauce. I tend to ask for no sauce on my steak here, as I can’t stand the local offerings.
Would that be a major inconvenience to do as a restauranteur?
Maybe noodles or rice for the locals and mash for the rest of us, or whatever else you could come up with. I can’t say I’ve seen many restaurants that servers gratain here and from my experience with stuff I’ve cooked and served to local friends, a really good mash or a gratain can be quite popular.
For some reason locals don’t seem to like potatoes if they’re not fries, but I think this is mostly becuas they’ve had badly done potato dishes.
I still think an affordable grocery store could be a big hit, as this is still one of the things I find insane here, who pays the kind of prices that some of these shops wants for what is basically really cheap stuff, but for some reason once it lands in Taiwan is worth its weight in gold. Lower prices on imported food items would hopefully also result in slightly more affordable foregin food which might entice the locals to actually try something new.
Take for exampel IKEA, why in the world would anyone eat their meatballs? They’re dry, rubbery and generally crap, yet they seem to sell like crazy and at NT$130 a plate for a decent helping, they’re not cheap, yet the locals seem to love them alongside the pig knuckle and some other things. Yes, a hole in the wall place will always be cheaper than a restaurant, but why don’t do a hole in the wall place that serves foregin food then? Or is that simply just too hard?
I don’t think there are any easy answers or ways to sort this out and I’d hate to see anyone lose out a lot of money trying to set up a successful business here, but some people seems to have managed to do it, even if they might be few and far between. Someone mentioned that the younger generation here has a more friendly pallet to foregin food and that might just be what’s needed to kick off a change here. Why would you want to eat the same stuff 7 days a week?
Sri Lankan, not Indian. He’s keen to make that distinction. You don’t know it? You’re sorely missing out if you’re living in Hsintian! Get off at the last stop, walk along toward the footbridge, and Athula is just one stand past the steps up to the bridge. Not a restaurant, just a vendor stand, but his stuff is home-made (his mother makes up the curry spice mixes in Colombo and sends them over). In the evening he’ll usually put a wee table out on the street and a few of us locals will sit there drinking beer from 7-11 and chatting over his rotis. Better craic than any damn bar!
[quote=“headhonchoII”][quote=“BroonAle”]Belgian Pie, the chief and Sandman are all absolutely right on all points.
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There we go then, no need for discussion. Have you set up the central committee yet?
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Oh pardon me. I am simply loudly opining from a position of absolute ignorance. Carry on.
BroonApologizes
does alleycat have an opinion on this? he’s prolly more likely than most to open in somewhere like xindian or muzha. after all he’s opened in neihu and in wuxing st. both fringe areas in terms of western patronage (ok i realise wuxing area has a lot of resident big noses). plus he probably has some sort of brand recognition already in the eyes of more westernized locals…
the success of home grown chains like alleycats and sabada does give a glimmer of hope to us local westerners, but then again maybe they are the exception that proves the rule…
I know the place (athula’s) now. Got a few roti over the years, friendly guy alright.
I’m surprised that there has been so many negative responses to this.
I have to agree with the OP and think that there is certainly a market for a forkers/diner style restaurant in Xindian, esp. around dapinglin/qizhang mrt’s.
I have been living in Xindian for a couple of years and probably 2/3 times a week I will drive into the city for a pie boy, alleycats, KGB’s or something like that.
It would have to be something reasonably priced like the diner/pie boy/forkers but it is doable. I would quite like somewhere just to hang out, eat and have a couple of beers sometimes without having to go into town.
If I could find the right local partner I’d even do it myself.
um.
So how come everyone are such cheapskates?
I tend to spend a fair bit when I go out to a decent place to eat, although I’m not going to say that I go to NT$1000+ a person places every weekend. That doesn’t mean I want to eat cheap slop either, just a decent meal and it seems like there’s popped up a fair few places like that in Taipei over the last 6-12 months which is really great.
Just because it’s “western” food doesn’t have to equal sky high prices, look at some of the diners and burger places that have opened up recently.
Sure, that kind of food might not be overly appealing with the local crowd and considering that McD is cheaper than the decent places…
Sometimes I really hate the fast food chains, as they ruin a lot of good places, just because they’re cheaper, not better.
But what I still don’t get is why all the decent places all have to be in one small corner of this city.
Because it makes better business sense to cluster in an area where there is a good flow of viable consumer traffic and away from areas frequented by the economically challenged where instances of price-point whingeing are greater.
And yes, Taipei seems to have more cheapskates amongst the foreign population than most other Asian capitals. Those with the means mostly don’t post on this site and though there are some who post here that do look at the left side of the menu and not the right, they are drowned out by the NT$100 burger crowd.
BroonAlacarte
I would’ve thought that clumping up a selection of similar eateries in one area would mean less chance of customers.
Sure, there are certain more popular areas on weekends and I can understand that there’s a reason to be there, but how did those areas become popular in the first place?
But never mind, I guess I’m just silly for thinking that it might be a good idea to start something a little bit outside of the beaten path, kind of like Debbie’s that opened up in Taoyuan, not really central, but yet it’s always crowded from what I could tell the few times I visited before we moved back to Taipei.
The food wasn’t fantastic, but it was good value for money and tasted good and the service was good, that’s all I’m asking for, not some 5 start gourmet restaurant.
I don’t mind eating the local food, it’s just that there are days I want something else, but I guess I shouldn’t moan, it’s not that far to Shida road… 
The Starbucks effect: open one cafeteria, people get the bug, small cafeterias around it benefit from the overflow and eventually claim their own turf and customer base.
In Dapinglin, we are one good store away from critical point and we’ll have a boom (Ok, maybe not a boom, but at least a splash).
This is my first post on Forumosa, and I hope I don’t tread on any toes because some of you crowd can be a bit intimidating in your infinite knowledge and wit. That’s a compliment (witness my fearful kowtowing - oh for shame). Ok, yes, :blah: get on with it…
I just moved to Xintian for a temporary posting, specifically about 5 minutes walk from Xintian MRT station… It’s beautiful out here but a far cry from what I’ve grown accustomed to in my Asia stint of over 8 years, ie, “hustle and bustle”, and good cheap food aplenty at any hour of the day.
I have read Forumosa discussion often in the past, but I was finally motivated to register because the following comments in this thread piqued my interest and the topic seemed to have been dropped:
Sandman:
– two of my favourite eatieres are in Hsintian (Xindian), between Dapinglin and Qizhang. Absolutley top grub and very, very cheap. I go there maybe once a month, each place. Even if every single foreigner in the area went once a week (and they WOULDN’T. There is NO DOUBT about this), that is NOT going to make your ends meet.
—and they are???
Funk500:
I’ll make a new topic about good eateries “in the suburbs”.
—has this been accomplished? If so please point me in the right direction…
Don’t expect Sandman to give away his secrets, he never does… at least not for free 
And no, the other one hasn’t been accomplished, at least not afaik and me myself, I’ve been to busy/lazy to update my blog with new places, although I can’t say I’ve tried too many places in Xindian. There’s a really good beef noodle place I have a link to called black man beef noodle, but they might be a bit spicy for some, but really good beef, nice and tender like it should be.
Expensive food is not always good food, especially in Taipei. I really really don’t look at prices when I eat. I want what I want and I pay for it (interestingly; if you do this, you never run out of money. Only a boor wants ‘the best’ all the time. I want scrambled eggs, a mango, a steak, a roll, a beautiful piece of sole; it all evens out).
It’s yawnsome when the price is to pay for lazy waitresses, with a ‘we’re the best’ attitude, or the tacky decorations, or the laoban’s delusions of grandeur.
Western food in Taipei is largely Krap, made for locals who know no different or jonesing short term expats. I only really went to places where it was either fun to hang out; the food is kind of the cover charge. It doesn’t matter if you are paying 200 or 2000; if you can cook it better yourself, it’s too expensive. The bread and coffee is usually what makes me go back somewhere.